Tag: unsalted butter

Ultimate Mashed Potatoes – Not Your Every Day Recipe

Every year around holiday time, I see people posting recipes for low-fat and no-fat mashed potatoes, which I find as sad, as I do perplexing. There’s no sane doctor alive, or bartender for that matter, who will tell you eating a scoop of these mashed potatoes a few times a year will, in any way, negatively effect your health.

So what’s up with the reduced-fat holiday potatoes? Isn’t that the reason we try to eat well all year, so on Thanksgiving we can bathe guilt-free in gravy? Sure, serving your loved ones potatoes with a pound of butter in them on a regular basis would be cause for alarm…or at least a glance at any recently purchased life insurance policies…but for truly special occasions, it’s crazy not to enjoy such a pleasure.

By the way, this is no viral-video gimmick. Those star chefs you see Anthony Bourdain dry-humping every week (sorry, I was channeling my inner Anthony Bourdain) all use at least this much butter, and as legend has it, some even flirt with equal parts. Of course, they call it pomme purée, and say it with a French accent, but it’s the same stuff.

Nobody says you have to go full Joël Robuchon and actually use this recipe, but please try to force yourself to add more than the few meager tablespoons that get us through the rest of the year. Anyway, if you’re never experienced this ethereal pleasure, I hope you make them a part of your next special occasion menu. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 8 portions:

3 1/4 pounds russet potatoes (3 or 4)
Note: this will not work with red potatoes, as they are too waxy

1 pound unsalted butter

1/4 cup hot milk

salt and pepper to taste

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Pumpkin Seed Brittle – Break Some Off This Halloween

This pumpkin seed brittle recipe was a lot easier to make than film. The procedure for nut brittle, or in this case, seed brittle, is very simple, but there are points in the recipe when you have to move fast, which is unfortunate when you have to move a camera and set up shots.

Even with these challenges, it came out just fine, and I’m only complaining as a way to build confidence. Once your sugar mixture has turned a nice caramel color, you have to immediately turn off the heat, add your baking soda (be careful), then your nuts or seeds (be careful), and hastily mix until combined. As the concoction cools it hardens quickly, so transfer into your pan and press as soon as you can (be careful).

After that, you can relax, unless you are scoring yours into shapes. No pressure, but you only have about two minutes to make your marks. After the brittle is cool, simply break it up, and you’ll be enjoying a crispy, delicious, and very seasonally appropriate treat.

Regarding the salt: you can add it right into the mix like I did, or sprinkle it over the top surface before the brittle is completely cool. That does look kind of cool, but either way, it’s critical, and should not be omitted.

I can’t help you with the tricks, but at least you have one more idea for a treat now. I hope you give this pumpkin seed brittle recipe a try soon. Enjoy!

Makes enough Pumpkin Seed Brittle for 12 witches or 8 zombies:

2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

2 tablespoons water
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt (3/4 to 1 tsp if using fine salt)

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Maple Pecan Banana Muffins

Moist and delicious banana muffins sweetened with pure maple syrup and topped with crushed pecans – so good you won’t believe they are light!

This week has been a crazy week, for those of you who missed it I was on QVC Wednesday selling The Skinnytaste Cookbook^[1]!

Here’s a link to the video if you want to see it^[2]. (I never realized I talked so much with my hands until playing this back!) I was a little nervous, but honestly David is such a great host, he made it so easy. After that I flew to Pittsburgh to visit the Delallo family (I will share more about that later this week) but it feels so good to be back home in the kitchen cooking and sharing recipes.

Madison, my youngest LOVES banana muffins, so whenever I have ripe bananas on my counter I always like to bake a batch for her. Whatever we don’t eat that day is usually her breakfast the next day. In my house, these go pretty quick, but if you live alone, you can individually wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze them for a later day, then pop them in the microwave – they taste just like you first baked them.

These muffins are slightly adapted from my low fat banana nut bread^[3] recipe. Here I wanted to use pecans, pure maple syrup and some maple sugar I purchased, but if you don’t have maple sugar any sugar would work. What I love about making these banana muffins is that they come out so moist, and I only use 2 tablespoons of butter in the whole batch!

Maple Pecan Banana Muffins
gordon-ramsay-recipe.com
Servings: 12 • Size: 1 muffin • Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 4 pts
Calories: 142 • Fat: 5 g • Carb: 23 g • Fiber: 2 g • Protein: 3 g • Sugar: 12 g
Sodium: 113 mg • Cholesterol: 5 mg

Ingredients:

3 medium very ripe bananas
1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup maple sugar (or brown sugar)
2 large egg whites
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup crushed pecans

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a cupcake tin with liners.

Mash bananas in a bowl, set aside. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk. Set aside.

In a large bowl cream butter and 1/4 cup maple sugar with an electric mixer. Add egg whites, mashed bananas, maple syrup, apple sauce and vanilla; beat at medium speed until mixed well, scraping down sides of the bowl.

Add flour mixture, then blend at a low speed until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin.

Spread the pecans evenly over the muffins.

Bake the muffins on the center rack for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

References

^{^} The Skinnytaste Cookbook (www.gordon-ramsay-recipe.com)
^{^} Here’s a link to the video if you want to see it (www.qvc.com)
^{^} low fat banana nut bread (www.gordon-ramsay-recipe.com)

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