Jessica's Scalloped Potatoes

Seasons greetings, my wonderful blog readers!  One of the first family recipes I remember helping with in the kitchen was making Scalloped Potatoes for the Christmas gatherings.  I loved sprinkling the layers of cheese and flour and laying out potato slices in designs, to be hidden under more cheese.  Sometimes I got a little carried away with the flour and ended up with clumps of dry flour in the finished dinner, but even that was fun.  That led to the important lesson that handfuls are different than a light sprinkle.  I even loved peeling the potatoes over a big spread of old newspapers, once I was old enough to use the sharp metal peeler.  Two dishes were always made: one for the gathering and one for us so that there was no temptation to sneak bites out of the casserole dish for the extended family, which I'm sure happened on more than one occasion.

Here in Utah they are called "Funeral Potatoes", referring to the gatherings that people usually bring them to.  They are very easy and make great leftovers, so it's a nice dish to have on hand when people don't have the focus to cook dinner for themselves.  I prefer to keep the dish associated with more happy times though so I am sticking with Christmas. Besides, my family never really did the food thing for funerals. 

The first step is to slice the potatoes as thinly and uniformly as possible.  This will prevent unexpected crunchy bites of uncooked potatoes.  Nothing in this dish should be crunchy, and if it is, be worried, and see how guilty the kids' faces look.

Four potatoes does not seem like enough for a whole casserole dish, to me anyway, but with the space between the slices and all the cheese, it is plenty. It is better to not cut up enough potatoes than to cut up too many, unless you have other plans for extra potato slices.  They do not store well. 

Buying a bag of pre-grated cheese is a huge timesaver and I never had that option as a kid so I like taking full advantage of it now.  Costco-size?  Yes please! 

In a 1.5-quart glass casserole dish, thinly layer flour, salt/pepper, potato slices, and cheese.  About halfway up the dish, sprinkle in a little savory and onion powder.  This makes the flavor a bit deeper and more complex. 

This is not a 1.5-quart glass casserole dish.  Nope, I wanted to make LOTS so this is a 9x13 pan.  It took about 8 or 9 smallish potatoes. 

Repeat the flour, salt/pepper, potatoes, and cheese until they are 1" from the edge of the pan, then top with cheese and slowly pour the milk over the entire top.  The milk is there to moisten the flour.  This makes the delicious gooey bits of goodness in between the potatoes.  Un-moistened flour... stays flour. That being said, I've been known to go a bit overboard with the milk, which makes everything too soupy to cook properly.  If you do that, a turkey baster works well to pull the extra milk out, even if you don't notice until halfway through cooking. 

Keeping it uncovered the whole time makes the top layer of cheese bake into a beautiful browned color.  Put a foil-covered cookie sheet under the casserole dish in case the cheese bubbles over, as it often does for me because I like to fill the casserole dish too full.

The finished product!  I never seem to snap a shot before the first person digs in.

Scalloped potatoes in a casserole dish

Scalloped potatoes in a 9x13 dish (double-ish the recipe). 

Jessica's Scalloped Potatoes

INGREDIENTS
4 thinly sliced medium-sized russet potatoes
1 lb grated cheese (medium cheddar or colby-jack)
Salt and pepper to taste 
Sprinkle of Savory
Sprinkle of Onion Powder
1 cup flour (have available; won't need the whole cup)
1 cup milk (may not need the whole cup)

DIRECTIONS
1. In a 1.5-quart glass casserole dish, thinly layer flour, salt/pepper, potato slices, and cheese.  About halfway up the dish, sprinkle in a little savory and onion powder.

2. Repeat the flour, salt/pepper, potatoes, and cheese until they are 1" from the top, then top with cheese.

3. Pour in the milk - the purpose is to moisten all of the flour, so pour slowly and evenly over the entire top.  It should not reach more than halfway up the sides once it all settles in.  (use a turkey baster to pull some out if needed)

4. Bake in 350 degree oven for about an hour until the potatoes are soft. Do not cover. Put a foil-covered cookie sheet under the casserole dish in case the cheese bubbles over.
 

Thanksgiving Special: Perogies

Ahh, morning after Thanksgiving.   The turkey coma has faded and it's time to do something other than cook.  Time to write about cooking!  :)

My husband's family has a Thanksgiving tradition of making perogies and I am happy to embrace this.  Perogies are dough pockets (like big ravioli) filled with cheesy mashed potatoes and sauteed with sweet onions.  They are delicious!

