Loaded Potato Salad

A little while ago I decided to invest in a Canon 20D and brush up on my photography. Seeing as the camera came to me with previous experience I probably should have spent a little more time getting to know it. Blinded by it's beauty I went too far too fast. And now I'm paying for it. Currently I'm trying to figure a way of retrieving the results of my hasty trigger finger, because all of the data was taken as RAW. I barely know what that is myself, but to explain to you better it basically means that the files are too big for my software to handle, or most photo kiosks for that matter. If I had a way to handle it, apparently I could do all kinds of stunning things to my photos. But for now they are stuck on my camera, including the shots of my loaded potato salad.

For the last 2 days I've been lounging on the beach up at Wasaga with a few of my friends and plenty food. We all love to cook so it was quite the feast. Part of my contribution was a potato salad for the baked potato lover.

Loaded Potato Salad
8 large Chef's Potatoes*, peeled and cut into cubes
5 strips of bacon
3 green onions, washed and thinly sliced on the bias
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup mayonnaise
3 tbsp white vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

• boil potatoes in salted water until al dente** (about 8-10 minutes)
• drain but do not rinse (rinsing washes away the starch that helps bind the salad and may also break the potatoes)
• transfer to a stainless steal bowl, sprinkle with vinegar, salt and pepper and place in the freezer to cool. Stir gently every few minutes to help them cool faster, to prevent carry over cooking***.
• while the potatoes are cooling, cook the bacon. I like to cook my bacon in the oven because it's quicker. Place the strips on a parchment lined pan and bake in at 475F for at least 8 minutes or until very crispy. Remove the excess fat and cut the bacon into very thin strips or bits.
• Add bacon, onions mayo and sour cream to the cooled potatoes all at once and stir. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.

*Chef's potatoes- A Russet or Idaho potato. These potatoes are usually best for mashing or baking but I chose them to use for this dish because I wanted the taste and texture to resemble a loaded baked potato.

**Al dente- when referring to vegetables means tender on the outside and firm on the inside. Cooking potatoes, for salad, beyond this point will mean the potatoes will not hold their desired shape.

***Carry-over cooking- refers to the amount of cooking that occurs in foods after it's been removed from the cooking source. Over cooking can occur in this time because the carry over cooking was not factored into the preparation of the food.

Scalloped Potatoes with Peppers

There is always room for variation, especially when it comes to potatoes. The base of this recipe is the potatoes and the sauce, made of butter, oil, flour and milk. So feel free to change up the rest. Choose your own selection of seasonings and veg or omit them altogether and go cheese all the way. I'm always creating with the food I have on hand. Don't be afraid to do the same. I dare ya!

• 6 yukon gold potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 6 green onions, washed and sliced
• 1/2 large green bell pepper, washed and thinly sliced
• 1/2 large red bell pepper, washed and thinly sliced
• Coarse salt to taste
• Cracked black pepper to taste
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp mustard powder
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp all purpose flour
• 3 cups milk

1. Heat oven at 375F
2. Saute peppers and onion for 2 minutes or until bright.
3. Stir in flour until incorporated.
   
4. Add seasonings and milk and continue to stir until sauce is thick. Remove from heat.
5. In a bowl, combine mixture and potatoes well.
6. Transfer to a baking dish and cover.
7. Cook for 35 minutes. Remove cover and cook for another 15 minutes.

~You're welcome ;o)

English Style Potato Salad

I don't quite recall what inspired me to create this recipe. Maybe my own heritage. Maybe my love of anything potato. Either way, it is certainly a great spin on an old standard.

First thing:

1 1lb bag frozen, cubed home fries

• spread on a baking sheet and cook according to package directions

Mean time:

In a bowl, combine

• 1/2 cup of mayo
• 1/4 cup of malt vinegar
• 1tsp Worcestershire sauce
  
• 1 can peas, drained
• 1/2 cup diced ham
• 1/2 tsp salt

Finishing touch:

• Salt the cooked potatoes and set them aside to cool.
• Once cooled, gently stir potatoes into the rest of the ingredients.
• correct to taste

Try it instead of chips the next time you have fish.

~You're welcome ;o)

Pear and Potato Soup

3 Green Anjou pears, peeled, cored and diced
2 large yellow potatoes, peeled and diced
3 leeks, washed and sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup of extra old white cheddar (2yrs or older), crumbled
1/4 cup of butter
3-4 cups of chicken stock
1/8 tsp white pepper
few dashes of allspice

Melt the butter in a stock pot. Then add the garlic, pears and potatoes. Cook for 10 minutes on medium heat. Add the leeks and seasonings and cook for another few minutes. Add stock and bring to a boil. Reduce and let simmer for 10 minutes. Puree in the pot with a hand mixer or in a blender. Taste and correct seasonings. Serve into bowls, garnishing each with a portion of the crumbled cheese. Serves about 6.

You're welcome ;o)

Smokey Potato Soup

~Shopping List~

8 yukon gold potatoes, washed and cubed (reserve 2 cubed potatoes)
1/2 cup of cooked and diced Virginia smoked ham
100g shredded, smoked Gouda (about 3/4 cup)
100g shredded, extra old Cheddar (about 3/4 cup)
6 cups of chicken or vegetable broth/stock
1 cup of heavy cream (*warning* you can substitute lesser cream or milk but it just won't be as tasty)
4 shallots, diced
2 clove of garlic, minced
20g fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf
salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
1/2 tsp each of mustard powder, onion powder and white pepper
6 tbsp butter


~Chopping Block~

Dice Potatoes
Dice Ham
Shred Cheese
Dice Shallots


~Stove Top~

In a non-stick skillet- melt 3 tbsp of butter and begin to saute the 2 potatoes that you set aside from the rest of the pile. Make sure you do this on a low heat so as not to brown them too fast. We'll come back to this pan.

In a stock pot- melt the remaining butter and add shallots and garlic. Saute on medium heat until shallots are caramelized (golden). Add remaining potatoes, rosemary, stock and seasonings. Bring to a soft boil. Cover and let bubble until potatoes are soft.

Back to the skillet- Once the potatoes are browned, add the ham and turn the heat up to med high. This should only take several minutes. Remove from heat and turn off the burner.

Back to the pot- Remove the pot from the burner but leave the burner on. Using a hand mixer (if you don't have one use a blender or Cuisinart) blend the mixture until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings. Slowly stir in the cream and then the cheeses. Add the sauteed potatoes and ham. Heat for several more minutes then serve.
Garnish with a few shreds of gouda and a sprig of fresh rosemary. Serve with cracked pepper flat breads.

You're welcome ;o)

Dill-licious Potato Salad

Ingredients

5 lbs red potatoes, washed, skins on
1/2 cup fresh dill
1/4 cup mayonaise
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
Seasoned rice vinegar
onion powder
salt and fresh cracked pepper

Method

Cut potatoes into 1 inch cubes, roughly. Boil in 6 litres salted water until tender yet firm. Remove, drain. Transfer to bowl and cover with a generous portion of vinegar. Place in fridge to cool. Once cooled stir in dill, mayo and onion adding the seasonings to taste. Serve and enjoy :o)