Mustard Grilled Potatoes

I was looking for a different way to prepare potatoes on the grill (we typically do rosemary potatoes). This recipe intrigued me with the suggestion to parboil the potatoes first.  The original recipe calls for rosemary to season the dish, but since I was trying to get away from rosemary, I switched out the seasoning with Mural of Flavor from Penzeys.

The first time I made these, I boiled them for too long and had sliced them too thin. The results, while delicious enough to try the recipe again, were less than photogenic. Second time around, I paid closer attention to the parboil, and made sure the coins were sliced correctly. The mustard/mayonnaise bath provides a lovely crisp coating around the finished potatoes. They are crisp on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside. We love them! I think many different seasoning options would go well with this dish, so feel free to be creative!



Mustard Grilled Potatoes
Source: Slightly adapted from Fine Cooking

By par-cooking your potatoes before they go on the grill, they'll have a soft, almost cakey texture on the inside when they're done, but they'll still have that terrific grilled flavor. The mayonnaise not only adds flavor to the potatoes, but helps keep them from sticking to the grill. Serves four as a side dish.

1 lb. medium red- or yellow-skinned potatoes
Kosher salt
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbs. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. herb seasoning of your choice
freshly ground pepper

Wash the potatoes and cut them into 3/8-inch slices. Cover the potatoes with cold water and 1 Tbs. salt  in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower to a gentle simmer (you don't want them to break up), and cook until they're almost but not quite fully cooked, 4 to 6 minutes. The potatoes will still be a little hard in the center, but the outer edges will look opaque. Drain in a large colander and rinse with cold water until they're cool; handle them gently. Spread them out on clean dishtowels and let them sit at room temperature (for up to an hour) until you're ready to grill them.

Light a charcoal grill and allow the fire to reach a medium-hot temperature (the top of the coals should be 5 to 6 inches from the grill grate, and you'll be able to hold your hand over the fire for no more than 3 to 4 seconds when it's medium hot). Alternatively, heat the entire surface of a gas grill until it reaches medium hot.

In a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, mustard, seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss the potato slices with the mayonnaise mixture until the potatoes are well-coated. Put the potatoes on the grill grate in one layer, directly over the fire. Cook for 3 to 6 minutes or just until deep golden brown and crisp. With tongs, turn the pieces over to the other side. Cook until that side is deep golden brown and crisp, another 3 to 6 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.

Potato Tomato Tart

I am finally nearing the end of the 8 pound bag of potatoes I bought to make gnocchi. This tart was a great way to get rid of two more - it's delicious and doesn't require much effort!

I had Idaho potatoes, so I used that instead of the yukon gold she suggests. The tart still turned out great, though I can imagine how wonderful creamy yukon golds would be! I don't have a mandoline for beautiful even slicing, so my layers were kind of wonky. I didn't even bother trying to get it out of the pan in one piece (since I picked a terrible, high sided pan for this), but it was so soft I could cut it with my spatula and serve it right out of the pan. Perfect!

Served on an authentic Florentine hand-painted plate - which I thought was a perfect fit.

Potato Tomato Tart
Source: The Way the Cookie Crumbles, slight adapted wording.
Serves 2 for a light meal

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium Yukon gold potatoes, sliced thin
salt and pepper
2 large (or maybe 3 small) plum tomatoes, sliced thin
2½ ounces mozzarella cheese, sliced thin (or just over ½ cup shredded)
3-4 basil leaves, sliced thin

1. Heat the oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Arrange the potatoes in one layer on the bottom of the skillet, overlapping each slice. Season with pepper and a generous pinch of salt. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for 20 minutes, until the potatoes are almost tender and are lightly browned on the bottom.

2. Arrange the tomatoes in one layer of overlapping slices over the potatoes. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, until the tomatoes are slightly softened. Evenly disperse the mozzarella over the tomatoes and cook a few minutes, until it’s melty. Sprinkle the top of the tart with basil.

