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 don’t like egg in it; but otherwise that looks very good!
I grate a couple potatoes and boil them with the soup, they break down and thicken it nicely. Yum! Now I’m hungry...
Amish Potato Cheddar Chowder
Boil 10-12 min 2 c ea water, diced potatoes, 1/2 c ea diced carrots/celery, 1/4 c chp onion, s/p.
Stir in the Cheddar White Sauce recipe. Heat thru.
SERVE scattered w/ cubed baked ham or cooked bacon crumbles.
CHEDDAR WHITE SAUCE stir smooth/bubble a min 1/4 c ea melted butter/flour.
Slowly stir in 2 c milk, then cook/thicken. Add 2 c grated Cheddar; stir/melt.
Fool Proof French Fried Potatoes
Peel potatoes, leaving some skin on in inch diameter patches randomly around potatoe. The skin will give the fries a hearty flavor. This is optional if you are a purist.
Cut potatoes into french fry sized strips.
Put cut potatoes into a pot and pour in cooking oil to cover about 1/2 inch.
With pot on burner turn on to high and wait until the oil is bubbling just enough on surface but not splattering. Reduce heat and adjust heat so the oil will continue bubbling but not splattering. When the heat has been set, the potatoes will fry with little maintenance of the burner temperature. With a regular butter knife carefully loosen potatoes that are stuck together by sliding knife between them and giving a twist to break them apart. Cook until the potatoes are a light brown. Use tongs to lift cooked fries into a pan with paper towels on bottom. Salt immediately, moving potatoes around with tongs to coat with the salt.
So many times I have used a thermometer to bring the oil up to temperature. When I put the potatoes in the hot oil, the water content of the potatoes causes a huge eruption of the oil, splattering my entire stove. My method will not allow the oil to saturate the fries because as the oil rises in temperature, the natural water in the potato resists the oil-—oil and water do not mix. As the oil reaches frying temperature, the water in the potato releases steam, which keeps the oil from saturating the fry. The result is a fry with a creamy interior and a match stick snap of a crust.
I saw Alton Brown put 2 teaspoons of mayonnaise and a teaspoon of water, 1/4 kosher salt, and whisk together until smooth. Then add three eggs, blending all together and scramble in a light coating of unsalted butter in a non-stick pan. Add pepper to taste. I have tried it and the mayonnaise enhances the scrambled eggs.
I think the last time I made it, I creamed the egg yolks in the mayonnaise. I think I put the egg whites in a green salad.
Casr Iron Skillet Baked Potato
METHOD In room temp, cast iron skillet, spread tb oil over bottom. Sprinkle rosemary and k/salt over evenly.
Halve potatoes in skin, lengthwise. Place cut side down in skillet. Press down to coat in oil.
Place cold skillet w/ potatoes in cold oven. Set oven to 400-F and bake 45-min. Pierce w/ fork to test doneness.
SERVE with sour cream, grated cheese, chp scallions, etc.
I add maybe a 1/4 cup sweet relish and tbsp mustard, use 4 eggs and don’t peel the potatoes. My mother’s recipe.
My MIL made the best potato pierogi. She added farmers cheese to her potato mixture instead of having separate cheese and potato pierogi. Her sauerkraut pierogi were to die for too.
Who knew!? Gonna try this for sure. My daughter just got chickens, she sends a dozen eggs home with each visitor! Lol.
They put diced onion right in the potatoes.
One aunt added pimento cheese...nice little zip.
And of course serve with butter and onions and sour cream.
“Fool Proof French Fried Potatoes”
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Your recipe sounds good.
I ‘fry’ potatoes on the grill all year ‘round.
Cut potatoes into ‘french fry’ size (my Wife loves smaller fries — if it’s just for me I make them 3/4”).
Wash several times in cold water, dry them completely (colander and a paper towel or two) then toss in a bowl with olive oil and kosher salt. Toss several times to ensure proper coating of oil bonfires.
With a grill on low (325 degrees max on the dome) place fries on the grill grates.
Turn approximately every 5 minutes (the potato side on the grill will show some ‘translucence’ when it is turned 90 degrees.
Properly cooked, the fries will have been grilled on each side twice and have some nice grill marks.
Enjoy!
Southwest Potato Fritters / Avocado Crema / Omni Dallas Hotel at Park West
The hotel's spectacular way of serving the little morsels to hungry guests.
DO-AHEAD Blender smooth 8 large peeled potatoes boiled fork-tender, cup h/cream, ¼ cup butter.
Mix in tb ea ground cumin, garlic and onion powders 2 oz minced chipotles in adobo; chill for use later.
FRITTERS Combine/blend well 4 lb cooled potatoes, 6 oz cooked crumbled bacon, 4 oz shredded
sharp Cheddar, 2 oz minced cilantro, 2 eggs. Scoop out; shape inch balls. Roll in 4 c Panko. Dry 10 min.
FINAL Batch-Fry golden 2-3 min in 4 cup 350 deg canola oil; drain.
SERVE drizzled w/ Avocado Crema.
CREMA Proc/smooth 2 Large Hass, ½ c sour cream, juiced lime, tea agave nectar; add tb water to thin out. S/p.
Another great dip: Spicy Ranch---add hot sauce, chp chives to bottled ranch dressing.
There are three dishes that are either mine or nothing - potato salad, coleslaw and guacamole. Not that mine are anything great but store bought potato salad potatoes are hard. Restaurant coleslaw tastes like dish water. Restaurant guacamole tastes rotten.
If anyone is wondering there is an equivalent of 20 med. russet potatoes in the 10 lb bag on this kitchen counter making them 19 cents each. Can’t go wrong with that.
Homemade mayo is a no brainer. However, it never turns out right with a blender for me (ymmv) so I just whisk it by hand.
Peeling potatoes is a chore and a waste.
Easy to just bake or nuke them whole. Scoop out the mashing part leaving a bit of the white in the skin shell to make potato skins the next day. You get a two for one.
Food and Wine has a great collection of potato recipes. I’ve tried quite a few of them:
I make my mom’s recipe for potato salad, and it has a “secret” ingredient. It’s only secret because it isn’t sold where I live. I have to have friends bring it when they go home or order it over the internet.
That secret ingredient? Marzetti’s Country French dressing. It also makes the best chicken salad.... but that’s another thread.
Boil potatoes until tender. Peel them while hot, and cut into bite size pieces. Toss hot potatoes with Marzetti’s Country French dressing (give them a good coating) and then chill. When potatoes are chilled, add diced celery, diced hard boiled egg, celery seed, salt and mayo.
Yumminess on a plate.
HEB grocery store used to have a good shrimp corn chowder recipe but it isn’t online anymore. We all liked it.
Basically it was - Ore-Ida O’Brien hash browns with the onions and bell peppers, corn, and chicken broth. Add in cream, bacon, cream and cooked cocktail shrimp.
Once I made “Baked potato salad”, I could never return to the traditional mayo based potato salad. If we have grilled steak, it’s the Baked Potato Salad that goes with it. Everything and anything that goes into a baked potato, I use in BPS.....sour cream, bacon, green onions, cheese, anything and it’s wonderful!!
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