Pan fried baby yukon gold potatoes

Set up a steamer and add scrubbed baby yukons (and some fresh herbs if you have them ... thyme, rosemary, whatever)

steam ~10 min (untl tender - pokeable with fork or knife)

remove - let them steam off and dry a bit

Heat ... plenty ... of butter in a pan ... med heat? Add potatoes and brown on all sides - they are cooked, so this is about adding flavor and texture                       

IMPROVED Idahoan boxed Au Gratin Potatoes

 So ... I was making shake and bake pork chops and needed a starchy side and wanted boxed Au Gratin potatos ... and discovered I had no milk.  And I had no good alternatives. We are recently moved back in after the fire and not all staples, supplies and routines are back to 100% so OF COURSE there was no damn milk.

The Idahoan Au Gratin boxed potatoes call for 3/4 C milk.  I had no milk, but I did have Fage 5% Greek Yogurt.  I figured 1/4 - 1/3  C of the whole milk greek yogurt  with enough water to equal 3/4 C would do ... and of course I went with 1/3 C Greek Yogurt with water to equal 3/4.

Then I followed the rest of the package instructions - except for temperatures because I had those shake and bake pork chops to cook to.  So ... preheat to 450*, cook au gratin potatoes for 10 min - cut temp to 400*, add thiccccc shake n bake coated pork chops, cook 23 min, remove potatoes and pork chops from oven - rest both about 5 min befofre serving.  

Oh holy hell ... I will never bother with milk again and ... I am on the verge of recommending using only 1/4 C of Greek yogurt because using the 1/3 C ... these were RIDICULOUS. But only on the verge - it would be fine either way but these are not uncomfortably over the top ... just enough!

Sweet Potato, Yukon,Gold, Vidalia and Sausage Home Fries

... in Duck Fat!

• 3 Tbsp Duck Fat


• 1/2 large Vidalia Onion, long thin strips


• 1 large Sweet Potato, peeled, 3/4" dice


• 2 Medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, 3/4" dice


• 4 -5 cooked sweet Italian sausages


• salt & pepper to taste

Preheat skillet (with lid) over medium-high heat and add the duck fat - when the duck fat is hot, add the potatoes and the onion. Toss to coat everything in the duck fat, reduce heat to medium and cover with lid for about 10 minutes - the potatoes should be cooked through and the onions translucent ... and the bottom should be crispy!

Add in the sausage and salt & pepper to taste, stir to copmbine and continue to cook uncovered for 10 - 15 minutes, stirring only occassionally. (Too much stirring and no crisy edges will form.) It is important not to overcrowd the pan - it will still taste good but it won't get crispy.

Thoughts for next time include adding apples to the mix or perhaps grilled pineapple chunks. I served this with cornbread waffles (Jiffy cornbread mix, 3/4 C milk, 1 egg & 2 Tbsp oil - mix together and cook as if they are waffles.)

Home Fries

• Approx 3 Tbsp duck fat total (or sub in olive oil, butter, bacon fat, etc.)


• 1/2 large Vidalia onion, cut into long strips


• 4 - 6 smallish Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4" cubes


• salt and pepper to taste

Heat 12" skillet (with good fitting lid) on medium-high heat and add 2 Tbsp duck fat. When duck fat is hot, add onions and potatoes, toss to coat in the fat, lower heat to medium and then cover with lid. Let this cook for at least 10 minutes, until a nice brown crust is on the bottom of the potatoes and the potatoes are cooked through and onions translucent. Remove lid and add the remaining Tbsp of duck fat on top of the potatoes. This should cook for another 15 minutes or so - turn every so often - the goal is to get all sides of the potatoes browned and the onions carmelized and that will happen better the less it is disturbed.

Servie immediately or put in 250 - 300 oven to keep warm until serving.

Oven Roasted Potatoes

Oven fries on a smaller scale - I am making this up as I go along. This is my plan for a small batch - I am making a roast chicken, pan fried brussels sprouts and bacon spoon bread for dinner tonight so there is no need to make a huge batch of potatoes! I imagine it would be as simple as increasing all ingredients proportionally to make a larger batch.

3 Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed but unpeeled, cut in half and then quartered.
Olive oil - enough to coat potatoes evenly
2 Shallots, roughly chopped
Dried Rosemary
Parmesan, grated
sugar
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 400 (can go higher). Mix all ingredients together in zip lock bag with most of the air removed until evenly coated. Line cookie sheet with parchment (or not - its just for ease of clean-up) and spread potatoes in even layer. Cook 15 minutes, flip/stir, cook 5-10 minutes longer.

