Downright Fancy Baked Potatoes

Need a fancy side dish that 99% of people will absolutely love?  Look no further. I’ve made these a few times and they are always a huge hit.  Not only do we love them, but when we have dinner guests they add a little fancy touch to dinner that an ordinary baked potato just wouldn’t have.  They are easy to make but get an A+ for presentation. If these were a house, you could charge extra just for the curb appeal.

You can use any potatoes for this.  I used Yukon Gold potatoes basically because I was too lazy to peel and not a huge fan of russet potato skins.  But feel free to use whichever spud floats your boat.

Downright Fancy Baked Potatoes

 

Downright Fancy Baked Potatoes

Yukon Gold potatoes (or whatever kind you like)
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. butter
A pinch of salt, pepper, & dry Italian seasoning (or use whichever seasonings you like best)
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 400˚.  Slice off a thin piece on one side so the potato will sit still and not roll around while you are trying to slice it.  Make thin slices all the way across the potato, but not going all the way to the bottom.  You want the potato to stay together so stop short about 1/4 inch from the bottom (don’t beat yourself up if you slice one in half, it will still taste fine).  Slice garlic very thinly and slip between potato slices here and there.  Slice butter thinly and insert here and there into potato slices as well.  Sprinkle potatoes with seasonings.  Drizzle with a bit of olive oil.  Place on a baking pan and bake for about 1 hour until fork tender.

Why not make a couple extra? They are terrific the next day.

I always try to make a couple extra because the next morning I like to do this:

Pull apart, toss in a pan, add a couple of beaten eggs, scramble. Top off with hot sauce. Breakfast of champions.

Baked Eggs with Potato & Brie

And it’s time for another round of “What Can I Throw In A Ramekin?”  Today my fridge was looking a little bare since I’m way past due for grocery shopping, but I did have eggs and potatoes and really, I could survive on that, no problem!  Add a little scrap of brie and some leftover herbs and I had myself a gourmet breakfast.

Baked Eggs with Potato & Brie

Baked Eggs with Potato & Brie

For each ramekin:

1 small yukon gold or red potato
1-2 eggs
2-3 slices of brie cheese
fresh thyme leaves

Preheat oven to 400˚.  Spray your ramekins with cooking spray.  Poke the potato with a fork a few times and microwave on high for 5 minutes, until fork tender (or you can use leftover baked or mashed potatoes for this if you have any).  Slice and place in the bottom of the ramekin.

A lovely bed of potatoes.

Sprinkle with a pinch of salt & pepper.  Break eggs over the potatoes.  Top with cheese and thyme.

Ready to pop in the oven.

Place in the oven and bake for about 12-15 minutes, until eggs are set.  Dig in!

Rustic Chicken Chowder

So it’s been a long day, and you stop and get one of those tasty rotisserie chickens from the grocery store deli, dig in like a ravenous beast and throw the leftovers (if any) in the fridge.  Now if you’re like me, you think, “don’t throw that away, you can make something out of it like your grandma would!”  I’ll be honest.  Sometimes I just throw it away.  But sometimes I get industrious and soup happens the next day.

I know it SOUNDS like a lot of work, but what it really is is throwing everything in a pot and letting it simmer while you’re having a lazy day at home. I love how the chicken just falls off the bones in little shreds that permeate the whole soup.  You just don’t get that when you cut chicken up in neat little bites.  You end up with something that tastes rustic and homey, and honestly tastes like you slaved over it, when maybe you just know how to boil.  And if that’s the case, it’s okay, because it’s still going to be awesome.

