Another thing to do with miso and potatoes

Preheat oven to 425-450ish. Take 24-32 oz of new red potatoes and boil them in heavily salted water until almost as soft as you would like them. Drain. While they are cooking, melt ~4 T butter with ~1T yellow miso, ~1 T olive oil, a little salt, black pepper. Toss the little potatoes with this, spread on baking tray. Smash them with a mug. Roast until they are crispy, ~20-25 min.

Allison Roman's Caramelized Shallot Pasta

Between Melissa Clark and Allison Roman, NYTimes recipe section broke me: I decided to try a dish with anchovies. I know that I already really respect fish sauce as a flavor enhancer, so how could I argue against people saying that's what anchovies do too? Well, I made this and I liked it. It doesn't taste fishy, exactly, but I am aware the anchovies are there. There is a little whiff of the sea close to the nose. But I don't mind it. In fact, I'm looking forward to my leftovers, and I'd be happy to make it again. Is this a brave new world?

1/4 c olive oil
3 c very thinly sliced shallots (~6 large shallots)
5 garlic cloves, 4 thinly sliced, 1finely chopped
salt, pepper
1 t red pepper flakes
1 (2 oz) tin anchovy fillets, drained
1 (4.5 oz) tube or (6 oz) can of tomato paste
10 oz pasta (I used bucatini)
1 c chopped parsley

Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat. Add shallots and thinly sliced garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots are totally softened and caramelized with golden-brown fried edges 15-25 minutes.

Add red pepper flakes and anchovies (whole). Stir to melt anchovies into the shallots, ~2 min.

Add tomato paste; season. Cook, stirring constantly to prevent scorching, until paste has started to cook in the oil a bit, caramelizing and becoming russet.  ~ 2 min.

Remove from heat and package up half the mixture for leftovers. Leave the rest in situ!

Cook pasta al dente. Transfer to Dutch oven with the remaining shallot mix and 1 c pasta water. Cook over med-high heat, stirring and swirling to coat and scraping up bottom bits, until pasta is thick and sauce is reduced and sticky-- not saucy-- 3 to 6 minutes.

Recipe calls for a little garnish of the chopped garlic, flaky salt, pepper, and parsley made into a little salad. I didn't, but it sounds nice.

Allison Roman's Spiced Chickpea Stew

I'm a millennial, and although I am not active on instagram, I try to be actively engaged in my times, so of course I made The Stew and of course I loved it. (Note this is just my personal recipe box; here is the real link: Go get it from the NYTimes where it came from

1/4 c olive oil

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 large yellow onion, chopped 

1 (2 inch) piece ginger, finely chopped

salt, pepper

1 1/2 t ground turmeric

1 t red pepper flakes

2 (15 oz) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 (15 oz) cans full-fat coconut milk

2 c vegetable or chicken stock

1 bunch swiss chard torn into bite-size pieces

For serving: mint leaves, yogurt, olive oil, extra turmeric, pita (all optional)

Heat oil in large pot over medium. Add garlic, onion, ginger. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent and starts to brown a little at the edges, 3-5 min.

Add turmeric, red pepper flakes, chickpeas. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, so the chickpeas sizzle and fry a bit in the spices and oil and until they've started to break down and get a little browned, 8-10 min. Remove about a cup of chickpeas and set aside for garnish.

Using a wooden spoon or spatula, further crush the remaining chickpeas slightly to release their starchy insides. Add coconut milk and stock and season again.

Simmer, scraping up bits. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened to your satisfaction. (30-60 min, variably-- I like a longer time). Taste a chickpea or two, not just the liquid, to determine if you think it's right.

Add chard and stir to submerge. Cook until they wilt and soften, just a few minutes. Add back your reserved chickpeas. Season to perfection. Top with mint or more red pepper flakes or yogurt if you want.

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JKLA's biscuits

Sometimes, we think J. Kenji Lopez-Alt is crazy. And sometimes he produces a recipe that you just can't argue with. Mom made this NYTimes recipe for "flaky folded biscuits" and I thought they were just brilliant.

• ½ cup/120 milliliters cold whole milk
• ⅓ cup/85 grams whole milk Greek-style yogurt (preferably 5% milk fat)
• 2 level cups/285 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup/225 grams unsalted butter, frozen (2 sticks; you will not use all of it)
• 1. Adjust an oven rack to the center position and heat oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together milk and yogurt; place in refrigerator until ready to use.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
  3. Place a large plate or small rimmed baking sheet on top of a kitchen scale and zero the scale. Remove the butter from the freezer and unwrap it. Using a flat, open hand, position the butter lengthwise against the large holes of a box grater. Grate as much butter as you can without grating your fingers or hand until you have a total of 5 ounces/140 grams grated frozen butter.
  4. Immediately transfer the grated butter to the large bowl with the flour mixture and toss gently with your fingertips until the butter is thoroughly coated in the flour mixture and no clumps of butter remain.
  5. Add the refrigerated milk-yogurt mixture to the large bowl and fold the mixture until it forms a very rough, shaggy ball. Dump the mixture out onto a generously floured countertop and, dusting with more flour as needed to prevent sticking, knead four to five times until dough just holds together. Flatten into a rough 4-inch square with your hands.
  6. Using a rolling pin, roll the mixture out into a rough 12-inch square, flouring generously as needed to prevent the dough from sticking to the counter or the rolling pin. Using a bench scraper, fold the sides of the square across the center in thirds like a business letter. Flatten gently with your hand, then fold the top and bottom thirds into the center to form a rough 4-inch square. Flatten the square out with your hands.
  7. Roll the square out into a 12-inch square again. Starting at the bottom edge, roll the dough up like a jelly roll into a tight log. Lay the log seam-side down, then press into a rough 3-by-12-inch rectangle. Cut the rectangle crosswise into four 3-by-3-inch squares, then cut each square across the diagonal to form 2 triangles (for a total of 8 triangles). Transfer the triangles to a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them out evenly.
  8. Melt 3 tablespoons of the remaining butter and brush it over the tops of the biscuits. Bake until golden brown and puffed, 16 to 20 minutes. Remove biscuits from oven and brush the tops with a little more melted butter. Allow to cool slightly, then serve.
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A's flatbread

My friend A, who has worked for years managing professional kitchens, recently made me dinner. His lasagna was wonderful, but what I found particularly unique and memorable was the flatbread he made to accompany it. It shows his intuition for flavors that he had simply improvised it. Anyway, maybe someday I'd like to see if I could make a similar dish. When I asked him  how he made it, it all seemed obvious, but now I don't know if I am missing essential information like when to actually spread the mix on (will it dry out if you do it at the beginning?) etc. Was there parmesan? I think so. Did he put salt in the paste? I think so. When and where to add the olive oil? I'm not sure. But this is what I remember.

Blend some black olives with a can of green chilis, a few cloves of garlic, and salt. Spread thinly (it is much more of a focaccia than a pizza) on unbaked pizza dough, drizzle with olive oil, and a bit of parmesan. Bake.