Indian Baked Potatoes

Yesterday I realized that we had eaten rice every night for a week. We had many different kinds, but it was rice nonetheless. While basmati rice would usually be our preferred accompaniament for Indian food, I couldn't take another night of rice (I am amazed that I successfully lived in Taiwan for six months).

I started searching for Indian recipes that would fill up our rapidly growing children,use ingredients we had on hand and complement the Tandoori chicken I was making as a main course. I came across this recipe for Indian baked potatoes. When I took it out of the oven and offered Bob a taste, he said, "This tastes a lot more Utah Mormon than Punjabi." Maybe it was the zucchini. I had to agree with his verdict, even though I found the recipe on what appeared to be a fairly Indian site.

I made a few changes to the original recipe. I increased the cream cheese and other cheeses a bit, which may also have contributed to the Utah feel. The original recipe calls for whatever vegetables one has on hand; we had cauliflower, carrots, onions, and of course, zucchini. I think the only one of those that wasn't included on the original list was zucchini.

This is a pretty dish to look at and it made the house smell great. It's also fairly simple. The kids loved it, so I'm sure it will make an encore appearance on another night when we get tired of rice again.

Indian Baked Potatoes

4-6 medium russet potatoes, peeled and boiled
Juilienned pieces of various vegetables (I used carrots, onions, cauliflower, and zucchini)
2 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mash potatoes while hot with cream cheese. Stir fry various vegetables for about five minutes in a small amount of butter or vegetable oil. Mix potatoes and vegetables together until well blended. Spread into a 9 x 13 baking dish and top with mozzarella and cheddar cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and cook on high broil for 2-3 (moving the oven rack to the second-to-the-highest shelf) or until cheese is lightly browned and bubbly.

Strawberry Pie

Strawberry pie is my favorite dessert. That may be because it has such a limited season each year. I look forward to it every spring and savor it while it lasts.

This is the best strawberry pie recipe I've ever tried. I've sampled others with cream cheese on the bottom of the crust and they are tasty, but the mashed up fruit in the glaze is what really makes this pie for me. I first acquired the recipe my freshman year in college from my roommate Dana, who I believe got it from Betty Crocker.

The same formula also works well with raspberries or peaches. My order of preference probably goes raspberries, strawberries, then peaches. But strawberries are a lot cheaper than raspberries, so that's what we usually make.

Strawberry Pie
1 9-inch baked pie shell (I am not skilled at crust making, so I usually use store bought. Store brands seem better to me than national brands as a general rule, and I can particularly recommend the Great Values brand from Wal Mart. And I'm not a Wal Mart fan)
4 cups fresh berries (about 1 1/2 quarts)
1 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons corn starch
1/2 cup water
4 oz. cream cheese, softened

Mash enough berries to measure one cup. Stir together the sugar and cornstarch.

Gradually stir in water and mashed berries. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir one minute. Cool for a few minutes.

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Carefully spread on the bottom of the baked pie shell; the shell can break easily if you get aggressive with your spreading.

Fill shell with remaining berries. Pour the cooked glaze mixture over the top of the berries. Chill for three hours or until set. You can see that we ate it this particular night with ice cream; it's a wonderful complement to the tartness of the fruit.

Bruschetta

As a family, we are known for our appetizers. We are almost always asked to bring appetizers along when we are invited for dinner. We celebrate Christmas Eve with an all-appetizer buffet, and invite extended family from all sides to join us. We have specific winter appetizers--cheese balls, barbecued meatballs, all kinds of spreads and dips for crackers and chips. There are other seasonal appetizers, like deviled eggs for Thanksgiving. Last weekend we broke out the summer appetizers, including one of our favorites, bruschetta.

As one would expect, most Americans pronounce the word according to the rules of English, with the sch combination having a sh or ch sound. However, the actual Italian pronunciation is a harder sound, the same as the sch combination at the beginning of the word school. So it's actually brusketta. At one point in my life I spoke Italian very well, so you can trust me on this one.

As I finished making the topping on Saturday and ran it past Bob's nose, we both agreed that for us, this is the smell of summer.

Bruschetta

Makes about 25-30 pieces

2-3 Roma tomatoes, finely diced

1/4 - 1/3 cup finely diced red onion

Up to 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil, depending on your taste

1 - 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1 baguette, sliced in quarter-inch slices

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Grated parmesan cheese (I prefer a large size grate)

Combine all ingredients except baguette, 2 tablespoons olive oil and parmesan in a glass bowl. Cover and refrigerate for several hours. Brush baguette slices with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Broil for 2-3 minutes until lightly browned.

Immediately before serving, spoon combined ingredients onto toasted bread. Top with grated parmesan and serve.