Some Like It Hot

The cookbooks that merit shelf space in my house are those that teach, entertain and encourage experimentation. Hotter Than Hell is just such a volume. In simple, straight forward fashion, the author has included a guide to the various types of chilies and other key ingredients used in preparing spicy hot dishes. Ginger, horseradish, mustard, and pepper can all add a little kick to a common dish, adding new interest and a pleasing taste surprise as in:

Red Hot Warm Potato Salad.

The recipe was developed to showcase early spring potatoes. But I never let a little thing like it not being spring slow me down. A chilly day in December seemed a good day for hot potato salad. I simply substituted Idaho potatoes and moved right along. I also used a shallot instead of green onions. Use what's on hand, is my motto. I made a small portion, using 2 potatoes and one egg. Here's the full recipe to serve four generously:

8 small red thin-skinned potatoes ; 3 hard-cooked eggs; 1/4 cup unsalted butter; 2 TBS minced fresh parsley or 1 TBS dried; 1 TBS finely minced pickled or fresh jalapeno chilies; 1 TBS juice from pickled jalapeno or pickle or olive juice; 2 green onions thinly sliced; 4 red radishes, thinly sliced; 1 tsp prepared dark mustard; 1/4 cup mayonnaise; salt and pepper to taste.

Scrub potatoes and cut in halves or quarters. Boil until tender. Meanwhile, hard-cook eggs (15min), then drain. When potatoes are done, drain well; then immediately add butter to saucepan with potatoes. Cover and set aside until butter is melted; then stir to thoroughly combine with potatoes. Add parsley, jalapenos, juice, onions and radishes; shell and chop hard-cooked eggs and fold in. Stir in mustard, mayonnaise, salt and freshly ground pepper. Serve warm. Refrigerate any leftovers and serve cold or reheat gently.

This potato dish livens up a pot of boiled potatoes and it was a great accompaniment as a side with barbecued brisket, worked well with London Broil and the leftovers became a fabulous burrito with jack cheese and salsa rolled into a whole wheat wrap. Good mileage for two potatoes and an egg!

That's thinly sliced shoulder roast (pictured above) cooked quickly in a very hot oven, then sliced against the grain. (See London Broil November archives).

I usually do a little wine pan sauce to go with this dish, but the other day I decided to mix up a little horseradish cream sauce. I prefer horseradish with cold beef, I decided. The sauce worked better with the leftovers the next day. I'll stick with a minced shallot, stock and red wine reduction to go with the hot London broil and dress up the cold leftovers with the zingy cream sauce.

Mustard Horseradish Cream Sauce - Courtesy of Sheila Lukens as it appeared in a recent issue of Parade.

1/3 cup Dijon mustard; 1/3 cup sour cream; 1/4 cup prepared mayonnaise; 1/4 cup well-drained prepared white horseradish.

Hint: To make the small amount shown in photo above, I used 2TBS in place of 1/3 cup and 2 tsp in place of 1/4 cup.

Here's a peek at what I've been up to this week:

The Holiday baking frenzy...what fun!

Till next time . . . keep on cooking!