Curry Smashed Potatoes

Granted, I might be incurring the wrath of the food gods by writing this for all the interweb to read but, I don't get it.  If you want mashed potatoes, make mashed potatoes.  If you want roasted potatoes, roast up some potatoes.  What is with this obsession for this weird in between stage? I made some "smashed" potatoes and they were fine but I kind of feel like I threw a temper tantrum in the middle of cooking and took a stick to my roasted potato.  But whatever, it does add to the cool factor when you are putting your pretty, dinner party ready, plate together for all to see and admire.  Plus, the likelihood of me making smashed potatoes again is pretty high since I did like smashing them :)

Ingredients:

Oil
Water
Potatoes
Curry powder

[Yea...I know...but honestly, it is all based on the number of potatoes you decide to make up.  Are you feeding a dinner party's worth of people? Grab a 3 lb bag of red potatoes.  Are you feeding just yourself for the next couple of days?  Throw 6 new baby potatoes into a pot.]

Direction:

Preheat oven to 425F.

Put the potatoes into a pot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and cook for approximately 10 minutes.  You want to potatoes to be tender so that they become smashable.

Remove the potatoes and place them on a baking sheet you have greased with a little oil.  Using your hand or a potato masher, flatten the potatoes.  If you use your hand, I'm going to state the obvious and and tell you to let them cool a bit first...we do not want any injuries here!  I used a potato masher and I did not feel as if I had the best control so I would suggest simply using your hands on this one.

Brush the potatoes with a little oil and sprinkle on curry powder.

Bake for 10 minutes, flip the potatoes, sprinkle with curry powder, and finish baking for another 10 minutes.

Sausage and Potato Quiche

While I was living in Moldova I not only wanted to experience as much of the food and culture as I could but, I also wanted to share mine as well.  I brought presents from home, things that signified the New England area, and I cooked for my family on a number of occasions.  While I may not have any French heritage that I am aware of, one item that was easy for me to bake was quiche.  Easy, because when you have 50 chickens running around your yard, eggs become rather plentiful rather quickly.  It would get to the point where my host father would ask my why I wasn't making them quiche - he had buckets full of eggs everywhere and it was my job to put them to good use!

Quiche is another one of those great recipes to have around because it can be easily adapted to suit your needs and tastes.  You need eggs, cream or milk, and some cheese.  Everything else you add is up to you.  Would you like your quiche jam packed with fillings?  Do not use as many eggs.  Do you want to bite sized for a party?  Split your mixture between cupcake tins.  You can make it with a crust or without.  Regardless of what you put into your quiche or how you shape it, you will come out of the kitchen like a culinary rockstar with an amazing looking meal or party appetizer.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb sweet Italian sausage
3 small potatoes - peeled, cubed, steamed
1 small onion - sliced
3 eggs
1/2 c. cream
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
9 inch pie shell

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F.  Steam cubed potatoes and set aside.

Heat a small amount of oil in a saute pan over medium heat and add onions.  Saute until they begin to soften, approximately 5 to 7 minutes.  Remove the casings from the sausage links and cut into chunks.  Add to the onions.  Cook until the sausage begins to brown.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and cream together.  Add the cheese and stir together.

Add the potatoes to the pie shell.  Layer the sausage and onions on top.  Pour the egg mixture over it.

Bake in the over for approximately 40 minutes, until the pie is cooked through and the top begins to brown.

This pie should have a wonderful savory taste with a little bite from the Parmesan cheese.  Because Parmesan is naturally salty and the sausage is seasoned I do not add anything extra to this recipe.  Hopefully you will find it as wonderful as I do.

Party Bites

For the last few years, summer always means an afternoon or two spent watching a polo match.  I have friends who will purchase a tailgating plot at two or three matches each season.  They invite 10 to 15 of us to get together, we all bring food to share, play some lawn games before the main event, and just enjoy each other's company.  I enjoy the matches not only for the food everyone brings but also for the fact that "chukka" becomes a normal part of the day's conversations.  Chukka is the proper term for each period of play that makes up the polo match.  You can just add this to the list of weird things I like.  Now, getting back to the food.

The best types of offerings at a gathering like this one are foods that can be easily picked at over time: salsa and chips, any food that comes on a stick, all things bite sized.  This time around I went with cheesecake cups and tortellini and fruit bites.  I went a little fancy for the cheesecake cups because I wanted to try something a bit different.  Instead of using sour cream I chose to use creme fraiche, which I made myself.  The phyllo cups I also made myself out of phyllo sheets.  The recipe for each follows in a bit.

