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.

 

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.

                                                 

Colcannon

For those of you that have had colcannon before, you may notice that I took a little liberty with my version. First of all I decided to add bacon, because well I like bacon. Next, if the scrumptious crispy bacon wasn’t enough, I decided to sauté the onions, garlic and cabbage in the left over pan drippings before stirring them into the creamy mashed potatoes. Serves 4.

    * 6 slices bacon, diced into 1 inch pieces

    * 5 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced

    * 1/4 cup butter, plus 1 tablespoon for serving

    * 1/2 cup milk

    * 1/2 medium onion, diced

    * 1 clove garlic

    * 1 small head cabbage, cored and chopped small

    * 3 green onions, chopped

   1. Brown bacon in a large skillet. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and set aside. Remove pan from heat and reserve 1 tablespoon of pan drippings.

   2. Meanwhile, place potatoes in a pot with the water just barely covering the top. Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender. Drain. Return to pan and add 1/4 cup butter and milk. Mash with a potato masher. Turn burner to low and cover to keep warm while you prepare the cabbage.

   3. Return bacon pan to stove and heat over medium heat. Add onions, garlic and cabbage to reserved bacon drippings. Stir to combine. Cover and cook for 15 – 20 minutes or until cabbage is soft.

   4. Stir cabbage mixture into warmed potatoes. Stir in reserved bacon pieces and green onion. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl, top with remaining tablespoon of butter.  

Oven-Roasted Ranch Potatoes

3 lbs small red potatoes (skins on) –each approximately 2" in diameter

1/3 cup olive oil (not extra virgin)

1-1 oz packet onion soup mix

1-1 oz packet ranch dip mix

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese or sharp cheddar (optional)

Chopped scallions or parsley for garnish (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400°.

Mix the olive oil, onion soup mix, ranch dip mix, garlic powder, and pepper. Set aside while you prepare the potatoes.

Cut each potato in half and then each half into quarters. Add the potatoes to a medium bowl. Stir the olive oil mixture and pour it on to the potatoes. Toss to evenly coat. Spread the potatoes onto a sided sheet pan, which has been sprayed with cooking spray. Make sure that one of the cut sides of potatoes is touching the bottom of the sheet pan (so that it browns nicely).

Cover the sheet pan with aluminum foil. Bake for 15 minutes then remove the aluminum foil. Do not stir. Bake another 20 minutes (uncovered), stirring after 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl and, if desired, toss with your choice of cheese. Garnish with chopped scallions or parsley.

Parmesan Potatoes

3 - 4  med  potatoes
1/4  cup  flour
3/4  tsp  salt  (can use part garlic salt)
1/4  cup  Parmesan cheese
Dash of pepper
1/3  cup  butter

Peel potatoes, cut into quarters.  Combine flour, cheese, salt and pepper. Put into a paper bag. Moisten potatoes with water. Shake a few potatoes at a time in the bag of cheese mixture.

Melt butter in a 9 x 13" baking pan. Place potatoes in the pan, in one layer. Bake @375 degrees for one hour, turning once.

German Potato Salad

I got a marriage proposal at our family reunion because of this dish. My cousin's husband, Morrie, said "who made the German potato salad?" I raised my hand, not knowing what to expect. He rushed over to me, got down on bended knee, and asked me to marry him.  I didn't think his wife or my husband would approve, so I sent the recipe to them instead.

5  lbs   red potatoes (Reds are best, but you can use Yukon Gold, but never white potatoes)
1  lb  bacon
2  Tbs  flour
2  onions, sliced and separated into rings
2  Tbs  dried parsley
3  green onion tops
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4  cup  (each) water, sugar, and apple cider vinegar

Cook potatoes in their skins, just until tender. Be very careful to get them just done. Try not to over-cook them. (You will be baking them later). Drain. When cool enough to handle, peel and cut into good sized chunks. Salt and pepper to taste. 


Cut up bacon and fry until done. Leave in pan with the grease. Add flour and stir until blended. Then add the cider vinegar, sugar, and water. Slice the onions into rings and add to the pan. Stir to mix. Simmer 5-8 minutes over low heat until thickened and onions are limp. Pour over potatoes and toss well. Put into an oblong baking dish and bake at 325°, covered, for 30 minutes to warm.

If you desire less quantity, you can reduce the potatoes to 3 pounds, but use the full amount of the other ingredients.