Mashed Potatoes

Serves about 4

• 6 smallish Yukon Gold potatoes (I just take the 6 smallest I find in the bag since they are annoying to use for baked potatoes or oven fries)
• 1/4 - 1/2 stick of unsalted butter (only have salted? well, just use less salt when you are mashing! The yukons have a buttery taste so you don't need as much butter as you think you might.)
• milk (I couldn't tell you how much - I just add it until the texture is right)
• kosher salt - to taste (I use a few pinches)

Peel the potatoes (or don't - trufax: the peels contain potassium and vitamin A) and chop them into pieces about 3/4". This is not an exact science so don't break out a ruler - just keep them roughly the same size so they cook evenly. Put them in a pot on the stove with enough cold water to cover and then bring them to a boil on med/med-high heat. Let them go until the potatoes are fork tender (about 20-30 minutes.)

Drain potatoes, put them back in the pot and toss in a few Tablespoons of butter, a pinch or so of salt and a splash of milk. Some people say you need to heat the milk and the butter before adding them, but I am lazy and have found that mashing room temperature butter with the still-steaming hot potatoes is just fine. Mash all of that together, then take a taste. Too bland? Add salt. Not creamy enough? Add butter. Dry as hell? Add milk. Repeat until you love them (though when you get to half a stick of butter in the pot, you migyou CAN freeze mashed potatoes. Leave about 1/2" head room at the top of the container and they can keep in the freezer for about a year. (But seriously, they are so easy to make that there is no need to make a lifetime supply at once - I try to make enough for one meal plus leftovers.) To use frozen mashed potatoes, just heat them on the stove with some butter and milk and stir nearly constantly until warm and wonderful. You can reheat refrigerated ones like this too, but when I am reheating mashed potatoes I tend to also be reheating meat and veggies as well - I put the oven on 350, put everything into a brownie pan/round cake pan/pie plate/whatever is handy, cover with foil and bake 15-20 minutes. It is helpful to kind of stir things up a bit halfway through.ht want to knock it off - too much of a good thing and all.)

Oven Fries

Serves 2:

• 2-3 good sized Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into wedges – about 6-8 wedges per potato
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil (enough to coat the potatoes)
• 1 Tbsp white sugar
• Salt, Pepper, Seasonings (I usually use a few pinches of kosher salt, about 5 grinds from the pepper mill, tonight I am going to toss in some thyme or rosemary (or both) and maybe even some grated parmesan)

Preheat oven to 450, mix all ingredients. I lay a sheet or parchment paper on a cookie sheet (because Princess haaaates messes) and then lay the wedged potatoes out on the cookie sheet. Its nice to leave a good ½” between them, but trust me … so long as they aren’t actually touching (or really, so long as they are a single layer) you are fine … just might be a bigger pain to flip them. Pop them in the oven for about 30 minutes until they are browned and gorgeous and tender – flip them about halfway through cooking time! (Note: I used oil, salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme, but skipped the parmesan. I put the potato wedges into a zip top bag along with the oil, etc. and mixed them up like that - very easy, works well and no cleanup! The cooking time and temp were perfect, the fries came out great!)

Pommes Anna

Pommes Anna is something I saw on Secrets of a Restaurant Chef on Food Network. Chef Anne has really grown on me – I used to think she was loud and obnoxious but since it isn’t an act she is putting on (she seems to be like this in reality) I find it amusing. She oiled up an 8” oven safe frying pan and layered concentric layers of potato slices down, coated that layer, sprinkled with parm and then kept layering like so (ending by brushing potatoes with oil, no last layer of cheese). She used a mandoline to get even, very thin slices. I used my mandoline … and my cut proof glove. I am practically terrified of my mandoline! But it worked out well. I used about 3 smallish russet potatoes (it important they are starchy potatoes.) Once you are all layered up, put the pan on a medium burner. Once it starts to brown on the bottom (you will hear it sizzling), remove from heat and toss into preheated 400 oven. After 25 minutes, remove from oven, drain excess oil (you really need to do this other wise we are talking nasty oil burns) and flip it (using pan lid or plate) so that the beautifully browned bottom is now the top. Pop it back into the oven for 15, then you are done! Let it cool a few minutes before cutting.

Colcannon

Ingredients

• 1 pound potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks (I suggest using more)
• 4 cups finely chopped cabbage
• 2 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons caraway seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon anise seeds
• 1/4 cup butter
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place the potatoes into a large pot and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and allow to steam dry for a minute or two.
2. While potatoes are boiling, place the cabbage into a pot with several tablespoons of water; cover, bring to a boil over medium heat, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook the cabbage until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Pour off any excess liquid, and set the cabbage aside.
3. Place the sliced leeks, milk, caraway seeds, and anise seeds into a large saucepan over medium-low heat, and bring to a simmer. Cook the leeks until soft, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the butter, and season with salt and pepper; let the mixture stand off the heat until the butter melts.
4. Mash the potatoes with a masher in a large bowl, and stir in the leek mixture until the mashed potatoes are slightly chunky. Stir in the cooked cabbage, and serve.

(Though I eliminated the anise – princess haaaaaates licorice and the caraway was already almost too close for comfort …) It really came out well! And bonus, I made colcannon cakes with the leftovers! I took a handful of colcannon, shaped it into a patty, coated it with a little flour and then pan fried in a little oil (should have used butter …) – they were really tasty and a great way to use the leftovers.