From Mashing To Smashing

My mother and I had been making our mashed potatoes like this for years just because we liked them that way. Who knew that it was actually a traditional French preparation called Aligot and a very popular one at that. I am sure that my mother and I may have strayed a bit from what is considered the authentic preparation but ours is pretty darn close. These potatoes are so rich you could almost get away without serving anything else. From what I have read Aligot is traditionally served with sausages or beef but from my point of view Aligot can be served with just about anything quite nicely.

Aligot is kind of like putting the fancy on plain old mashed potatoes.

Aligot (pronounced Ah-Lee-Go)

2 lbs. potatoes

4 Tbsp. of heavy cream

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp. butter

2 large cloves of garlic, minced

8 oz. Brie or Camembert with rind removed, sliced

Chopped chives or green onion tops

Cook potatoes in boiling salted water in large saucepan for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain; peel. Mash the potatoes with the heavy cream in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Sauté garlic in butter for about one minute, do not allow garlic to brown. Add Brie; stir until completely melted. Stir the melted cheese mixture into the mashed potatoes. You want to keep stirring the mixture until it has a gummy silky texture (may use mixer to accomplish this more easily, garnish with the chopped chives.

Serve immediately.

FYI - We have also experimented using shredded Swiss cheese instead of the brie and it worked exceptionally well giving the Aligot a more nutty taste.

O' Rosemary Tree , O' Rosemary Tree

It is hard to believe that rosemary is actually a member of the mint family as it tends to look and taste like it is more closely related to a pine tree. As insulting as that may have sounded, I actually enjoy rosemary on certain foods, three to be exact; chicken, potatoes and lamb other than that I tend to be a bit of a rosemary snob. I remember I had given my mother a rosemary Christmas tree during her time in the nursing home. The tree was about 2 feet tall and very full and fragrant. My mother kept telling me that I should take the tree when the holidays are over and dry it so I would have plenty of rosemary for all my recipes. I laughed; I said Mom if your tree was made out of basil and parsley I would take you up on that offer but being that the tree is made of rosemary it would take me the rest of my life to use it all. So the rosemary tree stayed in her room, we took very good care of it and it joyfully saw her through two holiday seasons.

Roasted Rosemary New Potatoes

3 lbs. sm. red skinned new potatoes
3/4 c. butter
1/2 c. lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. lemon zest, grated
2 tsp. rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Quarter potatoes and arrange in baking dish in single layer. Salt and pepper the potatoes, combine butter, lemon juice and lemon zest in a saucepan and heat until butter is melted.

Pour mixture over potatoes. Sprinkle rosemary over potatoes. Bake until lightly browned for 30 to 45 minutes.

Why Adopt When You Can Raise Your Own Doughnuts!

It really is hard to find a good doughnut these days none of the major doughnut chains even come close to what I remember as being a good doughnut. Granted I am a little spoiled in the doughnut department as I grew up eating them homemade. Although we did have one place in Rochester years ago that made amazing doughnuts by the name of; "Mueller's". Unfortunately they closed up shop many years ago which saddened a great many loyal customers. Mueller's doughnuts were big in size and taste. Today's doughnuts are a quarter of the size they use to be and the fried cakes look like bracelets with these giant gaping holes in the middle. If you got a custard filled at Mueller's it was fresh homemade custard and lots of it, not a little teaspoon full of canned custard which pitifully brushes against the inside of the doughnuts today.
I could complain about doughnut quality all day once I start it is hard to stop.
So as I say when it comes to many food items if you do not like the taste of something you usually purchase already made, make it yourself.
Here is a doughnut recipe that has been around for ages using mashed potatoes, so much easier than the yeast raised.

Mashed Potato Doughnuts

1 c. mashed potatoes
4 tbsp. butter
2 c. sugar
3 beaten eggs
5 c. flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix hot mashed potatoes with butter, eggs, baking powder, nutmeg, vanilla, and sugar. The flour will have to be added a little at a time while kneading the mixture together. Use plenty of flour to roll out and cut with doughnut cutter between 1/4-1/2 inch thick.
Place in hot deep fryer (approximately 3 at a time). Turn after they pop up, about 1 minute, and leave for another minute.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar or just enjoy them plain.

Angeloo/flickr

The Irish Knish

If you are like me and make mass amounts of corned beef and cabbage on St. Patty's Day (as if it is the only time of year that you can make it)! It is safe to say that your fridge is over run with leftovers and it is only a matter of time before you are sick of the sandwiches and corned beef hash and long for a creative alternative.

I happen to be a huge fan of kosher deli fare and have always loved a good knish. Then it dawned on me why not use the leftover corned beef and cabbage. So here it is the birth of the Irish knish, it may just become a new St. Patty's day tradition.
Feel free to wash these down with an ice cold Guiness as if anyone needs an excuse to have another Guiness!

Corned Beef and Cabbage Knish

4 1/2 c. mashed unseasoned potatoes (instant may be used)
1 c. matzo meal
1/2 c. flour
3 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp. soft butter
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
Additional matzo meal, if needed

Combine mashed potatoes with matzo meal, flour, eggs, butter, salt and pepper. Mix well, dough will be soft.
For each patty, use 1/4 cup dough. Make 24 patties. Coat both sides with matzo meal. Place 12 of the patties on 2 greased baking sheets (6 on each) and flatten dough slightly to form thin patties.
Spread each with 1/3 cup filling (see recipe below), leaving a border of about 1/2 inch. Top with second patty and pinch edges to seal. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Turn patties over and bake 15 minutes longer. You may fry them in oil, turning once for 8-10 minutes. Makes 12 knishes.

