Pages, Pucks and Pantry

Trixie Belle cooks Gruyere-Stuffed New Potatoes

I admit I didn't expect much from this recipe but it actually turned out really good. It was an entry by Erin Patil in the Queens of the Holidays cookbook.

It's not a quick recipe as you have to bake the potatoes, let them cool, and then bake them again. They aren't hard to make though so definitely give them a try. Very tasty little morsels. This makes twelve little stuffed potatoes. They're pretty rich. and not exactly diet food. I dare you to not want to eat them all.

This is my entry into this months Potato Ho event hosted by Evil Chef Mom. Be sure to check her blog for the Potato Ho update on March 19th.

GRUYERE-STUFFED NEW POTATOES

6 medium new potatoes, washed
Olive oil
2 green onions, minced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 pound Gruyere cheese, grated
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon ground coriander
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Coat potatoes with olive oil and bake for 45 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven and let cool.

When cool enough to handle, slice in half and carefully remove the pulp, taking care not to tear the skin. Set skins aside and place pulp in a bowl.

Cook green onions in butter over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add to the potato pulp. Add cheese, sour cream, coriander, salt and pepper; mix well. Taste and adjust seasonings. Stuff mixture back into the potato skins and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve potatoes hot.

Trixie Belle cooks Big Martha's Mashed Potatoes with Cream Cheese

Normally I make my Moms mashed potatoes with evaporated milk for Christmas Day dinner. This year Mom said I could deviate from our traditional menu so I decided to make this mashed potato recipe that had cream cheese. Because, well, it's potatoes and cream cheese, what's not to like. It was served with some HoneyBaked Ham, Pillsbury Flaky Biscuits and the Stewed Green Beans with Bacon I had tried out for Thanksgiving.

It's an understatement to say I stress about cooking Christmas dinner. Not sure why, because it's only the three of us and Mr. L and my mom are always willing to help out. I guess it's just the pressure of the season to have everything perfect. When I start to stress like that it's 'everyone out of the kitchen now, I can handle it'. That's why when something deviates from the plan (and you know it's the holidays and you know something won't go as planned) I freak. Well, I had one of those 'moments' with this recipe, though in hindsight it had us cracking up.

Though we usually buy non-fat organic milk in the glass bottle, I figured I'd go "full fat" with this recipe and use whole milk, so I bought a glass bottle of it at the store. When we opened this bottle, we thought it had gone bad. There was a "plug" at the top that was thick and though the milk didn't smell bad we figured it was spoiled and we tossed the whole bottle. Silly city kids. It wasn't until a few days later when I bought another bottle of whole milk for another recipe and found another "plug" that I read the side of the bottle and it warned that a plug of "cream" would usually rise to the top. The horror! I would have had some awesome cream for my coffee. Silly city kids, wasted that whole bottle of milk. Yeah, we felt stupid.

This recipe came from the November 2008 issue of Martha Stewart Living Magazine. It was very rich and yummy and made a perfect addition to our Christmas dinner. It also heated up well the next day. It's simple but with good flavor. I'd make this in a heartbeat anytime I needed mashed potatoes as a side dish. Of course one could add some crumbled bacon bits to the recipe to add more flavor...the only reason I didn't was because there was already some bacon in the green beans. I can also see adding chives or mushrooms to this mixture. Garlic too.

Sorry for the awful photo of the mashed taters. It was Christmas Day and I was more worried about getting a hot meal on the table than getting a great photograph. This is my entry into the January Potato Ho Down. This month it's being hosted by Fig & Cherry. Be sure to check out her blog for some great recipes and a Potato Ho Round up.

And do take a look at the photograph below. Big Martha's recipe calls for rubbing off the skins of the potato after cooking them and "discarding". Fools. Mr. L fried these little puppies up for breakfast the next day. I gots me a good one in that man.

BIG MARTHA'S MASHED POTATOES WITH CREAM CHEESE

3 1/2 pounds white or Yukon Gold potatoes
course salt and freshly ground pepper
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup whole milk, warmed
1/2 cup heavy cream, warmed

Place potatoes and 1 tablespoon salt in a medium pot, cover with cold water by 2 inches, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover partially, and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 35 minutes. Drain, and let stand until just cool enough to handle. Rub off skins, and discard. Cut potatoes into large pieces.

