Celebrity Cook-along: Bobby Flay

Joining Lynn @ Happier than a Pig in Mud for her Celebrity Cook-Along.

This time we're cooking with the Bobby Flay!

This is a repost of a delicious recipe I first made last year. And it's one I have made many more times since then. One of our favorites. Bobby Flay is occasionally on The Morning Show at CBS. Didn't always love Bobby Flay, but I do now. Especially considering the shows that the Food Network has on these days. I barely watch any more. I have quite a few of his books, his recipes have all turned out great for us. That time on The Morning Show he was making little bites of potatoes. And they looked so good so I looked the recipe up online to make it.

We loved this sauce! Spicy Tomato-Chipotle Aioli. I adapted it to my way of lazy cooking. I think it would be good on most anything! We were having steaks and somehow that sauce managed to get on the steak, too. So good. I think it would be nice with chicken and with shrimp as well. And definitely on a sandwich or a panini.

The recipe called for grilling the tomatoes, grilling the potatoes and there was no way the Griller would be fussing with that, not to mention I used some teeny potatoes. So I had that panini grill, I got my money's worth out of it already, and threw the parboiled potatoes on that! Squished them down pretty good, until they got good and somewhat crispy. The tomatoes I broiled with a little salt, pepper and about three cloves of garlic. I threw the garlic in towards the end so they didn't burn. Then I strained the tomatoes and whizzed everything in a food processor. Today's sauce will be on tomorrow's sandwich! Steak Panini with cheese and Tomato-Chipotle Aioli. It's not just for potatoes any more. Can't wait.

  Parboiled potatoes grilled and "smashed" on the panini grill

Roasted Tomato Sauce

Spicy Tomato-Chipotle Aioli

Grilled, Smashed Potatoes with Spicy Tomato-Chipotle Aioli

Grilled Potatoes with Spicy Tomato Aioli
Source: Bobby Flay - CBS The Early Show and also Food Network
adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

1 1/4 pounds new potatoes (yellow and red) or baby Yukon Gold (You can use a large potatoes and slice them thick or small ones and cut in half, or leave the small ones whole and smash them)
Salt
2 plum tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup mayonnaise
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons Spanish paprika
1-2 chipotle in adobo sauce (depends how hot you like it)
1 teaspoons Ancho chile powder, or more to taste
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Place the potatoes in a large pot of cold water, add 2 tablespoons of salt and cook until potatoes are tender, but still firm, about 12 to 15 minutes. Drain, let cool and cut each potato into 3/4 -inch thick slices.  You can microwave until just tender as well.

Heat the grill to high.  Or you can use a panini grill.

Brush the tomatoes with the some of the oil and season with salt and pepper. While the potatoes are cooking, place the tomatoes on the grill and grill until charred on all sides and soft, about 10 minutes. Remove from the grill and coarsely chop. You can also just roast them at 350 for about an hour until they get soft and start to brown. Or broil for about 10-15 minutes. Turning them once.

You can strain the tomatoes to get rid of the seeds and the skins.

Place the tomatoes, mayonnaise, garlic, paprika, chipotles and chile powder in a food processor and process until smooth, season with salt and pepper. Can be made 1 day in advance and refrigerated.
Brush the potatoes slices on both sides with some of the oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the potatoes on the grill, close the cover and grill until lightly golden brown and just cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. I used a panini grill and made them "smashed" potatoes. Carefully transfer the potatoes to a platter and garnish with the parsley. Serve the aioli drizzled over the potatoes or on the side.

Also joining 

Beth at Beth Fish Reads for her fun Weekend Cooking Party. Every weekend. It's open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share! Go on over and see some fun posts.
 

and joining

Suzy's Kitchen Bouquet for Flashback Friday

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Celebrity Cook-along: Pillsbury Doughboy

Joining Lynn @ Happier than a Pig in Mud for her Celebrity Cook-Along.

This time we're cooking with the Pillsbury Doughboy!

The Griller was out doing errands the other day when I called him up to get me a tube of Pillsbury Crescent rolls. He's a good guy, picked them up for me and I threw the tube in the frig. It's a blue tube, it said Pillsbury, I assumed it was fine. I'm thinking chocolate croissants with this tube of flaky, greasy goodness, no matter I can't pronounce some of the ingredients, they make excellent chocolate croissants.

These will not make good chocolate croissants. He got the wrong blue tube. I don't like garlic with my chocolate. They did however, make fantastic Ranchero Crescent Rounds. Little Southwestern Black Bean and Cheese Quiches. Except these had an Asian flair because we love Sriracha.

and since they weren't round, I managed to deal with that, too...

They came out so good! Topped with a little fire-roasted salsa, I intended them for an afternoon snack, my kids are starving after school, milk and cookies would never do. Instead they had them for breakfast, they couldn't wait. My kids are not breakfast cereal kids for breakfast, you have to be inventive.

