Chipping Away at the Garden

Leslie has been very generous with her garden bounty and it's been fun to play with recipes and new ways to enjoy favorite veggies. I think the red potatoes she grew have been particularly tasty.

As I made my menu plan for last week, I decided to add homemade potato chips for something a little different. Greg took on this task as I put together the beef and sage sliders for that meal.

He got out the Pampered Chef mandoline and cut the potato slices uber-thin, then fried them at 375 degrees F for a few minutes. After removing from the oil, he sprinkled some finely ground sea salt, and they were delicious!

Reaping the Garden Bounty

A few days ago Leslie gave me some red potatoes and some fresh green beans from her huge garden. I decided to make potato salad for supper yesterday, but was out of dill pickles for the recipe my mom taught me to make, so I searched for a recipe that used what I had in the cupboards and frig. I found one that used the green beans as well and we all really liked it. (Sorry, no photo - we ate it before I remembered to snap one.)
The recipe came from about.com - I just googled "potato salad recipe". My comments are in red.

Warm Green Bean and Potato Salad
Ingredients:
4 cups sliced potatoes
2 cups fresh trimmed green beans, cut in 1/2-inch lengths
4 to 6 slices bacon [I was out of bacon, so just skipped this - it was still delicious]
1/2 cup minced red onion
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 cup vinegar (wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar are good) [I used red wine vinegar]
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
dash garlic powder
Preparation: Peel potatoes, halve then slice in 1/4-inch thickness. Place potatoes in a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil; cover and boil for 5 minutes; add green beans and more water to cover, if necessary. Boil for about 10 more minutes.
Fry bacon and drain; set aside. Reserve 1 tablespoon of drippings.
In a small bowl, whisk olive oil and bacon drippings slowly into the vinegar; add salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Pour over vegetables.
Crumble bacon over and toss gently.
Taste and adjust seasonings.
Serve warm or room temperature. [I made this a couple of hours before we had supper, and just covered the bowl and let it sit on the counter until we ate.]
Serves 4 to 6.

Cleaning out the T'Day Leftovers

This is not the usual Turkey soup or stuffing casserole use of the Thanksgiving leftovers post. I bagged most of the leftovers and tossed them in the freezer - Greg will enjoy a small Thanksgiving feast again one busy night during the holidays, and I'll be glad I froze it!
One thing I didn't freeze was the leftover mashed potatoes. I just don't like the texture of them when they're thawed. So we ate them a few times last week, but I put a different twist on the last couple of servings.
I remembered when I was a kid and stayed with Grandma Regier over the Christmas break from school. She always had leftover mashed potatoes from our big family dinner, and would make them into potato pancakes for breakfast. So that's what I did, only these were a side for our supper of baked steak one night, then breakfast-for-supper the next.
They're pretty simple - just mix a raw egg into your potatoes, then plop them into a hot skillet with a little oil. They take several minutes to crisp up enough to be able to turn them. Just wait for it. If you try to flip them too soon, your pancake will fall apart. Then cook them several minutes on the other side. You want them nice and crispy.
For a little flavor, I added some roasted garlic to the potatoes and then garnished them with green onion the first night. The second night I just went ahead and stirred the green onion into the potatoes before I cooked them.
Now lest you think I tortured Greg by serving these two nights in a row, he actually asked to have them again. :o)