Sunday, December 26, 2010

dessert with a potato

I have one more to post on potatoes and then I am ready to move on to something else. How about you Mary? Do you have any more for potatoes or do we move on?
This recipe is one that my family loves to make and eat. It goes by a few different names, but being from the south we just call it "taters".


Tater candy - aka peanut butter pinwheels

1 medium sized potato, peeled
powdered sugar
peanut butter
vanilla extract

Peel your potato and place it in a pot of boiling water. Let boil extra long. Remove from heat, drain, and let cool. With hand mixer mash potato into a creamy consistency. Add powdered sugar a little at a time until too thick to use mixer. Add vanilla and mix again. The batter should be like cookie dough. Spread a little powdered sugar on flat surface. Roll out half the mixture to about 1/8 " thickness. Spread peanut butter over entire surface at about the same thickness. Begin rolling from edge until you have a nice little log. cover with wax paper (I just use the wax paper as my rolling surface and wrap it all up after it is rolled). Put in refrigerator and let chill for about an hour. Repeat with remaining dough mixture.
Remove from refrigerator and cut logs into 1/2" slices. Enjoy!

Happy cooking and good eating!

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Christmas Potatoes

With Christmas approaching I thought this recipe would be appropriate to post. I use to make these all the time at Thanksgiving. It is a little along the lines of a scalloped or au gratin potato. 



Christmas Potatoes

4-5 medium size potatoes, peeled and sliced about ¼” thick rounds
1 medium onion, sliced in rings
1 jar pimientos
Salt, 1 – 2 tsp.
White pepper, 1 -2 tsp.
1 can evaporated milk
Fresh parsley, chopped (may use dried) – 2 tbsp fresh, 2 tsp dried

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put sliced potatoes into a shallow pan with just enough water to cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil and boil for approximately 5 min. Remove from heat and drain. Put all ingredients into an oven safe dish except for the parsley. Bake for 30 minutes stirring every 10 min to keep milk from clabbering. Check potatoes for doneness. Should be fork tender. Remove from oven and toss in the parsley.
Makes a very pretty dish and serves 4 easily.

Happy cooking and good eating!

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Twice Baked Potatoes

I don't usually have left-over baked potatoes, so I have to consciously bake too many potatoes if I want to do the twice-baked.  These are great for dinner parties where you want to serve a baked potato, but don't want to (or don't have time to) put potatoes in the oven an hour before you have to serve dinner. 
It is also a more elegant way to serve your guests potatoes containing sour cream, cheese, chives, bacon bits, etc. rather than having them as a do-it-yourself item.
The idea is to bake them ahead of time (the day before, or even a couple days before you want to serve them will do if you keep them refrigerated whole after baking).  Sooo.......

Ingredients:

8 Large Idaho Potatoes
baking rack or 9x13x2 inch baking pan
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup Butter
1 cup Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Chives
2 cloves fresh minced Garlic
2 tsp. Sea Salt
1 tsp. cracked Black Pepper


Preheat the oven to 400*F.
In my opinion, Idaho (Russet) Potatoes work best for twice-baked potatoes
Scrub the potatoes with a vegetable brush in cool running water.  Make sure they are cleaned thoroughly--remember, most people eat the skins!
Pat dry with paper towels (or real towels if you want to be conservation-minded).
Bake the potatoes for 1 hour (this will suffice for all but the biggest spuds--they should be tender to the middle when poked with a fork)
Let the potatoes cool off completely on a rack. Keep them dry while they cool.
When the potatoes are cool, slice them in half, lengthwise, so they look like boats.
Scoop out the flesh of each potato into a large bowl with a spoon, being careful not to tear the skins.  Remove as much of the white flesh as possible, leaving the skin very thin. 
Line the skins up in a baking pan--a 9x13x2 inch cake pan works very well. Set aside for filling later.
To the potatoes in the bowl, add the sour cream, butter, and salt.  Mash with a hand masher or beat with a hand mixer.  If the mixture seems too dry, you may add a little more sour cream, or a little heavy whipping cream.
When the potatoes are well mashed, add the garlic, chives, cheddar cheese, and pepper and mix by hand, so everything is well-distributed throughout the potato.  (see note below*)
Then spoon the balance of the mixture into the potato skins so it is evenly distributed.  It will mound up over the top of the skins.  Now, if you made these ahead of when you need them, the potatoes are ready to be put in the refrigerator, right in the baking pan, covered with some Saran Wrap, or Aluminum Foil.
Approximately 30 minutes before serving, take the pan out of the refrigerator, and uncover the baking pan.
Preheat the oven to 400*F.  You may want to enhance the potatoes by sprinkling some extra grated cheddar cheese on top of the potatoes, and add some chopped chives for color and garnish.
Bake the potatoes in the preheated oven, uncovered, for approximately 20 minutes to heat them all the way through.
When hot, remove from the oven, and plate with a spatula and serve!
tip--don't overcrowd the baking pan with potatoes, and never cover the pan; the more hot, dry air that can circulate around the potatoes, the crispier the skin will be.

