Suzen is an expert in culinary team building. Really, the expert. She pioneered using the kitchen for team activities. What kind of activities? Perhaps just an episode of fun with people casually preparing a meal together. Perhaps an evening filled with challenges to improve a team’s communications or sharing skills.
Different teams come to Cooking by the Book. Teams that have been working together for years. Teams newly formed. Teams that have been talking to each other worldwide but never been in the same room together!
And families. You may never have played sports. You may work on your own. But, most of us have families, and those families are our first team. So, for family teams, Suzen has special programs where generations come together to prepare a meal, share their stories, and enjoy the products of their kitchen activities.
For brunch, Suzen offers an exceptional meal:
- Cheese Strata: a rich breakfast casserole
- Breakfast Potatoes: not just potatoes!
- Breakfast Sausage: meat and herbs and more
- Ambrosia Fruit Salad: an old fashioned and lovely breakfast dessert
Suzen created this meal to make sure each dish let people cook together cooperatively. Each dish has enough step, enough work, so you divide and conquer. For example, the Breakfast Potatoes below have lots of ingredients, lots of chopping. Last weekend, we had a grandmother, mother, and grandson working together to make a batch of these potatoes. They were each doing their part, talking about how it would come together, and laughing all the time.
Sometimes teamwork means you score a touchdown. Or get a 100 point shift in your stock prices. Or you get the best darn breakfast you ever had. And learn a something very special about a family member.
Here’s the recipe for the potatoes. In the next three days, you’ll get the other recipes, too. Just in time for this weekend!
Breakfast Potatoes
Yield: serves 12
Ingredients:
- · 1 bag (5 Pounds) Red Potatoes, cut into ⅛” cubes
- · 4 cloves garlic, minced
- · 1 whole onion, peeled and roughly chopped
- · 2 whole yellow bell pepper, seeded and julienned
- · 2 whole red bell pepper, seeded julienned
- · 1 bunch scallions whole stem cut on bias
- · 1 bunch of dill or cilantro chopped
- · 2 bunches of Tuscan kale stems removed and julienned
- · 3 lemons juiced and zested
- · 1/4 cup olive oil
- · 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- · 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- · Koshers salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 425⁰F.
In a large bowl, toss together the potatoes, olive oil, paprika, cumin some kosher salt and pepper. Pour potatoes onto two rimmed baking sheets. Bake for 20 -025 minutes, shaking the pan twice.
While potatoes are baking, on medium heat sauté onion until almost caramelized, then add garlic and bell peppers toss all ingredients until well mixed and peppers are warm.
In a large bowl mix kale, scallions, dill or cilantro and toss, then add onion and pepper mixture to bowl toss and then add lemon juice and zest and add in hot potatoes, toss all together.
Taste to see if little more salt and pepper is needed before serving.
Source: CBTB staff
Photo Credits: Canon T2i, 18-55MM Macro lens, F/2.8, 1/100th second, ISO 320