Potatoes : An Ode, Part I

There is something to be said about a person who only waxes poetic about food. Definitely someone should say something about such a person, but not I. I am to busy devising rhyme schemes for my ode. Potato, potato, what a way to go. Potato, potato I love you so.

Ouch. Alright, I agree. This is not quite the stuff of Keats and the potato is no Grecian urn. But the potato was first cultivated around 500 b.c. and has formed the culinary backbone of a wide ranging group of cultures across time.

The French call the potato, pomme de terre, apple of the earth, and we know that the history of the Irish people would certainly be a different one without the potato. Kings and queens did eat the potato in Europe before the commoner. But no sooner did the lowly peasant plant the lowly spud did they learn of how vital a potato could be to their livelihood and their lives.

The solanum tuberosum is equal in vitamin C to a glass of tomato juice. It is also, in its purest form, 99.9 percent fat free. For that, if for no other reason, modern men and women should be unburdening their hearts to sing lyrical praise to the potato.

Without it, we'd be nothing. So what follows are a few of the basic potato dishes-a pancake, a soup, a side. They are easy and simple, but then, all the best things are.


Traditional Potato Pancakes

one note--these should be made right before they are to be eaten, for best results
I have also heard of people substituting one grated apple for the onion, though I find it odd, try it, you might like it.

7or 8 medium potatoes
1 large onion
2 eggs, separated
2 Tbs. flour or cracker meal
1 Tb. salt
1 ts. pepper
lard or vegetable shortening (or just some kind of oil--if this frightens you)

1) Peel potatoes and keep in a bowl of ice water until ready to use (to avoid discoloring)
2) Grate potato and onion into a bowl.
3) Using a strainer over a bowl (and pressing with either hand or spoon) try to press out as much water as possible--reserve the potato water.
4) Once the potato water has settled, pour out the water but add the starchy sediment at the bottom back to the potato and onion mixture (do not be alarmed, it will help to thicken the result)
5) Mix the potato and onion mixture with the flour, yolks, salt and pepper.
6) Beat the egg whites until stiff and gently fold into the potato mixture.
7) Heat your fat in a large skillet (it should measure an inch deep when fully melted)
8) Drop the pancakes in (about two tablespoons per pancake) and fry, turning once.
9) Drain the pancakes on paper towel before serving with your choice of condiments.

Vichyssoise (or Cream of Potato Soup)

This one is traditionally eaten cold, but why?

2 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
4 leeks, finely chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 sprigs parsley, chopped
2 Tbs. chopped chives
3 Tbs. butter
1 quart chicken stock (your own, someone else's...)
1/2 ts. pepper
couple of dashes of Wocestershire
1 cup heavy cream
salt to taste

1) In a large pot, melt the butter and add the leeks and onion.
2) Cook slowly until vegetables are tender, but not browned.
3) Add the chicken stock, celery, parsley, potatoes and seasonings.
4) Cook mixture until potatoes are tender (test with fork).
5) Put soup through a fine sieve or puree in a blender until very smooth.
6) Return to pot and simmer, stirring in the cream.
7) Right before serving, sprinkle the chives over.

Potato and Cheese Bake

7-8 medium potatoes, cooked, peeled and cubed
(or use a bag of frozen hash browns if time is really an element)
1 10 1/2 oz. can of cream of mushroom or chicken soup
1 cup chopped onion
2 cups sour cream
2 cups grated cheddar cheese (or your favorite kind of course)

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Combine all ingredients and place in a large, greased casserole dish.
3) Bake until browned on top and heated through (approx. 25-30 minutes).

posted by Frodgie at 6:30 AM

 

Stumbling from the Cave....and Into the Freezer

It hardly seems possible that so many months have passed since my last message. But it is true that nothing passes so quickly as time. I have been lost. Lost. There were long nights of cereal, of strangely rectangular food that came in boxes and always needed to be cooked for thirty five minutes. There was, my cooking brethren, cake from cartons that came not after dinner but as dinner.

I do not know what came over me, except, like many of us, life came over me. For a while there, it was not a life that afforded real time for cooking, much less time for writing about cooking.

But I have emerged from the cave, squinting, humbled+slightly thinner from all the Cheerio dinners+but ashamed. Our forbearers managed to cull together three multifarious meals a day-without benefit of any of any of our conveniences. And they built their homes, sewed their clothes, raised their children and I can't even cook a dinner without Lean Cuisine? My head is bowed, my whisk is out, forty lashes for me.

I have emerged with purpose however. My time in exile did teach me a few things. First of all, it taught me the value of cold (so did this winter of record breaking temperatures but that's another story+). I speak now of the value of cold as a method of preservation. To put cooked food in the freezer preserves it and it in turn preserves our sanity on those days where you can turn your hand to practically nothing.

What follows are a series of diverse recipes that all have one thing in common, they freeze well. You cook when you can---weekend mornings work best for me-and you thaw when you must.

A few tips-when properly packed and sealed, almost anything can be frozen up to six months. When of the best of our conveniences are in the selection of wraps and containers that are specifically freezer-friendly. Generally, you can heat your frozen meal in the microwave for 5-12 minutes (on high) or in a conventional oven, at 400 degrees you can cook the meal anywhere between 30-60 minutes.


Beef and Vegetable Lentil Soup

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 ts. salt
1 1/2 cups, dry, rinsed lentils
ground pepper
1 cup chopped carrots
2 beef bouillon cubes
I cup chopped onion
6 cups tomato juice cocktail
1 cup chopped celery
1 can mushrooms (4.5 oz.)
3 cups water
dash of Worcestershire sauce

1) Brown the meat and break into small pieces, drain.
2) Using a large pot, place the beef, lentils, vegetables, water, salt, pepper, bouillon, juice, mushrooms and Woscestershire.
3) Cook on high heat until it comes to a boil.
4) Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.


You Decide Quick Quiche - just use your leftovers!

1 cup shredded cheese of choice
dash of garlic powder
1/2 cup, cooked cubed meat (chicken, ham, bacon)
1 ts. onion powder
1/2 cup frozen, cooked, zucchini,
spinach, broccoli
2 Tbs. fresh parsley
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup baking mix
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 ts. salt
1/2 ts. paprika

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 inch pie plate well.
2) Spread cheese across the bottom of the pan.
3) Cover cheese with cooked meat and vegetables.
4) In a blender, combine eggs, baking mix, spices and milk.
5) Blend until smooth and then add oil and combine.
6) Pour over pie, sprinkle with paprika for color.
7) Bake for 40 minutes and cool for approximately ten.


Lil' Bit of Everything Casserole

1lb. ground beef
1/2 cup water
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 ts. salt
1/2 cup onion, chopped
dash of pepper
4 cubes cubed, cooked potatoes
1/2 ts. basil
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
2 cups thinly sliced cheddar
1 can (3 oz.) tomato paste

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease standard baking dish.
2) Brown meat, breaking into small pieces.
3) Add the peppers and onions, cooking until tender.
4) Stir in potatoes, tomato sauce, paste, water, salt, pepper, basil.
5) Spoon half of the mixture into a baking dish.
6) Cover with half the cheese slices.
7) Top with remaining potato mixture.
8) Cover dish and bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.
9) Uncover and arrange remaining cheese slices in a decorative pattern (if you are so inclined).
10) Let stand a few minutes to melt cheese


posted by Frodgie at 4:40 AM