Charlotte's Kitchen » Potatoes

Potato Gatto

Char — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 11:00:26 +0000

Ingredients:

2 1/2 pounds potatoes, scrubbed

2 T plain bread crumbs

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup warm milk

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly grated pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano

1 large egg, beaten

1/4 t Watkins Nutmeg

Salt and Pepper to taste

8 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2-inch dice

4 ounces sliced Genoa or other Italian-style salami and/or prosciutto, choppped

Directions:

Place the potatoes in a large saucepan with cold water covering them completely. cover the pan and bring the water to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook the potatoes until they are tender when pierced with a knife, about 20 to 30 minutes. Drain them and let them cool slightly.

Generously butter a 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle the dish with the bread crumbs, turning it to spread the crumbs evenly.

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove the skins. Place the potatoes in a bowl and mash them until smooth. Stir in 3 tablespoons of the butter, the milk, 1 cup of the grated cheese, the egg, the nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Fold in the mozzarella and meat.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread the mixture evenly in the dish, dot with the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and sprinkle with rhe remaining 2 tablespoons of grated cheese. (This dish can be prepared to this point and refrigerated for up to 24 hours.)

Bake the dish until the top is browned and the center is hot, 40 to 45 minutes (50 minutes if it was refrigerated). Let it cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 10.

Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes

Char — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 11:19:36 +0000

Ingredients:

8 medium sweet potatoes (about 3 3/4 pounds)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut up

1/2 t salt

1/2 t freshly gruond black pepper

Directions:

Line a large baking sheet with foil. Prick each sweet potato twice with a fork and place on the prepared baking sheet. Bake in a 425 degree oven for about 1 hour or until nearly tender. Remove from the oven and let stand until cool enough to handle.

Cut each sweet potato in half lengthwise. Scoop out the cooked pulp from 10 of the sweet potato halves, leaving a shell about 1/4 inch thick. Remove all the pulp from the remaining sweet potatoes, discarding skins. Transfer pulp to a large bowl. Add the butter, salt and pepper to the pulp and mash with a potato masher until the mixtrue is fairly smooth. Add desired flavor options to the puree. (below)

Use a spoon to fill the 10 shells with puree. Transfer filled sweet potatoes to a large airtight freezer container. Cover and freeze for up to 3 months.

To bake, remove sweet potatoes from freezer. Thaw overnight in refrigerator. Transfer potatoes to a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven until heated through, about 40 minutes. Sprinkle plain sweet potatoes with ground cinnamon, if desired.

Makes 10 servings.

Flavor Options:

Maple-Pecan: Stir 1 1/2 teaspoons Watkins Cinnamon into the sweet potato puree mixture. Fill and freeze sweet potatoes as directed. When ready to bake, drizzzle tops of filled sweet potatoes with 1/3 cup pure maple syrup and sprinkle with 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans. Bake as directed.

Pear and ginger: In a medium bowl mash 8 drained, canned pear halves with a potato masher until nearly smooth. Stir pear puree and 2 teaspoons Watkins Ginger into the sweet potato puree mixture. Fill, freeze and bake sweet potatoes as directed. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup snipped dried cranberries.

Manchego and Smoked Paprika: Stir 1/3 cup finely shredded Manchego cheese and 2 to 3 teaspoons smoked paprika into the sweet potato puree mixture. Fill and freeze sweet potatoes as directed. When ready to bake, sprinkle tops of filled sweet potatoes with an additional 1/4 cup finely shredded Manchego cheese. Bake as directed.