Rustic Chicken Chowder

Rustic Chicken Chowder

Leftover roasted chicken (with the bones if you have them)
6-8 cups water or chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1 onion, diced
2 stalks celery, sliced
4-5 russet potatoes, diced
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt & pepper
1/2 tsp. marjoram
1/2 tsp. paprika
1-2 tsp. chicken bouillon (optional)
2 tsp. cornstarch (optional)

Put the whole chicken carcass in a soup pot (including any meat left on it and the weird jelly-like stuff in the bottom of the pan or package) and cover with water.  Add bay leaves and bring to a boil.  Turn heat down, cover and simmer for a couple of hours.  (If you want to skip this step, you can always use prepared chicken broth and add cooked chicken).  Before adding the other ingredients, remove the bones and skin and return broth and chicken to the pan.

Add onion, celery, potatoes and corn.  Cook for 30 minutes or more until veggies are all soft.  Add cream and seasonings.  If you want more intense chicken flavor, add some chicken bouillon (I like the “better than bouillon” paste stuff) for an extra punch.  I like my soups to be soupy but if you prefer a thicker, more “chowder-like” consistency, mix some cornstarch with water until it dissolves and stir into boiling soup to thicken.

Cheesy Potato Soup

Potato soup is one of my favorite foods, summer or winter.  It’s also one dish that I just can’t help but mess with because there are so many great variations.  This is the first time I tried this particular combination and it was a huge hit!  The cheese gives it added richness and flavor and the cumin, chiles and cilantro lend just a hint of southwestern flair.  Feel free to play with the texture to suit your tastes, it can be chunky or smooth, thick or thin.  It’s up to you.

And now…I’m off to do extra yoga to work off some of those potatoes.  So worth it!

Cheesy Potato Soup

Cheesy Potato Soup

8 medium russet potatoes
2 leeks, sliced
2 spring onions, sliced
1/4 cup butter
1 8 oz. can diced green chiles
2-3 cups chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
3 strips crispy cooked bacon, crunched up into bacon bits (for garnish, optional)

Peel and quarter potatoes, cover with water and boil until fork tender.  Drain off the water (or most of it).  While potatoes are cooking, saute leeks and onions in butter in a separate pan.  When onions and leeks are tender, put in a blender with a little chicken broth and puree.  Add to drained potatoes, along with diced green chiles, 2 cups chicken broth and cream.  Using an immersion blender or a potato masher, mash up the potato chunks, leaving some bigger pieces (if you like it totally smooth, puree to your heart’s content, but I prefer a slightly chunky texture).  Add more chicken broth if you want a thinner texture (I used three cups of broth in mine). Add salt, pepper & cumin.  Heat until just barely boiling.  Turn heat off and stir in cheese until melted.  Serve hot, topped with fresh cilantro and bacon if desired.

Not Your Mama’s Scalloped Potatoes

I grew up eating scalloped potatoes made with cream o’ mushroom soup and – I’ll admit it – loving every bite.  But as my tastes and cooking skills have evolved, I have found there is a better way.  Not to mention that lately I just don’t see any reason to eat the extra sodium and chemicals that come with most canned food if it can be avoided.  So ditch the can, get out a saucepan, and spend an extra five minutes making a scrumptious cheese sauce to replace it.  You won’t regret it!

For those of you not so keen on the veggies, or trying to disguise them for picky kiddos (or husbands), this is one of those recipes that I use to “hide” veggies.  I added a layer of fresh spinach in this one.  Don’t like spinach?  Try a different green like kale, or chopped peppers, zucchini, eggplant, whatever!

This is a great vegetarian meal, but if you want to take it way over the top add some lean sausage or fresh franks to the top.  I was lucky enough to score some lean, freshly-made spicy frankfurters last time I went to farmer’s market and they made a fine addition to this!  Lip smackin’ good!

Not Your Mama’s Scalloped Potatoes – Sans Meat

Not Your Mama’s Scalloped Potatoes – Over The Top Version!

