Mashed Potatoes

I have mentioned before how I hate baked potatoes. The reason being, piucking potatoes as a kid and the memory burned into my brain of the putrid rotting slimy oozing dripping from my hand mass I would at times end up with and the stench.

I can eat potatoes in any other form though, lol. As long as no potato skins are along for the ride. My favorite though is mashed potatoes and they were mentioned i the comment section of my gravy recipe.

About Mashed Potatoes.

Every since I was a young boy, When makinbg mashed potatoes, after draining them we set the cooked potatoes in a bowl and then we whipped them with the electric beater. Added butter and cream, salt and pepper. To this day I still make them the same way. Maybe today other recipes may come into play such as additions of maybe some cooked and mashed garlic, sour cream and chives, horseradish, cheese blends or even bacon bits.

Does anyone else use an electric beater when making their potatoes? My wife and I have had our electric beater since forever, lol and it's the only thing we use it for. Potatoes.

Gravy

Description:
Judy asked if I would post a turkey gravy recipe. To me, gravy is made almost the same for almost anything roasted which requires the drippings and carmalization from the pan the roast was baked in, liquid and a thickner.
I also keep beef and chicken base on hand just incase I need some added flavor.
Thickners for me are either flour or corn starch in most cases. 2 tablespoons of flour per cup of liquid or 1 tbl of cornstarch.
The trick to me for a good gravy is to make it just before serving. Don't let a cornstarch or flour gravy cook to long or the thickening will cook off and the gravy will be runny. Also know that if you want a light gravy, use flour. Cornstarch will give you the color of a gravy of what ever color your sauce is.

At times when I know I'll have plenty of guest, I will make a stock using the gizzards, neck bone, onion, celery and carrot, a few cups of water, and simmer while the turkey roast, add this liquid to the drippings to increase volume for the gravy. This trinity of vegetables always inncreases the good flavor of a stock and gravy. Make sure to starin before using though.

Ingredients:
Gravy for 6
2 cups of drippings liquid . Add water or stock if needed.
4 tbls of flour or 2 tbls of cornstarch
1 tsp of base if not using stock
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
To make gravy,
Let drippings cool down just a bit so that excess fast can be spooned off the top. A few ice cubes can speed nthis up. You can get fancy cups that will dain off fat and you can even use your vaster to suck the drippings from under the fat.
I like to remove the fat and leave the drippings right in the roasting pan. Add cool liquid and thickner. whisk well to combine. Over a medium heat stir and work any bits off the bottom of the roaster and the sides. As the liquid comes to a boil lower heat to a low simmer and simmer between 5-10 minutes. Just cook off any raw flour taste. Taste for seasonings. Add base if needed before any salt. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Sauerbraten ( A Ginger Recipe)

Description:
This is a recipe out of an old Betty Crocker Cookbook dated 1969. It has a few tweaks or what I call ajustments.



Ingredients:
4 lb beef roast
1 pack of Lipton Beefy Onion soup mix.
1 teaspoon of beef base
1 tsp of fresh grated ginger
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 medium onion, slice
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon pickling spices
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup gingersnap cookie, crushed
1 teaspoon sugar

Directions:
Place meat in deep skillet or Dutch oven.
Mix the soup mix,ginger, beef base and vinegar; pour over meat.
With sharp fork, pierce surface of meat; marinate 15 minutes, turning occasionally.
Add onion, bay leaves, pickling spices and pepper.
Cover tightly; simmer on top of range or in 325 degrees oven 3 hours.
Remove meat.
Strain drippings and discard spices.
Measure drippings and add water to measure 2 1/2 cups liquid.
Melt shortening in skillet.
Blend in flour.
Cook over low heat , stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly.
Remove from heat.
Gradually stir in liquid.
Heat to boiling, stirring constantly.
Boil and stir 1 minute.
Add, meat; cover and simmer 30 minutes or until tender , turning meat once.
Place meat on warm platter; keep warm while preparing Gingersnap Gravy.
Gingersnap Gravy:.
Stir 1/3 cup crushed gingersnaps and 1 tsp sugar into gravy in pan.
Heat to boiling, stirring constantly.
Boil and stir 1 minute.
Serve gravy with meat.

Enjoy, IC

Chicken Soup

Description:
This a a soup recipe for those of you that want the real thing. Just a good old fashion bowl of soup.
The process of making the stock may seem to be a pain in the butt but it's well worth it

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, about a 3 pounder, cut into pieces
1 onion rough diced
4 carrots rough diced
3 stalks of celery rough diced
1 clove of garlic, minced very fine
1 tsp of Bells poultry seasoning
a dash or 2 of ginger

Cooked good chicken meat that was reserved
2 carrots, diced
1 medium onion minced
1 stalk of celery diced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of Egg noodles

Directions:
Place the cut up chicken pieces in a dutch oven type pot that has been coated with a tablespoon or 2 of vegetable oil and brown over a medium high heat.
Remove the browned chicken and saute the onions, carrots and celery until soft. Add the chicken back to the pan and add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 1.2 hour.
Remove the chicken and allow to cool enough to get the meat off the bones. I try to pull the breast meat of whole so I can dice it up. Add the bones and any meat you don't want in your soup back to the liquid and simmer for about an hour. ( I usually just reserve the breast and thigh meat) Strain the liquid and discard bones and cooked remains. I like to fish out bones and try to press the cooked vegetables through a fine mesh strainer. All that pulp is good flavoring.
To the nice chicken stock you now have, add the reserved chicken, vegetables and spices. Bring to a simmer and add egg noodles. Cook for 10 minutes. Agg salt and pepper to taste. Soups on.

