Potatoes, Earthly Delights, Part 2

“What I say is that, if a fellow really likes potatoes, he must be a pretty decent sort of fellow.”A. A. Milne

Potatoes, the Ultimate comfort food. In fact the Latin word for potato is Solanum tuberosum, and solanum is derived from a word that means “soothing.”  It is truly divine that this comfort food is also good for you. Potatoes are the only major crop produced in the world that is complete nutritionally.

Unfortunately, this very regal vegetable was vilianized with the carbohydrate phobia that surfaced in the 90’s. They were viewed as an evil food that would make you blossom into an obese cow overnight. Where in truth, they are low in fat, calories and cholesterol and loaded with vitamin C, potassium, and B6. Spuds are also an excellent source of energy and fiber, particularly if you eat the skin. The only thing bad about potatoes is what we do to them.

Potatoes are actually going through a new renaissance with all the different varieties available that have such diverse flavors, textures and colors. Gone are the days of only being able to get Russets and red potatoes. Now you can choose from 80 different delicious varieties to tickle your taste buds. The question is; how does one pick the best potatoes for the job at hand?

For practical purposes, potatoes fall into two easy categories; baking and boiling potatoes.  The major difference between these two types is the starch content in them and their skins.

Baking potatoes, which usually have a rough skin, are high in a starch called amylose. This starch breaks apart easily making a splendid fluffy baked potato or creamy mashers.  Russets lead the contingency of proud bakers, followed by Goldrush, White Rose and Long White. (By the way, Idaho potatoes are russets.)

Boiling potatoes, which are also called waxy potatoes due to their smooth skin, are relatively low in a starch called amylopectin. This starch is actually a pectin that holds the potato together nicely when boiled. They are ideal for soups, casseroles, salads, gratins and grilling. Some of the well known boiling characters are any yellow, red or white potato such as Red Bliss, Russian Banana, Finish Yellow, and French Fingerlings.

To totally confuse the subject, there is actually an “all purpose” category as well. These spuds are a nice cross between the bakers and the boilers. These flexible varieties are all the purple, yellow and red fleshed potatoes like Yukon Gold, Peruvian Purples, and Cranberry Reds.

Gratins are normally one of the naughty things we do to potatoes. This wonderful gratin recipe uses blue cheese for a stronger flavor so you don’t have to use so much fatting cheese. I used Oregonzola by Rouge Creamery and it was delish! If you do not like blue cheese, substitute a sharp white cheddar cheese, like Tillamook’s Vintage White Extra Sharp. The tarragon can also be substituted for dill or any other herb that lights your fire.

Blue Cheese Potato Gratin

Adapted from Cooking light

2 tablespoons of butter

3 tablespoons of unbleached flour

2 ½ cups of fat free milk

¾ cup of crumbled blue cheese

1 teaspoon of salt

Few cranks of black pepper

1 tablespoon of chopped fresh tarragon or

2 teaspoons of dried tarragon

3 pounds of a boiling potato cut into thin slices

½ cup of finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Crank up the oven to 375 degrees and get out a small saucepan. Melt the butter over medium high heat and then sprinkle the flour over the frothy butter. Cook while stirring quickly with a whisk, for a few minutes. Then, with your third arm, gradually add the milk while still whisking. The milk and butter mix will blend together nicely, and then after a few minutes, while you are still whisking, the sauce will start to thicken. Drop in the blue cheese, a little at a time, while still whisking. After the cheese has melted, stir in the tarragon, salt and pepper. Set aside and keep your fingers out of it!

Get out your handy dandy 13 X 9 baking dish and lightly oil the bottom and sides. Arrange about 1/3 of the potato slices in the bottom, then pour about 1/3 of that yummy cheese sauce over them. Repeat with two more layers, ending with the cheese sauce. Sprinkle with the Parmigiano cheese and bake covered, for about 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 30 minutes or so till all bubbly and fragrant. Let it stand for about 10 minutes after you take it out of the oven, to set. Enjoy this earthly delight!

