Salt and Vinegar Potato Bites

We love these potatoes! Way better then french fries, roasted potatoes are much healthier. Found in the March, 2011 issue of Vegetarian Times magazine I made these tonight as a snack.

The recipe says you can drizzle the sauce over the potatoes, but I think that would have made them soggy. We liked dipping them and that way we could each control the amount of vinegar that absorbed into to potato.

Salt and Vinegar Potato Bites Serves 8 6 medium red or yello potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes (3 cups) 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil 1 cup malt vinegar 3 Tbsp. sugar Soak potatoes in large bowl of cold water 30 minutes. Drain, and pat dry. Preheat oven to 425°F. Toss potatoes with oil on baking sheet, and spread in single layer. Roast 45 minutes, or until golden and crisp, turning 2 or 3 times. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Meanwhile, bring vinegar and sugar to a simmer in saucepan over medium heat. Cook 15 to 20 minutes, or until liquid is reduced by half, stirring occasionally. Serve malt sauce on side for dipping, or drizzle over potatoes.

Nutritional Information as provided in magazine:
Per ½-cup serving: 89 CAL; 1 G PROT; 4 G TOTAL FAT (<1 G SAT FAT); 14 G CARB; 0 MG CHOL; 3 MG SOD; <1 G FIBER; 5 G SUGARS

Crushed Potatoes with Olive Oil, Parmesan and Basil

I got the New Scottish Cookery: 160 New and Traditional Recipes Using the Best Produce from Scotland cookbook when I was in Scotland this past September and have not had a chance to make anything from it until now. I know smashed potatoes aren't all that original, but these are really great. The fresh herbs really make it pop. These are so easy to make and can be an impressive staple for any Sunday meal.

Crushed Potatoes with Olive Oil, Parmesan and Basil Serves 4 1 lb. new potatoes, scrubbed Freshly ground sea salt Freshly ground pepper 5 Tbsp olive oil 3 Tbsp roughly chopped fresh basil leaves 1 oz. Parmesan cheese, shaved Cool the potatoes in simmering, salted water until tender. Drain and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the oil and, with the back of a fork, gently crush each potato until it just splits. Season, then add the basil and Parmesan. Mix carefully until all the oil has been absorbed. Don't overwork it or you'll lose the texture. You can serve the potatoes in a pile or use a 3-inch scone cutter to shape them into nice little cakes. The mixture can be made in advance and cooled, and then reheated as potato cakes. Put them on an oiled baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, until golden brown on top.

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Grilled Kielbasa with Warm Potato Salad

I know this calls for a grill, but I used a grill pan instead of venturing out in the snow. Also, I substituted red fingerling potatoes which worked out perfectly. This recipe for Grilled Kielbasa with Warm Potato Salad comes from the June, 2008 issue of Gourmet magazine.

I strongly suggest you taste the "vinaigrette" before tossing in the potatoes because I didn't think it had nearly enough cider vinegar for that German potato salad taste. But this recipe does a good job of melding familiar German flavors in a different and easy way.

Grilled Kielbasa with Warm Potato Salad Serves 4 (Main Course) 2 lb. small red boiling potatoes, halved or quartered if large 1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion 3 Tbsp olive oil 2 Tbsp cider vinegar 1/4 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley 1 lb. smoked kielbasa Accompaniment: grainy mustard

Generously cover potatoes with water in a large saucepan and add 1 tsp. salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer, partially covered, until potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile, whisk together onion, oil, vinegar, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper in a large bowl.

Add hot potatoes and parsley to vinaigrette and toss.

Prepare grill for direct-head cooking over medium-hot charcoal (medium heat for gas). NOTE: Kielbasa can be grilled in a hot lightly oiled large (2-burner) ridged grill pan over medium-high heat.

Cut kielbasa crosswise into 4 sections, then halve each section lengthwise.

Oil grill rack, then grill kielbasa, covered only if using a gas grill, turning once, until sizzling and grill marks appear, about 4 minutes total.

Serve kielbasa with potato salad (warm or at room temperature).

Potato, Greens and Goat Cheese Quesadillas

While I was flipping through my stack of foodie magazines I came across this recipe for Potato, Greens and Goat Cheese Quesadillas in the March, 2008 issue of Bon Appetit Magazine. I was looking for something simple and tasty and what is a more perfect fit for that than quesadillas?

This recipe claims to take 35 minutes to prepare but I'm sure I spent more than an hour on it. I might be a bit rusty as I have been out of the kitchen for a bit, but preparing the potatoes and shredding the cheese seemed to take a half hour all in itself.

These quesadillas came out good but hot. They definitely have an interesting taste combination - the mustard greens and jalapeno cheese are spicy and the potatoes and goat cheese are to cool things down. I think I made a mistake though because I used some habanero cheese from Costco and it really flared up the taste of the mustard greens making it all pretty hot. I have never had mustard greens before and they remind me of horseradish! I ended up with alot more of the potato mixture and greens than I could fill the quesadillas with. I think I could have made 8 instead of 4 with this recipe. But it was a nice snack and definitely interesting. I may make them again for a dinner party, but this time I will use jalapeno cheese as suggested!

