Potatoes

Potato Salad

November 4, 2010 by Lynsey Leave a Comment

Potato salad is one of my all time favorite side dishes. I’ve had many different versions and I haven’t had any that can top my MaMaw’s, it was awesome! While I LOVE my MaMaw’s recipe and make it often, there is another potato salad that ranks very close to my MaMaw’s and that is the potato salad from Whole Hog Cafe.

Every time I go to Whole Hog I always get double potato salad for my sides; I love it…I honestly think I’m addicted! It’s a good addiction though; it’s an addiction that has encouraged me to try to duplicate their recipe. I have to say that my interpretation came extremely close to the original, and I had multiple people confirm that it was pretty close. Spencer and I had some people over to watch football and I made this as a side to go along with ribs and a few other things. One of the girls that was there is a die hard fan of Whole Hog potato salad and she absolutely LOVED it! It was a hit with everyone, and people couldn’t wait to get the recipe! I love this potato salad; it’s not too much of any flavor and when all the ingredients are combined it’s the absolute perfect flavor combinations.

I hope you enjoy this as much as my friends and I do!

Potato Salad

Ingredients:

3 Pounds potatoes
1 1/2 Cups mayonnaise
1 1/4 Cups sour cream
1 Teaspoon salt
1 Teaspoon pepper
10 Slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
3 Tablespoons + 1 Tablespoon chives, chopped

Directions:

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.

Clean the potatoes and slice, cut slices about1/8 inch thick. Once water has come to a boil, place the potatoes in the boiling water and boil for about 5 minutes or until potatoes are tender but not falling apart.

Drain the potatoes and let cool.

Once the potatoes have cooled place in a large bowl and mix with the mayonnaise, sour cream, salt and pepper, bacon and 3 tablespoons chives.

Once mixed refrigerate until ready to serve. Garnish with 1 tablespoon chives.

Recipe Source: A Lynsey original inspired by Whole Hog Cafe

Country French Omelet

February 24, 2010 by Lynsey 1 Comment

There are quite a few people on Food Network that I enjoy watching and one of them is Barefoot Contessa. Anytime I see that her show is on I have to see what she’s making, everything she makes looks incredible and so delicious. She really just has a way of drawing people in and making them want to go in the kitchen and cook along with her, at least that is the affect she has on me! She is so calm and seems so down to earth and that makes her so enjoyable to watch. She has so much knowledge and so many experiences from her travels and she wants to share them with everyone, and she does that all through her cooking. I always learn something from her, no matter what it is she is cooking, but when she started doing the “Back to Basics” series I was intrigued because she was cooking with ingredients that most everyone has in their home at all times. To me it seems like she wants to people to have the passion and joy for cooking she does so she has dedicated this series to cooking with everyday ingredients but pairs them in a way to make exceptional meals that appeals to everyone.

When Barefoot Contessa started her “Back to Basics” series she also introduced a cookbook, “Barefoot Contessa, Back to Basics”, to go along with her show. When I saw this cookbook I knew I wanted it, I had seen her cook too many good things from it to not have it in my collection and I had also read where it was full of tips and pointers to get the best out of every ingredient used. For my birthday last year, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law got this for me and I was so excited, but I was pregnant and still in the early stages of my pregnancy so cooking wasn’t really that appealing to me. Although I couldn’t really stomach cooking at the time I got it, I read through it and found tons of recipes I couldn’t wait to make.

The Country French Omelet was the first recipe I made from this cookbook, and I have to say it was very good. Spencer could have eaten the entire thing himself, so if you have a big eater in your house you may want to make them their own, or have something else to serve along with it. I add a couple of things to this omelet but it would be just as delicious if it were made without my additions. This was so good and now I can’t wait to make my next recipe from this cookbook!

Country French Omelet

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp good olive oil

3 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 Cup unpeeled Yukon Gold potatoes

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

5 Extra large eggs

3 Tbsp milk

1 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 Tbsp fresh chopped chives

1/2 Small onion, diced

1/4 Cup cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat olive oil in an ovenproof omelet pan over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook, once fat begins to appear translucent add onions. Let cook until bacon becomes crisp and onions are tender. Remove onions and bacon from pan with a slotted spoon and set on a plate lined with a paper towel. Leave bacon grease in pan.

