[2] Thousand Island Dressing. The recipe is (photo © Good Eggs).

[3] Got beer? Serve the nachos with some Irish brew. Murphy’s has been brewing beer in Ireland since 1854 (photo of Murphy’s Irish Red Ale © Murphy’s).

[4] The flagship of the O’Hara’s brand, this old-style stout is reminiscent of how Irish stouts used to taste (photo © Carlow Brewing).

You won’t want to wait until St. Pat’s to enjoy this scrumptious snack.

Serve it with your favorite beer; or in the spirit of the holiday, these Irish beers.

How about an Irish beer tasting? Here are some of the most popular brands:

 
 
RECIPE: REUBEN “IRISH NACHOS”

This recipe, created by Idaho Potatoes, has no common ingredients with the popular Tex-Mex recipe—except perhaps for the scallion garnish.

The Idaho Potato Commission, which calls them “Irish.” But they’re actually fusion food. With these “nachos”:

Crisp slices of roasted potatoes take the place of tortilla chips; then get topped with Irish-themed corned beef, bacon and potatoes; German sauerkraut; Swiss cheese; and New York State-origin Thousand Island dressing, on a do-over of a Mexican recipe.

It’s a crowd pleaser, especially with beer!
 
Variation: You can also turn these ingredients into a layered “Irish Potato Salad” in a glass bowl—like a layered dip, but a side dish.

Ingredients For The Nachos

Ingredients For The Thousand Island Dressing

There are many variations of the recipe. This one, for example, omits the hard-boiled egg that was sieved and added as a thickener (here’s a recipe).

We ended up doubling this recipe, because we like lots of dressing.

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the Thousand Island Dressing at least one hour in advance of using (and the day before, if desired). Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Taste and add additional seasoning if desired. Refrigerate for at least an hour to allow the flavors to meld.

2. PREHEAT the oven to 450°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

3. PLACE the potato slices in a large bowl. Drizzle with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat.

4. TRANSFER the potato slices to the prepared baking sheets, spreading them out in an even layer (be sure not to overlap the slices). Bake for 12 minutes on each side, or until golden and slightly crispy. Turn the oven down to 350°F.

5. LIGHTLY GREASE a cast iron pan or small baking dish. Layer the potatoes in the bottom of the pan. Top with the chopped corned beef, sauerkraut, and grated Swiss cheese (in that order). Sprinkle with crumbled bacon. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

6. DRIZZLE the dressing over the top and garnish with the scallions. Serve immediately.

Thousand Island Dressing (photo #2) was named after the Thousand Islands, an archipelago of 1,864 small islands in the St. Lawrence River, straddling the border of the U.S. and Canada.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, during the Gilded Age, the area was a summer destination for the nation’s elite (and is still very popular for boating, fishing and other outdoor activities).

The dressing is a variation of Russian Dressing—a combination of ketchup and mayonnaise—with added sweet pickle relish and a hard-boiled egg. The bits of pickle relish are said to stand in for the Thousand Islands, but that’s likely an afterthought.

As the story goes, in the early 20th century, a fishing guide’s wife, Sophie Lalonde of Clayton, New York, made the dressing to go with her husband’s shore dinners, which were served to his fishing tour clients.

One of the clients, a vaudeville actress named May Irwin liked it so much that she requested the recipe and named it Thousand Island Dressing.

At around the same time, Mrs. Lalonde gave the recipe to the owners of the Herald Hotel, a popular hotel in town (today called the Thousand Islands Inn) where Ms. Irwin and her husband were staying. They prepared it for her meals.

Ms. Irwin, in turn, gave it to another Thousand Islands summer visitor George C. Boldt, the owner of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City (among other properties).

Boldt liked it so much that he gave it to his Waldorf maitre d’, Oscar Tschirky (the famous “Oscar of the Waldorf”), with instructions to put it on the hotel’s menu [source].

From there, the recipe took on a life of its own, with requests for copies; plus the many variations of the recipe that followed. Some recipes, like the one above, for example, omit the hard-boiled egg.

The hard-boiled egg pressed was pressed through a sieve, and served to thicken the dressing.

While that may sound unusual today, it wasn’t uncommon as a thickener at the time that Thousand Island dressing was created. Here’s a recipe with the egg.
 
  

One of our early food influencers was the late French chef, Jean Banchet, whose restaurant in Wheeling, Illinois was a destination for serious foodies the world over.

In the days we visited, during the last decade of Le Français, the way in which his menu was unique was his approach to showcasing foods in different ways—all on one plate.

Whether you wanted beef, chicken, foie gras, lamb, pork or seafood, he divided the portion and served it in different expressions, varying the technique, sauce, cut or other component.

The potential variations were vast. You could order the lamb, say, at three different visits, and never have the same combination.

This was, and still is, our kind of eating.

As we don’t have a brigade de cuisine, we typically prepare a much simpler presentation: the protein, simply cooked (grilled, poached, whatever), served with different garnishes or sauces.

You don’t need a special plate with different sections: Banchet use his regular porcelain dinner plates, as do we.