The changes I made were by accident, I never read the complete directions, no shock there! I only used one can, they weren't the rounds and I filled to the top instead of a tablespoon of filling. Instead of slicing them into the rounds (I didn't read that part!) I unrolled it and used a glass. It worked out fine, except I had leftover scraps, which I baked plain. They were good plain. In a standard six muffin pan, it made nice sized little quiches. Would definitely make these again! They would also be very nice for a brunch.

Rancheros Crescent Rounds
Source: Pillsbury.com - recipe by Amy Murphy Bake-Off® Contest 44, 2010
Adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

2 cans (8 oz each) Pillsbury® Place ’N Bake® refrigerated crescent rounds (16 rounds) or 2 cans (8 oz each) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 egg
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon red pepper sauce (I used a teaspoon of Sriracha Sauce)
1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (2 oz)
1/3 cup canned black beans, drained, rinsed
1/4 cup salsa

Heat oven to 375°F. If using crescent rounds, remove from package, separate into 16 rounds. If using crescent rolls, remove from package, but do not unroll. Using serrated knife, cut each roll into 8 rounds; carefully separate rounds. Place rounds on ungreased large cookie sheet. Press down center and pinch edge of each round to make indentation (about 3/4 inch deep and 2 inches in diameter).

In small bowl, beat egg, sour cream, salt, pepper, chili powder, pepper sauce and 1/4 cup of the cheese with fork or wire whisk until well blended.

Place 1 teaspoon of the beans in each crescent bowl. Spoon 1 teaspoon egg mixture into each bowl (do not fill to top). Sprinkle each with about 1 teaspoon of the remaining cheese.

Bake 14 to 18 minutes or until bowls are golden brown and filling is set. Top each with 1/2 teaspoon of the salsa.

Joining

  The Little Red House for Mosaic Monday! 

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Brandied Mushrooms

Joining Lynn @ Happier than a Pig in Mud for her second Celebrity Cook-Along.

This time we're cooking with Paula Deen!

I've made these mushrooms before but they're so good I'm posting them again!

Brandied Mushrooms
source: Paula Deen, Food Network
adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

2 pounds fresh mushrooms, sliced lengthwise (I used white button)
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup brandy
1/2 shallot, chopped
couple splashes of Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper

In a large skillet, saute the sliced mushrooms in the butter until they start to brown. Add the chopped shallots. Stir it around. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Add a couple splashes of Worcestershire sauce and simmer a bit. Add the brandy and continue to simmer until mushrooms are tender and the sauce has been mostly absorbed.

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Weekend Cooking and a Celebrity Cook-Along!

Lynn @ Happier than a Pig in Mud is having another Celebrity Cook-Along!  This month's celebrity cook is Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman!

I decided on a pasta salad, mostly because I was starving for lunch and had all the ingredients on hand! It was really easy and Pioneer Woman's Pasta Salad looked so good and so fresh. Although my tomatoes were a little sad looking! So much for fresh. I had found little heirlooms and by the time I knew what I wanted to do with them, their time had come. So I roasted them. Why waste perfectly delicious but getting more wrinkled than my mother tomatoes? I threw in a couple wrinkled yellow peppers, too! An hour in the oven at 350 degrees F with a little garlic, salt, pepper and olive and they would be perfect to eat again. My kids eat them like candy. Too bad they wouldn't touch this salad with the feta, their loss, I made theirs without! Love, love, love this salad, thank you Pioneer Woman, I have your book, and enjoy your site but it's the first recipe I've ever made. I'll be back for more!

Pasta Salad with Roasted Tomatoes, Zucchini, Feta and Lemon

adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
source: The Pioneer Woman, for the original recipe click here!

Printable Recipe

12 ounces farfalle (bowtie) pasta or any small pasta shape, I used small shells
2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 whole lemon (more or less to taste)
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 whole zucchini, cut in small dice or wedges
10 ounces grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise (I used heirlooms and roasted them first with a little garlic)
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley (more or less to taste)
6 ounces, crumbled Feta cheese Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse in cold water until completely cool. Add olive oil and lemon juice, then add salt and pepper to taste. Toss to combine. Add zucchini, tomatoes, parsley, and feta, and toss to combine. Add more of what you think it needs! Squeeze in a little more lemon juice/drizzle more olive oil if it needs more.
Cover and chill before serving.

 Stop by Happier than a Pig in Mud, Lynn throws a fun Celebrity Cook-Along party every month!

Joining Beth at Beth Fish Reads for her fun Weekend Cooking Party. Every weekend. It's open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share! Go on over and see some fun posts.

Joining Mary at the Little Red House for Mosaic Monday. Stop by the Little Red House to see more mosaics!

and joining Friday Potluck at Ekat's Kitchen

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