This recipe is especially good for Thanksgiving because the work is much easier with many hands and an assembly line.  I broke out the directions by assembly-line task.  It's a lot of fun to be in the kitchen with loved ones!  Mashed potatoes and onions can be prepared in advance, and a bread machine with a dough setting saves a lot of kneading time.

This year it was just the two of us for turkey day and my rolling pin skills aren't quite up to par, so we discovered that parchment paper keeps the pre-boiled perogies from sticking to the plate so all of the filling step can be done at once with a layer of parchment paper in between each level of perogies.  Don't let them touch each other though, the potato-filled dough pockets are very very friendly with each other and tough to separate.

The recipe was passed down from my husband's grandmother and has morphed a little over the years.  The full recipe is here but we cut it in half since my bread machine only does a half-batch of dough at a time.  Whether doing the dough in the machine or by hand, the amount of milk will vary depending on the humidity and elevation.  If the dough is dry and crumbly it needs more milk; if it's sticky it has too much milk and some added flour will help balance it out.

Additional recipe instructions involve throwing handfuls of flour at siblings, trying to eat the hot just-cooked perogies while keeping everyone else away from them, hoping to still have room for turkey later, and eating cold leftover perogies with onions on top straight from the fridge for day-after-thanksgiving breakfast and lunch.


Perogies

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT NEEDED
Perogie-maker (these can be found at kitchen gadget stores)
Heavy rolling pin
Bread machine (not a necessity but very helpful)

INGREDIENTS

Dough
6 cups flour
2 eggs
2 tsp salt
1 to 2 cups of milk

Potatoes
6 large potatoes (half russet and half yukon gold), peeled and cut up
Grated cheddar cheese - sharp white if available
1 large sweet onion, diced
Milk, to taste
Butter, to taste
Salt & Pepper (1/2 tsp salt per lb of potatoes)

Other
Extra milk in a small cup for sealing perogies
2 large sweet onions, sliced (these can be sliced and frozen in advance and used straight from the freezer)
1 to 2 sticks of butter

DIRECTIONS
1. Slice onions.  These should look like a bag of smiley faces.  Every good recipe should start with smiley faces.

2. Prepare mashed potatoes: Saute onion with a little butter.  Boil potato pieces until fork-tender.  Drain.  Mash potatoes with sauteed onions, cheese, milk, butter, and salt & pepper.  This should be a little saltier than one would normally make mashed potatoes for serving.

3. Make dough: Knead together all dough ingredients, starting with 1 cup of milk and adding more as needed until the dough is not crumbly and not sticky.  If using a bread machine, use the dough setting.  No rising cycle is needed.

4. Make circles: Using a heavy rolling pin on a lightly floured flat surface, roll out dough to about 1/4" thick.  Cut out circles that are smaller than the perogie-maker using a round cookie cutter or the top of a glass.  Roll these circles flatter so they are the size of the perogie-maker with a little bit hanging over the edges.  They need to be thick enough to hold potatoes through boiling and frying but not so thick they won't cook through.

5. Fill perogies: Carefully lay the prepared circle of dough on the perogie-maker.  Drop a spoonful of mashed potatoes in the center; it should be plump but not enough to squish out the sides.  Dip a finger in milk and run along the edge, then crimp the perogie-maker together.  Make sure it's sealed before moving on to the next one.  Put these on a parchment-paper-lined plate *not touching each other* until there are enough to boil.

6. Boil: Fill a large stock pot about halfway with water and set to a boil.  In small batches, drop in the filled doughy perogies so they have some space to float and not be on top of each other.  Boil for a while until the dough is cooked through.  Remove carefully from boiling water with a slotted spoon and place in a waiting area for the frying.  When all are removed from the water, add the next batch.

7. Final cooking: Heat a very large frying pan with a teaspoon or two of butter.  Add a handful of sliced onions and let soften for a few minutes.  Add a batch of boiled perogies in a single layer on top of and in between the onions.  When that side is browned, flip them over.  When both sides are nicely browned, remove to a plate and try to keep everyone from eating them so some will make it to the table.  The onions can stay for a batch or two depending on how cooked you want them.  Add a little more butter for each batch and more handfuls of onion slices as they get cooked and moved off to the serving plate. 

