0 Mashed Potato Pancakes

We brought home a bunch of mashed potato leftovers from our Thanksgiving dinner. Fortunately, the Huffington Post provided this list of 19 things to do with mashed potatoes just in time for the holiday. I wasn't even sure which one to prepare as so many of them looked promising, so I began at the beginning and made the Cheesy Pancakes. It was pretty simple as the potatoes were already mashed all I had to do was add some shredded cheddar cheese and some chopped scallions and form them into patties. They cooked quickly and easily, and were quite tasty topped with some sour cream.

Detail: Mashed Potato Pancakes

0 Patty Pan Potatoes -- Day 2

We often remember the wisdom of Mrs. Poole once said on Valerie, mac & cheese is best on the third day ... with milk. (Quote is inexact, as this show predates social media, so I would have to watch the whole series to figure out exactly what she said.) We can picture her saying this -- and hear Edie McClurg's distinctive voice in our heads -- any time we have a simple dish that seems to improve with a little melding. The most recent example was this evening's side dish of roasted potatoes and squash, which I prepared last night to go along with some fresh salmon.

Putting the kitsch in our kitchen

I had prepared this because I was going whaling for the evening; and would be bringing back a late dinner from Kyler's Seafood. Since I had some leisure in the afternoon, I wanted to prepare a side dish that would require minimal effort from Pam. At this time of year, we also endeavor to use something from our farm share every day, and so far all we had used was the veggies from leftover ratatatatouille. With the bounty of vegetables coming in from Colchester Neighborhood Farm this time of year, we need to do something original every day! It is one of the challenges but also one of the chief benefits of eating locally -- readjusting our food calendar to include more of what is available nearby at any given time of the year.

What came to mind was a simple modification to an old standard of mine -- in fact, when Pam suggested blogging about it this evening, I was confused, because I hardly think of this as a "recipe" at all, much less a "nueva receta." But I do not think I have posted this handy dish before, and certainly not the modification.  I started with a few small potatoes, partly peeling each with our handy monkey peeler. (We usually refrain from peeling potatoes, and if we do, we usually remove only about half the skin.) I then peeled a patty pan (UFO) squash, and diced both to about half-inch cubes.

I put all of this in a casserole dish and added a generous dollop of olive oil and thoroughly dusted the vegetables with paprika (lots and lots), oregano, and pepper. I mixed it all thoroughly and left it for Pam to bake (about 375 for close to an hour) in time for my arrival with the fish, which I simply pan-fried with lime-infused oil and Old Bay. It was very good, served with our home-vinted Gewurztraminer.

But none of this is what inspired us to write this up. It was this evening, when we were putting together a quick dinner of organic hamburgers that we realized this would be a good side. I reheated the roasted potatoes and squash in the indispensible cast-iron skillet, alongside the patties (which included a healthy dose of Worcestershire sauce). The result was simply amazing -- overnight the olive oil had worked its Mrs. Poole magic on the vegetables, and refrying them worked just beautifully. (We did not, as we sometimes do, top this with plain yogurt.) This evening's pairing also worked very well -- our home-brewed Chinook pale ale.

Detail: Patty Pan Potatoes -- Day 2

0 There's No Q in Pi

As we recently wrote on Pi Day, we purchased a couple of cook books -- including a Pie Cook Book -- but we did not make any pi. The closest we came was a local pizza pi. We also promised to follow up soon, and today we came through.

PI DAY PURCHASE --
Order now for 3-14-15

Breakfast Pie with a Hashbrown Crust was actually on the family menu for last night, but a college tour of a certain very hilly campus had us returning home with groceries with too little time or energy to tackle this dish. And dish is an important word here -- quite a few were used, including almost all of our indispensable cast-iron skillets.

Knowing that our daughter does not like quiche, we maintained author Teeny Lamothe's ruse of calling this breakfast pie as we answered the repeated query, "what's for dinner?"