note*  You may put any kind of ingredient you want in the potatoes; they are very versatile!  Bacon bits, parsley, peas, any kind of cheese you like, or just anything you might put on a regular baked potato can be included!  I love experimenting! 
Some people also get fancy and use a piping bag and tip to pipe the mixture into the skins, which is a nice presentation since the tip kind of makes it look all squiggly and fancy, but then you have to almost puree the mixture, and I like more "body" to my potatoes.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Potato Pancakes

Ingredients:

5-6 raw baseball size red potatoes-I leave the skin on, but they may be peeled if you want
2 large eggs
1/2 cup grated extra sharp cheddar cheese (a bit more if you really like cheese like I do, but don't go overboard because it will make the pancakes too gooey!)
1 tbsp salt
1/2 tsp. coarse cracked pepper
2 tbsp. of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tbsp. Butter

Preparation:

Beat the eggs in a large bowl
Coarsely grate the cheddar cheese
Coarsely grate the potatoes onto a layer of paper towels and when all the potatoes are grated, roll the potatoes into the paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible (I use about 6-10 paper towel sheets)
Mix the grated potatoes and cheese with the eggs in the large bowl and add the salt and pepper

Preheat olive oil and butter in a heavy skillet on medium high heat.

When the pan gets hot, but before the butter scorches, add the mixture to the pan by approx. 1/2 cup scoopfuls.  It will spread, but you can help it by spreading the potatoes out to the edges of where the pancakes are with a fork.  Cook 2-4 pancakes at a time, depending on how big the skillet is.

Cook the pancakes until golden brown on the first side, then carefully flip them over and cook the other side until golden brown.  Remove the pancakes to clean, dry paper towels as they finish cooking, and you can keep them warm in a 200*F preheated oven for up to 20 minutes.

These pancakes can be pre-made and frozen individually.  Just reheat them in the oven on 400*F.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Pan Fried Rosemary Potatoes

Momma T, those first two potato recipes look great! 
I love red potatoes for everything except baking (of course the good old Russet is great for that!).  They seem to have a very good texture for standing up to roasting and boiling.  Fresh herbs also boost the flavor so that they can complement almost any dish, from steak to eggs, pork to lamb.
Let's start with the ingredient list for the pan fried potatoes:

6-9 Red Potatoes depending on size (those pictured were the size of baseballs)
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tbsp. Butter
1/4 cup finely chopped Fresh Dill
1/8 cup finely chopped Fresh Rosemary
1/4 cup finely chopped Fresh Parsley (curly or flat leaf)
Kosher or Sea Salt to taste
Cracked Black Pepper to taste
10-12 inch Cast Iron Skillet (to my mind, nothing else works as well to carmelize the potatoes)




Dice the potatoes (skin on) to about 1/2 inch cubes.  Get them as uniform in size as possible, so they cook evenly.


Chop the herbs with a very sharp knife, being careful not to get your fingers in the way. Heat the cast iron skillet on top of the stove on Medium High heat.  Add the olive oil, butter, and 1/2 of each of the finely chopped herbs, some salt and pepper, and let it get hot, but not to the point of scorching the butter.
  Then add the diced potatoes in one layer in the bottom of the pan.  Let them cook until the first side carmelizes (turns golden brown), then turn them gently with a spatula or shallow slotted spoon. Let them cook until the second side is carmelized, add the rest of the herbs, and cook for another minute or two.  If they brown too quickly and the middle isn't done, you can transfer them right in the skillet to a 400*F oven to finish. They should be fork-tender.

Turn the potatoes out onto a brown paper bag-lined bowl (to absorb any excess oil), then plate and serve.  Here, they are paired with Grilled Boneless Ribeye (rare, of course!)/Creamy Horseradish Sauce and Steamed Broccoli.  Enjoy!


Tuesday, December 7, 2010

baked home fries

Here is another potato dish for you.

Take a couple of potatoes and slice them in half lengthwise. Then slice each half in half, and so on until you get fry size wedges or however big you want them. You can also do sweet potatoes this way.

Once you get your potatoes all sliced, drizzle a little olive oil across them and use your fingers to mix it up and make sure they are completely coated. Now sprinkle with whatever seasonings you prefer. You can change it around.

salt & pepper
cumin & chili powder
garlic & onion powder

Variety is the spice of life. Try them all!

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 - 45 minutes. Keep checking to be certain they are done but not burnt. This is healthier than deep frying and if you use the sweet potatoes it is even better!

Happy cooking and good eating!

Friday, December 3, 2010

Mashed potatoes with garlic and leeks

Potatoes 1 - 1 1/2 potatoes per person
Leeks 1 bunch
(cauliflower) about 3 or 4 large flowers cut into small pieces
water - enough to cover the top of the potatoes
salt & pepper
butter - 2 tbsp.

*There are two ways to do this.

Cut your potatoes just like you would normally do. Get your pot of water on to boil.

* Either put the potatoes and cauliflower into the boiling water - or-
  Cut the leeks and soak in  cold water - add half to the water with the potatoes after soaking.

Boil for approx 10 minutes or until the potatoes just get soft. Drain the water off and return to pot or put into a mixing bowl. Beat or mash (I prefer a hand masher) the potatoes and cauliflower or leeks. Add the butter, salt, & pepper. Mix well. If using the leeks, add the remaining cut leeks after all mashed and blend into mashed potatoes.

For creamier potatoes add in about 1/4 cup milk and mix well.
Here is a picture of the potatoes with leeks.