Potato Brilliance!
Doesn’t everyone love potatoes? We sure do at our house, and too often my enthusiasm runs away with me and I cook too many—especially mashed potatoes. As a result, I’m always wondering what to do with them.
I mentioned this dilemma to my neighbor (who’s famous for her cooking skills), Ruby. She told me about a great cookbook she discovered at a used book store: One Potato, Two Potato, by Roy Finamore and Molly Stevens. Ruby said that while writing the book they cooked over 1,500 pounds of spuds, just to experiment with. And she explained “Not only does the book give all kinds of ideas for what to do with left-over mashed spuds, the authors also include tips on how to always cook or bake the best potatoes.”
She loaned this treasure to me, and talk about an informative read. Just look at what I learned regarding cooking potatoes:
First of all, cook potatoes in their skins. Then, drain them on a rack rather than in a colander. In a colander they continue to steam and get overcooked as they cool; in addition, potatoes on the bottom often get crushed.
When cooking, use a fork or a skewer to test boiling potatoes for doneness; a knife will just cut into them, making them seem more tender than they are. Also, the smaller the hole you make in the potato, the less chance it will get waterlogged.
High-starch potatoes (such as Russets) make the fluffiest mashes; low-starch varieties (red-skin or long whites) are the best choice for roasted potatoes with a browned exterior and a creamy interior.
I didn’t know any of this! I’m seriously thinking of buying this cookbook ($4 used on amazon.com). It sounds compelling (as advertised on amazon): “This book transports cooks beyond the usual side dishes and introduces them to the secrets and specialties of great chefs and cooks the world over. Finamore shows how to prepare spectacularly simple appetizers, including dips, chips, and showstopping cocktail potatoes made from a few ordinary ingredients.
“He presents dozens of soups and salads, including rich Summer Vichyssoise and Herb Garden Potato Salad. There are more than fifty main-dish possibilities…Sunday Lamb with Proper Roast Potatoes and Chicken Stuffed with Potatoes and Shiitake Mushroom— not to mention a sophisticated rendition of Shepherd’s Pie.
“The potato turns up as the hidden ingredient in such breads as Potato Cheddar Bread with Chives and in such desserts as moist Farmhouse Chocolate Cake. Finamore shows how to master crisp steak fries, silky mashes, and sumptuous gratins. A bonus feature of the book is the sweet potato, in dishes from a delightfully nostalgic Baked Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallow to an urbane Semifreddo with Chocolate Sauce.”
Meanwhile, in my hunt I ran onto my aunt Annie’s recipe for potato pancakes. Tonight’s “what’s for dinner?” issue solved! I share it here. Let me know what you think, and if you have ideas for leftover spuds, please share those with us!
leftover mashed potatoes about 1 quart
1 onion finely diced
1 well-beaten egg
1 cup grated cheese
flour
butter
salt to taste
pepper to taste
Directions:
Add Recipe to Cook'n
I mentioned this dilemma to my neighbor (who’s famous for her cooking skills), Ruby. She told me about a great cookbook she discovered at a used book store: One Potato, Two Potato, by Roy Finamore and Molly Stevens. Ruby said that while writing the book they cooked over 1,500 pounds of spuds, just to experiment with. And she explained “Not only does the book give all kinds of ideas for what to do with left-over mashed spuds, the authors also include tips on how to always cook or bake the best potatoes.”
She loaned this treasure to me, and talk about an informative read. Just look at what I learned regarding cooking potatoes:
First of all, cook potatoes in their skins. Then, drain them on a rack rather than in a colander. In a colander they continue to steam and get overcooked as they cool; in addition, potatoes on the bottom often get crushed.
When cooking, use a fork or a skewer to test boiling potatoes for doneness; a knife will just cut into them, making them seem more tender than they are. Also, the smaller the hole you make in the potato, the less chance it will get waterlogged.
High-starch potatoes (such as Russets) make the fluffiest mashes; low-starch varieties (red-skin or long whites) are the best choice for roasted potatoes with a browned exterior and a creamy interior.
I didn’t know any of this! I’m seriously thinking of buying this cookbook ($4 used on amazon.com). It sounds compelling (as advertised on amazon): “This book transports cooks beyond the usual side dishes and introduces them to the secrets and specialties of great chefs and cooks the world over. Finamore shows how to prepare spectacularly simple appetizers, including dips, chips, and showstopping cocktail potatoes made from a few ordinary ingredients.
“He presents dozens of soups and salads, including rich Summer Vichyssoise and Herb Garden Potato Salad. There are more than fifty main-dish possibilities…Sunday Lamb with Proper Roast Potatoes and Chicken Stuffed with Potatoes and Shiitake Mushroom— not to mention a sophisticated rendition of Shepherd’s Pie.
“The potato turns up as the hidden ingredient in such breads as Potato Cheddar Bread with Chives and in such desserts as moist Farmhouse Chocolate Cake. Finamore shows how to master crisp steak fries, silky mashes, and sumptuous gratins. A bonus feature of the book is the sweet potato, in dishes from a delightfully nostalgic Baked Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallow to an urbane Semifreddo with Chocolate Sauce.”
Meanwhile, in my hunt I ran onto my aunt Annie’s recipe for potato pancakes. Tonight’s “what’s for dinner?” issue solved! I share it here. Let me know what you think, and if you have ideas for leftover spuds, please share those with us!
Aunt Annie's Potato Pancakes
Ingredients:
leftover mashed potatoes about 1 quart
1 onion finely diced
1 well-beaten egg
1 cup grated cheese
flour
butter
salt to taste
pepper to taste
Directions:
Combine mashed potatoes, onion, egg and cheese. Shape into large size balls. Roll into flour and flatten into patties. Melt butter in frying pan and brown for about 5 minutes on each side. Salt and pepper to taste.
Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.
Alice Osborne
Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2006
Email the author! alice@dvo.com
