Grilled Potato Salad with Curry

It is grilling season and this is a great accompaniment to your favorite grilled beef. After your meat is finished grilling, put your potatoes on the hot grill. By the time your meat is finished resting, the potatoes are done and ready to toss and serve. The timing is perfect and you will have a wonderful and easy summer meal.

INGREDIENTS:

6 medium Yukon potatoes

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

2 tablespoons dry roasted curry

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt, to taste

Ground black pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and lower temperature to simmer. Cook the potatoes until tender, about 20 minutes. (Note from Holli: The timing here is not as important as the tenderness of your potatoes. If you over cook the potatoes, they will fall apart during grilling. If you under cook them, the sauce will not be able to adequately penetrate the potato, resulting in less flavor.)

2. Drain the potatoes and allow to cool. Large dice the potatoes and place in a medium-large bowl.

3. To prepare the dressing, place the vinegar, garlic, ginger, and curry in a small bowl and whisk together.

4. While whisking, slowly add the olive oil until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Pour the dressing over the potatoes and gently stir. Let stand at least 10 minutes.

6. Gently lift potatoes and place over a hot grill. Original recipe called for grilling 4-5 minutes; we grilled them for approximately 20 minutes.

7. Return potatoes back in the dressing. Toss well. Serve warm.

Recipe from Caprial and John's Kitchen; Modifications mine.

Yields: 6 generous servings. Each serving contains: Calories 241; Total Fat 9.6g; Saturated Fat 1.4g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 15mg; Carbohydrates 35.7g; Dietary Fiber 5.9g; Sugars 2.5g; Protein 4.0g; Vitamin A 1%; Vitamin C 71%; Calcium 3%; Iron 11%

For a printable version of this recipe click here.

I love recipes like this one where the main ingredient is cooked separate from the sauce. It makes it easy to pull out the main ingredient before the sauce is added for my picky eater.

My son is gradually adding curry into his repertoire of foods that he eats and enjoys. For this recipe, I wanted him to still have some curry, but definitely not full strength curry. To achieve this, I pull out a one or two of the large diced potato sections before the sauce is poured over them. Then after the recipe is complete, I take one of the grilled curry potatoes and mix it with the two plain potatoes. That results in potatoes with a less intense flavor for my picky eater and a happy compromise for everyone.

Skillet-Roasted Potatoes with Garlic and Rosemary

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary

1 1/2 pounds Red Bliss potatoes, small or medium, scrubbed and unpeeled

2 tablespoons olive oil

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mince fresh rosemary. To begin, pull fingers down on sprig of rosemary to remove the leaves. Discard stems and mince leaves. Combine garlic and rosemary in small bowl.

2. If using small potatoes (1 1/2- to 2-inch diameter), halve each potato. If using medium potatoes (2- to 3-inch diameter), quarter each potato to create 3/4- to 1-inch chunks. Rinse potatoes in cold water and drain well; spread on clean kitchen towel and thoroughly pat dry.

The success of your potatoes depends on having them the right size. Cook's Illustrated did a good job illustrating this. Find out more information here; scroll down the page to see their technique in "The Right Cut for the Right Potato".

3. Heat oil in heavy-bottomed 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add potatoes cut side down in single layer, cook, without stirring, until golden brown (oil should sizzle but not smoke), 5-7 minutes. Using tongs, turn potatoes skin side down if using halved small potatoes or second cut side down if using quartered potatoes; cook, without stirring, until deep golden brown, 5-6 minutes longer.

4. Stir potatoes, then redistribute in single layer. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until potatoes are tender (paring knife can be inserted into potatoes with no resistance), 6-9 minutes.

5. When potatoes are tender, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss or stir gently to combine. Clear center of skillet and add garlic and rosemary mixture. Cook over medium-low heat, mashing with heatproof rubber spatula, until fragrant, about 45 seconds, then stir mixture into potatoes. Serve immediately.

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated.com May, 2005; Modifications mine.
Click here for a printable version of this recipe.

My picky eater enjoys potatoes, and after years of eating just plain potatoes, he will now eat roasted potatoes as well. However, he will not eat them with garlic and rosemary. This recipe is perfect since I can easily pull a couple potatoes out of the skillet before adding the rosemary and garlic. That's ideal for me: one meal for the family and everyone eating has a smile on their face.

If the color or texture of a roasted potato is too much for your picky eater, take one step back before introducing them to him/her. Remove the roasted potatoes from the skillet before adding the rosemary and garlic and then peel the outer skin from the potato. Mash if necessary before serving. This consistency will be similar to a regular baked potato without having to prepare anything separate for your picky eater.

