Rachael Ray's Big Orange Book (36 page)

I have always been partial to stuffed potatoes and here they take center plate. Eat either these stuffed taters or Ranch-Style Stuffed Taters with a salad alongside.

SERVES 4

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Scrub the potatoes of any excess dirt and prick them each several times with a fork. Place them on a baking sheet, drizzle with EVOO, and season with salt and pepper, tossing lightly to coat. Bake until tender, 45 to 60 minutes depending on the size of the potato. Remove the baked potatoes from the oven and let cool enough to handle.

While the potatoes are cooling, place a skillet with 1 inch of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Salt the water and reduce the heat to a simmer, then add the broccoli and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until tender. Drain the broccoli.

Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop the insides out into a mixing bowl, leaving a thin layer of flesh still intact. Try not to pierce the skin of the potato. Add the sour cream, stock, and ½ cup of the cheddar to the bowl and mash the potatoes; season with salt and pepper. Fold the broccoli into the potatoes and refill the potato skins. Top with a little extra cheese, a couple of tablespoons per skin. Place them back into the oven to melt the cheese, about 5 minutes. Serve them up with your favorite salad alongside.

SERVES 4

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Scrub the potatoes of any excess dirt and prick them each several times with a fork. Place them on a baking sheet, drizzle with EVOO, and season with salt and pepper. Bake the potatoes until tender, 45 to 60
minutes depending on the size of the potato. Remove the baked potatoes from the oven and let cool enough to handle.

When the potatoes have about 10 minutes left in the oven, place the tomatoes on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle EVOO over them. Season them with salt and pepper and roast them in the oven until they collapse, about 15 minutes.

While the potatoes are cooling, combine the buttermilk, sour cream, garlic, hot sauce, and herbs in a small mixing bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop the insides out into a mixing bowl, leaving a thin layer of flesh still intact on each half. Try not to pierce the skin of the potato while doing so. Add the ranch mixture to the potato flesh and mash lightly to mix everything together. Adjust the seasonings to taste. Divide the filling among the skins.

Place the potato skins back onto a baking sheet and sprinkle the cheese over each of them. Place them back into the oven to melt the cheese, 4 to 5 minutes. Top each potato with some of the roasted tomatoes and serve them up with your favorite salad alongside.

Eggplant Steaks Parmigiana alla Ringo

Here's a BIG day at the office: a Beatle drops by with his mates, sings a song for you, then sits down at your kitchen table for a chat. During his visit to our show, my
good friend
Ringo Starr told me that he makes a wonderful pesto. He is a vegetarian, so I created this recipe in honor of his appearance. (Incidentally, the album,
Liverpool 8
, kicks ass, as did he, Dave Stewart, and the band.)

SERVES 4

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Heat ¼ cup of the EVOO in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Line up three shallow dishes on your counter. Add the flour to the first, the eggs to the second, and the bread crumbs, grated cheese, parsley, lemon zest, and garlic to the last. Beat the eggs with a splash of water.

Cut the top and bottom off the eggplants, slice the skin off of each side, then cut each eggplant lengthwise into 4 steaks, each 1 to 1½ inches thick. Coat all 8 steaks first in the flour, then in the beaten egg, and finally in the cheesy bread crumbs.

Working in 2 batches, brown 4 of the breaded eggplant steaks in the hot oil until golden, about 2 minutes on each side, then lay them on a baking sheet and place in the oven to stay warm. (If you place the eggplant steaks on a wire rack set onto the baking sheet they will get extra crispy.) Wipe out the pan and heat the remaining ¼ cup of EVOO. Repeat the browning process, then transfer all the steaks to the oven and finish cooking through, 10 minutes.

While the eggplant steaks are in the oven, heat the tomatoes and their juices in a small sauce pot over medium-high heat. Mash up the tomatoes with a potato masher or wooden spoon, season with salt and pepper, and stir in the tomato paste. Once the tomatoes come up to a bubble, simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat. Stir in the pesto.

Remove the steaks from the oven and switch on the broiler.

On the baking sheet, stack one eggplant steak topped with a little sauce, then another steak, another ladle of sauce, and one quarter of the provolone. Make 8 stacks total. Brown the eggplant stacks under the broiler to melt the cheese. Serve 2 stacks per person.

One of my family recipes for a classic Sicilian appetizer, caponata, has been reinvented in many of my books. We love the dish so much that we have always eaten it as an entrée with polenta or pasta, or on sandwiches with melted provolone. Here I go again with another tasty entrée version.

SERVES 6

Place the dried mushrooms and 2 cups of the stock in a small pot over medium-low heat.

Heat the EVOO in a Dutch oven or high-sided skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, onions, carrots, cubanelle and bell peppers, and eggplant to the pot as you chop them. Season with salt and pepper and cover the pot; sweat the vegetables for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, then uncover and stir in the balsamic vinegar. Use a slotted spoon to scoop the reconstituted dried mushrooms out of the soaking water, and add them to the pot. Pour in all but the last few tablespoons of mushroom stock, which may have a little loose grit from the dried mushrooms. Add the tomatoes to the pot and break up with a wooden spoon. Simmer over low heat for a few more minutes; adjust the salt and pepper.

While the veggies are sweating down, in a medium saucepan slowly heat the remaining 2 cups of stock with the milk, raisins, and rosemary over medium-high heat. When it just simmers, whisk in the polenta and stir for 3 minutes, or until thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the honey, butter, and cheese.