The tortellini and fruit bites were an idea inspired by Pinterest.  I had pinned some "salad on a stick" ideas but I still wanted something a bit more original than just salad.  As I continued to hunt for ideas I came across a pin for a tortellini and fruit salad...on went the light bulb.  The kebabs contain cantaloupe, tortellini, pineapple, tortellini, ending with watermelon.  The dressing is 1 individual container of plain Greek yogurt mixed with 1 Tbsp of honey.

Phyllo cups

Ingredients:

Phyllo dough sheets - thawed
1 stick butter - melted
sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F and grease a cupcake tin.

Brush a sheet of phyllo dough with melted butter and then sprinkle on some sugar.  Put another sheet of phyllo dough on top and repeat until it is 5 sheets thick.

Using a pizza cutter, cut into 8 squares and then place into the cupcake tray.  Bake for 8 or 9 minutes, being careful not to burn them.  Once they begin to brown, they'll brown up fast so pay attention.

Remove from tray and store in an air tight container in the refrigerator, or wrap and put in freezer, until ready to use.

Creme Fraiche

Ingredients:

1 c. heavy cream
2 Tbsp buttermilk

Directions:

Combine cream and buttermilk in glass jar.  Cover and allow to sit at room temperature for 12 hours or until very thick.  Stir, recover, and store in the refrigerator.

No-Bake Cheesecake Bites

Will make 20 of "my version" small phyllo cups

Ingredients:

1 pkg cream cheese - softened
1/2 c. crème fraiche
1/2 c. confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

In a large bowl, using an electric beater, cream the softened cream cheese until smooth. Continue to beat, adding the confectioners sugar a little at a time. Once thoroughly combined add the crème fraiche and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Transfer to a large zip lock or pastry bag then chill for 1 or 2 hours. When ready, fill phyllo cups, and then put back in fridge or freeze until ready to serve.

These cheesecake cups come out nice and creamy with just a slight tang from the crème fraiche.  You can top them with fresh berries and they become a wonderful addition to any party.

Buttermilk Pie

When I pick up a book or turn on a movie or television show, it is most likely in the genre of supernatural/paranormal thriller.  I have been known, on more than a few occasions, to wait until midnight, triple check the door lock, turn off all the lights, and turn on a horror flick.  A little weird? Sure.  But, everyone gets to have their things and this one makes my list.

At the moment, I have been very nearly devouring any supernatural YA book series I can get my hands on.  My library card is working overtime now that it is summer. The current series I am reading, Beautiful Creatures, has a character - Amma - who has a penchant for making charms toward off evil and is also quite the baker.  If you saw last week's post you know that I am currently wishing I could have Amma make me a charm to ward off stupid mistakes in the kitchen!

Several times throughout the book it talks about her pies, including Buttermilk Pie.  Every time it was mentioned, I kept thinking to myself, "is this really a thing or did they just slap two words together and pretend."  So, I looked it up.  Buttermilk pie is a thing.  Apparently it originated in the United Kingdom and is now a staple of the American South.  My "investigation" also revealed that there are really only two ways to make buttermilk pie - with some zing and without.  With zing equals the use of lemon and a little nutmeg, which were the only variations to the basic recipe that I found.  It seems the recipe for Buttermilk Pie is pretty standard.

I was just going to use one of the online recipes and try the basic version to see what the fuss was all about until I came to the end of book one, finding that there were recipes included.  You bet I did a little happy jig in my seat.  This was a little treasure added to the digital versions.  The first book did not include the buttermilk pie recipe, but it was included in the second book.  What follows is that version.  I figured I had to use the book's recipe otherwise I was not being true to what originally inspired me to try it and obviously I would not want to anger Amma by eating anyone else's buttermilk pie.

Ingredients:

1 ½ c. granulated sugar

1 Tbsp flour

4 eggs

1 stick butter - melted

1 c. buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 unbaked 9 inch pie crust

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the sugar and flour.

Whisk in the eggs, one at a time.

Add the melted butter, buttermilk, and vanilla.  Mix well then pour the mixture into the pie shell

Bake for 60 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and the center is set.  There should be just a bit of jiggle when the pan is shaken.

Cool to room temperature before serving.

As you may have guessed, this is a super simple recipe with amazing results.  I brought it to work and I received rave reviews from my co-workers.  One even referred to it as sinful.  It is pretty sweet, so be warned, a thin slice goes a long way with this recipe.  Regardless, it's worth keeping in the recipe arsenal!