Mrs. Potato Head

A skin have I, more eyes than one. I can be very nice when I am done. –A Potato

It's been a really long time since I posted any kind of recipe. It's not that I haven't been cooking. But I posted most of my favorite recipes. Also, I just found that getting good {i.e. appetizing} photos of food to be difficult. And photos to accompany a recipe are kind of a requisite. I mean, isn't it the photo that draws you in and makes you want to try the recipe? Nevertheless, I am posting a couple of recipes today with somewhat non-spectacular photos.

Since I went dairy-free in January of this year, I've been limited in what I can eat. There are milk products in everything from chocolate to taco seasoning to bouillon cubes. It is kind of ridiculous. Over the past several months, I have been relying heavily on Mel's Kitchen Cafe to replace my dairy-laden casseroles. Mel does not use many canned/prepared items {i.e. cream-of-whichever soup} in her recipes, so it is easy to use dairy substitutes. I particularly enjoyed her post on food allergies, during Food Allergy Awareness Week earlier this month.

Today I want to share a couple of potato recipes. Potatoes are a tricky business for dairy-free folks. While they do not contain dairy themselves, they aren't particularly appetizing with out it. Mashed potatoes with almond milk and butter substitute are not bad. As a matter of fact, the Not-So-Little Bugs didn't even notice. But I'm not too fond of the sour cream substitute I've been able to find and wouldn't really like to try it on a baked potato. Whipping up a batch of flavored instant potatoes is out of the question. So, I've been looking for different ways to dress up a potato. Here's what I've come up with.

Garlic & Herb Potatoes

Garlic & Herb Potatoes (with Lamb Shanks)
Photo courtesy of Shay at Quilting In My Pyjamas

8 medium to large red potatoes
1 teaspoon fresh minced rosemary or ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon fresh minced thyme or ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon fresh minced oregano or ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon fresh minced parsley or 1 teaspoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon paprika
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
¼ cup olive oil, butter or butter substitute

• Scrub potatoes and dice into ½" - 1" cubes. Fill a 4-quart pot about half-way with water and bring to a boil. When the water reaches a boil, add 1 teaspoon salt and the diced potatoes all at once. Return to a boil and boil potatoes for 5 minutes. Drain potatoes.
• Meanwhile, in a small mixing bowl add rosemary, thyme, oregano, parsley, salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper and garlic to melted butter or olive oil. Toss together with potatoes to coat.
• Place potatoes in a greased 9" x 13" baking dish and place in a 350˚ oven. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Notes:
• For crispy wedges, cut potatoes into wedges rather than dicing them. Combine seasonings as directed and toss with potatoes to coat. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake as directed.
• I've tried this recipe with dried and fresh herbs, as well as russet and red potatoes and it is delicious no matter which way you make it.

Gram's Best Potato Salad

1 dozen eggs
5 lbs. red potatoes

Dressing
2 cups mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard

Additional Ingredients
½ cup pickle juice
1½ cups chopped celery
¼ cup finely diced onion
½ of a dill pickle, finely diced
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pepper
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons fresh minced parsley or 2 tablespoons dried parsley
Paprika

• Place eggs in the bottom of a 4-quart pot and add cold water to 1" above eggs. Bring to a boil over high heat; cover pot, reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow eggs to stand in hot water for 10 minutes. Drain water from eggs; fill pot with cold water and ice and allow eggs to cool.
• Peel and slice the boiled eggs; reserve the slices with pretty yellow centers for garnish on top of the potato salad and grate the remaining eggs to be added to the potato salad.
• Scrub and dice potatoes. Fill an 8-quart or 10-quart pot about half-way with water and bring to a boil. When the water reaches a boil, add 1 tablespoon salt and the diced potatoes all at once. Return to a boil and boil potatoes for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, to prepare dressing, mix mayonnaise, sugar, red wine vinegar and spicy brown mustard together in a small mixing bowl.
• After the potatoes have boiled for 10 minutes, drain them and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Pour the pickle juice directly on top of the hot potatoes. Add grated eggs, celery, onion, dill pickle, salt, pepper and parsley and stir to combine. Toss together with dressing. Top with sliced eggs and sprinkle with paprika. Refrigerate 6 to 8 hours.

Notes:
• There are no notes, except to say that no picnic is complete without a good potato salad and this is a good potato salad .