You can take this approach with any course: Who would turn down cheesecake with three different toppings; or pound cake with custard sauce, caramel sauce and fudge sauce?

The benefit of this approach is you don’t have to decide: Enjoy three favorites at once.

HOW TO DO IT

Depending on time and inclination, you can make this as simple or varied as you like.

 
Simple Versus Complex

It can be as simple as three salsas—red, green and corn or fruit salsa; or a similar treatment with barbecue sauce—fruit, smoky and spicy.

If you’re a devoted saucier, try three mother sauces or secondary sauces from classic French cuisine.

Or, go international, with sauces and garnishes from, say, Asia, Latin America and the Mediterranean.
 
Simple Approaches

Here are examples of easy approaches to favorite proteins, that simply vary the sauce:

Here are how two restaurants approached the same fish: [1] Tuna three ways from Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita in Mexico. [2] Tuna three ways from Michalangelo’s Piccolo Mondo in Sandton, South Africa. [3] In addition to the gravy from pan drippings, serve two other sauces (photo courtesy Mackenzie Ltd.). [4] Three flavors of mousse in mini dishes (photo courtesy Simply Quinoa | YouTube).

 
Complex Approaches

Here, the cooking technique is varied: You’re cooking three different dishes instead of making three different sauces.

 
The “three ways” concept works for everything from humble burgers and sliders and grilled cheese sandwiches to filet mignon and lobster.

To adapt what a lesson from our high school algebra teacher: the permutations and combinations extend beyond our lifetime.
  

[1] Chicken with kale and olives made in a skillet. The recipe is below (photos #1, #2, #3, #4 © Good Eggs).

[2] Chicken thighs.

[3] Instead of thighs only, use the whole chicken leg: thigh and drumstick.

[4] Tuscan kale.

[5] Castelvetrano olives (photos © Maiden Lane Restaurant | NYC).

Here’s the recipe from the New York Times, Rishia Zimmern’s Chicken With Shallots, which adds shallots and Dijon mustard to the recipe.

Every time we see chicken thighs on sale, we load up and make recipes like these, plus a big vat of chicken soup (Jewish-style and Mexican-style chicken soup recipes).

Chicken thighs are economical, versatile and more flavorful than white meat (frankly, we can’t understand the premium placed on white meat chicken and turkey).

We also love the ease of one-pan cooking in the recipes that follow. You can bring the entire pan to the table and serve from there (be sure to lay down a trivet ahead of time).

These two recipes are from Good Eggs—a terrific purveyor of groceries in the San Francisco area.

Serve them with a green salad and some crusty bread to sop up the pan sauce.

> September is National Chicken Month.

> The different cuts (parts) of a chicken. Can you name them all?

> The history of chicken.
 
 
RECIPE #1: CRISPY CHICKEN THIGHS WITH KALE & OLIVES

Sweet from the tomatoes and salty from the olives, this recipe features the “it” green of the moment, kale, and the “it” olive, the Castelvetrano from Sicily. (Here’s more about Castelvetrano olives.)

If you don’t like kale, you can substitute beet greens, broccoli rabe, chard, collards, spinach or other greens (we’ve liked mustard greens, too).

Cook time is 35 minutes.

Recipe #2, Chicken Thighs With Cherry Tomatoes, is below.

Ingredients For 2 Servings

 
Preparation

1. WARM a 9-inch cast iron pan inside an oven preheated to 425°F. Salt and pepper the chicken thighs on both sides. When the oven is hot, carefully (carefully!) remove the pan from the oven and add the thighs, skin side down. Place the pan back in the oven and cook the chicken until browned and the internal temperature reaches 165°F, about 30 minutes.

While the chicken cooks…

2. HEAT 2 tablespoons of olive oil (more as needed) in a second skillet (you can serve from this skillet). When the oil is hot, add the garlic cloves and cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. When the cloves are lightly browned…

3. ADD the tomatoes, thyme and olives and turn the heat down to medium-low. Cook until the tomatoes have released their juices and the sauce has a nice consistency, about 15 minutes.

4. ADD the kale to the tomatoes and combine with a pair of tongs. Cover the pan for a few minutes to let the greens wilt, then uncover and stir again with the tongs. Cook the kale and tomatoes together over low heat until the chicken is ready.

5. PLACE the cooked chicken on top of the greens and serve in the skillet.
 
 
RECIPE #2: CHICKEN THIGHS WITH CHERRY TOMATOES

Ingredients For 2 Servings

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 475°F. Season the chicken with salt and pepper; let it rest until it reaches room temperature.

2. HEAT 2 tablespoons of olive oil (more as needed) in a cast iron skillet over high heat. Add the chicken thighs skin side down. After 3 minutes, decrease the heat to medium high and cook the chicken for another 12 minutes. After another 5 minutes…

3. ADD enough cherry tomatoes to fill in the gaps between the thighs and rearrange the chicken as needed to make sure all the tomatoes are getting equal heat. Add the garlic and a few sprigs of thyme. When the 12 minutes is up…

4. USE a spoon to roll the tomatoes around in the chicken drippings, flip the thighs skin side up and transfer the skillet to the oven. Cook for another 13 minutes.

