Recipe: Hatchbrowns

Hatch Attack

If you’re like me, by the time August rolls around I’m already in the comfort food state of mind. This is a special time of year when the smoky and spicy taste of hatch chili peppers delight!

While some invite hatch peppers to lunch or dinner only, I love welcoming hatch peppers at the start of my day; this inspiration is how this “hatchbrown” recipe was born. Enjoy it and the rest of your fall “flavorites!”

Foodie Tips:

❤  Nothing beats the taste of freshly smoked hatches. If you’re not sure how to roast your own here’s an article with some tips that will have you a culinary hatch wizard in a snap. Take advantage of hatch roasting events at HEB or Central Market and enjoy the smell on the car ride home – prior to the devouring!

❤  If you’re in a flurry outside of fresh hatch season you can keep some Trader Joe’s fire roasted and chopped hatch peppers on hand. They pack just as much punch as the fresh boys and I encourage you to keep a pouch in your freezer year-round for those heated moments when you gotta have yours.

❤  Eggs? Poached eggs are on my mind. Here’s a recipe for how to make perfectly poached eggs! Follow the video – and not so much the recipe text beneath it (which differs).

❤  You’re likely to find another popular hatch-inspired recipe or two here on the Home Style Austin Blog. (hint hint).

Ingredients:

3 – 5 Strips  |  Bacon
3  |  Gold Potatoes, Washed, Dried, and 1/4″ Cube-Diced
1 Tablespoon  |  Falfurrias Brand Butter
¼ Cup  |  Roasted Hatch Chili Peppers, Chopped or Diced
To Garnish  |  Green Onions (optional)
To Taste  |  Fresh Cracked Pepper and Sea Salt (optional)
To Serve  |  Your Favorite Eggs (optional)

What To Do:

1. Over medium heat fry the bacon and remove from pan. Keep the bacon drippings in the pan. You know this is going to be good. :)

2. Add the diced potatoes to the bacon renderings and add the butter. Return to heat, stir and cook until golden crispy, about 10-12 minutes.

3. Add the hatch peppers and stir into the potatoes until warm.

4. Garnish with onions, salt and pepper and serve with a side of eggs.

Yield: About 2 – 4 servings.

~ Joe Paul Reider

Home Style Austin Founder
Austin Realtor®
Keller Williams Realty, Inc.

Email: JoePaul@KW.com
Mobile: 512-222-3302
Web: JoePaul.KWRealty.com

❤ Love Food? In a click and a scroll you can visit more of my favorite recipes – there’s more than 50 recipes here on the Home Style Austin blog!

Firecracker Coleslaw Recipe

Bring Color And Flavor To Your Table

With our taste buds searching for a different kind of slaw we rested on this firecracker coleslaw recipe which we find perfect for the Fourth of July and family BBQs.

This is a colorful dish that’s fresh, crunchy and packs some delightful heat thanks to our trusted friend – the jalapeño. In coleslaw? Keep it tastefully weird, right?! This dish is extremely flexible and you can experiment by introducing your own favorite ingredients.

We never stray too far away from the original recipe.

Foodie Tips:

❤  Ingredients that sometimes make a cameo in our dish include fresh crumbled bacon or some chopped Texas pecans.

❤  For those searching for less heat you can reduce or eliminate the fresh jalapeño or add a bit more cabbage.

Ingredients:

The Dressing
1 ½ Tablespoons  |  Salt
1 Clove  |  Garlic, Minced
½ Cup  |  Cider Vinegar
⅓ Cup  |  Sugar
2 Tablespoons  |  Mustard (We’re keen for Trader Joe’s Garlic Aioli Mustard)
2 Tablespoons  |  Vegetable Oil
2 Tablespoons  |  Juice From The Jar Of Pickled Jalapeños (from below)
1 ½ Teaspoons  |  Hot Sauce (we used Hot Picapeppa Sauce)
½ Teaspoon  |  Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
½ Teaspoon  |  Celery Seed

The Slaw
½ Small  |  Green Cabbage, Cored and Shredded
½ Small  |  Red Cabbage, Cored and Shredded
3  |  Carrots, Peeled and Grated
1 Each  |  Red, Green and Yellow Bell Peppers, Seeded and Thinly Slivered
2  |  Fresh Jalapeño Peppers, Seeded and Thinly Sliced
2 Tablespoons  |  Minced Pickled Jalapeño Peppers

Directions: 

1. To prepare the dressing combine the salt and garlic in a large mixing bowl by pressing them together with the back of a spoon to make a paste.

