Friday, March 17, 2023

Boxty with Smoked Salmon

 I used to participate in Fish Friday Foodies, but then my husband passed away and honestly, I just didn't feel 'it' anymore and basically stopped cooking and experimenting.  

Then Wendy said this was going to be the last Fish Friday Foodies, and I went, 'No! ', I'm finally starting to cook and experiment and play in the kitchen again, and I wanted to play this time.  I love Boxty's anyway and topped with Smoked Salmon, AMAZING!!!! especially with some Creme Fraiche on top.

Boxty with Smoked Salmon

So I did.   Years ago I was reading a book and they referenced Boxty's, which are an Irish potato dish.   The theme this month for the Fish Friday Foodies is Irish seafood dishes.   

So what do Irish Boxty cakes have to do with Fish?  Well, there are several recipes out there that include smoked fish inside the boxty's, but I'm just not that fond of including smoked fish inside a cooked recipe, so I searched and searched and finally found a reference to this dish.  Actually I found several references, you can see them here and here and here.
 

As many of you may know, I love my appetizers, so decided to make this as an appetizer cause I could, and I did.  You can however make the cakes a touch bigger, and serve them alongside a nice salad as a light lunch or dinner.  

Now for a fun ditty...

“Boxty on the griddle,

Boxty in the pan,

If you can't make boxty,

You'll never get a man.”

 Just had to throw that in there, cause it was cute.   

Now for one of the best parts of this recipe, you can use that little bit of mashed potatoes from dinner that you just can't bring yourself to throw away.    Many recipes call for adding grated fresh potatoes to leftover mashed, adding some flour, an egg, some milk.  

Come to think of it, I've been making these for years.  However, I usually just add everything together until it looks right, this time round I actually measured it out, just in case you want to do so as well.  

I gotta say this would have been a winner at one of our Tapas gatherings. Come to think of it, I think I need to do a Tapas Night again, and these would be perfect.  

I topped them with some smoked Salmon, my own homemade Créme Fräiche., some chopped chives from my garden and finely minced shallot.  

Dang, they were good.

Boxty with Smoked Salmon

Boxty with Smoked Salmon

Yield: 6-10
Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 7 MinTotal time: 12 Min
This makes not only a great appetizer but also doubles as a light lunch or dinner with the addition of a salad.

Ingredients

  • 4 russet potatoes
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons cream
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • oil and butter for frying
Topping
  • Smoked Salmon slices
  • Créme Fräiche - homemade - link in post.- can use sour cream instead.
  • Chopped Chives
  • Finely chopped shallot
  • Fresh cracked pepper if desired

Instructions

  1. Cook two of the russet potatoes and mash with the butter and cream. Set aside to cool.
  2. Grate the remaining two potatoes and sprinkle a little salt over them, then place the grated potatoes into either a double layer of paper towel or a clean cloth and wring the liquid out of them, set aside while you mix up the flour, egg, and milk in a small bowl. Add the cooled mashed potatoes to the bowl and mix well. Finally, add the grated potatoes and stir in. (the grated potatoes might have turned a pretty shade of pink, but don't worry, this is a normal enzymatic reaction, they're perfectly safe to eat.)
  3. In a pan, heat up some oil and butter. I use a small spoon to measure out the batter, but you can use a 1/4 cup measure as well. Spoon the batter into the pan much like making small pancakes. Cook until brown on the bottom and then flip over and finish cooking on the other side. To keep them warm, place in a 200-degree oven while finishing off the remainder.
  4. Top with a slice of smoked salmon, some Créme Fräiche, finely chopped shallot, and chives.

 

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Wednesday, March 8, 2023

Brunswick Stew

 I made some Brunswick Stew last month, and decided I needed to share the way I made it.  It's not so much of a recipe, but more of a process.  OK, so you sling a bunch of different stuff into a pot, cook it up and serve it. 

Brunswick Stew

Wait a minute, that's pretty much how this dish evolved.  It consisted of leftovers, random bits of game, veggies and some BBQ sauce, cooked to a nice consistency and then served.  

It has evolved however, the more modern versions of this recipe uses leftover BBQ meat, burnt ends as it were, plus bits and pieces of any leftover BBQ from the night before.  You can read about the origins of the stew here on Wikipedia. 

I do it my way, which results in a pretty tasty dish, even if I do say so myself.  I personally like it served with a piece of my No-Knead bread, but a hunk of cornbread or a biscuit is also lovely.  

Now for why I made this.  I had a half of a smoked chicken, which quite frankly I'm not too fond of, but I knew I also had some pulled pork in the freezer which needed to be eaten soon.

So I took the meat off the bones of the chicken, put it in a pot with the pork, added a 1 lb. or sixteen ounce bag of frozen mixed vegetables to the pot.  Grabbed some of my homemade chicken stock out of the freezer (1 cup if you're into measuring), added that on top, along with a can of diced tomatoes and okra, and about a cup of my favorite BBQ sauce- which is Bullseye, if you're curious.  Let it simmer for bit, then I tasted it, and added 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne for an added bite. 

Brunswick Stew


Brunswick Stew

Brunswick Stew

Brunswick Stew

The best part of this stew is you can, and should make it to your taste.   Use your favorite BBQ sauce, whichever kind of leftover smoked BBQ meat you have, and go for it.  I discovered as I was putting this batch together that the can of diced tomatoes I thought I had in the pantry was gone, but I had a can of diced okra and tomatoes, so it went in.  I had smoked chicken and pork, but you can make this with whatever kinds of smoked meats you have.    Traditionally... you use Corn and Lima beans, but I like mixed veggies so that's what I use.   

In fact I pulled some this out of the freezer the other day for dinner with a friend and we had a chunk of fresh baked bread with it.  And I still have some, just for me.  

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