Sweet Potato Oven Fries

Are you looking for a healthier alternative than french fries for your family? Try sweet potato fries! This root vegetable is an antioxidant and packed with vitamin A. It contains a good source of vitamin C, copper, dietary fiber, vitamin B6, potassium, and iron. Isn't that better than serving your kids greasy french fries?

These oven-baked sweet potato fries are a favorite in our house. This recipe calls for two baking sheets full of fries cooking at once, which we can use to our advantage. By altering one of the batches of fries, we can make every one's mouth happy with very little extra effort. One sheet of regular fries for the kids....one sheet of spicy fries for the adults! Simply add cayenne pepper to taste for a spectacular spicy version.

INGREDIENTS:

1 teaspoon peanut oil plus 1 additional tablespoon

2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 3 medium), scrubbed

salt

ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Adjust the oven racks to the upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place 1/2 teaspoon of the oil on each of two rimmed baking sheets. Use a paper towel to spread the oil evenly over the entire surface and place both sheets in the oven. We want the baking sheets hot when we place the fries onto them.

2. Remove any imperfections in the skin of each sweet potato, and then cut each sweet potato from end to end into approximately 8-10 thick wedges. My sweet potatoes were on the larger side, so I needed to divide mine further. No matter how many wedges you end up cutting, aim for triangularly shaped wedges if possible.

3. Toss the sweet potatoes and the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large bowl to coat. Season generously with salt and pepper and toss again to blend.

4. Carefully remove one baking sheet from the oven and place half of the sweet potatoes on the baking sheet with one of the cut sides down. Spread them out so that they do not touch each other. Return the baking sheet to the oven and repeat the process using the second baking sheet and the remaining sweet potatoes.

5. Bake until the cut side of the sweet potatoes touching the baking sheet is crusty and golden brown, 15-20 minutes. This is a key step; do not move or flip fries if they are not crusty and golden brown. Remove each baking sheet from the oven and carefully turn the sweet potatoes, using a thin metal spatula. This is another key step; handle the fries carefully so the crispy exterior does not rip or stick to the pan. Return to oven and continue to bake until second cut side of the sweet potatoes now touching the pan is crusty and golden brown, 10-15 minutes. Use the metal spatula to transfer the sweet potatoes to a platter and serve the oven-fried potatoes immediately.

Now don't you think these look amazing!? Take my word for it, they'll be gone in no time.

Recipe by Cook's Illustrated, January 2004; Modifications mine.

Click here for printable version of this recipe.

Mashed Potato Pancakes

Ever wondered what to do with all of your left-over mashed potatoes? As you may know, reheating mashed potatoes changes their texture and consistency. I'm not a big fan of mashed potatoes as left-overs because of this, but here is one alternative to using those mashed potatoes. This recipe is especially good if you have a large quantity of mashed potatoes, from perhaps, Thanksgiving?!

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups mashed potatoes
1 large egg, beaten lightly
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons grated onion
2 tablespoons chives
Salt and pepper, to taste
Vegetable oil, for frying

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

2. In a bowl, combine the potatoes and the egg. Mix well. Stir in the flour thoroughly, and then add onion, chives, salt and pepper. Mix well.

3. In a large heavy skillet, heat 1/8-inch of vegetable oil over moderately high heat until it is hot, but not smoking. Fry heaping tablespoons of the potato mixture, flattening them slightly with the back of the spoon, for 1 minute on each side, or until they are golden brown.

4. Transfer pancakes as they are cooked to paper towels to drain. Place them in preheated oven to keep warm.

5. Serve as an accompaniment to meat, poultry, or eggs.

Recipe from FoodNetwork.com; Gourmet Magazine
Click here for a printable version of this recipe.

Master Recipe for Mashed Potatoes

With the holidays around the corner, let's get some of the basics covered. You know, the standard, all-American foods that people typically associated with Thanksgiving. Although mashed potatoes are definitely a staple in our house all year 'round.




2 pounds potatoes, peeled (Yukon Gold, Red, or Russet)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup half-and-half, warmed
1-1/2 teaspoons table salt
Ground black pepper

1. Place potatoes in large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Drain.
2. Mash potatoes with butter until Incorporated. Gently whisk in half-and-half, salt, and pepper to taste.
3. Serve immediately.

Serves 4

Having a helper with the mashed potatoes is always helpful.

My daughter asked if she could help, so I gave her the pot of cooked potatoes and the masher. During the coarse of all the last-minute cooking, I became preoccupied and forgot about my daughter and the mashed potatoes. This is what I saw when I walked back into the kitchen!