2. Add the remaining eight dressing ingredients and whisk until everything is well-combined. Set aside.

3. Add the six slaw ingredients to the dressing and toss/mix well. Let the slaw rest in your fridge for 30 minutes or up to a few hours. This slaw is best served fresh but will last into the following day.

Yield: 10+ servings (enough for a family picnic or party)

~ Joe Paul Reider

Home Style Austin Founder
Austin Realtor®
Keller Williams Realty, Inc.

❤ Love Food? In a click and a scroll you can visit more of my favorite recipes!

Great Entertaining : Raclette Style

“Raclette … Whaaat?”

“Raclette” is derived from the French word for racler, meaning “to scrape.” Modern day raclette refers to a classic Swiss dish where cheese is melted under an electric broiler then scraped and topped on a wide variety of ingredients, traditionally roasted potatoes, cornichons (tiny pickles) and onions. My raclette machine has a granite top that – when heated – serves as a grill plus it has 8 removable toaster trays that rest under a broiler to cook the accompaniments, like melted cheese. Check out my suggested ingredients below! 

Raclette In Action

Going out on the town is always fun, but hosting small gatherings in your own home served with a stylish and unforgettable presentation of food makes for priceless memories and great times – that’s why entertaining is one of my passions! We love inviting friends and family over to enjoy fun and unique dining experiences enjoyed at home. Our raclette machine is always a big hit as the centerpiece of many fun indoor grilling gatherings.

Let’s watch a brief video of the racelette experience:

Why Raclette Will Make You A Hero

Like fondue, raclette is best enjoyed as a social eating experience. We like to jazz things up and make a big spread of all kinds of veggies, meats and seafood so our guests can get creative … and they do! The culinary combinations are entertaining, endless and delicious.

A Few Of Our Favorite Raclette Ingredients …

• Cheese: Fontina, Raclette, Gruyere, Provolone (any melting cheese!)
• Meats: Bacon, Prosciutto, Thinly-Sliced Filet Mignon, Shrimp, Lil’ Smokies
• Veggies: Asparagus, Sliced Bell Peppers, Fingerling Potatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Onions, Zucchini
• Sweets: Apples, Bananas, Pineapple
• Sidekicks: Butter, Olive Oil, Pesto, Olives, Bread, Mini Fillo Shells, Seasonings, Wine + Your Favorite Friends And Family

From sweet to savory – once you’ve gathered your ingredients let your inner foodie’s creativity guide your meal: Melted cheese and onion topped on prosciutto, apples with gooey cheese on top, grilled shrimp with bacon, and one self-proclaimed masterpiece we created called “bananas fauxster” – sliced bananas sprinkled with brown sugar, butter, Texas pecans and then toasted. The recipe for this sweet delight is below!

A Few More Raclette Tips

Since you cook-as-you-go when you raclette, it’s usually a fun process that can easily last an hour to several. We like to start with veggies and savory meats … take a break then have a delightful dismount with the sweets.

Mini Fillo/Phyllo Shells were one of my favorite unexpected discoveries. You can find them here in Austin in the freezer section at HEB. They require no defrosting; simply fill the cups with your favorite ingredients and toast them for a few minutes and you’ve made crispy, melty magic. One of my fillo favorites is to pour a bit of Fischer & Wieser Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce into the cup then top with a  wedge of melting cheese. Place your dish in your toaster tray under the raclette grill’s lower level. When it toasts up, it’s a-ma-zing!

You’ll undoubtedly have leftover ingredients after the big meal. We tossed small potatoes, onions and veggies into our silicon egg rings, topped with eggs and cheese and made some delicious “omelettes raclette” – you can do this on the raclette itself or on stovetop (see pic below).