Nutritional facts for 8 servings; 260 calories; 8 grams of fat; 4 grams of fiber

Spooky Kooky treats!

“Eat drink and be scary.” Ghoulia Child

The go-evil gourmet

May I interest you in some dirt and worms?

Newsflash! Potatoes part 2 has been abducted by gremlins and goblins! (evil laughter from another room.)  More devious designs for this week’s column is being brought to you by…..bone rattling please…. Ghoulia Child, the fire breathing sorceress of kitchen magic!

“Hello my pretties! The witching times are upon us and the time for brewing up devilish delights is ripe! (Like the corpse in the other room!)  Here are some quick and easy ghoulish bites to whip up for your little monsters and their friends for All Hallows Eve. They are perfect for cooking your children in, oh I mean for cooking with your children!”

“The first two recipes call for bread dough. I like to make my own whole wheat dough and roll it out real thin and use it. You can buy pre-made whole wheat dough in the freezer section or give into the dark side and use Pillsbury dough in a can. Quick, easy and brutal. (These ideas are thanks to “Our Best Bites” at  http://www.ourbestbites.com/

Mummy Dogs

1 package of ww bread dough or

Make your own dough or

Pillsbury crescent roll dough in a can

1 package of hot dogs or tofu dogs

Roll the bread dough out in a flat rectangle about ¼ thick, and cut into thin strips. Wrap the dogs up in the dough, mummy like, the messier you do it the spookier it gets! Then a wrap a little on the head, leaving a space for the face. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 to 13 minutes or till they are screaming and golden brown. Dot rat’s guts (mustard) for the eyes and offer up bat’s blood (ketchup) for dipping.

Bones and Blood

1 package of ww bread dough, or

Make you own or

Pillsbury bread stick dough in a can

Italian seasoning

Fresh grated cheese

Marinara sauce

Roll out the dough into a flat rectangle about ¼ inch thick. Cut into thin strips about 8 inches long and 1 inch wide. Snip the ends with scissors about 2 inches into the strip, and curl down into a bone shape. Put on a greased cookie sheet and sprinkle with herbs and cheese. Bake for about 10 – 15 minutes till golden. Serve with wolf blood. (marinara sauce)

Monster Inc. Apples

4 apples, different colors

(pink ladies, golden delicious, red )

Almond slivers

Peanut butter

Candy eyes

Butcher the apples by cutting them into quarters. Operate to take a part of their brains out by cutting a wedge out of the center of the apple, careful not to cut too deep! Drop into a bowl with a tablespoon of lemon juice in some water to keep them from turning brown. Fill the wedge with peanut butter and insert the slivered almonds for teeth. I used a toothpick to make a whole before I inserted the almond sliver. Then stick the candy dots on the monster for eyes with peanut butter. Crunch away!

Dirt and Worms

1 package of chocolate pudding

Crushed chocolate wafers

Gummy worms

Make up the chocolate pudding as directed. I use non-fat milk, it works just as well. Make the “dirt” by placing waxed paper over the cookies and roll with a rolling pin. (Or you can give them to one of your little monsters to stomp on in a cereal bag.)  Layer the pudding in a small clear glass, poke a few worms in there, and sprinkle with the “dirt.” Eeuuuhhh.

Magic Wands

1 package of pretzel rods

1 package of white chocolate chips or

1 package of dark chocolate

2 teaspoons of canola oil

Halloween cookie sprinkles

Fire up the caldron and melt the white chocolate in a double broiler. Stir in the oil while the chocolate is melting. Pour your brew into a tall thin mug. Dip one end of the pretzel rods into the chocolate and let the excess run off back into the cup. Lay your wand down on a sheet of waxed paper and sprinkle with cookie decorations and toad toes while it is still warm. Allow it to cool completely before whipping up magic with it. Serve them stuck in a clear vase or glass filled with candy corn.