Combine potatoes, cream cheese, butter, milk, and 1/4 cup cream in a mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat until combined. Season with salt and pepper, and beat to desired consistency.

Return mashed potatoes to pot, and place over medium heat. Add remaining cream, and cook, stirring constantly, until heated through. Serve immediately, or keep warm in a covered bowl over simmering water for up to 2 hours.

Serves 8

Note: I used Yukon Gold potatoes. I used a bit more heavy cream and some non fat milk to make up for the missing whole milk.

Note: I didn't want to get out the stand mixer in a crowded kitchen (we don't exactly have a lot of counter space where we live) so I just used a hand mixer to mix with.

Trixie Belle's Potato Skins with Bacon and Cheese

I've always been a fan of the skin of the potato. Usually, if I have a choice in a restaurant, a baked potato will win out over mashed, fried or rice. I always eat the meat of the potato first (with plenty of butter and sour cream) then I get to the good part. The skin. I make sure most of the potato meat is gone, then I butter the skin and sprinkle liberally with salt. I've had wait staff look at me a bit funny when I ask to take home what they think of as garbage, just the hollowed out shell of a baked potato.

Potato skins used to be my appetizer of choice...before I became enamored with buffalo wings. I remember many days spent at TGIF's ordering their special skins. But I've never made them myself at home. How sad is that? So I decided that I needed to give them a try for this months Potato Ho Down.

I kinda winged it with this. I also wasn't trying to make a "gourmet" version of skins, I just wanted a simple and quick recipe. I do know that next time I probably would take out even more of the potato meat, add a bit more cheese and gasp, maybe a bit less of the bacon. I also used the only bacon I had on hand which was some thick slice, honey cured stuff. I think next time I'll use the standard thin slice Oscar Mayer as I think it would work better. I also thought, belatedly, that some pickled jalapenos would have been good with this or maybe some diced jalapenos mixed with the sour cream.

Though potato skins are considered appetizers, Mr. L and I had this for dinner. Tasty little things. The potato skin shown had very little bacon compared to the rest. One of the great things about potato skins is I now have the potato that came out of the skins to cook something new with later!

This is my entry into the December Potato Ho Down which this month is hosted by Where's My Damn Answer. Be sure to check out her blog for the round up.

POTATO SKINS WITH BACON AND CHEESE

4 large russet potatoes
1/2 to 3/4 cup medium cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 to 3/4 cup provolone cheese, grated
1 1/2 cup cooked crumbled bacon
1/2 cup chopped green onions (mostly green part)
1/2 cup sour cream
olive oil
salt
pepper

Bake potatoes according to your favorite recipe. When they are done, remove them from the oven and cool until you can easily handle them. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise. With a spoon, scoop out the insides of the potatoes leaving about a 1/4 of an inch of potato along the boarder (you can leave more or less potato if you like). If your potatoes aren't exactly symmetrical, cut a little slice off the bottom of each half so they will stand up on a baking sheet. Put the skins on a baking sheet and salt and pepper the inside of the skins to taste. Drizzle the inside of the skins with a bit of olive oil. Divide the cheese and bacon evenly among the hollowed out skins. Put baking sheet with skins into a 375 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes. Once the cheese has melted, remove from oven and top the skins with sour cream and the green onions. Serving size would depend on if you had this as a starter or as a meal.

Note: I used kosher salt and full fat sour cream.

Note: Mr. L baked the potatoes at 350 degrees for an hour. He also rubbed them with some olive oil and salt before baking. I only used a cup of cheese for the recipe and I would probably double the amount next time.

Note: I find a lot of skins served in restaurants these days overcooked. They like the skins to be really crisp. I prefer a not so done potato skin so I took mine out after 8 minutes.

Trixie Bell cooks Potato Crisps with Chive-Sour Cream Dip

Having missed the last couple of Potato Ho events, I knew I had to find something that tickled my fancy for this round. These Potato Crisps definitely worked for me.

I found the recipe for this in the November 2008 issue of Food & Wine magazine. Usually after I peel potatoes, the peelings just end up in the garbage. Yeah, I know I'm supposed to use them for soup, but get real, this is me. I saved peels once about five years ago...I think they still live in the back of the freezer. Starting out using the peels though, was a novel idea, I figured I could give this recipe a try.