5. REMOVE from the oven and check the chicken for doneness by making sure internal temperature is 165°F (or the juices run clear). Remove from the heat and let the chicken rest for a few minutes for the juices to settle.

*We use canned San Marzano tomatoes when we don’t have fresh tomatoes at hand

†Castelvetrano olives from Sicily are the “greenest” green olives. Not only does the color look great, but these meaty olives have a unique flavor that makes them our favorite. Here’s more about Castelvetrano olives.
 

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Substitute green tobiko for roe of other colors. [1] Green tobiko, the eggs of flying fish roe, in sushi (a gunkan maki—photo courtesy Toria Sushi.[2] Oyster with caviar (photo courtesy Rebelle NYC). [3] Caviar potato bites; the same concept works with potato chips and cucumber slices (photo Fotolia). [4] Top grilled fish (photo courtesy FishStar). [5] In a simple butter sauce (photo KN Studios | Fotolia).

Ready for some culinary adventure on St. Patrick’s Day?

We look forward to our annual green bagel and corned beef and cabbage, but needed to find something green for hors d’oeuvre and a first course (not guacamole, not spinach dip, not green bean salad, but something special).

Browsing through the market, we came across a large jar of green tobiko caviar and began to play with it.

Tobiko (flying fish roe) is a popular sushi ingredient, as both a garnish and in a gunkan-maki or “battleship roll” (photo #1).

The roe, or caviar*, if you will, comes from the flying fish of Iceland and the Pacific Ocean. Naturally orange in color with a delicate nutty taste (no fish flavor), it has eye appeal and a crunchy texture.

Over the past 20 years, the roe has been colored black, gold, green or red—for colorful garnishes beyond the sushi bar.

It can also be flavored; for example, spicy orange tobiko, green wasabi-flavored tobiko, yellow citrus- ginger-and yuzu-flavored tobiko and pale red ume (plum) tobiko.

We’ve even had brown truffle tobiko!

So garnish we will! Here’s what we came up with for green tobiko with everyday dishes, nothing haute cuisine.
 
BREAKFAST

 
APPETIZERS

 
FIRST COURSE

 
DINNER

TOBKO VS. MASAGO: THE DIFFERENCE

Even if you’re a sushi bar habitué, you may not know that there’s a difference between masago and tobiko.

Both are small beads of roe, both are naturally orange in color.

However, the do differ:

 
________________

*For centuries, “caviar” referred only to sturgeon eggs; all other fish were “roe.” However, the barriers have broken down, and no one should look askance at you if you call tobiko, ikura, and any other fish eggs “caviar.”

Gearing up for St. Patrick’s Day, we wanted to try a Green Bloody Mary. Yes, can green it up for St. Patricks Day, with the tricks below.

The first GBMs of our experience were made with the green tomatoes and yellow tomatoes of August—more legit than this St. Patrick’s Day version, since puréed tomatoes equal the tomato juice of a traditional Bloody Mary.

But those tomatoes are around for just a few weeks of the year, and months away from St. Patrick’s Day.

So we went a-looking, and found this recipe from New Orleans bartender Jimmy Syock, who made it as part of the Bloody Mary Bar at Atchafalaya Restaurant.

He uses what’s typically a year-round fruit: the tomatillo (yes, it’s a botanical fruit; all about tomatillos).

We adapted Jimmy’s recipe a bit, although we kept his party-size measurements. You’ll get 12 Collins glass-size drinks, and more if you use an Old Fashioned/rocks glass.

Recipe #2, below, is much simpler to make, and makes just four servings.
 
 
RECIPE #1: JIMMY SYOCK’S GREEN BLOODY MARY

Ingredients For 12 Drinks

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE all ingredients except lime juice and salt in a blender; process until smooth. Strain to remove the pulp and any remaining seeds.

2. STIR in the lime juice and add salt to taste. Chill until ready to serve.

3. GARNISH as desired from the list below.
 
GARNISHES

We’ve omitted the standard celery stalk and lemon or lime wedge. When you go green, you upgrade your garnishes.

Some ideas:

[2] Here’s the recipe from The Kitchy Kitchen, which includes the option of infusing your vodka with vegetables.

[3] Tomatillos from The Chef’s Garden.

You might enjoy putting an “antipasto pick” together with choices from each group; for example, a cheese cube, grape tomato, ham cube, and gherkin.
 

[5] Fully loaded, from The Wayfarer | NYC

Ingredients For 4 Drinks

 
Preparation

1. PURÉE the tomatillos and cucumber in a blender or food processor. Add the vodka, horseradish, and a few dashes each of green hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 teaspoon celery salt and a pinch of kosher salt.

2. POUR into 4 ice-filled glasses. Garnish and serve.
 
 
KNOW YOUR BLOODY MARYS

 
 
MORE BLOODY RECIPES

These recipes use traditional red tomato juice, but you can switch to the green blend as you prefer.

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