Sunday, December 28, 2014

Hanks Franks hot dog potato topping

For years, I've gone to Hanks Franks (Facebook Page) in Lodi to have anywhere between 5 and 9 hot dogs with a variety of toppings. One of the favorites is the potato topping and out of the area, when describing this, many reactions are "potatoes on a hot dog???". 

Ingredients: 
2 Medium Baking or Russet potatoes
2 Tbsp stick butter
Kosher Salt*
Cracked Pepper*


Preparation: 
Dice potatoes into 1/4 - 3/8" cubes and soak in cold water.  In a pot, bring about 1 1/2 quarts of water to a boil, salt with kosher or sea salt in similar fashion to pasta. 


Cooking:
Strain potatoes and add to the boiling water, boil potatoes until they are fork tender (approximately 5 - 10 minutes depending on how large the chunks are). Once they are fork tender, remove from heat, and strain. Season with salt and pepper and return to the pot. 

Refill the pot with water just over the level of the potatoes and add butter. Return the pot to the heat (same high heat as was done to boil the water) and cook down water stirring occasionally until the potatoes start to break down. Remove from heat while there are still solid potato chunks and let sit for a minute. 

Serving:
Spoon over grilled or boiled hot dogs. Goes well with cheese sauce or chili. 

Who Hash

This is what happens when you have a newborn before Christmas and neither entertaining company nor visiting company is very feasible. This is my version of what I would believe "How the Grinch Stole Dinner" would end up. Recommend serving with Roast Beast (Beef). 

Ingredients: 
2 Medium Baking or Russet potatoes
1 Large Red or Yellow onion
4 slices of Taylor pork roll (thin slice)
7oz (1 pkg) KerryGold Reserve Irish Cheddar Cheese (shredded)
Olive Oil*
Kosher Salt*
Cracked Pepper*
Italian Seasoning*


Preparation: 
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 

Peel and slice onion into 1/8" strips then cut radially into 4 segments to produce pieces of onion that are between 1/2 and 3/4 of an inch in length. Peel potatoes and slice width-wise into 1/8 - 1/4" slices, after sliced, turn 90 degrees and cut strips (think thick julienne) and soak in some cold salty water.  Cut pork roll slices in half and then in thin strips 1/8" thick. 

Cooking: 
In a nonstick skillet (recommended vs stainless) place a generous amount of olive oil and heat over medium/high heat. When the pan is hot, add onions generously salting and peppering.  Saute onions until they begin to get translucent but do not brown, strain potatoes, add to the pan with more salt, pepper and olive oil. Lightly brown the potatoes keeping them moving every few minutes so they do not stick. (Even though it is a non-stick pan, the starch can act like glue). This will need to cook stove-top for about 7 - 9 minutes. 

In another pan, heat up a small amount of olive oil over medium high/high heat and add pork roll strips. Fry pork roll until crispy and add to the potato/onion pan. 

Add 1 - 2 Tbsp of olive oil to an oven safe / broiler safe baking dish and coat the bottom and sides. Add contents of the pan to this dish and top with shredded cheddar cheese (mix together) and add a light sprinkling of Italian seasoning. 


After 20 - 25 minutes, place under the broiler for 1 - 2 minutes to crisp the top. 

Serving: 
This dish can be served as a side to any protein. I recommend roast beef or ham. 

Monday, March 17, 2014

Mexican Lasagna

This is what happens when you have leftover taco meat and buy the "bulk" pack of soft taco shells from BJs Wholesale.  

Ingredients: 
1 pound of Sargento Reduced Fat Mexican Shredded Cheese
8 fajita size soft tacos (10")
Taco Meat (Use the meat from this recipe: Quick and Easy Nachosl ) 
Vegetable Oil - Enough to lightly spray on a skillet

Preparation: 
Spray a large skillet with a light coating of oil and apply medium heat (recommended to use two for faster cooking).  Heat up tortillas one by one until lightly golden brown on each side. (Flip after 45 - 90 seconds per side). In a baking dish, start layering the tortillas (it may be necessary to cut them in half and line the straight sides of the baking dish with the straight edges of the tortilla. Alternate layers of cheese and taco meat until 4 layers have been built up. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place on baking dish on a medium shelf cooking until cheese melts. 

Serving: 
Remove from oven and cut like a traditional lasagna.