Potatoes

[dave]

A guess this is a little different from hangover food, whatever heads straight to yr heart...

For me, it's anything (at least, lately) w/ potatoes, rice, or beans...

Whipped Potatoes

Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled, quartered and cooked
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
salt and pepper to taste
Paprika

Directions

In a large bowl, mash the potatoes. Add the cream cheese, sour cream, butter, garlic salt, salt and pepper; mix until smooth. Transfer to a greased 1-1/2-qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with paprika if desired. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until heated through.

Note: Obv. there is no 'whip' here, so if you want break out the mixer you'll aerate these spuds and make them fluffier. Also, you can omit the sour cream or cream cheese, and add some whipping cream while you do this (kinda like vichyssoise, but more solid).

[dave]

Can Anyone Tell Me How To Make Stovetop French Fries? (Raw, not pre-cooked like below)

This is all I've found-

Don't use olive oil; bad flavor for french fries. Don't use plastic or wood; they'll melt or burn/scorch. Get a thermometer meant for deep frying. To avoid splattering, try placing a colander or similar tool with a screen-like face over the top of the pan.

I have a bag of frozen french fries.

Do you have an oven? You can probably bake the pre-cooked french fries...
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 1:36 PM on September 11, 2008

I'd recommend putting the still-frozen fries and a bit of oil (we're talking a couple of tablespoons here, nowhere near three cups) into a nonstick frying pan. Stir the fries with your wooden spatula-thingy to coat them evenly with the oil. Cover and cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally.

When the fries are thawed and have begun to actually cook, turn up the heat to medium high and, if you like, add a bit more olive oil to increase flavor and crispy goodness. I'd also suggest a sprinkle of Italian seasoning or some freshly-ground black pepper.

(Damn it, now you've made me want fries.)

[dave]

Miso and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

1 bulb garlic, unpeeled
Drizzle of truffle or olive oil
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, rinsed and quartered
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 to 1 cup plain milk or soy milk (unsweetened)

4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons miso
Chives or green onions, finely chopped (for garnish)

Method

Heat oven to 425°F. Slice 1/2-inch top off garlic bulb and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap in aluminum foil. Bake until garlic is soft and golden, about 45 minutes. Remove from oven. When until cool enough to handle, peel garlic cloves, mince and set aside.

In large pot, add potatoes and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until tender, about 15 to 25 minutes.

Drain potatoes and force through a potato ricer or mash until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl and mix in garlic. Cover and keep warm.

Heat milk or soy milk and salt and pepper in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Mix in miso and whisk to combine. Pour over potatoes and combine. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chives or green onions. Serve immediately.

[dave]

Fried Mashed Potato Balls

Ingredients

2 cups cold mashed potatoes
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup real bacon bits
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
Oil for frying

Directions

Place mashed potatoes in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Stir in the egg, cheese, onions and bacon bits. Shape into 1-in. balls; roll in bread crumbs. Let stand for 15 minutes.
In an electric skillet, heat 1 in. of oil to 375°. Fry potato balls, a few at a time, for 2-1/2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Serve warm. Yield: 6 servings.

[dave]

Czech Bramboracky (Potato Pancakes)

Ingredients

4 large potatoes
3 cloves garlic, crushed
salt and black pepper to taste
1 pinch dried marjoram (optional)
2 teaspoons caraway seeds (optional)
2 eggs
1 tablespoon milk
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
oil for frying

Directions

Peel and coarsely grate the potatoes, squeezing out as much liquid as you can. Transfer the shredded potatoes to a mixing bowl. Stir in the crushed garlic, salt, pepper, marjoram, and caraway seeds.

Beat the eggs with the milk. Add the egg mixture to the potatoes and stir well to combine. Gradually mix in the flour to form a thick but still pourable batter.
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat; the oil should be about 1/4-inch deep. Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter into the hot oil, flattening it slightly. Fry the pancake until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels. Taste the first pancake and adjust the seasoning if necessary; repeat with remaining batter.

Cook's Note
You can add ham, bacon, or cheese to the pancakes before frying them, if desired. Substitute oregano for the marjoram and cumin seed for the caraway if you prefer. Enjoy them plain, with beer, topped with cheese, or with ketchup or mustard.

[dave]

Home-Fries Tips!

Hokay, thanks to a library cookbook, I've found some guidelines for stove-top french fries.

First, use an iron skillet and a metal spatula, you'll need its strength.

Next, fat is essential, not oil. Bacon fat, goose fat, lard, even butter.

We're not deep-frying, so we'll only need about 2 Tablespoons of [bacon fat]...

Because of that, keep the skillet on med. heat for most of the process. This means your fries will be taking a bit over an hour to make.

The potatoes will stick, making their exterior caramelized. You want that, it's sweetness, but don't let them stick too long, or they'll become burned. Use that metal spatula to un-stick 'em.