Potato-Goat Cheese Gratin

Char — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 11:00:19 +0000

Ingredients:

3 large leeks (white part only), trimmed, halved lenthwise and thinly sliced (1 1/4 cups)

1 1/2 cups fat-free milk

1 T all purpose flour

1/2 t salt

1/4 t Watkins Pepper

1/8 t Watkins Nutmeg

1 clove garlic, minced

2 1/4 pounds Yukon gold potatoes (4 to 5 medium) peeled and cut in 1/8 inch slices

4 ounces goat cheese (1 cup)

1/4 cup panko or soft bread crumbs

1/4 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

Fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In nonstick skillet cook leeks in 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium low heat, 20 minutes, or until tender and begining to brown, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

In bowl whisk 2 tablespoons of the milk into the flour. Whisk in remaining milk, salt, papper, nutmeg and garlic. Coat 2-quart casserole or au gratin dish with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange half the potato slices in dish. Sprinkle with leeks and goat cheese. Pour half the milk mixture over potatoes, leeks and cheese. Layer remaining potatoes; pour remaining milk mixture over all. Cover with foil.

Bake 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake 25 minutes more or until potaotes are tender. In small bowl stir together the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle on potatoes. Bake, uncovered, 15 minutes more or until topping is browned. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Top with parsley.

Serves 8

Velvet Mashed Potatoes

Char — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:00:01 +0000

Ingredients:

1 head garlic

2 1/2 pound russet potatoes (about 5 medium)

2 T butter

1/3 cup dairy sour cream

2 ounces cream cheese

1/2 cup milk, heated

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut 1/4 inch off the pointed end of the head of garlic to expose cloves. Drizzle with a little olive oil; wrap in foil. Scrub potatoes and prick with fork. Place potatoes in preheated oven; bake 20 minutes. Add garlic. Continue baking potatoes and garlic 35 to 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender and garlic is soft and browned.

Holding hot potatoes with towel, split potatoes and scrape flesh into saucepan over low heat. Squeeze roasted head of garlic from the bottom to push cloves out of their papery skins and into potatoes. Add butter, sour cream and cream cheese. Mash with potato masher. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Grandually stir or whisk in hot milk until potatoes are light and fluffy. Transfer to serving bowl.

Serves 8

Crispy Latkes

Char — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:44:29 +0000

Ingredients:

2     pounds starchy baking potatoes (such as russets or Yukon Golds), peeled
1     medium onion, peeled
1     teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2     eggs

Sour cream and applesauce (optional)

Grate the potatoes and onion in a food processor using a medium-size shredding disk.

Wrap a third of the grated potatoes and onions in a clean tea towel and wring out as much moistrue as possible. Removing the excess water helps reduce splattering during frying and results in firmer, better tasting latkes. Empty the towel into a separate bowl and repeat the process with the remaining potatoes and onion, using clean, dry section of the tea towel each time.

Add the salt and pepper to the mixture. Toss to evenly distribute.

In a small bowl, beat the eggs with a fork, then pour them over the potatoes and stir to combine. Set the mixture aside, covered with plastic wrap.

Heat 2 to 3 T of vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, drop 3 to 4 mounds of the potato mixture–an ice cream scoop works well for this–into the skillet. Flatten the mounds with a fork or spatula and fry each side until nicely browned, about 5 minutes per side.

Serve the latkes immediately with sour cream and applesauce or keep them warm on a baking shet in a 300 degree oven.

Makes about 10 latkes.

Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes

Char — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 11:14:30 +0000

Ingredients:

4 pounds Yukon gold potatoes (about 12 medium), peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces

Salt and Pepper

2 T margarine or butter

3 bunches green onion, thinly sliced crosswise

1 1/4 c buttermilk

Directions:

In covered 5 quart saucepot, combine potaotes, 1 teaspoon salt and enough water to cover; heat to boiling on high. Reduce heat to low; simmer, covered, until fork tender, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in 12 inch nonstick skillet, melt margrine on medium. Add green onions and cook 3 to 5 minutes or just until tender, stirring occasionally. Add buttermilk; heat to lukewarm (don’t worry if buttermilk separates; it comes back together in the mixing), stirring occasionally. Remove skillet from heat.