Now if I had bothered to really look at the photo of the dish, my reconstruction of it would have turned out a bit different. I was so hungry to get this on the table (this was lunch for us), I just plunged into making the recipe without really giving the end result a thought. The recipe calls for "thick' peelings...so that's what I did. After we fried these up I realized that the photo showed much thinner peels...which, I'm sure, made much crisper crisps. It didn't make much of a difference, these still turned out really good.

This was actually a quick and easy snack to put together. And in these economic times, a good use of something that would usually be thrown away. Don't forget that these are tasty little things too!

What to do with the potatoes after you've skinned them? Make mashed potatoes of course. I made twice the amount of the sour cream and chive dip and added that to my mashed taters with some butter and salt and we had a side dish for dinner.

POTATO CRISPS WITH CHIVE-SOUR CREAM DIP

3 cups canola oil
Thick peelings from 3 pounds of Yukon Gold or russet potatoes
  (roughly 1-by-3-inch strips)
Kosher Salt
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream
2 tablespoons snipped chives
Freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large saucepan over moderately high heat, heat the oil to 360 degrees. Fry the potato skins in batches, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes per batch. Using a slotted spoon, transfer each batch of potato strips to paper towels to drain, then sprinkle with salt immediately.

Transfer the potato strips to a baking sheet and sprinkle them with the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Bake for 3 to 4 minutes, just until the cheese is melted. Let the crisps cool, then transfer to a bowl.

In a blender or processor, puree the sour cream with the chives and a pinch of salt and pepper until the chives are finely chopped. Transfer the dip to a bowl and serve alongside the potato crisps. Makes 4 servings.

The chive sour-cream dip can be refrigerated overnight.

Note: I used russet potatoes. I used our little deep fat fryer instead of a pan.

Note: I used much more of the cheese than required. I didn't bother to get out the blender or food processor for the dip, I just minced the chives fine and blended as best I could. I also didn't let the crisps cool, we ate them right out of the oven.

The Potato Ho Down is being hosted by Baking Delights this time around. Be sure to check her blog for all the delicious potato recipes I'm sure will get posted!

Roasted Smashed Potatoes with Peppers

This dish was tasty. Not sure how Italian it is but it did come from Nick Stellino's Family Kitchen. Very simple and fairly quick to put together. I bought some awesome Yukon Gold potatoes at the local farmers market this past weekend specifically to use for this. I definitely think there was a difference between those potatoes and the ones I usually buy at the grocery store. Per the authors notes, this dish is more like mashed potatoes, though you never get out a masher. The potatoes sort of break down on their own.

Mr. L and I liked this potato dish, but honestly, the next time I make it I'd probably make some changes. I thought there was too much liquid in the final dish. I might try adding maybe a fourth a cup less than the required 2 cups. And even then I might not add the liquid at all as at the point they say to add it, I thought the potato mixture looked yummy enough to eat right then!

This also could be doctored up with more cheese than called for, or instead of adding the liquid, how about putting in some shredded cheese and sour cream? The possibilities...yum. Actually it is still pretty good just the way the recipe was given by Stellino.

I made this because my alter ego Trixie Bell is a Potato Ho and we just have to participate in the Potato Ho Down every month!

ROASTED SMASHED POTATOES WITH PEPPERS
Pasticcio Di Patate Arrosto Con Peperoni

3 pounds potatoes (preferably Yukon), unpeeled, cut in 1-inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 yellow bell peppers, cut in 1-inch pieces
2 red bell peppers, cut in 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup freshly grated Romano cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix the potatoes with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, the pepper, thyme, and 4 tablespoons of the olive oil. Grease a large glass baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Spread the seasoned potatoes in the dish, and bake for 30 minutes.  After that time, turn the potatoes with a spatula or a long-handled cooking spoon. Some will stick to the bottom and break; don't worry, that's supposed to happen. Bake for 10 more minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix the bell peppers and onion with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and the remaining tablespoon olive oil. Add to the potatoes in the baking dish, and as you do this, the potatoes will break even more. Bake for 35 minutes.