3. Transfer the tart as little as possible, or cut and serve straight from the pan.

Balsamic Baked Potatoes

I knew this recipe was going to be a hit when I first saw it, so I didn't wait long to try it! Although they take long to bake the preparation is quick and simple, and they would be great to serve for company since they can bake away, nearly unattended, while you mingle. These are definitely my new favorite way to prepare potatoes, and they made a perfect pairing to the Mediterranean Chicken Packets!

Balsamic Baked Potatoes
Source: Everyday Food, November 2009
Serves 4

• 1 1/2 pounds new potatoes, halved or quartered if large
• 3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 8 garlic cloves, smashed
• 5 sprigs of thyme ( I used 1.5-2 tablespoons of dried thyme)
  
• coarse salt and ground pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  In an 8-inch square baking dish, combine potatoes, broth, vinegar, garlic, thyme; season with salt and pepper.  Bake until potatoes are tender and liquid is reduced to a glaze, about 1 1/4 hours, tossing twice.

Nutritional Information per serving:
Calories: 155
Total Fat: 0.3 g
Sat Fat: 0.1 g
Carbohydrates: 34.3 g
Fiber: 3.9 g
Protein: 4.7 g

Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Risotto

One of the best parts about living in the northern suburbs of Chicago is a little gem called Vintner's Cellar Winery of Libertyville.  We have visited them a few times for wine tasting, and have always enjoyed the wines, atmosphere, and employees.  It's a welcoming little place, and from the tasting bar you can peak back towards the rear of the store and see their many different types of wine working away to become... well, wine!

A few weeks ago, I got an email from them that caught my attention, as it announced the return of Pumpkin Spice Chardonnay. In two years of living here, I don't know how I missed the previous offerings of this delightful sounding wine, but I certainly wasn't going to miss out this year!  I went right over after work and picked up two bottles.




We enjoyed that first bottle right away - and I made note of the strong clove flavor as I planned a meal go accompany the second bottle.  Eventually I decided on a Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Risotto, and Walnut Crusted Chicken with a Cinnamon Sage Sauce.  I was even able to use the wine in the dishes!  The meal turned out fabulous and was perfectly complemented by the wine!











Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Risotto
Serves: 4

• 1 medium sweet potato (about 8 ounces)
• 8 ounces pumpkin (not carving pumpkin) or 1 cup pumpkin puree
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup minced shallot or white onion
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 1/2 teaspoon fresh sage, minced, or 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
• pinch ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Meanwhile, cut pumpkin and sweet potato into 3/4" cubes, drizzle with evoo and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Place on a baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes, or until very tender.
2. Meanwhile, bring chicken broth to a simmer in a stockpot.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat.  Add shallot and saute until translucent, but not brown. 
3. Add rice, stir to coat the rice in the oil, then toast rice for about 2 minutes.  Add wine and simmer about 2 minutes, until most of the wine is absorbed.
4. Add 2 ladles worth of broth, plus sage, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and nutmeg (add pumpkin puree now if you are using it).  Stir frequently for 5-10 minutes until broth is almost absorbed.  Repeat until broth is all used.  Remove from heat and stir in sweet potatoes, pumpkin and parmesan cheese, then serve.
   

Moussaka

Wow, this was fabulous! I had a huge sack of potatoes from the sweet potato gnocchi, and this seemed like a good way to use them up. It was somewhat labor intensive and takes about 2 hours to make, but it was definitely worth it! The instructions call for two layers of potato/eggplant, but I only had enough eggplant to make one layer, and the picture in the magazine one looked like it had one. Also, I don't have a 12x9 casserole dish, so I used two smaller corningware dishes and it worked out fine. Naturally, the second slice came out perfect, while the first slice that I got out to photograph looked like crap. Oh well!