Not Your Mama’s Scalloped Potatoes

3 pounds potatoes (I used half small yukon gold potatoes and half baby red potatoes)
3 large spring onions
2 cups fresh spinach
3 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 cups milk
1 cup grated parmesan
Lean sausage or frankfurters (optional)

Slice potatoes in thin rounds.  Chop spring onions (if you don’t have spring onions you can substitute leeks or regular onions). In a small bowl, mix flour, salt, dry mustard, cayenne, and black pepper.  In a saucepan, melt butter. Whisk in flour mixture.  When the butter is absorbed, gradually whisk in milk.  Continue to cook and whisk until mixture comes to a boil and thickens.  Remove from heat and stir in parmesan cheese.  Whisk until smooth.  Add a little more milk if it seems too thick.

In a large casserole dish, start with a layer of potatoes, sprinkle with onions and generously drizzle with sauce.  Repeat.  After two potato layers, add all of the spinach in one layer.  Top with at least one more potato-onion-sauce layers (I had enough ingredients for two more layers).  End with sauce.  Cover tightly with foil.  Bake at 375˚ for 1 hour.  Remove foil.  If you are using sausage or frankfurters, scatter over the top now.  Either way, continue to bake for another 15-20 minutes until potatoes are tender and top is browned.

In theory, you should let it sit for 10-15 minutes so it can set up and be cut into pretty wedges.  But let’s face it, it smells so good that I usually cannot wait.  So if you don’t let it set up, it will still taste great, but instead of a wedge it will look more like this:

Scalloped potatoes in a bowl when you’re too impatient to wait!

 

Frozen French Fries Are Evil!

In the battle of good and evil, french fries are at the forefront.  Most people don’t know this, but it’s true.  At least, it’s true if you love potatoes as much as I do.

The more research I do about food, and the more I read ingredient labels, the more irritated I become by the amount of chemicals and added sugar and oil I’m eating without even knowing it.  And while I’m not advocating giving up all processed foods (hello, chocolate!), cutting down on them substantially just seems like good sense.  I was in the process of grabbing a bag of frozen french fries at the store (yes, I get lazy sometimes), when I read the label, which went like this:  potatoes, vegetables oil (palm oil, sunflower oil, cottonseed oil, soybean oil and/or canola oil), salt, dextrose, disodium dihydrogen pyrophosphate, annatto, vegetables (for coloring).

Just for contrast, here’s the french fry ingredients from a major fast food place:  potatoes, vegetable oil (partially hydrogenated soybean oil, natural beef flavor (wheat and milk derivatives)**, citric acid (preservative), dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate (maintain color), dimethylpolysiloxane (antifoaming agent)), salt. Prepared in vegetable oil ((may contain one of the following: Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, partially hydrogenated corn oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness), dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent). **CONTAINS: WHEAT AND MILK (Natural beef flavor contains hydrolyzed wheat and hydrolyzed milk as starting ingredients.)

Maybe these added ingredients are benign, simply helpers in the world of making them look good and not stick together.  But that doesn’t mean I want to eat them if I can avoid it.  Aside from the chemicals in there, both of these french fries have dextrose in them.  Why?  Potatoes taste great without added sugar.

So I put down the bag, went home and made my own french fries.  I did have to sacrifice an extra 5 minutes or so, but it was worth it.  The ingredients in mine are potatoes, olive oil, garlic and seasonings.  That’s it.  And that is good.

Homemade Red Potato Fries

Homemade Red Potato Fries

Red Potatoes (or you can use any kind)
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
Fresh or dried herbs (optional)
Garlic (optional)

Cut potatoes into sticks, toss with a little olive oil (a tablespoon or two) and whatever seasonings you like.  Spread out flat on a baking sheet and bake at 400˚ for about 30 minutes.  Bake a little less if you like them soft and squishy (I do), or a little longer if you want them crispy and brown.

Hearty Spinach Salad

I grew up thinking spinach was disgusting.  And it was.  Because the spinach of my youth looked a lot like this:

Canned Spinach. Blech!

Nothing can make that look or taste appetizing to me.  And don’t even get me started on the nasty smell.  All of the Popeye cartoons in the world would still not make me want to eat it. Canned spinach is the reason kids hate vegetables.