Cuban Pork Chops with Mojo and Sofrito Mashed Potatoes

Last weekend I caught Guy's Big Bite on the Food Network. I've have only seen it one or two other times and each time I am super-impressed by the awesome meals he prepares. So I decided to get the ingredients and try one out. Tonight I made Cuban Pork Chops with Mojo and Sofrito Mashed Potatoes.

This is one amazingly tasty meal. Each recipe is good on its own, but they are great when put together. I have been concentrating on cooking a lot of Asian food lately, I forgot how tasty some good classic recipes can be. The pork chops are so flavorful due to the marinade followed up with a spice rub. And the potatoes really complement all the spices in the pork chops. The diced peppers in the potatoes are a really nice twist on an old classic.

It did take me over an hour to make this dinner, but I will do it again. I know my mom will love this one and I'd like to make it for her sometime.


UPDATE: The links below have been expired at the Food Network Website. I am leaving them active on this post just in case they ever come back.

You can find the recipes for Cuban Pork Chops with Mojo and Sofrito Mashed Potatoes on the Food Network website.

Irish Apple-Potato Cakes

Well, it's March! I've been waiting to crack open The Irish Spirit cookbook I got a few weeks ago. Not that I need to eat Irish Food only around St. Patrick's Day, but I did want to have a few Irish posts around this time of year.

Okay, I'll fess up. These are so good that I was eating them raw! Well, everything is safe to eat but I was eating spoonfuls before they got fried. Mashed potatoes and apples? What an AMAZING combo! This was another one of those dishes that I couldn't believe I made something on my own that tasted so good.

I am not the best fryer in the world. My Irish Apple-Potato Cakes ended up like brown mush. I don't know . . . when my grandma made mashed potato cakes they were all nice and crisp and like individual little cakes. When I tried to flip mine they were all mush. But they TASTED amazing and that's what counts, right?


Check for the Monthly Mingle #8: Savory Cakes roundup at hosted by Meeta at What's for Lunch Honey at the end of the month.

Irish Apple-Potato Cakes Makes 8 Cakes 1 pound baking potatoes, peeled and quartered 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced 2 tablespoons water 4 tablespoons unsalted Kerrygold Irish butter 1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour Salt and freshly ground pepper 2 tablespoons canola oil

Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 12 to 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain and mash. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the apples and water. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the apples begin to break up and are pulpy. Drain the apples and stir into the potatoes. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter, the parsley, flour and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. With floured hands, form the mixture into 8 flat cakes. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and the oil. Fry the potato cakes for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until browned and crisp.

Potato Gypsy's Arm

I am clearly no master of the jelly roll. But that's what a "gypsy's arm" is. In Spain the jelly roll is known as "brazo de gitano" or arm of the gypsy. Today I made the Potato Gypsy's Arm from The New Spanish Table by Anya von Bremzen. I just had to make it simply because of the fun name.

In this savory version, you use mashed potatoes to wrap up various fillings. Lots of Spanish goodies are inside such as anchovies, good canned tuna, red peppers and olives. According to the author, this dish is similarly as popular in Spain as the Tuna Casserole is in America.

I had a bit of a hard time making this one. It was all just kind of messy. I have no idea why the author had peel the potatoes after they were boiled - I broke my potato peeler! And the jelly rolling didn't go very well. I got it most of the way but it fell into pieces at the end. I just mushed it all back together and then slathered it with the sauce before popping it into the fridge to firm up.

Look for the Jihva for POTATO roundup after March 1st at Happy Burp.

Potato Gypsy's Arm Brazo de Gitano de Patata (serves 4 to 6) For the Potatoes: 2 pounds medium-size Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled 3 tablespoons milk 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil Coarse salt (kosher or sea) For the Roll: 6 ounces imported solid oil-pakced tuna, or 1 can (6 ounces) Bumble Bee tonno in olive oil, drained and flaked 1 medium-size tomato, finely chopped 1/3 cup sliced pimiento-stuffed olives, plus more for decorating the roll 6 to 7 piquillo peppers (from a can or jar), or 3 to 4 pimientos, drained and slivered, plus more for decorating the roll 8 to 10 best-quality oil-packed anchovy fillets, drained and chopped 1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper 1 1/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar, preferably aged 1/2 cup mayonnaise (preferably Hellman's) 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 large garlic clove, crushed with a garlic press

Boil the potatoes until tender, about 30 minutes. Let potatoes cool and then peel. Combine in a bowl with milk and olive oil and mash until fairly smooth. Season with salt to taste.

Place a 15-inch piece of waxed paper on a large baking sheet. Spread mashed potatoes onto waxed paper in a thin rectangle approximately 15 x 12 inches. Even scatter the tuna, tomato, olives, piquillo peppers, anchovies and parsley all over the rectangle. Season with salt and pepper, then sprinkle vinegar on top. Starting at the long end, roll the potatoes up jelly-roll fashion, using the waxed paper to shape the roll without catching the edge of the waxed paper in it. When roll is finished, slide the waxed paper out from under it. Pinch together any tears in the potato roll.

Combine mayonnaise, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic in a small bowl. Whisk to mix and season with salt to taste. Spread the mayonnaise mixture all over the roll and decorate with extra piquillo pepper and olive slices. Place the roll in the refrigerator to chill for 2 to 3 hours. To serve, cut the roll into thick slices.