Corned Beef and Cabbage Filling:

3 cups of chopped or shredded corned beef
1 cup of finally chopped or shredded cabbage
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste, should need very little salt as the corned beef will be relatively salty.

Mix corned beef and cabbage with beaten egg and seasoning, makes about 5 cups of filling.

photo/plaidninja/flickr

Food For The Fussy and Not so Fussy

When dealing with a fussy eater it is always a pleasure when you hit on something that they truly enjoy. It only ceases to be a pleasure when that is all they request to eat every day for a week. Luckily the rest of us liked this recipe as well because I ended up making it three days in a row. Even though this makes a good size batch and reheats well for leftovers, we are hard pressed to ever have any leftovers since everyone seems to go for seconds and sometimes thirds. So I can say with some certainty that this is a dish that your family will truly enjoy.

Easy Chicken and Dumplings

8 boneless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 small can of chicken broth

1 can of chicken gravy
1 cup of canned or frozen peas
Carrots, optional

Dumplings (recipe below)

Cut chicken into small pieces and combine with rest of ingredients in a saucepan. Heat to boiling point; turn down heat and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add dumplings and cook as recipe directs.

DUMPLINGS:

2 c. Bisquick

2/3 c. milk (fresh or canned)

2 Tablespoons of melted butter

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Drop by spoonfuls on boiling chicken mixture. Cook 10 minutes uncovered and 10 minutes covered.

Makes 10 to 12 dumplings.

I like to serve mine over mashed potatoes, talk about the ultimate comfort food!

Memories Can Grow Like Weeds

Italians do love their bitter greens so much so that they would spend full days in a field somewhere picking them. I know this only because from the time I was a small child my grandmother and great aunts put a little weed puller in my hand and taught me the fine art of dandelion picking. It really didn’t seem like work, it was fun being with them and listening to their stories of the past. The time would fly by and before you knew it we were heading home with bags and bags of dandelions to clean. My grandmother loved to use them for salads but they were also great fried with a little garlic. This particular recipe was created for two reasons the potatoes were a way to stretch the dandelion greens (they have a tendency to cook down to nothing) and the other reason was that the potatoes would mellow out their bitterness.
For some folks dandelions are not a welcoming sight, they are just a nuisance weed ruining their beautiful lawns. For us they are a welcoming sight that stirs up memories of good times spent with loved ones and of the traditional foods that we enjoyed as a family.

Dandelion Greens and Potatoes

12 cups of cleaned dandelion greens
2 cups of diced potatoes
5 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
Hot pepper flakes to taste
Salt to taste

Boil greens with potatoes about 5 minutes, drain. Heat oils in a skillet, add garlic and hot pepper. As soon as garlic takes on color, add greens and potatoes, 1 cup of liquid they were boiled in, and salt. Simmer 20 to 30 minutes. Mash with fork and add more oil, if desired.

Photo Courtesy of YellowHammer/Flickr

Hee-Kah-Mah...........Jicama

Igb/flickr

A girlfriend of mine turned me on to this glorious root back in the seventies and I have loved it ever since. I have had it in a variety of ways but the majority of the time I eat it as a snack (recipe below). The only thing I sometimes change is using lime instead of lemon or I may leave out the chili powder. It’s a great low- cal snack. Jicama is mostly water, Jicama is high in Vitamin C, low in sodium, low in fat and has only 45 calories per cup. I think it tastes like a cross between a water chestnut, potato and a pear with a really nice crunchy texture. It’s a terrific little vegetable and easy to find in most produce sections. Try Jicama in salads, Jicama is especially good mixed with certain fruits especially oranges. You may also cook Jicama just treat it in the same way as you would a potato.

Jicama Snack

1 Jicama

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. chili powder

Peel Jicama, cut into slices, sticks or cubes, arrange slices on serving plate. Drizzle with lemon juice, sprinkle with salt and chili powder, best when chilled.

I put them in a Ziploc bag or plastic container and take them with me; they are a great on the go snack.

"They Did The Mash"

With Halloween approaching what could be more fun than making some homemade candy. Here is a version of candy that has been passed down from generations and from many different cultures. This is candy that is made from mashed potatoes and is surprisingly very rich and delicious. Many of my friends have fond memories of being in the kitchen with their mothers and making this very sweet treat. A lot of times I have heard it referred to as” Irish Potato Candy” but my family and friends seem to know it as “Mashed Potato Candy”. I believe that there is also a version where you can add peppermint extract or oil and turn it into a sort of mint fudge. I’m sure with some experimentation one could probably come up with several unique flavor sensations. The mashed potatoes and powdered sugar could be the backdrop for some really interesting recipes.

Peanut Butter Mashed Potato Pinwheels

2 (1 lb.) boxes powdered sugar

1/2 cup hot mashed potatoes, drained

1 small jar crunchy peanut butter

Mix sifted sugar into potatoes a little at a time by hand. (Don't panic when potatoes liquefy as the first sugar is added. This is what it's supposed to do. Just keep adding sugar until it is pastry consistency.) Sprinkle wax paper with additional powdered sugar. Take baseball-sized ball of mixture and roll out like pastry. Spread with peanut butter and roll like a jelly roll. Wrap rolls in plastic wrap; chill and slice.
Makes 2 rolls.

Here is another version of candy using mashed potatoes, chocolate and coconut that tastes just like a mounds candy bar.

Mounds Mashed Potato Candy

4 cups coconut

3/4 cup cooked, cold mashed potatoes

1 lb. powdered sugar

6 oz. chocolate chips

a small piece of paraffin, optional but does seem to hold up better with that little bit of wax.

Mix the first 3 ingredients together. Shape into balls the size of a walnut. Let dry on wax paper. Melt chips and paraffin on low heat. Dip balls into chocolate.