Moussaka
Source: Clean Eating Magazine, May/June 2009
Serves: 8

2 lbs white potatoes, peeled, left whole
12 oz extra lean ground beef (I used 1 pound ground turkey)
1/2 onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
2 cups tomato puree
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t black pepper
1/4 t oregano
1 bay leaf
olive oil cooking spray
1 large eggplant (about 1 1/4 pounds), peeled and cut into 1/3 inch slices.
1 cup low fat sour cream (or greek yogurt)
1/4 c evaporated skim milk
1 egg
2 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425. Fill a large pot halfway with water, cover and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Add potatoes, lower heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 to 18 minutes, until firm but not fully cooked. Strain and set potatoes aside to cool.

2. While potatoes are cooking, brown meat with onion and garlic in a 2-qt pot over medium heat, breaking up meat into little pieces for about 4-5 minutes, until vegetables are tender and meat is no longer pink. Pour in tomato puree and 1 C water. Mix in cinnamon, pepper, oregano and bay leaf. Lower heat to simmer and cook, covered, 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, cover 2 cookie sheets with aluminum foil and mist with cooking spray. Lay eggplant slices on sheet and lightly mist again with cooking spray. Bake in oven about 8 minutes. While eggplant cooks, slice potatoes into 1/4-inch slices. Remove eggplant, transfer to plate, raise oven temperature to 475, re-spray foil and lay potato slices on cookie sheets. Lightly mist potatoes with cooking spray and bake in oven for 8 minutes. Remove. Lower oven temp to 350.

4. Make bechamel sauce: In a separate bowl, mix sour cream, milk and egg until blended; mixture should be thick.

5. Spray a 12x9-inch casserole dish with cooking spray. Arrange 1 layer of potatoes in dish, top with layer of eggplant, then pour all of turkey mixture over top. Top again with layer of potatoes and then eggplant. Finish with bechamel. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and bake in oven for 45 minutes, until set and lightly brown. If not brown, raise temp to 400 and bake for another 5-10 minutes.

Number of Servings: 8

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

I've only had gnocchi twice in my life... the first was in our trip to Italy this past spring, and the second was at home, with some store bought gnocchi. I wasn't sure if I was brave enough to try making it by hand. When I came across this recipe in my latest issue of Clean Eating, it sounded too easy to pass up! It definitely was not hard to make, but it was time consuming. I ended up cooking all the gnocchi and we ate this for lunch throughout the week. Perhaps we are sauce hogs, but I didn't have anything resembling 4 cups of leftover sauce. These weren't quite as good as the ones from Italy, but on my first try I didn't expect them to be! They were still delicious and I loved the twist with the sweet potato.

On a side note, this was part of a budget friendly section of the magazine, and they claim the whole dish costs $9.46, with the cost per serving being $2.37.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Source: Clean Eating Magazine, Sept/Oct 2009
Serves: 4, plus 4 cups of leftover sauce

Traditionally, gnocchi is made with regular potatoes, while bolognese sauce can include whole milk or even cream. By using sweet potatoes, lean ground turkey and skim milk, we've not only taken some of the heft out of this dish, but we've also added a but more nutritional interest.

• 1 large sweet potato
• 2 medium Russet or Idaho potatoes
• 2 cups plus 2 tbsp whole wheat flour, divided, plus additional flour for dusting on hands and cookie sheets
• olive oil cooking spray
• 1 medium yellow or white onion, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 1 pound lean ground turkey breast
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1 28-oz can no-salt-added crushed tomatoes
• 1 6-oz can tomato paste
• 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
• 2 tbsp fresh basil, minced
• sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Use a fork to poke holes in all potatoes. Bake on a cookie sheet, lined with foil, for 45 minutes. Remove potatoes from oven, let cool, remove skins and slice. Add potato sliced to a food processor fitted with a standard blade and puree for 3 minutes or until smooth.

2. To make gnocchi, put potato puree in a large bowl and mix in 2 cups flour, 1/4 cup at a time, (you will get a very sticky consistency). Dust hands with a bit of flour and form puree into teaspoon-sized oval shaped balls. You will periodically need to dust your hands with more flour while making balls. Once all balls are made (you will have 90 to 100), take a fork and, pressing lightly, made indentations around the circumference of the balls, being careful not to flatten them. Dust 2 plates or a cookie sheet with flour and place gnocchi on them to air dry so they will not be quite as fragile.

