Lindsay Wasik: Battle: redskin potatoes

I am a big fan of cooking. I'm not a chef by any means, but I love food and I love to eat. The best news is that I am not the only one in my family that loves cooking. Aaron is truly gifted in the kitchen--not only in his culinary creations but in the fine art of food presentation (like I said, I'm a lucky girl). I am more of a "mom chef" in which I excel in all the comfort foods: chicken and noodles, spaghetti, meatloaf and baking. Aaron excels in, let's be honest...everything, but he shines when he creates his own recipes and makes complex dinners that have ingredients I've never even heard of. My palate has been significantly fine tuned since I met him and I am finding I like certain foods that before, I hated (but no worries, he still has not won me over with fruit. I am still firmly a fruit-free person. He can't perform miracles.)

All of that to say, the kitchen is usually a pretty exciting place in the apartment. Since we love food, we also love the Food Network and watch it a lot. Dawson even is starting to love cooking shows and has asked to make his own recipes. One of our favorite shows is Iron Chef. If you haven't watched it, here's a quick overview: one of the Iron Chefs goes against a "guest" chef in an hour long competition to create five delicious and unique dishes all centered around a secret ingredient. This ingredient is revealed at the beginning of the show and the chefs have to begin work immediately. They are judged on taste, originality and presentation.

Aaron and I decided to create our own version of Iron Chef. I would pick the secret ingredient and he would create a menu using at least three different dishes utilizing that ingredient. It is fun and challenging and it makes us try new things. Aaron is the culinary genius behind what gets made and how it gets prepared...I just assist with whatever he needs (sometimes that's just sitting back and having a glass of wine while he works. Awesome job huh!) Every battle I'll post pictures and let you know how it turns out.

Last week, it was Battle Redskin Potatoes:

Course 1: Warm redskin potato salad [redskin potatoes with mayo, garlic, egg, onion, celery and a hint of hot sauce served in a bed of romaine lettuce]

Course 2: Twice cooked pork chops [with a lemon/herb peri-peri sauce] with asparagus and stuffed redskin potatoes [potatoes were baked and then Aaron cut a chunk out of the middle and filled it with a mixture of asiago cheese, goat cheese, garlic and mayo and then baked them until the cheese was gooey and delicious. Best potatoes I have ever had in my entire life. Amazing]

Course 3: Fried redskin potatoes dipped in chocolate with vanilla ice cream and chocolate drizzle [Aaron cut the potatoes into thin slices and then fried them. Afterwards, we dipped them in chocolate and put them into fridge to cool]. Who knew you could have potatoes for dessert?!?