Witches hats

Witches Hats

1 package of chocolate dipped cookies

Like Keebler Fudge striped cookies

Heresy kisses (or bites)

Frosting in a tube in ghoulish colors

Or make your own

Lay the cookies out on a piece of waxed paper, chocolate side up, and glue the kiss to the middle of the cookie with the frosting. As you squish the kiss down onto the frosting, it will form a little ring that is the hat band. Then just pipe a little bow on the hat band, and abracadabra! A witches’ magic hat!

Have a hauntingly good Halloween and eat your cookies! He he heee heee he

Potatoes, earthly delights, Part 1

“The potato is one of humanity’s most important weapons in the battle against hunger.” Carlos Ochoa

French fingerlings, Russian bananas, russets, and red potatoes

Potatoes are a subject near and dear to my heart. Maybe it is partly being born and raised in Idaho, maybe because they bring waves of bliss over me when I eat them. Either way, there is so much to share on this delicious subject that there will be two articles devoted to potatoes.

Last weekend, my mother and I skipped out to the garden patch armed with a pitch fork and gloves, and unearthed our buried treasure of hundreds of pounds of potatoes. We felt like triumphant prospectors, digging up these nuggets of goodness. I kept giggling and exclaiming, “we’re rich!”  As I dug through the earth, my mind turned to our ancestors and how potatoes were the nutritious cushion between them and starvation. But this wasn’t always true.

Potatoes appeared out of thin air, on the slopes on the Andes in South America some 7000 years ago.  Their amazing ability to grow in austere conditions and store well through the winter made them a favored food of early Andean people. The Spaniards didn’t cart them over to Europe till the late 1500’s as a botanical curiosity. Then, they were only cultivated as a cheap food to feed prison inmates and animals.

The rest of Europe wasn’t having anything to do with the potato either due to its reputation as food of the underprivileged and being from the dreaded nightshade family. This foreign tuber was considered drop dead toxic by the public. Oh, and they might cause Leprosy among other things. The French went so far as to make the cultivation of spuds forbidden.

Two hundred years later, enter stage left, the Frenchman and pharmacist Antoine Parmentier. Parmentier had developed an impressive respect for the potato while imprisoned in Prussia during the “seven years war.” He was faced with eating this “hog food” or die of starvation. He ate the potatoes. Lo and behold, he didn’t become poisoned. In fact, he thrived.

In 1772, Parmentier came back to France and took up the crusade for the modest potato. Even though he proved through scientific studies that it wasn’t poisonous, still no one would eat it. So finally, as a last ditch effort, he planted 50 acres of potatoes, right outside of the Paris city limits, and set armed guards on the “valuable” patch. These guards were instructed to take any and all bribes to share the “loot” and withdraw at night for plunders. Sure enough, the stolen potatoes spread astoundingly fast through the French countryside.

By the 1780s potatoes had become a valuable food crop through out Europe. In the United States, it was still largely a food grown for hogs till the mid 1800s, when potato blight brought about the “Great Famine” in Ireland. Ireland’s population dropped by 50% in just a few years from starvation and mass exodus. Most of these emigrants came to North America and brought their great love of potatoes with them. And that, my friends, is how potatoes became a beloved staple on the America table in just the last 200 years. Amazing huh?

Many potato dishes in France are named in honor of Antoine Parmentier. Potage Parmentier is a simple potato leek soup that we have all experienced on some level. Julia Child paid homage to Parmentier with her version of it. As Julia said, “smells good, tastes good, and is simplicity itself to make.” Here is a version much like Julia’s. Make sure a use organic potatoes, their flavor is superior.

Potage Parmentier

3 to 4 cups of sliced leeks or onions

3 to 4 cups of cubed potatoes

2 tablespoons of butter

1 quart of water

1 quart of chicken broth

1 to 2 hand fulls of chopped flat leaf parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

4 to 6 tablespoons of heavy cream

Break out your favorite soup pot and melt the butter on medium high heat. Toss in the leeks and sauté till just beginning to get fragrant, then add the potatoes. Stir till well mixed and add the water, chicken broth and parsley. Lower the heat and simmer gently till the potatoes are perfect, about 15 – 20 minutes.