About 30 minutes into this, feel free to add garlic and thinly-sliced onion, which will caramelize by the end of the cooking. Yum!

When it's time to dish 'em up, put some cracked black pepper, and your favorite grated cheese on top. Presto!

[Judith]

Uh, yummy! I basically live off potatoes, esp. mash in different varieties (plain potato, potato & carrot, potato & sweet potato).

Not a fan of much fuss so the basic receipe consists of:

• potatoes
• butter or margarine
• milk
• salt
• nutmeg

Boil potatoes and once soft simply add the above ingredients one by one while mashing. If I make more than two portions of mash then I may opt for a bit less milk and butter/marge and instead add a raw egg after everything has been mashed and quickly stirr the mess again until the egg has been amalgamated.

[dave]

Cool, that egg sounds Korean, like the egg cooking in Bibimbap. All hail the humble potato! :)

[dave]

This is more of a question than anything else:

Can you cook up a whole sh*t-load of spuds in the oven at once, for convenience?

Then freeze most of them, but 1 or 2 left for today and tomorrow.

Do cooked potatoes un-freeze well?

Anyone?

[dave]

Moroccan Oven Roasted Sesame Potatoes

Ingredients:

* 2 lbs potatoes , scrubbed (I used russets)
* 1 tablespoon harissa
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 ½ teaspoons coarse sea salt (I used the coarse type)
* 1 tablespoon sesame seed
* ¼-½ lemon

Directions:

1
Preheat oven to 375F.
2.
2
Peel the potatoes if you like, but as long as they are well scrubbed, they give a nice earthy taste if you leave them on.
3.
3
Cut the potatoes into chunks about 1-inch large across.
4.
4
Place the chunks into a bowl and add harissa and toss until potatoes are evenly coated.
5.
5
Add olive oil and toss again.
6.
6
Sprinkle potatoes with salt and sesame seeds and toss one more time.
7.
7
Spread foil on a large baking sheet and oil lightly (foil helps with clean-up later).
8.
8
Place seasoned potato chunks on baking sheet in a single layer.
9.
9
Bake potatoes at 375F for 30 minutes, then using spatula, turn potatoes so that the other side can cook, and bake 15 minutes more or until potatoes are tender and deep golden.
10.
10
Squeeze lemon over potatoes before serving.
11.
11
Serve at once.

[dave]

Spicy Cabbage And Potato Curry( Cabbage Aloo Vepudu )

You need:

* 2 cups of tightly packed medium finely chopped cabbage
* 1 large red/boiling potatoes(you may want to add more)
* 1/2 cup peas
* 4-6 green chillies
* 1/4 cup of grated fresh coconut
* 6-8 curry leaves
* 3 stalks cilantro
* 1/2 tsp turmeric
* 1 tsp cumin seeds( jeela karra )
* 1 tsp mustard seeds( Aavalu )
* 3-4 tbsp oil
* Salt to taste

How to:

* Chop cabbage finely, potatoes 1 inch cubes and green chillies length wise
* In kadai or pan heat oil and add cumin and mustard seeds
* When they start to pop add curry leaves, green chillies
* Add potatoes and green peas
* Saute for a min and then add cabbage
* Add salt and turmeric and mix together and cover with a lid
* Cook on medium flame stirring occassionaly. Make sure you dont burn cabbage
* When the potato is cooked add coconut and fry till all the water evaporates
* Adjust salt to taste
* Switch off the heat and add chopped coriander

[dave]

Warm Asian Potato Salad

Ingredients Serves 6 [cut down portions]
1 12 lbs fingerling potatoes
1 14 tsps salt
2 tbsps seasoned rice vinegar
2 tbsps olive oil
1 tsp sesame oil

1 red bell pepper (thinly sliced)
2 green onion (thinly sliced)
12 jalapeno pepper (seeded and minced)
12 cup cilantro leaf (loosed packed and coarsely chopped)

[You could also add bacon, black or white pepper, curry powder, yr fave hot sauce...]

--------------------------

1 Bring potatoes to a boil over high heat with 1 tsp salt added to water.
2 Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 to 12 minutes, or until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain.
3 In a serving bowl, whisk vinegar, olive oil, sesame oil and remaining ¼ teaspoons salt.
4 Stir in red pepper, green onion, jalapeño, and cilantro.
5 When potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut each lengthwise in half.
6 Add potatoes to bowl with dressing and toss to coat.
7 Serve warm or at room temperature.

[dave]

Potatoes In Coconut Milk

Peel potatoes, stab each a few times with a knife to let salt penetrate potatoes. Put in salted water and boil.

In separate pot, warm coconut milk. Add any spices you wish.

When potatoes are done, drain and pour coconut milk over 'em.

Sweet and savory, sooo good!

Note: You can puree the potatoes as in the photo, if you wish.