Christmas Eve with Jessie's potatoes

Last night I was invited to Christmas eve dinner at my friend's, Yesenia ("Jessie"), up in Washington Heights . The food was divine! Jessie and her husband worked in the kitchen all day making everything from scratch. This morning I am still stuffed from all that good eating.

That's Jessie, preparing her finger licking potatoes, which have become a holiday tradition for her family. The potatoes were so good that I am on the hunt for the recipe. I found a similar recipe that should be just as tasty....

Potatoes Gratin

(recipe from Gourmet Magazine)

2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes

1 1/2 cups coarsely grated Gruyere cheese (about 6 ounces)

1 cup milk, heated just to boiling

1 cup heavy cream, heated just to boiling

Freshly grated nutmeg

Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and butter a 3-quart gratin or shallow baking dish. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Peel potatoes and cut into thin slices (about 1/8-inch thick). Add potatoes to boiling water and parcook 4 minutes. Drain potatoes well in a colander.

In gratin or baking dish arrange potatoes, overlapping them, in 3 layers, sprinkling first 2 layers each with 1/2 cup Gruyere and salt and peppers to taste.

Heat milk, cream and nutmeg in a small bowl. Season mixture with salt and pepper and pour evenly over potatoes. Sprinkle potatoes with remaining 1/2 cup cheese and bake 30 minutes, or until top is golden and potatoes are tender

Honey! Cinnamon Popcorn Snack

I would like to share great snack recipe inspired by lifestyle guru, B. Smith.

The ingredients may not be what you would typically put together, but trust..this is an alright and out of sight snack.

Nosh on,
~Shoshi
"The Kosher Soul Gourmet"

Honey! Cinnamon Popcorn Snack

Ingredients:

8 cups popped microwave popcorn
5 cups cereal (can be something like Honey Nut Cheerios or Rice Krispies)
1 cup walnuts (optional)
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

24 servings

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 350° F. In large bowl, mix popcorn, cereal, walnuts and raisins set aside.

2. In 1-quart saucepan, heat corn syrup, honey, butter and cinnamon to boiling. Remove from heat stir in vanilla. Pour over popcorn cereal mixture, then toss until evenly coated.

3. Spread in ungreased 15x10x1-inch pan. Bake 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool pan on cooling rack, stirring occasionally.

Get to noshing!