Enjoy, IC

Macaroni Soup

Description:
This is a soup that I grew up on as a kid that was at the top of the list as a comfort food and still is today. It's has just a few simple ingredients and will probably be laughed at but to this day I still make it and my kids love it.

Ingredients:
1 lb of macaroni. ( Elbows)
1 can of evaporated milk
2 cups of milk
1 stick of butter
salt and lots of black pepper

Directions:
Start by cooking the Elbow Macaroni as directed. Under cook by 3 minutes
Drain and put back in pot. Add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to medium and cook till the Macaroni has cooked to your desired texture. Lots of black pepper is important here.

(Crushed Saltines go very well In this Creamy and buttery broth)
Enjoy, IC

No Corned Beef and Cabbage

Description:
Growing up in an Irish family I never enjoyed Corned Beef and Cabbage.
I just make mine using ham. Ham is usually in the freezer from either New Years or Christmas leftovers.
Another very simple recipe

Ingredients:
2 quarts of water
two teaspoons of better than bullion chicken base
4 large potatoes cut into 3/4" chunks
4 large carrots sliced about 1/2" thick
1 large onion coarsely chopped
2 cloves of garlic smashed
2 cups of leftover diced ham or a leftover ham on the bone

Directions:
Place all of the above ingredients in a crock pot in the morning. Set on the low setting and cover. Allow to cook all day. Stir once if you get a chance ag
after about 4 hours.
I love to eat this soup with a really crusty home made loaf of sour dough bread cut into thick slabs slathered with butter.

Enjoy, IC

Manhattan Clam Chowder

Description:
I love clam chowder. Both new England and Manhattan but it seems that when out you can only get New England.
I love to make it home made because I can control the clams that go into it. There is nothing like a hot thermos of clam chowder on a cold day at work.

Ingredients:
1 lb of Little Neck Clams (removed from shells and minced) Save the juice
3 tablespoons of butter (optional, 4 slices of bacon)
1 large can of v8 juice
2 large potatoes diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large onion diced fine
1 cup of corn
1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
1/2 packet of Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 cup of lemon juice
An IC Twist- 1/2 cup of miniature pasta Shells

Directions:
melt butter in a dutch oven type pot. Add the clams,onions, Old Bay Seasoning, red pepper flakes and cook over medium high heat until onions are soft. I do at times use about 4 strips of bacon instead of the butter for a more intense flavor. After the onion has softened add the potatoes and cook until and excess liquid or drippings are absorbed.
Add the V8 juice, lemon juice,reserved clam juice and corn. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on medium heat for at least 20 minutes. Add the 1/2 cup of miniature sea shell shaped pasta and cooked for an additional 10 minutes.

I am a big fan of filling my bowl of this soup with crushed saltine crackers to thicken the broth just a bit as I eat it. If no crackers are on hand then its dipping a peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich into the broth. Ewwwww, pb&j in a fishy broth, lol.I love PB&J sandwiches with almost any soup.

Enjoy, IC

Stuffed Cabbage Soup

Description:
This weeks theme is Soup. I have several favorite and going through my recipes you can find several like Potato Soup or even Pasta Fazoli Soup.

One of my favorites for the winter chill is a Stuffed Cabbage Soup that just uses the ingredients for stuffed cabbage. I love it. Nothing could be as simple to make.

Ingredients:
1 large can of V8 juice.
1 lb of ground beef
2 cups of chicken stock
1 large minced onion
1 tsp of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of Oregano
1 bag of Cole Slaw mix
1 cup of rice
1/8 cup of vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In a large dutch oven type pot brown the ground beef and drain the fat. Add the onion, garlic and oregano and cook until onion is soft. Add the V8 juice, the vinager, stock and Cole Slaw mix and bring to a boil. Add the rice, salt and pepper and return to a boil. Stir and reduce heat to low. cover and cook soup for 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy, IC

Please don't be Tofu. Please don't be Tofu.....

Porcupines

Description:
Rice as a themed ingredient. I love rice just as much as I love pasta and potatoes and just about any way I make pasta potatoes I will cook up a rice dish. But as a themed ingredient I will say my favorite would be Porcupines. A Porcupine is nothing more than a filling for a stuffed pepper or cabbage cooked by itself in a meatball type form. Cook it in a tomato or gravy type sauce and it's a meal.

Ingredients:
1 lb of ground beef
3/4 cup of un cooked white long grained white rice
2 eggs beaten.
1 small onion minced fine
A dash of garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 - 1/2 cup of dried bread crumbs. Plain or Italian Seasoned.

! quart of a tomato based sauce or a brown gravy


Directions:
Combine the ground beef, rice, and seasonings and mix well. Add eggs to the meat mixture and stir in till well blended. If mixture is to loose add a bit of bread crumbs to tighten.
Refrigerate for about and hour to let the mixture to build some flavor and let the fat from the ground beef set up.
Place gravy or sauce into a 6 quart pressure cooker and start heating over medium high heat. My favorite for this is actually V8 Juice.
Form chilled meat and rice mixture into 8 good sized meatballs. Place into pressure cooker and then follow pressure cooker directions. Cook for 15-20 minutes.
Remove the pressure cooker from the heat and allow to cool without releasing the pressure. Serve the porcupines with nice crusty home made bread and butter and a salad.. Spoon sauce or gravy over the Porcupines.

Enjoy, IC