Place the potatoes in the pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook over medium-low heat for 8-10 minutes, until very tender and browned, tossing occasionally to brown evenly. Remove with a slotted spoon to the same plate with the bacon.

Meanwhile, in a medium bow, beat the eggs, milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper together with a fork. AFter the potatoes are cooked remove from the pan. Pour the fat out of the pan and discard. Add the butter, lower the heat to low, and pour the eggs into the hot pan. Sprinkle the bacon, potatoes and chives evenly over the eggs and put in oven for about 8 minutes, just until eggs are set. Sprinkle cheese over the top right when it’s removed from the oven. Slide onto a plate and cut in half, serve while hot.

Recipe Source: adapted from Barefoot Contessa, Back to Basics

Whip it good!

November 28, 2008 by Lynsey 1 Comment

Potatoes are one of my favorite side items to have; I love them mashed, baked and practically in other way they come. There are a multitude of things that can be done with potatoes and there are tons of different ways they can seasoned. Potatoes are one of those great things that are basically a blank slate waiting to be made and seasoned according to ones desire.

Mashed potatoes are a weakness of mine. I could eat them with a little salt and pepper, with gravy or even like a loaded baked potato. For this version of mashed potatoes I wanted to keep it pretty simple so I made garlic whipped mashed potatoes. Those are never a disappointment; I love garlic and I love potatoes so this was a perfect match. This recipe was so easy to throw together and the end result was fluffy, whipped potatoes!

Garlic Whipped Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:
2 Medium potatoes
1 Small clove garlic, mined (1/2-1 teaspoon pre-minced garlic)
1/4-1/3 Cup milk or cream
2 Tablespoons butter, softened
Salt and pepper, to taste
Chives for garnish

Directions:
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Place potatoes in pot and boil until fork tender. Remove from pot and let cool enough to be handled.
Mash up the potatoes using a fork or potato masher, just break them up enough to make it easier to mix with hand held mixer. (I leave the skins on mine but you can remove them if desired). Once potatoes are mashed turn hand mixer on low and gradually add milk/cream and butter. Mix together well and then stir in the minced garlic, salt and pepper. Once everything is mixed and to taste serve and garnish with fresh cut chives.

Recipe by: Lynsey Lou

Don't Drop the Hot Potato or it will Crash…

November 12, 2008 by Lynsey Leave a Comment

I don’t guess a crashed hot potato is a bad thing… it’s actually very good. Just add a little salt, pepper, butter and chives and you have a wonderful side dish for any meal:). Can I just say I loved this recipe!?!?

This is yet another recipe from The Pioneer Woman. She definitely knows her way around a kitchen and cooks meals that could feed an army. Which is a good thing since she has a small army of her own. For this recipe I downsized quite a bit; if I hadn’t then I would have had enough Crash-Hot Potatoesto last me the rest of the year! I thoroughly enjoyed this recipe as well.

I decided to make these potatoes to have along side the Crispy Yogurt Chicken. Boy did it compliment the chicken well. This recipe was very easy; I also timed it perfectly so they were done at the same time as the chicken. There isn’t a whole lot that goes into these potatoes but they sure are good and very full of flavor. Pretty much everything used in this recipe are things that are on hand at all times. I followed the recipe pretty much step by step, but I’m sure it would be good with any other toppings desired.

My dad and Spencer were in the kitchen visiting with me as I made this meal and they started watching with particular interest when I started making these potatoes. Everything was pretty normal with the boiling part but when I moved them from the pot to the baking sheet is when they starting paying close attention to what I was doing; with all the smashing it’s can get pretty interesting. After I finished the process and put them in the oven they both said, well that’s a great way to cook potatoes!

The end result of this recipe was awesome. The potato was nice and soft just like a regular baked potato but the skin and outer parts were a little crispy and crunchy…crunchy is right up my dad’s alley! I loved how these came out; it had a couple of different textures and tons of flavor. Next time I make these (and there will be tons of next times for this recipe) I may try to add some other toppings and flavors…we’ll see. So now, on to the good stuff!!!