So now on to the “Bananas Fauxster” recipe! With origins to the 1950s in what has become a famed French Quarter restaurant “Brennans” Bananas Foster is a delicious ending to any fantastic meal. My raclette version (a.k.a. “fauxster”) adapts the original recipe for the raclette and it incorporates two of my favorite Texas ingredients: Texas Pecans and Pecan Street Rum, which is distilled outside Austin in Pflugerville.

Step 1: Place sliced bananas in your raclette tray and top with pieces of butter, some brown sugar and a sprinkling of chopped Texas pecans and a splash of the Pecan Street Rum. Place the grilling tray to the lower level of your raclette and let it toast-up 2-3 minutes or until bubbly brown.

Step 2: Transfer the bubbly banana mixture to a bowl or serve inside a fillo shell. You can also accompany the dessert alongside a scoop of vanilla ice cream for an extra decadent treat.

Ready To Raclette, Right ?!

If you’d like some suggestions for where to score your very own raclette magic, try these retailers:

Bed Bath & Beyond
Williams Sonoma

All this raclette talk has made me hungry so let’s get to grillin’. Enjoy!

~ Joe Paul Reider

Home Style Austin Founder
Austin Realtor®
Keller Williams Realty, Inc.
512-222-3302

❤ Love Food? In a click and a scroll you can visit more of my favorite recipes! There’s more than 50 of them here on the Home Style Austin blog!

Mini Turkey Cornucopias Recipe

If you’re looking for a creative way to make use of those Thanksgiving leftovers consider this mini turkey cornucopia recipe.

You can stuff these horns o’ plenty with almost anything your appetite desires!

Tips:

  Don’t overcook the bread; it’s best served fresh from the oven. We found that Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations Seamless Dough Sheets cut into long  ¼” – ½” strips work well. The number of cornucopias you can yield from your bread recipe will depend on your wrapping technique.

  We bought the paper drinking cups at our local HEB but if you’re cupless you can shape your foil cornucopia liner entirely by hand. It will take a little more foil, time and patience but totally doable in a pinch.

  My favorite pickle is a Wickles Pickle. My favorite mustard is Jack Daniels Old No. 7 Mustard.

Ingredients and Materials:

A Few Pieces  |  Nonstick Aluminum Foil
6-10 Small  |  Paper Drinking Cups
A Few Squirts  |  Cooking Spray
Your Favorite  |  Croissants, Puff Pastry Or Bread Recipe
1  |  Cage Free Egg, Beaten
2 Tablespoons  |  Water
1  |  Pastry Brush
To Stuff And Serve  |  Your Favorite Thanksgiving Fixings (turkey, bacon, lettuce, cheese, tomato, pickle, dressing, mayonnaise, mustard, gravy, etc.)

What To Do:

1. To form the cornucopia, wrap a small piece of foil around a small paper drinking cup. Tuck foil around the rim of the cup and shape the end of the foil into a curvy tail as shown below. Spray the foil on the cornucopia with the cooking spray.

2. Using long strips of your dough start at the small end of the foil cornucopia form and closely wrap the dough around the form from tail to top, leaving no foil exposed. You can connect strips of the dough together by brushing a bit of beaten egg to the ends of the dough when forming. Set aside on a greased cooking sheet.

3. Continue wrapping the cornucopia forms with the dough. When all the cornucopias are complete make an egg wash by adding 2 tablespoons of water to your remaining egg. Brush each cornucopia with the wash using the pastry brush and return it to the cookie sheet.

4. Bake the cornucopias according to the dough-baking instructions. Remove from oven and cool. Free the bread cornucopia from the foil base by gently wiggling the cup from the dough – bend/crush the cup if necessary and discard the cup and foil.

5. Let your guests build their own cornucopias to their preference “Subway sandwich style” or you can make them in advance. Have fun with your stuffings – there are lots of possibilities!

Serves 4-6 hungry folks. 

Gobble ’till you wobble and make it a great Thanksgiving!

~ Joe Paul Reider

Home Style Austin Founder
Austin Realtor®
Keller Williams Realty, Inc.