3. While gnocchi are drying, fill a large stockpot with water and bring to a boil over medium high eat. Once dry, add gnocchi to stockpot in small batches of about 10 to 15. When they float to the surface, after about 3 minutes, remove gnocchi with a slotted spoon.

4. To make sauce, heat a medium saucepot over medium high heat. Let heat for 1 minute, then mist with cooking spray. Add onion , celery, and carrots and saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Add turkey and stir, breaking meat up into pieces with a spoon or spatula as it cooks, about 5 minutes.

5. Once turkey is cooked, add remaining 2 tbsp of flour. Whisk in milk and stir until thickened.

6. Pour in tomatoes, tomato paste and 1/2 cup water. Reduce heat to medium low and stir. Add Italian seasoning and basil. Season with salt and pepper, if desired, and cook or another 5 minutes.

7. To serve, place 1 cup gnocchi in a bowl and top with 1 cup sauce. Garnish with additional basil, if desired.

Nutritional Information
Serving size: 1 cup gnocchi with 1 cup sauce

Calories: 430
Total fat: 2 g
Sat fat: 0 g
Carb: 79 g
Fiber: 13 g
Sugar: 10 g
Protein: 27 g
Sodium: 410 mg
Cholesterol: 30 mg

Oven Baked Fries

Even after the delicious gratin, I had a few yukon gold potatoes left over. I decided to make oven-baked fries with them based on this idea from About.com. I think they turned out fabulous, though my execution was a little off. They'd do best elevated on a rack, and well separated (or at least checked on in the first 15 min to move them around a bit). Mine sat in the oven, untouched, for the whole time and I literally had one giant mass of fries when I was done. It was no problem separating them back to individual fries again, but it would have been nicer if they came out of the oven that way. :-) Anyway, they had a nice outer coating (not crunchy but not mush), and a lovely creamy center.

Oven Baked Fries
Source: Adapted from about.com
Serves: 2

3 yukon gold potatoes, peeled or scrubbed well
2 egg whites
2-3 teaspoons of seasoning, your choice (I think I used some combo of garlic powder, paprika, mexican oregano)
salt

Slice potatoes into 1/4" to 3/8" matchsticks. Beat egg whites to a light froth and gently fold in seasoning. Line a baking sheet with non-stick foil or spray with cooking spray. Dip potatoes in egg white mixture, then place in an single layer on the baking sheet. Bake at 425 for 35-40 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and enjoy!

Potato Artichoke Gratin

It seems the only way to get yukon gold potatoes in this town is to buy the giant bag of them. I much prefer to buy potatoes loose, because we eat them so infrequently. For one meal that includes some mashed potatoes, it's hard to have to buy the whole stinkin' bag, then try to figure out how to use up all the rest. This time, I not only had potatoes to use, but leftover cheese sauce and shredded gruyere from the fabulous croque monsieur.


Well, today I decided I never have to worry about too many yukon gold potatoes ever again. My husband and I both loved this dish to pieces. Next time mashed potatoes are on the menu, that giant bag of potatoes will happily go in my cart with a block of gruyere!


I made individual gratins in 16 oz ramekins, but this could easily be combined into a larger casserole dish if desired.

Potato Artichoke Gratin
Serves: 4

4 large yukon gold potatoes, peeled and rinsed, then sliced thin
1 can quartered artichokes
1.5 cup cheese sauce, recipe follows
1 cup grated gruyere cheese
4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried thyme
salt and pepper

Spray four 16 ounce ramekins with nonstick cooking spray. Starting with the first ramekin, place a layer of potato slices in the bottom. Top with 1/8th of the artichoke quarters. Layer with 3 tablespoons cheese sauce, 1/8 teaspoon thyme, and a dash of salt and pepper. Repeat layers, then top with 1 tablespoon parmesan. Repeat for remaining three ramekins. Bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes. Cover with foil if cheese is getting too brown.