Pioneer Woman’s Crashed-Hot Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 Bag new potatoes (I used a couple of regular baking potatoes)

Olive Oil, for drizzling

Salt and Pepper, to taste

A fresh herb of choice (I used fresh chives)

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add desired amount of potatoes into boiling water, cook until they are “fork tender” (You should be able to gently press a fork into the potato).

Drizzle olive oil generously onto a baking sheet. This will keep the potatoes from sticking to the sheet…this is a critical step so drizzle generously!!! When the potatoes are tender place them on the cooking sheet. With a potato smasher (I used the bottom of a glass) gently press down the potato until it’s smashed, then rotate the smasher 90 degrees and smash again (not necessary if using a glass). ***Don’t smash them all the way. Make it about the thickness of a cookie. Repeat process until all potatoes are smashed.

Generously brush the top with olive oil. Sprinkle potatoes generously with salt and fresh ground black pepper. After salt and pepper, top potatoes with the fresh herb of your choice.

Now place the potoates in a 450 degree oven on the top rack. Cook potatoes for 20-25 minutes…or until golden and sizzling.

Recipe from: The Pioneer Woman

Thick and Creamy Potato Soup

September 9, 2008 by Lynsey 2 Comments

This weather is killing me; a couple of days of fall like weather (soup weather) and then it goes back to summer time weather. It seems like about the time I get my mind made up to start making fall type foods the weather goes back to cool, light food weather or grilling weather. As you can tell by some of the previous posts I was in the fall mood and there is a soup or two out there right now. The other night I wanted soup so bad that I really didn’t think about the weather outside and I made up my mind that’s what we were having.

I love potato soup, it’s one of my all time favorites. I think my top two favorite kinds are my Grandma’s and McAlister’s Deli; you just can’t beat them. I have seen my grandmother make her potato soup a lot throughout the years but I couldn’t remember the recipe step by step so I tried to recreate it to the best of my knowledge. It turned out pretty good; I did add a few extra things to mind. This is definitely a great cool weather meal!

Ingredients:

6-8 Medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 Stalk celery, thinly sliced
1 Medium carrot, thinly sliced
1/2 Onion, diced
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2-2 Cups Chicken Broth
1 Cup milk (or more if needed to thin it down…depends on desired consistency)
1-8oz block cream cheese
4 Slices thick bacon, cooked and chopped (for this I used pepper bacon)
1 Cup cheddar cheese, shredded (reserve some to sprinkle on top)
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Scallions
Sour Cream

Directions:

In a large pan, add olive oil and heat over medium. Add the carrots, celery and onions and cook until tender. Add the prepared potatoes and chicken broth and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Add the cream cheese and milk and stir to combine. Add the bacon and cheddar and stir until combine. Spoon into bowls, garnish with sour cream, cheese and scallions.

Recipe Courtesy of: Lynsey Lou

Fanned Potatoes

August 31, 2008 by Lynsey 1 Comment

Potatoes are such an easy and versatile vegetable to use for sides with multiple types of food. I love potatoes and I love trying new recipes using them. This recipe was so easy and very quick to put together. You could use pretty much any type seasonings you wanted to to change it up and to make it compliment the taste of the main dish. For this particular recipe I just used salt, pepper, butter and garlic salt to season; something very simple but it made the end result very good. This recipe isn’t just your average “baked potato” recipe; the inside of the potato is very soft more along the lines of a baked potato but the outer edges were a little crispy and gave the entire taste just a little something different. We thoroughly enjoyed these and I’m sure we’ll definitely be having these many more times.

Ingredients:

2 Potatoes-medium to large size

2-4 Tablespoons butter

1/2 Small onion, sliced

Salt and Pepper

Garlic Salt-(I use Lowry’s Garlic Salt with herbs)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Thinly slice potatoes, but do not slice all the way through, making the end result look like a fan. Rub the bottom of an oven safe dish with either part of the butter for spray with cooking oil. Place potatoes in dish; season with salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Spread onion slices over potatoes and dish and then set butter slices on top of potatoes. Place in oven and bake for 30-45 minutes or until tender in middle.

Recipe Source: adapted from Recipe Zaar

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