Perfect Potato Pancakes

4 large potatoes (about 3 lbs)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

½ cup flour

½ cup finely diced onion

1 tsp salt

⅛ tsp pepper

Oil for frying

Maple syrup or applesauce

Peel and shed potatoes. Place in bowl of cold water. Line a colander with cheesecloth or paper towels (can use a thin flour sack dish towel). Drain potatoes and put into colander. Squeeze out as much moisture as possible. In a large bowl, combine potatoes, eggs, flour, onion, salt and pepper. 

In an electric skillet, heat ¼" of oil over medium heat. Drop batter by ¼ cupfuls into oil, about 3" apart. Press lightly to flatten. Fry until golden brown, about 4 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining batter. Keep prepared pancakes warm in a low heat oven until serving.

Top with maple syrup or applesauce. 

Makes about 16 pancakes.

 

Savory French Bread Slices

This is a Taste of Home recipe, and it's a keeper.

½ cup butter, softened

¼ tsp celery seed

¼ tsp paprika

1 loaf (20 inches) French bread, sliced

Combine butter, celery seed, and paprika. Spread between bread slices and over top. Wrap bread tightly in foil. Bake 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Open foil and bake another 5 minutes.

Crispy Roasted Potatoes

Nancy fixed these for one of their famous Sunday Night Suppers, and I could have downed the whole pan myself.  So yummy!

1½ lbs petite red potatoes, washed and quartered

2 Tbs olive oil 

1½ tsp salt

½ tsp ancho chili powder

½ tsp dried oregano

¼ tsp coriander  

¼ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 pinch cayenne pepper

½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

4 Tbs finely chopped cilantro

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or spray with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine olive oil, salt, chili powder, oregano, coriander, garlic  powder, black pepper, and cayenne. Add the potatoes and toss to completely coat with spices. Transfer to baking sheet, being careful not to overcrowd. Use two baking sheets if necessary, because they need plenty of room to breathe for browning.

Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, flip the potatoes over and bake another 20 minutes, until crispy.

Sprinkle with cilantro, more salt if desired, and serve.

                                                 

Fluffy Pancakes

Family was in town, and at the last minute I decided to make some pancakes. Clicked on Google and this was the first recipe to come up. It's a keeper. Makes 12 pancakes.

2 cups flour

¼ cup sugar

4 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1¾ cups milk

¼ cup butter, melted

2 tsp vanilla

1 large egg

Combine dry ingredients. Whisk together the milk, slightly cooled melted butter, vanilla, and egg. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Slowly fold the wet mixture into the flour until fairly smooth. A few lumps are okay. The batter will be thick and creamy.If you find it too thick you can add a couple tablespoons of extra milk, one at a time. (I didn't do that).

Set the batter aside to rest while you heat up the griddle (non-stick griddle is best) over low-medium heat. Brush with a little butter to lightly grease the griddle. Pour about ¼ cup of batter onto the pan and gently spread into a round shape. When the underside is golden and bubbles appear on the surface, flip to cook until golden. 

Lemon Pudding Frosting

 A real nice change of pace for cakes

1 packet Dream Whip

1 box (3.4 oz) lemon instant pudding

1 ⅓ cups half and half or whole milk

Combine the ingredients and beat on low speed, increasing the speed as needed, until it's thick and fluffy, and stiff peaks form. This will take several minutes.

If you prefer not to use Dream Whip, you can use 2 cups of heavy cream instead, adding some powdered sugar to sweeten in up.

Frost the cake on top only, right before serving. Store any leftovers in refrigerator.

Easy Cucumber Salad

This salad keeps amazingly well. We love it!

2 English cucumbers, thinly sliced

1 tsp salt

1 med red onion, thinly sliced

1 cup white vinegar

½ cup water

½ cup sugar

2 Tbs minced fresh dill

Season cukes with salt in a large bowl, and let sweat for one hour. Drain liquids, but do not rinse. Toss cukes with onions.

In a small saucepan over high heat, combine vinegar, water, and sugar. Stir just until sugar melts and liquid turns clear, 3-5 min. Pour over cakes and onions. Stir in minced fresh dill. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour. Serve cold or at room temp.

Greek Salad with Really Good Dressing

This dressing is crazy good. It was a secret recipe from a pizzeria, but it's no secret anymore! The original recipe made almost a gallon of dressing, so I had to do a lot of math to scale it down for home use. It keeps well at room temperature if tightly covered, so you may want to make the larger amount. I use it in place of Italian dressing on some salads. Larger recipe makes almost a quart of dressing. Smaller size is in parenthesis ( ).

1 ½ cups olive oil  (¾ cup)

1 ¼ Tbs garlic powder  (2 scant tsp)

1 ¼ Tbs dried oregano  (2 scant tsp)

1 ¼ Tbs dried basil  (2 scant tsp)

1 Tbs ground black pepper  (1 ½ tsp)

1 Tbs salt  (1 ½ tsp)

1 Tbs onion powder  (1 ½ tsp)

1 Tbs Dijon mustard  (1 ½ tsp)

2 cups red wine vinegar  (1 cup)

Mix olive oil, garlic powder. oregano, basil, pepper, salt, onion powder, and Dijon mustard together in a bowl. Pour in the vinegar slowly, mixing vigorously until well blended.

Make this earlier in the day so it has time to meld the flavors.

Greek Salad 

1 English cucumber, cut lengthwise, seeded and sliced ¼" thick

1 green bell pepper, chopped into 1" pieces

2 cups halved cherry tomatoes

5 oz feta cheese, cut into ½" cubes

⅓ cup thinly sliced red onion*

⅓ cup pitted kalmata olives

⅓ cup fresh mint leaves, optional

On a large platter arrange the cucumber, green pepper, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, red onions, and olives. Drizzle with the dressing and toss very gently. Sprinkle with a few generous pinches of oregano, and top with mint leaves, if using.

*To reduce the bite in red onions, soak the slices in a generous amount of cold water for 15 minutes. Drain and repeat this process two or three more times. So obviously you need to do this well before you make the salad.