8. Serve and Enjoy! 

Thanksgiving Special: Cranberry Sauce

Once you make your own cranberry sauce you may never go back to the canned kind.  Warm fresh cranberry sauce is incredible and takes very little effort.  The basic recipe is on the back of most bags of cranberries; the zest and cinnamon take it over the top.  Frozen berries can be added when the cranberries are too for a different twist; cherries and blueberries are great, strawberries did not work so well.  When the cranberry skins pop it can be a little messy so this is not the time to wear a favorite white shirt. 

Cranberries are hard to get most of the year but they freeze very well.  I suggest stocking up with as many as your freezer can hold while they are on sale for the holidays to use throughout the year.  In addition to cranberry sauce, they are great in bread, smoothies, and syrup. Keep an eye out for those recipes during the year as I get cranberry cravings!

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

INGREDIENTS
1 package cranberries (12 oz)
1 c sugar
1 c water
1/2 tsp orange zest
1/2 tsp to 1 tsp cinnamon

DIRECTIONS
1. Pour cranberries into a bowl, rinse to get rid of any bits of stems or leaves, and sort out any bad ones.  No need to thaw them out if they were frozen.

2.  In a medium saucepan, mix together the water and sugar and bring to a boil.

3. Add cranberries, zest, and cinnamon.  Bring back up to a boil then turn down to a simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  The cranberry skins will pop as they heat up.  When most of the skins have popped, remove from heat.

4. Optional: For jellied cranberry sauce without the whole berries, put a fine mesh sieve over a container and pour the sauce into it.  Use a spoon to press the liquid through.  Discard the skins and seeds that will be left in the mesh.  Chill if desired.

5. Pour sauce into a pretty serving dish!

Polenta (Northern Italian Style)

I am a food collector.  I like buying food and don't necessarily have any intention to cook it or eat it, I just like having it in the pantry.  Sometimes I fight this by picking an ingredient that has been ignored and finding a dish that I can use it in.  Today's winner: coarse corn meal from Bob's Red Mill!  After reading about things to do with corn meal, I decided on Polenta.  I have had it fried in little sticks at restaurants but it's a lot more like oatmeal or malt-o-meal if you don't fry it.  Also, super easy!

I served it sprinkled with Parmesan and paired with a basil tilapia (thanks Costco) and Moscato wine (the Barefoot winery has a great one) to round out the Italian theme.  Getting the consistency I wanted meant undercooking it a little, so it was perfect for spooning out of the pot rather than something slice-able.  Why?  Well, it tasted good and I was hungry so that usually means declaring it dinner time.

Later note: This made great leftovers!  Not everything tastes good reheated but this one does so make extra.

Northern Italian Style Polenta
Source: Cooks.com

INGREDIENTS
5 1/2 cups water
dash of salt
1 3/4 - 2 cups coarse yellow corn meal

DIRECTIONS
Pour water into large heavy pot, add salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat so water is just simmering. Pour the corn meal slowly in a steady slow stream, while churning the corn meal and water with the whisk to minimize lumping of corn meal. Stir with whisk a few times, then cover and cook at low temperature. Stir mixture thoroughly every few minutes for about 30 to 45 minutes or until mixture stiffens and pulls away from the sides of the pan. The polenta is ready.

Slowly invert the polenta on to a wooden or plastic serving board or large dish, shaping to resemble a cake. Using a double strand of white sewing thread begin slicing polenta into "bread slices" by cutting from one side and then from the other side. To keep polenta warm, cover with a clean, white dish towel. Serve.

Zucchini Fritters

Zucchini fritters are a great side dish for fall... or appetizer, or breakfast, or snack.  They are earthy and green, use in-season vegetables, and make a lovely colorful contrast with the pumpkin soup I posted. They are also pretty easy.  I don't have a serving size listed because I can't get a complete count of how many are made - before the last batch is done the first batch doesn't have many left.  I'd guess that it serves about three, so the official servings is probably close to six... but why would anyone discourage the eating of delicious vegetables?

This recipe is adapted from versions from both Martha Stewart (who is totally one of my idols) and Cooking Pleasures magazine.  I make it a little bit differently each time, mostly because I tend to have zucchini when I have misplaced my recipe book, but now I have it typed in on Pepperplate.com and can access it from my phone.  So much easier!  Someday maybe I'll get an iPad and use that for cooking instead. 

I find it easiest to put all of the ingredients into a 9x13 casserole dish after draining the zucchini and onions, draw a grid in the mixture, and scoop up one forkful-sized square for each fritter.  This keeps the scoops from getting bigger and bigger until the last ones I make are twice the size of the first ones.  This trick works for cookie dough too!

