Potato Salad May 29, 2011

It’s officially summertime and with summer comes barbecues, picnics, and hot weather. That can only mean grilling and cold salads. I made our first batch of potato salad yesterday and it turned out pretty well. I never remember what I put into it, so I’m here to share with you (and give myself a permanent record!).

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs of potatoes (red, white, yukon…)
• 1/4 cup of mayo
• 1 tsp of dijon mustard
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 green bell pepper
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1/4 yellow or red onion or scallions

When I made this I was using 5 lbs of potatoes, so the proportions might be slightly off.

Steps

1. Wash and cut potatoes into similar sized pieces.
2. Put in a pot and fill with water until the potatoes are just covered.
3. Bring potatoes to a boil, once boiling lower the temperature till its lightly boiling. Keep on heat for ~15 mins, until potatoes are tender but not mushy. (If you stick a knife, it should go in and slide off easily.)
4. Drain and fill pot with cold water. Let sit for a few minutes, drain and rinse with cold water again.
5. While the potatoes are boiling, chop the pepper and onion into small pieces. (Onion to add flavor so you can omit if you don’t like it, peppers to add color and flavor)
6. Mix the mayo and dijon mustard.
7. Once the potatoes are slightly cool, mix the potatoes, peppers, onion, and mayo/dijon mixture together until the potatoes are coated.
8. Salt and pepper to taste.
9. At this point you can serve immediately or you can store in the fridge for up to a day. (Making this a great make ahead dish!)
10. Enjoy!!

Indian Potatoes March 5, 2011

This recipe was adopted from “5 Spices, 50 Dishes,” by Ruta Kahate; a fantastic Indian cookbook. These could go well as either a side for dinner or as breakfast potatoes. You can make them 2 different ways, first as smashed potatoes and second quartered and crispy.

Ingredients

• ~2 1/4 lbs of potatoes (either russet or red), boiled (and peeled if you prefer crispy potatoes)
• 6 tbls of canola oil (we use less generally, probably around 4 tbls)
• 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsps coriander (or, if you have them 3 tbls coriander seeds, coarsely crushed)
• if you really are craving spicy potatoes: 2 medium Serrano chiles, cut lengthwise in quarters (we’ve never done this)

Steps for Smashed (steps by JEM)

1. Dice the boiled potatoes.
2. In a large pot on high heat add oil (4 tbls) and cumin seeds.
3. When the pan gets hot add the potatoes.
4. Add all the other spices.
5. Stir to coat/combine.
6. Cook for about 5 mins, stirring continuously (this will help continue breaking down potatoes so they are smashed without the act of smashing).
7. Enjoy

Steps for Crispy Potatoes (from the cookbook)

1. Slice the potatoes lengthwise into quarters. Then cut them crosswise into 1-inch pieces.
2. Heat the oil (6 tbls) in a large work over high heat.
3. When the oil begins to smoke, add the cumin seeds. This will cause sputtering so be careful!
4. After the seeds stop sputtering, add the chiles (optional)
5. When they are well toasted, add the turmeric and briefly stir.
6. Add the potatoes and salt.
7. Toss well, cover, and leave on medium-high heat until the potatoes are slightly toasted, about 4 mins.
8. Uncover and add the coriander seeds and toss well again.
9. Continue to heat uncovered, tossing occasionally until the potatoes are crusty and well browned, about 6-8 minutes.
10. Serve warm.
11. Enjoy

Twice Baked Potatoes January 24, 2011

Friday rolls around and I’m staring at these 3 Idaho potatoes that we have. J and I both love mashed, he likes them with dill and I like them with pesto. We have all the ingredients necessary to make some awesome mashed potatoes. But then I think, mashed are awesome but baked potatoes are really awesome…maybe there is a way to get the best of both worlds. Inspiration strikes, I’ll do some SPINACH TWICE BAKED POTATOES. The result, just as awesome as plain ol’ mashed.

Ingredients:

• 3 mashed potatoes
• Dollops of low-fat sour cream
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
• 1-2 cups of chopped fresh spinach
• Alternates: 1-2 tablespoons of pesto, bacon crumbles, 1-2 tbls of dill, soft cheeses (instead of cheddar cheese)

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 425*
• Scrub the potatoes really well, since you’ll be eating the skins
• Make sure to stab the potatoes on “both” sides w/ a fork or knife (I forgot to this till the potatoes were about 1/2 way done…woops)
• Place the potatoes straight on the middle rack and bake for about an hour. They’ll be ready when a knife slides easily in and out.
• When done, place aside to cool until you can handle them.
• Wash and chop the spinach and gather the rest of your ingredients.
• 
• Halve the potatoes and scoop out the insides leaving the crispy skins as shells. (This was much easier than I expected, before this step I was expected to abort mission and just make some mashed.)
• Mix the potato guts with spinach, 3/4 c. cheddar cheese, sour cream, salt and pepper to taste.
• Load the empty potato skins with the yummy potato, cheese, spinach mixture.
• 
• Top with the remaining cheese.
• Put back into the oven at ~400* for 20-30 mins in a baking dish.
• 
• Enjoy

We served these as a side with chicken, homemade spicy barbecue sauce, and the rest of the spinach.