Posted on 02/28/2021 5:08:01 PM PST by Jamestown1630
In honor of Mr. Potato Head’s ‘transitioning’ - (from what-to-what I’m not exactly sure, as I’ve always understood potatoes to be, in Nature, self-pollinating and containing both sexes in one plant anyway) - I thought we’d do a thread on SPUDS this month.
I like potatoes done certain ways, and despise them other ways. I like baked potatoes (with plenty of butter and sour cream), and home-made potato salad, mashed potatoes, scalloped, etc. I do NOT like potatoes cut up into soups, or store-bought potato salad (in the latter, the potatoes are always undercooked, and the salad is always strangely sweet.)
This video from America’s Test Kitchen presents a way of making baked potatoes that interests me; it involves brining them a little, and I’m anxious to try it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vr-o01qiRYI
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My favorite recipe for potato salad, which my Grandmother made the best and one of my co-workers does a close second, is really a sort of ‘dump’ recipe:
Boil a few pounds of thin-skinned potatoes until easily pierced with a sharp knife, but not TOO soft; and then peel them (I usually use red potatoes, and leave about a third of the skin on. )
Cut them into ½ to 1 inch pieces. Make a mixture of about 2/3 Mayonnaise and 1/3 prepared Mustard, a few tablespoons of finely chopped onion and finely chopped celery; salt and pepper, with a little cayenne thrown in. Add more mayo/mustard as may be needed for your quantity of potatoes, taste for seasoning, and then pour all of this over the potatoes. Mix well, taste again for seasoning, and chill. (If you like throwing in pickle relish, you can do so; but that is verboten in my house, just as any ‘sweetness’ is disallowed in a deviled egg, here ;-)
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I’ve only had the French cold potato soup – Vichyssoise – once, in a fancy French restaurant in Virginia; but it was excellent. Here, from the website ‘Mother Would Know’, is Julia Child’s recipe for that soup. (You can eat this warm or chilled, though I think chilled is classic in the so-called 'haute cuisine'):
http://motherwouldknow.com/julia-childs-vichyssoise-html/
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When Rush Limbaugh died, by husband had a birthday coming up in a few weeks.
I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, and he said that he wanted the Rush Revere series of books by Mr. Limbaugh.
I said that I thought those were books for kids; and husband said, “Yes; and I want them”.
So, I ordered; and they are really beautiful books. Very well-bound and high-quality production, with lots of illustrations (including some reproductions of historical paintings) and lots of supplemental information.
The history is told in a very engaging, modern ‘story’ way which incites one to seek out more information on the issues presented.
I would suggest that people order this collection, whether there are young people in their network, or not. Even adults will enjoy them very much and find many references that they would like to follow up further. And the more we order, the more they will have to print – and the more will be in circulation for young people to find in the future.
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(The picture at the top of this post is of the flower of a potato plant; it is taken from the USDA website of John Bamberg, plant geneticist and devotee of The Potato, q.v.)
I never thought of that; but capers would be a very good addition.
Cube and boil up about two pounds of potatoes until tender in salted water. Drain and set aside. Peel or unpeeled, your choice
Crumble and brown one pound of sausage.
Add in one chopped onion and a couple of ribs of celery (chopped).
1/2 teaspoons sage.
Cook until soft.
Two cans of corn with the water it is packed in.
One can of evaporated milk.
Add the potatoes back in and give the potatoes a rough mash.
Heat through and serve.
To make your own sausage.
Take one pound of ground pork (or you can use turkey or chicken but brown it in butter. Fat is flavor) Mix in:
2 teaspoons sage
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon garlic
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon fennel
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
You can add in some red pepper flake if you like but it will be plenty flavorful without.
(all herbs are fresh! So half if using dried.) You can cook this right away or you can let it hang out in the fridge overnight.
I discovered that eggroll wrappers were a lot easier for Indian Samosas and Gyozas - (potstickers) - too :-)
My Grandma used to know exactly how to gauge and adjust her old gas stove/oven. I’ve never gotten the knack.
(Maybe it’s because she grew up cooking on a wood stove, and learned everything by feel, smell, observation...)
I used to live with a lady who made excellent Corn Fritters that came out very thin, crispy and full of corn flavor.
I used to know how she did it - as I recall, it was just the corn, egg, and perhaps a tiny bit of flour.
But the last time I made them, I had forgotten, and looked up a recipe. It was too full of flour and leavening, and they came out all puffy and like a pancake.
That’s how my mom cooked....taste and touch. And oh could she cook! Unfortunately I’ve never mastered the art....too little patience and not enough interest.
I think I could like this, given the ‘rough mash’ :-)
It is all about mouth feel
I guess it takes a lot of practice; and those talents CAN be translated to any modern appliances.
The problem now is that women just don’t have the time they did in the past. They’ve been brainwashed into the notion that staying home, raising and training their kids, and making a home full of value, is somehow an ‘inferior endeavor’. And their goals have been dictated by interests other than those that used to be concerned with creating a secure, welcoming, nourishing HOME.
We’ve created an economic system where both parents HAVE to work, in order to survive. (Unfortunately, a lot of women bought into this in earlier decades and encouraged it. I’ve met some who really regret it.)
You can buy all the fancy magazines you like that tell you how to make your house look like a magazine cover, and give you instructions as to how to show off entertaining. But there’s not much you can do that really makes a difference to anything on a day-to-day basis, if you don’t have time to actually BE there, in your kitchen and with your kids.
(Despite what a lot of people think, I don’t personally believe that we’ve actually ‘progressed’ much in terms of overall quality of life...we’ve suffered, and lost a lot of quality of life.)
Potato peelings have some nutrition, too.
But there is a flavor and texture component as well.
I’ve never understood why people don’t eat the peel off of their baked potato. That’s part of the fun of the whole thing.
So far, I'm enjoying them.
Pros/cons
The first service I've tried is Everyplate. It ships from Chicago, which I'm not crazy about. First package was a day late (Fedex), but dry ice in the bottom was still frozen, so package seemed okay.
So far we've had:
On Tuesday I have 5 meals coming from Marleyspoon.com which is Martha Stewart's meal service.
I tried one a few years ago.
It was a taco soup recipe - all the ingredients and a recipe, delivered expertly packaged, no complaints; and it was excellent.
But I don’t think I’d do it again. It’s too expensive, and with proper research, a little planning, and shopping, we can do the same thing even better for our own selves - and a lot less expensively.
But I’m glad you like it. I’m sure that these services are very useful for a lot of people, including those to whom money is no object.
I’m going to try that baked potato recipe...
Let me know how it goes. I want to try, too.
I’m going to create a spud Cannon and shoot potatoes at Has-been Toys 😃. Hope you are shorting Has-been Toys stock....
I don’t own any stock in anything.
I just sit back and watch the wheels turn.
Will do...
Best foods Potato Salad Recipe
Ingredients:
•2 lbs. potatoes (5 to 6 medium), peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
•1 cup Hellmann’s® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise
•2 Tbsp. vinegar
•1-1/2 tsp. salt
•1 tsp. sugar
•1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
•1 cup thinly sliced celery
•1/2 cup chopped onion
•2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped (optional)
Preparation:
Step 1
Cover potatoes with water in 4-quart saucepot; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain and cool slightly.
Step 2
Combine Hellmann’s® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise, vinegar, salt, sugar and pepper in large bowl. Add potatoes, celery, onion and eggs and toss gently. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
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