Avocado and Bacon Potato Salad Recipe

When I stumbled across this unique potato salad recipe that packs a lotta punch compliments of avocado and sour cream instead of hard boiled eggs and mayo, I knew I had to give it a whirl. It hails from the cookbook of my marketing director’s Mom and it has a taste as big as Texas.

This potato salad made its debut in my cucina on the 4th of July in 2011 and it has since visited many, many times. Your foodie friends will ask you to make it again and again so it makes any day a special day.

Food Tips: 

  The original recipe called for “regular ol’ parsley” for decoration but I prefer Italian Flat leaf as it’s less tickley on the tongue and can boast more flavor.

  You can cube (vs. slice) the tomatoes and avocados for the final garnish but either makes a dy-no-mite presentation. Remember that even with a lemon juice coating the avocado can brown after it has been sitting awhile … so dress the salad near the time you are going to present and consume it. Go fresh.

Ingredients:

3 Cups  |  Potatoes, Cooked Then Cubed
1 Cup  |  Sour Cream
½ Teaspoon  |  Salt
½ Teaspoon  |  Seasoned Pepper (a.k.a. Lawry’s Seasoned Salt with Black Pepper)
½ Teaspoon  |  Caraway Seed
1 Tablespoon + Some Extra  |  Lemon Juice
¼ Cup  |  Italian Flat Leaf Parsley Sprigs (chopped)
3  | Avocados (ripe, not hard)
¼ Cup  |  Chopped Onions
8 Slices  |  Hickory-Smoked Bacon (crisped and crumbled)
1  |  Large Tomato (diced)

What To Do:

1. Scrub then boil the potatoes in a medium-sized pot. Boil until tender, but not “mushy.” Set aside to cool.

2. Blend the sour cream with the salt, pepper, caraway seed and 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice. Set aside to marry.

3. Chop the parsley to yield ¼ cup; set aside.

4. Cut 2 of the avocados lengthwise into halves, removing the seed and skin.

5. Cube the avocado and gently combine it in a medium-sized salad bowl with the chopped parsley, potatoes, chopped onion, the sour cream mixture and ½ of the bacon.

6. Arrange additional chopped parsley sprigs on the top of the salad, cover and chill.

7. To serve, prepare the remaining avocado by slicing lengthwise into halves. Remove the seed and skin and cut into slices. Slice the tomato.

8. Alternate the avocado and tomato slices on top of the potato salad and sprinkle with lemon juice and the remaining bacon.

Serves: One to Few. It’s that good. 

~ Joe Paul Reider

Home Style Austin Founder
Austin Realtor®
Keller Williams Realty, Inc.

Egg In A Cup Recipe

When We Say “Cup,” Bacon Is Implied  :)

Ingredients:

8 Slices  |  Bacon
6   |  Cage Free Eggs
1 Cup  |  Cheddar Cheese
1 Tablespoon  |  Fresh Thyme, Chopped
1 Tablespoon  |  Fresh Parsley, Chopped
To Taste  |  Fresh Cracked Black Pepper

What To Do: 

0. Preheat oven to 400°F.

1. Cook the strips of bacon in a pan over medium heat until browned, but not crunchy-crispy. Transfer bacon to a plate topped with paper towels to drain and cool.

2. Spray 6 wells of a muffin tin with non stick cooking spray. Take a piece of bacon and wrap around the side of each muffin well. Cut the remaining two pieces of bacon into thirds and place each piece in the bottom of the muffin well to form the bottom of the bacon cup.

3. Crack one egg into each cup. Top each with a sprinkle of cheese, thyme, parsley and the black pepper.

4. Bake until set (about 10-12 minutes). If all goes well the egg will be slightly runny when you cut into it!

Yields: 6 Servings

Food Tips: 

  Use your choice(s) of cheese. I’m partial to cheddar, but pepper jack and goat cheese are favorites, too!
  Sweet and savory make great breakfast buddies for this dish ~ Serve with a side of fresh fruits (grapes, pineapple and melon). Nobody leaves hungry!

~ Joe Paul Reider

Home Style Austin Founder
Austin Realtor®
Keller Williams Realty, Inc.