Cheese sauce
Source: Adapted from Barefoot in Paris, by Ina Garten

* 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
* 1.5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 cup hot milk
* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* Pinch nutmeg
* 3/4 cup grated Gruyere

Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan and add the flour all at once, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Slowly pour the hot milk into the butter–flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thickened. Off the heat add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, and gruyere.

BB - Herb-Roasted Onions - spruced up!

Time for another episode of Barefoot Bloggers. I'll take this moment to say that I've loved everything we've made so far and am really glad I joined this group! This week's recipe is Herb-Roasted Onions - yum! I decided that just plain onion was a bit of a stretch for me, so I beefed it up a little by adding some chopped beets, butternut squash, and potatoes. These really added a lot to the dish (although I really should have sliced the beets into thin slices rather than cubes). I should have doubled the dressing with all that I added (even though I did use one less onion) but it was still great! We served with Herbes de Provence roasted chicken.

Herb-Roasted Onions
from Barefoot Contessa at Home on page 156
Chosen by Kelly from Baking with the Boys

• 2 red onions (I used one)
  
• 1 yellow onion
• 3/4 cup cubed butternut squash (frozen, because that's how I store it)
• 1 whole beet, sliced (would be better than the cubes I did)
• 3 small white potatoes, cubed
  
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Remove the stem end of each onion and carefully slice off the brown part of the root end, leaving the root intact. Peel the onion. Stand each onion root end up on a cutting board and cut the onion in wedges through the root. Place the wedges in a bowl along with the squash, beets, and potatoes.

For the dressing, combine the lemon juice, mustard, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Pour the dressing over the onion mixture and toss well.

With a slotted spoon, transfer the onion mixture to a sheet pan, reserving the vinaigrette that remains in the bowl. Bake the onion mixture for 30 to 45 minutes, until tender and browned. (Took me longer because of the beets/potatoes - consider parboiling them first!) Toss the onions once during cooking. Remove from the oven, and drizzle with the reserved dressing. Sprinkle with parsley, season to taste and serve warm or at room temperature.

(Mashed) Potato Pancakes

Like a lot of people this time of year, I had some leftover mashed potatoes (ok, a LOT leftover... who knew 3 potatoes would make that much!). I decided to try my hand at potato pancakes this morning. Wow! I've never had potato pancakes before, so maybe that was part of the infatuation, but I loved these! I started with a recipe from Allrecipes.com, and doctored it up a bit (shown in italics).

Ingredients:
2 cups mashed garlic potatoes
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese

few dashes Frank's hot sauce
1 tablespoon butter (I used canola oil for cooking... somewhere between the computer and the stove I forgot it said to use butter!)

Sour cream (for serving)

Directions:
In a medium bowl, mix together potatoes, beaten egg, salt, cayenne, black pepper, onion powder, flour, Frank's, and cheese. Heat oil on a large griddle at medium heat. Drop potato mixture onto griddle 1/4 cup at a time. Flatten with a spatula to 1/2 inch thick. Fry approximately 5 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Serve hot with sour cream.

I was afraid to go to far with the heat (spice) on these, but next time they could stand a little more, so I'll kick it up a bit. Overall... these had me wishing for more leftover mashed potatoes!

Happy 4th!

The 4th was a low-key day for us this year. I made my favorite for the 4th: my mom's chicken kabobs. I paired it with some rosemary potatoes, roasted on the grill.

Chicken (or beef!) Kabobs:
2 lbs chicken or beef, cut to 'kabob' size :-)
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 tbsp salad oil
1 tsp garlic (about 1 clove)
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
few dashes of worcestershire sauce

Combine ingredients and marinate overnight, refigerated. Skewer kabobs, grill til cooked through.

For the potatoes, I cut red potatoes down about about 1" cubes. I tossed with some extra-virgin olive oil, fresh rosemary, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I wrapped them in a foil packet and placed on the grill. After about 30 minutes, I added some chopped zucchini that also had been rubbed with evoo, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I let them finish cooking about 20 more minutes.