Remove from oven and add the stock, mixing well. As you stir, dislodge any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle the Romano cheese on top and bake for 10 minutes. Again remove from the oven, stir well, and dislodge any browned bits at the bottom of the dish. Let rest for 5 minutes, sprinkle with Parmesan on top if desired and serve. Serves 6 t0 8.

CHEFS TIP: Stellino prefers Yukon potatoes but says you can use any type (which may mean adjusting cooking time). You cannot overcook this dish but if you don't stir when recommended you may end up with burned potatoes. Adding the stock basically "deglazes" the dish.

Note: I used Yukon Golds (unpeeled), peppers from the Farmers Market and I did add the Parmesan cheese (probably more than the listed 1/4 cup actually).

Note: I used a 13x9 glass baking dish which was completely full once the potatoes were in. You will have to be a bit careful when you stir the potatoes. Since the potatoes broke down quite a bit there was no problem adding the liquid when required (there was plenty of room).

UPDATE: Mr. L says that I was remiss in not mentioning that BACON would be an excellent addition to this dish! My bad.

Trixie Belle Cooks Roasted Green Bean and Potato Salad with Soppressata and Mozzarella

There are so many potato dishes out there that it can be hard to figure out which one to make as a side dish for dinner. Tonight I took some of the leftover new potatoes that I didn't use for this dish and just baked them, mashed them without peeling and added some butter and sour cream. Simple. Quick. Tasty but a bit boring.

In looking for a dish to make from one of my cookbooks for the Potato Ho event, I wanted something a bit different. Something that wasn't like anything I had made before.

When I came across this dish in the Food & Wine Quick From Scratch Italian Cookbook it sounded simple, quick and the flavors interesting enough to peak my Potato Ho'ness. We ended up using this as a main dish salad for dinner.

It was actually pretty good though it seemed a bit dry. There was just a bit of sauce left in the bottom of the bowl that we poured over the first servings but there wasn't anything left for seconds. I would add a bit more oil next time but that's probably a personal preference. The potato's I used may not have been as small as required in the recipe which might also have been a factor.

Instead of cutting up a ball of mozzarella I used the little balls of bocconcini and cut them in half. They seemed to work well with the dish. The recipe does ask for "salted" mozzarella and I'm not sure my bocconcini were. Mr. L and I both thought the dish needed more salt so maybe salting them a bit more  ahead of time might have helped.

Mr. L after eating the dish suggested putting the potatoes, beans and cheese on a bed of prosciutto instead of using the soppressata and I had to laugh as that was one of the variations listed in the recipe. They also suggested adding a roasted, peeled, seeded and sliced red bell pepper or adding a quarter cup of halved and pitted black olives.

The dish made a nice change of pace for dinner and well, it had potatoes and any excuse to eat potatoes works for us!

ROASTED GREEN-BEAN AND POTATO SALAD WITH SOPPRESSATA AND MOZZARELLA

2 lbs small new potatoes
1 pound green beans
7 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 pound sliced soppressata or hard salami, cut into quarters
1/2 pound salted fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2 inch cubes, at room temperature
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Heat the oven to 450 degrees. On a baking sheet, toss the potatoes with the green beans, 3 1/2 tablespoons of the oil, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and the dried thyme, if using. Roast in the center of the oven for 20 minutes. Turn the potatoes and beans with a spatula and then sprinkle with the fresh thyme, if using. Roast until the vegetables are golden and tender, about 10 minutes longer. Transfer the vegetables to a large bowl.

Add the remaining 4 tablespoons oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt, the soppressata, mozzarella, parsley, and pepper to the bowl and toss. Add the lemon juice and toss again. Let stand for 5 minutes to absorb the dressing before serving. Serves 4.

Note: I used fresh thyme, I used some really good soppressata from Lunardi's. I used bocconcini.

Note: The soppressata was large so I cut the quarters in half.

We used this as a main dish and even with our rather large appetite, there was some left over for another meal. This is my entry into this months Potato Ho Down.

Potato Ho Round Up

Okay, I'm not sure if this is just a coincidence but our Wii Fit arrived the day before Noble Pigs round up of all our potato entries. Because I think I might have to cook every single potato dish posted, I'm going to need that Wii Fit!