Now, here is the part where Julia says to run the soup through a food mill. (A food mill!) So if you know what it is and actually have one, use it here. I used my food processor and pulsed just a few times. One could also use a good old potato masher or a blender. If you do use the blender, just pulse the soup a few times. The object is to have a few chunks and creaminess.

Return the soup to the pan and heat gently, add the heavy cream and flavor with the salt and pepper. (Julia suggested 2 tablespoons of salt, EEK!) Ladle the soup into your most French looking bowls and garish with some chopped chives and parsley. Serve with a crusty bread and Bon Appetite!

Untapped bounty; green tomatoes

“Cooks who understand these introverted green beauties can promote their richness, versatility and color appeal to the world.” Jolene George

Beautiful Green tomatoes

It is getting to be that time of the year when I start thinking about what sort of soups to make. It is also that time of the year when unripe green tomatoes are hanging abandoned in the garden with the spiders. In the past, I have always thought what a waste that is, but this year I am looking at those bulging green beauties with…..lust.

Green tomatoes are actually a windfall when you know what to do with them. First suggestion is to take one of those ignored waifs from your garden and cut it up and taste it.  You will notice that they have a very mild taste and will easily take on the flavors of the foods you cook them with. Yet, they are firm enough to withstand the heat of the fire, unlike their outgoing older cousins. This makes them a very versatile veggie with limitless possibilities. They can do soups, gratins, salads, salsas, sandwiches and even desserts.

It is important to learn a few tricks when working with the under employed, unripe tomato. First off, make sure and pick the biggest ones possible. They will be the less bitter. Second, you will want to core the unripe tomato because its core is woodier and more acidic than in a ripe tomato. Do this by slicing the tomato in half and the core will be a small hard white spot near the stem. Cut that out with a small paring knife and your green tomato adventures have just begun!

The next suggestion is to start experimenting with your unripe tomatoes. Try breaking outside the fried green tomatoes box and using them in different recipes. I was amazed at how many different recipes there actually are for these little green nuggets. We tried them in a gratin, a crisp, salsa, soup and then this salad. Our guinea pigs decided that the salad was the most inventive and delicious. So here it is presented for you to try. I will post the salsa recipe on my blog; http://danazia.wordpress.com/ for it came in a close second. Don’t be shy to do a search online for recipes for green tomatoes. It is amazing what turns up! Happy experimenting!

Green tomato Salad

Caramelized Green Tomato and Nectarine Green Salad

For the vinaigrette

4 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil

2 tablespoons of finely chopped shallots

4 tablespoons of champagne vinegar or

white wine vinegar

4 tablespoons of olive oil

1 tablespoon of honey

1 teaspoon of salt

Few cranks of black pepper

Put all the ingredients into a jar and put on the lid. (Important safety tip, make sure it is a tight fitting lid!) Shake it all up till well blended.

For the Salad

2 large nectarines or apples, cut into thin wedges

4 unripe tomatoes, cut into wedges

1 teaspoon of sugar

½ teaspoon of salt

A few drizzles of olive oil

6 cups or so of mixed salad greens

1 cup of fresh basil leaves, shredded

½ cup or more of crumbled blue cheese

½ cup of chopped toasted hazelnuts or walnuts

Fresh cracked black pepper

What to do…..

In a medium bowl, toss the tomato and nectarines wedges with the sugar and the salt. While those wait for their starring role, line up the supporting cast by mixing the salad greens and basil together. Arrange 6 salad plates with the greens. Crumble up the blue cheese and have it hanging in the wings with the nuts. Heat up your favorite large skillet and add a few drizzles of olive oil. Once the oil is shimmering, lower the heat to medium and add the tomatoes and nectarines, laying them on their sides. Try not to crowd them in the skillet and cook these little stars, without disturbing them till them begin to brown.  Flip them onto their other sides and caramelize that side too.

Working quickly, remove the tomatoes and nectarines from the skillet and arrange them artfully on the greens. Sprinkle with the blue cheese and hazelnuts and drizzle with the dressing. Crank a bit of pepper on top and serve immediately to some lucky family and friends.