Zucchini Fritters
Serves 3-6 as a side dish, depending on how hungry you are

INGREDIENTS
        3 medium zucchini
        1/4 tsp coarse salt
        1/2 to 1 medium onion
        1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese (1 oz) (optional)
        1/2 cup flour
        1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (optional)
        1 tsp fresh oregano, finely chopped
        Salt and pepper
        2 large eggs, lightly beaten
        Olive oil, for frying
        Plain yogurt or sour cream (for serving)
        Applesauce (for serving)


DIRECTIONS

1. Grate zucchini on the large holes of a box grater, then toss with 1/4 tsp coarse salt. Let rest for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, grate the onion.
2. Squeeze zucchini dry in a clean kitchen towel or press in a ricer. Repeat with onion.
3. Mix together zucchini, onion, cheese, flour, and herbs. Season with 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Stir in eggs just before frying.
4. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, coat skillet with 1-2 Tbsp oil. Scoop mounds (2 Tbsp each) of the mixture into skillet; flatten slightly using a spatula. Cook until golden brown and cooked through, 2-3 minutes per side.
5. Transfer fritters to paper-towel-lines plates to drain. Serve with plain yogurt and apricot jam or sour cream and applesauce.
Enjoy!

Jessica's Potato Salad

Labor Day weekend was excellent! We had a guest visiting from Portland and it was lovely weather for using the new grill (thank you to husband's parents!). My husband is the grill-guy and made delicious burgers with BBQ sauce and diced onions cooked in. What do burgers need? Potato salad! This is a family recipe so I don't measure anything and it's a little different each time. Nope, no eggs, which means all those people who hate eggs can eat this salad and also means I don't have to peel a bunch of eggs and prevent myself from immediately eating them.  Putting eggs into potato salad takes far too much willpower and it seems like double the work.  This recipe does double-duty too, because if you swap out the potatoes for diced hard-boiled eggs it makes a great egg salad.


No photos for this one... it's hard to take pictures of potato salad when there is a burger in my hand.  Still, I am amazed that I managed to sit down and eat without taking a picture first!

Jessica's Potato Salad

INGREDIENTS
Potatoes, peeled is best (1-2 per person)
Mayonnaise
Sweet pickle relish
Yellow mustard
Mustard seeds (optional, gives a nice little extra crunch)
Salt and pepper to taste
Garnish ideas: Paprika, fresh parsley sprigs, cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper slices

DIRECTIONS
Cut potatoes into bite-size pieces. Boil in a large pot until soft but not mushy. Strain and let cool.
Add mayo, pickle relish, mustard, and mustard seeds. Stir and taste, then add salt and pepper as desired.
Garnish and serve!

Maple BBQ Baked Beans

I found my "thing."  You know how it seems like everybody has a specific food that they bring to every potluck and picnic?  People who find their thing don't spend hours agonizing over the perfect complimentary dish to bring or worry about doing something different every time. Okay, I admit, I am still pretty likely to do those things, as I do love cooking new foods, but this time was easy.  Work potluck today, and my thing is Baked Beans.  And they are Darn Good.

Of course, I don't do things the easy way.  Last time I brought baked beans to a party I made a double batch and brought home an empty dish.  This time I wanted to make sure to have more leftovers, so I made a triple batch, which entailed switching pots a couple of times and ended up with our big stock pot full of beans... but I suspect they will disappear quickly.

Recipes are for sharing so here it is!  Many of my recipes are from magazines, and this one is from the Cooking Club of America (which by the way is completely worth the lifetime membership to get the magazines!).  

Maple BBQ Baked Beans

Ingredients

        8 oz. bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
        2/3 cup chopped onion
        1 (15-oz.) can navy beans or white beans, drained, rinsed
        1 (15-oz.) can pinto beans, drained, rinsed
        1 (15-oz.) can black beans, drained, rinsed
        1 cup mesquite- or hickory-flavored barbecue sauce
        1/2 cup water
        2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Instructions
1. Cook bacon in large saucepan over medium-high heat 8 minutes or until partially cooked and almost crisp, stirring occasionally.
2. Add onion; cook 3 to 5 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in all remaining ingredients; bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until flavors are blended.... or a couple of hours for extra goodness. (For saucier beans, stir in an additional 1 to 3 tablespoons water.)