Luckily, as often happens, in my food journey somewhere along the line I discovered that spinach actually comes from a plant, not a can.  And the fresh stuff is pretty darn good!  In fact, it’s one of my favorite ingredients, and not just for salad.  You can chop up fresh spinach and put it in just about anything, from casseroles and omelets to meatloaf.

I haven’t eaten bacon since before we started Project Veggie.  You could make this without it (just saute the onions in a little butter or olive oil instead).  But I didn’t do that.  I miss bacon sometimes.  And combined with the spinach and apple juice and all the other good stuff in here, it was REALLY good. The potatoes, bacon and eggs also give this salad some nice substance, making it perfect for a main dish.

Hearty Spinach Salad. Much better!

Hearty Spinach Salad

1 – 10 oz. package fresh baby spinach
4-6 small red potatoes, cooked and diced
3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2-4 bacon strips
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. cornstarch
1/4 cup apple juice
2 tbsp. cider vinegar
2 tsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. pepper

Combine spinach, potatoes, eggs, and mushrooms in large salad bowl.  Cook bacon and remove to drain on paper towels.  Cook onion in bacon drippings until tender.  Combine cornstarch, apple juice, vinegar, sugar and pepper.  Stir into skillet with onions.  Bring to a boil.  Cook and stir 1-2 minutes until slightly thickened and bubbly.  Pour over spinach mixture.  Crumble bacon on top and toss to combine.

Served with french bread on the side. Make sure you dig down and get all the good stuff from the bottom of the bowl!

Perfect Hash Browns!

Out of all of the things I love in this world, potatoes easily make my top 10.  Some might say that’s a sad state of affairs, but personally, I think it’s great that something so small can make me so happy.  For me, they are more than a comfort food.  They are delicious, but they are also a cure-all.  Morning sickness?  Eat hash browns.  Hangover?  Eat hash browns!  Bad day?  You guessed it.  Get out the shredder.

Potatoes get a bad rap for being unhealthy, but I think it’s unjustified.  True, they are high in carbohydrates and low in protein, but they are also loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber, especially if you eat the skin.  The unhealthy part is mostly in how they are prepared – deep fried, or smothered in butter and sour cream.  I say just eat them in moderation, and with a little protein to balance the carbs.

I’ve tested hash browns at breakfast places across the country, and though I’ve enjoyed most of them, I have formed definite opinions about how I like them best.  Shreds.  Golden brown.  Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside.  Butter.  Hot sauce.

To cook these right (and by “right” I mean the way I like them), there are some hard and fast rules that CANNOT be broken:

1. Squeeze out the potato juice (there is a lot more than you think!)
2. ONLY FLIP ONCE!
3. Use butter.   They will not taste the same or cook up the same in oil or margarine.  Butter!

Hash browns, ready to eat!

April’s Perfect Hash Browns

4 russet potatoes, peeled and shredded (you can also use red or yukon gold potatoes, I don’t peel those)
2 tbsp. butter
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Paprika

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat.  While it’s heating, squeeze out the liquid in the potato shreds.  You can wrap them in a towel and twist or just pick up handfuls and squeeze them over the sink.  You’ll be amazed at how much potato juice comes out!  When your pan is hot, add butter.  Melt and swirl around pan to coat the whole bottom.  Add potato shreds and spread out.  Sprinkle with a pinch each of salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika. Turn down heat to a little below medium and cover.

Making Hash Browns. Spread out in the pan and sprinkle with spices. Cover.

Cook for 15-20 minutes.  Maybe this sounds weird, but I usually don’t time them, I just know they are ready to flip when they smell done.  Raw potatoes have a smell, and yummy cooked potatoes have a really good smell.  When they are smelling like you want to eat them, it’s usually time to flip.  Until you have the smell test down, just check them every few minutes.  When they are ready, they should be brown on the bottom, and if you taste a bite, it should be cooked, not raw.  By now it’s set up like a pancake, so slip your spatula underneath and flip the whole thing.  If you’re not feeling brave, you can break it into a few sections and flip that way.  At this point I usually slide a couple of slivers of butter under the edges in a couple of places just to help the other side brown up.  Leave uncovered, sprinkle that side with a little salt, and cook for about 5 minutes more.  Cut and serve.  I like to drizzle a little hot sauce on top, and serve with a couple of eggs.

