Recipes
Amazing mashed potatoes recipe
Ingredients
- 3 pounds russet or Idaho potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 6 ounces butter (equals 12 tablespoons), cut into chunks, at room temperature
- 12 ounces half-and-half
- Salt and pepper (I prefer white pepper for this), to taste
Special equipment:
- Sorry, you’re going to need a food mill or a potato ricer. Not that you can’t make mashed potatoes with a tool that looks like a branding iron, but I’m talking about amazing mashed potatoes here, and only a food mill (you might know it as an “applesauce maker”) or a potato ricer (which looks like an overgrown garlic press and usually costs only a few bucks) will thoroughly mash the potatoes, making them lump free, without shearing open the cells. A food processor or blender, on the other hand, will rip the cells apart, releasing all the starch inside them, and instantly turning your dinner into book paste. And didn’t we get over eating glue in kindergarten?
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 300 degrees (optional; see step 5 below).
- Place potatoes in a heavy pot, cover them with cold water by an inch, and bring to a boil over high heat. When the water is boiling, add enough salt to make it taste nearly like seawater, and turn the heat down to a moderate simmer. (Starting them in cold water saves time and lets the heat penetrate the potato more evenly.) Cook the potatoes until a paring knife slips in and out of them easily; check them after 15 minutes, then every few minutes thereafter. Even though you’re going to mash them to a pulp, it is possible to overcook them — the cells will burst, release starch, and absorb water. How gross does that sound? So be vigilant when they’re nearly ready.
- A few minutes before the potatoes are done, warm the half-and-half in a small pot. Try not to boil it, but you want it nice and steamy. What we’re doing is making sure the potatoes stay hot at every step of the way, not just because hot food should be hot, but because this keeps them from turning stiff. When the half-and-half is warm, season it aggressively with salt and pepper — you want it tasting a little bit saltier than is pleasant, because this is going to season the potatoes later.
- If you’re using a food mill, set your colander in the bowl of the mill and drain your potatoes, letting the hot water warm up the mill. (If you’re not afraid, you can heat up your potato ricer too, but don’t burn yourself on the handle!)
- Drain the potatoes thoroughly, spread them in one layer on a baking sheet, and put them in the oven to dry. While you’re at it, get your mixing or serving bowl nice and hot in the oven, too. Check on the potatoes after 3 minutes or so, and give them a gentle turn. When all the steam has come off and the outsides of the potatoes look floury, they’re ready. (Alternatively, you can dry them back in the pot over very low heat, stirring to release the steam, but I like the simplicity and consistency of the oven.) The idea here is to rid the potatoes of all the excess moisture, letting them be as fluffy and light as possible. Well, as fluffy and light as possible when you drench them in butter and cream, anyway.
- Set the potatoes in the mill or ricer and puree into your hot bowl, alternating every few chunks of potato with some butter; this helps you mix them together evenly. Fold the whole mash a few times with a spatula or spoon, tasting in various spots of the bowl, to make sure the butter is evenly distributed. The butter, on top of being delicious, will coat the cells of the potato and keep the half-and-half from waterlogging them. Science is magic!
- Pour in the hot half-and-half in a moderate stream, folding or whisking just until it’s incorporated. The potatoes should be moist but still firm enough to hold their shape. If they’re stiff, add a little more half-and-half. Taste, add salt or pepper if need be, and keep hot! (And try not to eat it all before dinner’s ready.)
Francis Lam is Features Editor at Gilt Taste, provides color commentary for the Cooking Channel show Food(ography), and tweets at @francis_lam. More Francis Lam.
Kale-filled crepes recipe
Ingredients
Kale filling
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ red onion (chopped)
- ⅔ cup stock
- 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 1 cup kale (chopped)
- 1 cup turnip greens (chopped)
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley (chopped)
- 2 petite summer squash (chopped)
- Salt to taste
- 8-10 nasturtium blossoms
Salal Raspberry Syrup
- ½ cup wild black raspberries
- ½ cup salal berries
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 4 tablespoons raw sugar
Crepes
- 1 cup sifted white flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup water
- 3 tablespoons butter (melted)
- Bacon grease
Felisa Rogers studied history and nonfiction writing at the Evergreen State College and went on to teach writing to kids for five years. She lives in Oregon’s coast range, where she works as a freelance writer and editor. More Felisa Rogers.