Baked Oven Fries

3  russet potatoes, peeled and cut lengthwise into wedges
5  Tbs  vegetable, canola or peanut oil, divided
3/4  tsp  kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4  tsp  freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

Preheat the oven to 475˚.
Place the potato wedges in a large mixing bowl. Cover with hot water; soak for 10-30 minutes. Put 4 tablespoons of the oil onto a heavy, rimmed baking sheet. Tilt the sheet side to side to evenly coat the pan with oil (a pastry brush can also help with this). Sprinkle the pan evenly with the salt and pepper. Set aside.

Drain the potatoes. Spread the wedges out on layers of paper towels or on clean kitchen towels. Pat dry with additional towels. Wipe out the now empty bowl so it is dry. Return the potatoes to the bowl and toss with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Arrange the potato wedges on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer. Bake until the bottoms of the potatoes are spotty golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Using a metal spatula and tongs, flip each potato wedge keeping them in a single layer. Continue baking until the fries are golden and crisp, 5 -15 minutes. Rotate the pan as needed to ensure even browning.

When the fries are finished baking, transfer to a paper-towel lined plate to drain some of the grease. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.

Best Potato Pancakes

Recipe can be easily doubled, or even tripled, but must be made at the last minute.


2  med  all purpose potatoes, peeled
1  Tbs  lemon juice
1/4  cup  butter
2  Tbs  flour
1/4  cup  finely chopped onion
1  Tbs  thinly sliced scallions
1  large  egg, beaten
1/2  tsp  salt
1/4  tsp  pepper
1/4  tsp  baking powder
1  Tbs  vegetable oil
1  Tbs  butter, melted

Using coarsest side of hand grater, grate potatoes into large bowl. Toss with lemon juice to coat thoroughly; let stand 5 minutes. Drain well. Add melted butter, flour, onion, scallions, egg, salt, pepper and baking powder to potatoes; stir to mix well.

Combine the oil and melted butter. Heat a griddle over medium-high heat. Coat with oil/butter mixture.  Place approximately ¼ cup of potato mixture per pancake to skillet. Using tines of fork, flatten each into a very thin round about 2 1/2” in diameter.

Cook pancakes 3 to 4 minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked through. Remove to paper towels to drain; keep warm in 300° oven. Repeat procedure until remaining potato mixture is used up, adding more oil and butter to skillet as needed.

Serve with chunky applesauce. Sour cream is optional, but many people like it as a topper. But applesauce is a must.

Note: 
You can use all green onions (scallions) if you want to, increasing the amount to 5 Tbs, and then omitting the chopped onions.

Awesome Potatoes

5  cups  sliced potatoes
3/4  cup  grated cheese, mixture of Parmesan, Asiago, and Romano
1/2  cup  mayonnaise
Optional: a few shakes of paprika or Emeril’s Essence

Combine potatoes, cheeses, and mayo.  Spray a 9” pie pan with Pam cooking spray. Put mixture into pan and bake @400° for one hour until nice and brown, forming a nice crust.

Mashed Potato Cakes

I have not eaten a mashed potato cake since leaving home at age 18. My Mom used to make them all the time, and man I hated those tasteless things. So I just never used up my left-over mashed potatoes in this way.

We were cleaning up the remaining Thanksgiving left-overs, and I decided to be brave and try them. Went on-line to get a recipe, nabbing the first that came up. Now I am telling you, these babies are seriously good. A delicious way to use left-over mashed potatoes, the kind with lots of butter, sour cream and cream (see Creamy Mashed Potatoes recipe). They are dry if you just use regular mashed potatoes. Eat this topped with brown gravy, if you have some.


1  med  onion, chopped
2  Tbs  butter
2   eggs
1-1/2  cups  mashed potatoes
1/4  cup  flour
1/4  tsp  salt
1/8  tsp  pepper
Dash hot pepper sauce, optional
1  Tbs  water

In a large skillet, sauté onion in butter until tender. Remove from the heat. In a large bowl, lightly beat one egg. Add the onion, potatoes, flour, salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce if desired.

Shape into four to six patties; place on a greased baking sheet. Lightly beat remaining egg; stir
in water. Brush over potato cakes. Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes, or until heated through. 

Note: 
Instead of baking, I fried them in butter on top of the stove, omitting the second egg and water. The mashed potatoes I used had sour cream and butter in them. This is what made them so tender.  So I suggest adding about 1/3 cup sour cream and a couple tablespoons of additional melted butter to the mixture, if your mashed potatoes were made without it.