Drain potatoes. Return potatoes to saucepot and heat on low to dry slightly, about 2 minutes, tossing occasionally. With potato mashed, coarsely mash potatoes. Add buttermilk mixture, 1 teaspoon salt and 1.2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; continue mashing until almost smooth. Reheat potatoes, if necessary.

Makes abut 8 1/2 cups

Maple-Cranberry Sweet Potatoes

Char — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:13:19 +0000

Ingredients:

4 pounds sweet potatoes (5 medium), peeled

salt

1 cup pure maple syrup

1 1/2 cup cranberries (half 12 ounce bag)

3 T butter (no substitutions)

Directions:

In covered 6 quart saucepot, heat whole sweet potatoes with 1 teaspoon salt and enough water to cover to boiling on high. Reduce heat to low; simmer, coverd, abut 30 minutes or just until potatoes are fork tender. Drain. Set aside until cool enough to handle.

Meanwhile, in 1 quart saucepan, heat maple syrup to boiling on high. Reduce heat to medium and boil gently 10 to 15 minutes or until reduced to 1/2 cup. Stir in cranberries, butter and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook just until cranberries pop, about 5 minutes longer.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut cooled sweet potatoes crosswise into 1 inch thick slices and arrange in shallow 3 quart ceramic or glass baking dish, overlapping slices if necessray.

Spoon maple-cranberry syrup evenly over potatoes. Bake, uncovred, 20 minutes or until hot.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with White Cheddar

Char — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 12:33:04 +0000

Ingredients:

3 pounds sweet potatoes (about 7 medium)

1/4 cup butter

1 t kosher salt or salt

3 ounces aged white cheddar cheese, shredded

1/4 cup bourbon or orange juice

1/4 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 large red onion, cut in thin wedges

2 medium red apples, cored and cut in wedges

1 t Watkins Thyme

1/4 t Waltkins Pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Scrub potatoes and prick with fork; place on foil-lined baking sheet. Bake 40 minutes or until tender. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.

When potaotes are cool enough to handle, scrape pulp from skin. Transfer to bowl. Mash with 2 tablespoons of the butter and 3/4 teaspoon of the salt. Stir in cheese, bourbon, cream and 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar. Transfer to buttered 1 1/2 quart casserole. Cover; bake 30 minutes until heated through.

Meanwhile, in microwae-safe 2 quart casserole combine remaining butter, brown sugar and salt. Add onion. Microcook on 100% power (high), 3 to 4 minutes or until onion is crisp-tender. Add apples. Cover and microcook 2 minutes more or until apples are tender. Stir in thyme and pepper. Serve with sweet potatoes.

Serves 8.

Pennsylvania Sweet Potatoes in Tangy Sauce

Char — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:00:01 +0000

Ingredients:

6 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon Watkins Ginger

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 cup unsweetened pineapple juice

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon low-fat margarine

Directions:

Place sweet potatoes in a large kettle and add water to cover. Cook over medium heat until barely tender; drain. Peel and cut potatoes into fourths. Arrange in a medium-size casserole. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While potatoes are cooking, combine sugars, ginger and conrstarch in a small saucepan. Add pineapple juice and lemon juice. Stir over medium heat until sugars are dissolved and mixture starts to bubble; stir in margarine. Pour sauce over potatoes. Bake, uncovered, 50 to 60 minutes or until sauce is thickened.

10 – 1/2 cup servings.

This is good with orange juice and orange marmalade, use 1/2 cup of each instead of the pineapple juice.

Scalloped Potatoes

Char — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 11:00:14 +0000

Ingredients:

5 medium potatoes, sliced thin
1 1/2 tablespoon flour
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoon melted butter

Directions:

Mix flour salt and pepper. Cover bottom of greased casserole with potato slices. Sprinkle 1/2 flour, salt and pepper mixture. Repeat layers. Pour milk over potatoes. Drizzle evenly with butter. Bake in 375 degree oven 25 to 35 minutes covered. Uncover and cook for 30 minutes longer or til potatoes are fork tender.

May also add shredded cheese when putting this dish together and sprinkle on top.