Fishing for a good smoked salmon recipe?

“Food is so primal, so essentially a part of our lives, often the mere sharing of recipes with strangers turns them into good friends.” Jasmine Heiler

I am going to reveal to you my husband’s, Paul Jones, famous smoked salmon recipe. Anyone who has had the pleasure of eating Paul’s smoked fish knows what I’m talking about. It melts in your mouth and overwhelms your senses. It is perfect.

Paul started commercial fishing at 16 years old in Northern California and that is about when he started smoking fish. He tried this and that recipe and was never satisfied. Every summer Paul would go up to Bristol Bay to commercially fish sock-eye salmon. He would make a point to taste everybody’s smoked salmon to see which one was the best. All the recipes were pretty good till he tasted this one, and he knew this one was the top dog.  The set netter, who graciously shared his family recipe, said it was born from lots of trial and error, and was, hands down, the best one so far. And it is.

This recipe uses a dry brine opposed to a wet brine. Now a dry brine is like a dry rub, no fluid is used in the brining process.

Bristol Bay Smoked Salmon

The things you will need;

Wild caught salmon

(if you are using frozen fish, thaw first)

Dark brown sugar

Kosher salt

Fresh cracked black pepper

A big bowl

A smoker,

(Paul prefers a “Big Chief Smoker” made by Luhr Jensen, that you can pick up at any sporting goods store for about $100. They also have smaller sizes to try out.)

Bag of alder wood chips

(You can get these at a sporting goods store)

Cut up the fish, leaving the skin on, into roughly 2” by 4” strips. Place a layer of fish into the chosen big bowl skin side down. Measure out 1 part salt and 2 parts brown sugar, so something like 1/3 cup salt and 2/3 cup brown sugar. Sprinkle the sugar first over the fish first then add the salt.

First sprinkle the brown sugar on the fish

Then sprinkle the salt

Pack it down firmly over the fish, then add another layer of the salmon, skin side down. Repeat the process with the sugar and salt with each layer of fish till the fish is all packed up like a bride’s suitcase.  Cover the bowl and tuck in the fridge.

Pack down the sugar and salt into the fish

Now here is the tricky part; brine the fish in the refrigerator, for 12 hours for fresh fish and 6 hours for frozen fish. Frozen fish is slightly broken down so it absorbs the brine faster. This is the place most people ruin their fish, they over brine. DO NOT OVER BRINE! There are lots of places in this recipe to play with your creativity, but this is not the place.

Take out the fish from the fridge and remove it from the brine. You will be amazed because the brine has now turned to syrup! As you remove the fish, rub off any surplus of syrupy brine with your fingers. Place your fish in a cleaned sink or on a cutting board and dap off the excess moisture with some paper towels. Get out your sparkling clean racks from the smoker and spray them with cooking spray. (Very important or the fish really sticks!) Layer the fish on the racks about an ½ inch apart for good circulation then crack fresh black pepper over it to your liking.

Cleaning the brine off the fish

Cover and let it rest at room temperature for about one hour to prevent a film forming on the fish when you smoke it. The film doesn’t hurt the fish, just looks unappetizing.

Now for the big show! Place the fish in the smoker and fill the little pan provided with chips and turn on your smoker. Let it smoke for about an hour and a half till all the wood is used up. Unplug it and let rest for 1 hour, then plug it back in and fill the pan again, and smoke for another hour and a half. Do this procedure three times, then check your fish to see if it is to your liking.

The top shelf gets done first, so sometimes you’ll need to remove that, and run the fish through one more batch of smoke. The more salmon you have in the smoker the more batches of wood you will have to burn to get it all smoked to perfection. The time you let the fish rest is very important for the flavor and texture, so don’t forget it. The smoked salmon is good in the fridge for about a week or two and it freezes well vacuum sealed. We often give smoked salmon for Christmas presents. Most of all have fun and enjoy this beautiful delicacy.