Breakfast time. Hash browns with eggs over easy.

Project Veggie: Day 22 – Steelhead with Hazelnut Pesto and Lemon Potatoes

I love hazelnuts.  When I lived in the midwest I could never find them, and it was always a treat to come home to Oregon, where they are available everywhere.  Turns out in the U.S. they are only grown in Washington and Oregon, so that explains that mystery.

Pesto is one of my favorite condiments.  Basil is one of the only things I can grow well, so in the summer I grow a lot of it and fill my freezer with pesto for the winter.  Sadly, last summer was a little (a lot!) rainy here and my basil crop was too wimpy to get me through to summertime.  So I bought some yesterday so I could make pesto.  Which just gave me the opportunity to change it up a bit and see how it tasted with roasted hazelnuts.  Mmmmm.

I was in the mood for salmon.  We hadn’t had fish all week and it sounded good.  At the fish counter the salmon looked a little sad, but next to it…lovely fresh steelhead was calling out to me, and it was on sale too!  Steelhead always reminds me of salmon.  It looks a lot alike, cooks up the same way, and tastes sort of similar too, but steelhead is actually a kind of trout.  In any case, I’ve made this recipe with both fish and it’s terrific either way.

My name is April, and I’m a potatoholic. I know I’ve said this before but this is one of the best potato recipes EVER!  I always make a big batch of lemon potatoes because they are so good left over the next day, either by themselves, or scrambled with eggs, or mixed with a little mayo for a potato salad.  And they go perfectly with fish.  Or anything else for that matter.

Broiled Steelhead with Hazelnut Pesto

Broiled Steelhead with Hazelnut Pesto

1 pound steelhead (or salmon) fillet
1/2 cup basil pesto (see below for hazelnut pesto recipe or you can use store bought pesto)
salt & pepper
lemon slices
olive oil

Heat broiler on oven.  Mash pesto on top of the fish, spreading over the entire top surface of the filet.  Sprinkle with sea salt & fresh ground pepper.  Top with lemon slices and a drizzle of olive oil.   Put under the broiler for 10-12 minutes, until fish easily pulls apart with a fork in the middle.

Hazelnut Pesto

Hazelnut Pesto

1 big bunch fresh basil (I used about 2 cups)
1/2 cup roasted hazelnuts
1/4 cup fresh parmesan
salt & pepper
4 cloves garlic
1/4-1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Whirl everything up in a food processor except olive oil.  Scrape down the sides.  Drizzle olive oil in with the motor running until it’s the consistency you prefer.

Lemon Potatoes - Yum!!!

Lemon Potatoes
(adapted from Moosewood Restaurant, Simple Suppers)

1-2 pounds red or yukon gold potatoes, cut into 4 or 6 pieces
Zest and juice of 1 large lemon
Salt & pepper
1-2 tbsp. capers
1/4 cup chopped black olives (optional)
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Bring a pot of water to boil over high heat.  Add the potatoes.  Cook 10-15 minutes until fork tender.  Meanwhile, zest and juice lemon into a large bowl.  Add capers and olives if using.  Drain potatoes and add to bowl.  Add sea salt and fresh ground pepper.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Toss to combine all ingredients.  Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.

Project Veggie: Day 19 – Spanish Tortilla

Last year I was fortunate enough to go visit my sister in Spain, where she was living at the time.  I was very very happy to see her and her family, but let’s be honest.  Traveling is all about the cool food.  One night we went out for tapas.  Little plates of appetizers, if you’re not familiar with the term.  I love tapas because you can try so many different things instead of just choosing one.  Spanish Tortilla was one of the things we ate.  Much to my surprise, it actually doesn’t contain tortillas at all, it’s more of a potato tart sort of thing.  I never thought of potatoes in Spanish cooking but there they were.  That particular Spanish Tortilla didn’t rock my world but it was really good. Good enough that I wanted to try to make it at home.