This pi begins with hashbrowns. I shredded a half dozen russet potatoes, squeezed out the excess moisture, tossed with salt, pepper, and rosemary. I then cooked them on hot oil on a hot skillet. I resisted the urge to stir as they cooked; rather I came close to Lamothe's standard of browning on one side and then turning (that is, scraping). I then pressed this mixture into a large, skillet in which I had heated some oil (good thing olive oil is good for us).

Meanwhile, I had cooked some leeks (which Pam had lovingly thawed and rinsed from last year's farm box) and mushrooms in butter (good thing butter is good for ... oh, wait ...), along with a bit more pepper. Also meanwhile, I whisked together a half dozen eggs and a cup of cream (good thing ...) and a half cup of shredded Parmesan. Then I placed the vegetables in the potato crust, topped with another half cup of Parm, and carefully poured over the egg mixture.

I placed all of this in a pre-heated oven, and convected at 350 for 30 minutes. The results?

"Is this quiche?" were the first skeptical words from our darling daughter as she eyed what was obviously a form of quiche on her plate. "I had a big lunch," were her next words. Nonetheless, she ate quite a sizeable portion of what we all agreed was ...

pretty good pi.

Detail: There's No Q in Pi

0 Skillet black beans with potatoes and tortillas

You'd think with a geographer in the house we would use a cookbook written by someone named Nava Atlas a lot more. But, in fact I don't remember the last time I had The Vegetarian Family Cookbook out. I was actually looking for a recipe with squash (one of the few things we still have left from last summer's CSA) but didn't find anything that I could make with the rest of the ingredients we already had. I did find this recipe though, which I was able to make with some creative substitutions. I put 3 small potatoes in the microwave for about 5 minutes, until they were "done but still firm" and let them cool while I prepared the rest of the food. I sauteed the onions and garlic in lime-infused olive oil, and then added some frozen tri-colored peppers. The recipe then called for mild chiles. We had neither mild nor hot chiles on hand, so I added a few tablespoons of salsa instead. Next a can of diced tomatoes, and a can of drained and rinsed black beans, and 2 t. of cumin. While all of this simmered I peeled the now cooled potatoes and diced them. Once the potatoes were prepared I added them to the skillet along with a bit of lime juice and some corn chips. The recipe called for corn tortillas cut into strips, but I had none, and this worked out fine.

A simple and hearty dish. Next time we will use a bit less cumin.

Detail: Skillet black beans with potatoes and tortillas

0 The best latkes - ever

Every year in honor of Hanukkah we make latkes. We have progressed in our 25 years together from a box mix, to actually shredding our own potatoes, and this year I serendipitously noticed a recipe in a never-before-used cookbook: The Wicca Cookbook: Recipes, Ritual, and Lore by Jamie Wood and Tara Seefeldt. Divided into nine sections (one each representing the 8 pagan holidays, plus an extra one for cooking with children) I happened upon a latke recipe while looking for something I might prepare for the upcoming Winter Solstice (stay tuned later this month for Bourbon-Rosemary Almonds!).The latke recipe is similar to the one we've been using for years from Deborah Madison, but this one includes apples in the mix. We peeled and grated 4 potatoes and two small apples and mixed them together. To this we added half  of a medium chopped onion, one egg and a dash of salt. We had recently read an article explaining the importance of the oil when cooking latkes, so I heated more than usual in my indispensable cast iron skillet, then added the the batter by large spoonfuls into the hot canola oil. I had to sacrifice the first pancake (but isn't that always true) while I was learning how to make sure they stayed crispy and didn't become an oily mess, but the rest turned out great. A perfect combination of textures - crispy, creamy (from the sour cream topping), and chunky (from James homemade apple/pear sauce). These were sweeter than our previous recipe, and required a bit more patience while cooking. These were so good, James even ate the "sacrifice" pancake. He asked afterwards if the recipe included flour, at which point I told him that I thought it did, but I  forgot to put it in! We enjoyed our homemade Chardonnay with this meal.

Detail: The best latkes - ever