Cooking with Dr. Monkey

Today's episode: torte di patate.  (Potato tart)

I got this recipe out of the Italian cook book Flavors of Tuscany.

I started out by chopping four large red skinned potatoes.  I chopped them into chunks and as you can see I left the thin peels on.  I covered them with water and put them on to boil.

As the potatoes cooked, I chopped up and sauteed one large white onion and some cherry tomatoes that I had on hand and were about to go bad.  As that cooked I spread some olive oil in my pie pan and then I spread about 3 tablespoons of panko crumbs over the oil.

Into my onions and cherry tomatoes I put two sweet Italian sausages.  I removed the skins before I put them in my pan.  As the sausages cooked with the onions and tomatoes, I crumbled them into smaller bite sized pieces.

While all that cooked, I lightly beat two eggs:

When my potatoes were good and soft, I drained them and mashed them.  I put in about two tablespoons of olive oil and mixed it in them.  Notice I did not say I whipped the potatoes. If you whip them they will not work for this recipe, and honestly, fuck whipped potatoes.  I mixed in the now cooked sausage, onions, and tomatoes and then I added the beaten eggs.  I mixed it all up and then I put the mixture in my pie pan:

Next I sprinkled on the top of my potato sausage mix about a quarter cup of finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and then on top of that I sprinkled three tablespoons of panko.  I then put my torte in my oven which had been heated up to 375 F.  I baked it for 25 minutes and this is what it looked like when it came out:

The verdict: it was fucking delicious.  Seriously.  How could potatoes, onion, sausage, eggs, cheese, and breadcrumbs baked together not be good.  It's great tasting hearty cold weather dish.  I'll definitely make this one again.

Cooking with Dr. Monkey

Today's episode: Super Crispy Oven Fries/Potato Wedges.

I got this recipe out of a recent copy of Cooking Light magazine.
I started out with two huge baking potatoes. I then peeled them and sliced them into big wedges/fries.
Next I finely grated some Parmigiano-Reggiano (about 1/3 cup), which I then mixed in with about 2/3 cup of bread crumbs (the original recipe calls for panko crumbs to be used but I use what I have). In a bowl I mixed two eggs whites with two tablespoons of cold water. On another plate I put a bit of flour.
Then in this order I: rolled the wedges in flour, dipped them into egg white water mixture, then coated them with the cheese bread crumb mixture. And this is what they looked like before I baked them:
I then baked them in my preheated to 425F oven for about 35 to 40 minutes. Oven times vary and the potatoes are done when they are golden brown and you can easily insert a fork in them.
Salt and pepper them to taste and enjoy!

This batch, this is the second time I made them, was super tasty and very good with the turkey panini's I made. If you want, go crazy with this dish, add whatever spices and herbs you like, next time I'm adding cumin, paprika, garlic, and rosemary. This is a good side dish for most any meal or even as a main dish in a vegetarian meal. This recipe is a definite keeper.

Don't forget, I'm having a fund raiser here to raise money for a new pair of glasses with scratch resistant lenses. Please give what you can and those who give $25 or more will get a random selection of art cards that I made.

Jaysus feckin' Christ...

...I almost forgot to wish everyone a happy St. Patrick's day!

So from everyone at Craggy Island Parochial House,

and from this red haired Irish woman who's picture I got off Flickr,
and from all of us here at Monkey Central,

Happy feckin' Saint Patrick's Day!

Now go play some Black 47, some U2, some Clancy Brothers, the Pogues, and even Sinead O'Connor and riverdance that ass of yours off.