Tapas & sangria. Yum.

A few months ago I came across a recipe for Spanish Tortilla in a magazine.  I made it and it was fine.  I basically thought it was just another version of a frittata; there wasn’t anything special about it.  And then…my sister sent me a new cookbook.  A couple of American friends of hers decided to write a cookbook while they were living in Spain, with a little help and instruction from an actual Spanish person.  I got one of the first copies and it is a treasure!  The Drinking Girls’ Guide to Spanish Food is so fun; the recipes are quick, authentic, and delicious!  I love how it’s structured with full menus, including cocktails.  The Spanish Tortilla pictured there did not look like what I’d made previously and the recipe was quite a bit different so I decided to give it a whirl.  It was a completely different, potato-induced pleasure experience.  It’s a good thing my kids were here to eat part of it because I’m not sure I would have been able to stop. This recipe will be made over and over again in my house.

Microwaves are nice to have and convenient for re-heating tea or leftovers, or making popcorn.  I’ve never really used it much for actual cooking.  I prefer the way things taste when they are cooked on the stove top.  This recipe isn’t cooked in the microwave but a lot of the prep work is done there.  If you’ve cooked potatoes much you know that sometimes even an easy recipe can take a little while because they take a while to cook.  With this process, it’s nice and quick and the potatoes cooked up perfectly.  Don’t be alarmed by the amount of olive oil in the recipe.  A good portion of it is poured off and can be reused for something else.

Spanish Tortilla. Nomnomnom!

Traditional Spanish Tortilla
(from The Drinking Girls’ Guide to Spanish Food, by Ashleigh Wehmeyer & Tiffani Warner)

3-4 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 large sweet onion, diced
5 large eggs
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp. sea salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Place chopped onions and olive oil in a large microwave safe bowl (glass is preferred).  Microwave on high for 5 minutes.  Remove and stir.  If onions aren’t soft and translucent, cook them another 2-3 minutes.  While the onions are cooking, peel and slice potatoes (about 1/8″ thick slices).  If you do this early, soak in a bowl of cold water until ready to use (drain off water before using).  Add potatoes and sea salt to onion mixture and stir.  Place a lid or plate over the bowl, leaving a small opening to vent.  Microwave for 15 minutes on high.  Remove and stir.  Potatoes should be fork tender.  If not, cook another 2-3 minutes.  Drain the potato and onion mixture through a colander, collecting the extra oil in a bowl underneath.  Save for later.

Crack eggs into a shallow baking dish or serving bowl.  Beat them until well mixed, then fold in the potato and onion mixture.  Heat 2 tbsp. of reserved oil in a 10 inch, non stick skillet over high heat.  Swirl the hot oil all around the pan.  When it starts smoking, pour in the potato mixture.  Immediately turn down to medium heat.  Keep running your fork around the outside of the mixture as it bubbles up.  Also, use your fork to pull apart in the middle, allowing more to seep down underneath and cook.  The mixture will start to firm up in the pan.  Keep an eye on the edges.  When they are golden brown it’s time to flip.  Use a large plate or pizza pan that doesn’t have much of a lip on it.  Invert plate on top of the pan, put a pot holder on top and hold it there with one hand.  Quickly flip over so the tortilla is on the plate. Slide back into the pan, uncooked side down.  Tuck down the edges again if necessary.  Press down on the top with the back of your fork.  When it feels firm it’s about done.  You can flip it again to check to see if it’s golden brown on the bottom if you want to.  Flip more if needed to complete cooking (the recipe says to flip it several times but I only flipped it once and it turned out perfectly). Sprinkle with parsley, fresh ground pepper, or green onions and serve.

Spanish Tortilla, right out of the pan.