Lots of delicious sounding potato recipes on the Potato Ho Round Up. From Potato Salad (with no mayo), to Stir Fried Chili Potatoes, to Aloo Gobi (potato and cauliflower curry) and did I mention Potato Soft Tacos? All the dishes sound yummy so go to the round up and check out all the potato goodness here.

Noble Pig and Evil Chef Mom have also set up a special blog for us Potato Ho's here. Check it out and maybe you too can join us and become a Potato Ho!

Trixie Belle's Breakfast Potatoes

Back in the day when I was single and (much) younger, there were two things that ruled my eating habits. A) I didn't have a ton of money to spend on food and B) I could eat like a pig and not gain an ounce. That meant potatoes. Lots of potatoes. Morning, noon and night potatoes. They were cheap and eating a lot of them did nothing to my thighs or waistline. Now, the spuds are still pretty cheap but if I so much as look at them, my thighs seem to get an inch bigger and my stomach balloons. Ah yes, I remember the unlimited amounts of potato days with fondness.

My 'go to' potato dish back then were these "Breakfast Potatoes" though I tended to fix them anytime I was hungry (and they were usually eaten alone with no eggs or other accompaniments). I usually had potatoes on hand and this recipe was quick and easy to make. Though potatoes, chili powder and Tabasco sauce were the main ingredients, at times I would throw in onions, bell peppers, heck even some bacon. And it doesn't matter what kind of potatoes either as this works with russets, yukon gold or any other form of the spuds (though I admit I usually bought the cheap ten pound bag of russets for my potato addiction-this was also back when most grocery's only carried the russet kind). Over the years, I have refined my process of this recipe and though I might have had some interesting setbacks when I first made this I now have the recipe down pat and the potatoes tend to turn out perfectly for me every time.

When Noble Pig admitted she was obsessed with potatoes and was starting a monthly potato blogging event, I knew that I couldn't pass up the challenge. This event gives me the chance to cook potatoes at least once a month without feeling guilty. While going through all my cookbooks trying to find a dish to make for the first months event I kept remembering my old potato standby the Breakfast Potatoes and thought that's what I should make.

I used baby new potatoes for this dish but you can use any variety that you like. I made this as a mid afternoon snack (after a late breakfast of quail eggs and beef prime short ribs karubi-more on that later). Mr. L seemed to like them as he kept asking for more.

The round up will be on Noble Pigs blog on the 16th, I'll post a link to it when it's up. As for who the heck Trixie Belle is? She's just my inner potato-ho!

TRIXIE BELLE'S BREAKFAST POTATOES

Potatoes (any kind)
Oil (Veggie or Olive, or whatever)
Chili Pepper
Tabasco
Butter
Salt

Nuke the potatoes until a fork can barely go through them (or you can boil them to almost done). Cut them into cubes, squares, half moons or any shape you would like (the smaller they are the quicker they brown and cook). If you want to stand at the stove all afternoon, forget this step and just cube the potatoes and throw them in the hot pan raw...they will take until next Tuesday to cook (can yah tell that's how I first tried to cook them??).

Heat a pan (medium to medium hot), pour some oil in and when it's hot, put the nuked potatoes in. Let them sit for a bit to get a nice crust. Turn them periodically to get that nice crust on as many sides as possible. Add a couple dashes of Tabasco and chili pepper to taste about two minutes before you think they are done. Add some butter (a little or a lot depending on if you like your potatoes a bit dry or a bit moist). Plate and salt. Normally serves one, but if pressed I do share.

Please note: If you forget that the potatoes are on the stove and do something stupid like spend half an hour dancing in your living room to the latest Duran Duran or a-ha song, the potatoes will probably get more crust than you would like...you will have to start all over or make a run to McDonald's for fries, call out for pizza or possibly starve. Also note that if you get a little carried away and add a little to much chili powder and Tabasco sauce the potatoes might just be a little too spicy hot to eat and you'll burn your lips and have to explain to your date why your lips are all puffy and since this was before big lips were sexy, you would just come off looking like Bozo The Clown because all that heat would have made your whole face turn red to go with the big lips.

Note: I used baby new potatoes. I left out the Tabasco because Mr. L values his lips and he made me share. I used Maldon salt. I also added some paprika to make them look more dangerously hot than they really were.

Note: There were no leftovers (sorry Mom!)