Thimbleberry rosemary simple syrup
Ingredients
- ½ cup of honey
- ½ cup of water
- 1 cup of thimbleberries
- 1 lime
- Three sprigs of fresh rosemary (chopped)
Directions
- In a small saucepan, heat honey and water. When liquid comes to a boil, add berries. Stir. Remove from heat.
- Add lime juice and rosemary. Leave to steep for 3-4 hours.
- Strain. If necessary, press berry mash against strainer to release liquid.
- Chill and serve.
Felisa Rogers studied history and nonfiction writing at the Evergreen State College and went on to teach writing to kids for five years. She lives in Oregon’s coast range, where she works as a freelance writer and editor. More Felisa Rogers.
Wild berry champagne barbecue sauce
Ingredients
- ¼ cup of olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of chopped garlic
- 1 cup fresh huckleberries
- 1 cup fresh salmonberries (thimbleberries or raspberries also work)
- ¼ cup spumante champagne
- 2 tablespoons of honey
- 2 tablespoons of ketchup
- ¼ teaspoon of salt
- dash of Worcestershire
Directions
- In a saucepan, sauté garlic in olive oil.
- Add remaining ingredients.
- Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes or until slightly thick.
- Remove from heat; cool.
- Place mixture in a blender; process until smooth.
- Use as sauce over pork, steaks or poultry.
Felisa Rogers studied history and nonfiction writing at the Evergreen State College and went on to teach writing to kids for five years. She lives in Oregon’s coast range, where she works as a freelance writer and editor. More Felisa Rogers.
Pasta with mussels and cream sauce recipe
Ingredients
- 8 oz. fettuccini (cooked al dente)
- Parmesan cheese and pepper
-
Group 1
- 30-40 mussels
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup white wine
Group 2
- 1 cup oyster mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 green onions
- 3 tablespoon white wine
- Mussels (sans shell)
- 1 teaspoon chopped parsley
Group 3
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1½ tablespoons flour
- ½ cup half and half
- ¼ cup stock
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ lemon
Felisa Rogers studied history and nonfiction writing at the Evergreen State College and went on to teach writing to kids for five years. She lives in Oregon’s coast range, where she works as a freelance writer and editor. More Felisa Rogers.
Dolmas with tzatziki sauce recipe
Michelle’s Dolmas
Ingredients
- Cooked rice
- Olive oil
- Garlic (minced)
- Carrot (grated)
- Zucchini (diced)
- Fresh dill or fennel (diced)
- Salt
- Feta cheese (optional)
- Water
- Lemon juice
Directions
- Cook rice.
- Sauté onion, garlic, grated carrot, little pieces of zucchini and little pieces of fresh fennel. Add dill or fennel, more olive oil, and feta cheese. Turn off heat.
- Remove a grape leaf from your jar and spread it flat on a cutting board. Take a spoonful of the rice and vegetables and plop it in the center of the grape leaf. Fold up the bottom of the leaf first, then fold the sides in and roll.
- Put the dolmas in a big saucepan. (You want to fill up the bottom of the saucepan with dolmas.) Add water until the water level is about halfway up the dolmas. Add lemon juice.
- Set a kitchen plate on top of the dolmas to hold them down during the steaming process. Put a lid on the pot and bring the water to a boil.
- Minimize heat, and steam the dolmas for 30 minutes on the stove top. Keep an eye — the dolmas should be ready when the liquid is gone.
- Drizzle with olive oil and serve with tzatziki sauce.
Felisa Rogers studied history and nonfiction writing at the Evergreen State College and went on to teach writing to kids for five years. She lives in Oregon’s coast range, where she works as a freelance writer and editor. More Felisa Rogers.
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