Black Garlic and Truffle Oil Mashed Potatoes

Okay, let's get this part out in the open.

These are ugly mashed potatoes.  There, I said it.

They also happen to be some of the best tasting mashed potatoes I've ever had.  Don't just take my word for it, though.  My wife and I own a small gourmet foods company, and we have sampled these potatoes with literally hundreds of people.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that the overwhelming majority of people who try them absolutely love them.

Black Garlic

We have been asked for this recipe repeatedly and this is the first time I've had the chance to write it up.  We hope that you'll enjoy it!

If you have any questions about black garlic, this blog post does a good job of explaining it.  And if you need any black garlic, you can always get it here.

Ingredients

• 3 pounds potatoes (preferably russets - though you can use any that you like)
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) cut into small pieces
• 1 cup heavy cream (you can use milk instead if you prefer)
• 2 oz (4 tbsp) truffle oil (either white or black truffle oil will work)
• 6-8 peeled cloves black garlic (number depends on size of cloves and taste preferences)
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Peel and cut potatoes.  You can cut them into any size you'd like, as long as they are uniform in size.  I prefer about one inch square simply because they cook a little quicker.  
2. Place potatoes and garlic in cold water and bring to a boil.
   
   
   

   

   Black garlic with potatoes in water.  The water is cloudy from the starch in the potatoes.

   
   
3. Cook until fork tender (15-20 minutes).
4. Drain well*.
5. Place potatoes and black garlic back in pot and put on very low heat, tossing until potatoes cook off most of the remaining water.
   
   
   
6. Turn off heat and roughly mash the potatoes and black garlic together.
   
   
   
7. Heat cream (or milk) on the stove top or in the microwave just until warm.
8. Add butter to the potatoes to let melt (alternatively, you can melt this in the microwave as well but I don't find any real advantage to this). 
9. Add the truffle oil to the potatoes.
10. Pour in cream or milk a little at a time while using a potato masher to reach desired consistency.
    
    
    
11. Season with salt and pepper. 
12. Serve hot and enjoy!
    
    *If you save the water from the potatoes it will be FULL of flavor.  If you'll be making soup any time soon, use this instead of plain water.  You can thank me later.
    
    
    
    

Smashed Baby Red Potatoes

The potatoes in the foreground and panini in the background

I believe I may have mentioned before that I love potatoes. For some reason they seem to touch something primal inside of me. When I was a kid, every meal was meat and potatoes and though I still love that combination I don't actually have it that often any more. 

Today we're just as likely to have some form of rice (which I NEVER had growing up) or maybe even noodles as we are to have potatoes - but that doesn't mean I don't love them as much today as I did in the past, I just don't give in to that urge quite as often.

A few months ago I tried something new - well, new to me anyway. My wife loves it and told me I should share my recipe - especially since I made it last night and my daughter (who had never tried it before) seemed to love it as much as the rest of us.

Ingredients

• 12 small red potatoes (you can use any small potatoes you like - my preference for this recipe is the red potatoes)
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil (just enough to cover the cookie sheet you'll be using and brushing the tops of the potatoes with later)
• Kosher salt to taste
• Black pepper to taste

Optional ingredients

• Parmesan cheese to taste
• Rosemary to taste
• Oregano to taste
• Garlic powder to taste
• Onion powder to taste

Use as many of these as you'd like or none of them. Some other herb or spice you like? Use that. You can use either fresh or dried, both work just fine. I like to use dried rosemary and grind it directly over the potatoes.

Directions

1. Put the potatoes in a pot of water and boil and cook until they are fork tender. For the amount I did, once it was boiling it took about 15 minutes
   
   
   
   

   

   
   

2. Drain the potatoes and let cool
3. Take a cookie sheet and generously drizzle the olive oil onto it. You don't want to be too stingy here - this is what's going to help keep the potatoes from sticking
4. Place the boiled potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving room between each potato
   
   

   

   
   

5. Using a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it mashes slightly. Rotate the masher 90 degrees and repeat.
6. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil (or butter if you want to be really decadent!)
   
   

   

   
   

7. Sprinkle the potatoes with the salt, pepper and herbs of your choice
   
   

   

   
   

8. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown

That's it! Very easy to make and the combination of the crispy exterior and the creamy interior gives it an incredible taste/texture combination! In addition, these are vegetarian and, if you omit the parmesan cheese, they are also vegan!

Tater Tots - from scratch (NOT the ones in a bag!)

One of my favorite foods from childhood (that wasn't made by my mom or grandfather) was tater tots. I

Perfectly done tater tots - nice and crisp on
the outside, soft and creamy on the inside!

still love them today and I know lots of others that do as well. If my kids are any indication, it's not just a generational thing - they love them as well.

Having said that, I never even considered making them from scratch. I would just open a bag, pour them on a baking sheet and throw them in the oven. I have noticed lately that they really don't taste as good as the ones I had as a kid but I just chalked that up to a kid's memory vs reality.

The other day, I overheard someone talking about making them from scratch and that got me thinking - was it my memory that was faulty or were they really made differently?  I'm sure it was some of each but once I started thinking about it I had to try it myself.

This was my first attempt and the three of us loved it (my wife, my 17 year old son and me). I'll try slightly different spices/herbs going forward just to switch it up a bit but I'm very happy with the way they came out. I'm also going to try deep frying them in the future, though that negates any "healthy" benefits that may come from making them myself.

So, here's my version of homemade tater tots!!

Ingredients

• 5 medium red potatoes - about 2 pounds (it's important to use red potatoes - they have more starch and are much "gummier" than russets which will help them stick together better)
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese 
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• Olive oil for greasing pan
• *1/2 tsp garlic powder
• *1/2 tsp onion powder
• *1/2 tsp freshly ground dried rosemary
• *1/2 tsp oregano
• *1/2 tsp sweet curry

*Optional herbs/seasonings - experiment with whatever combination of seasonings and herbs you like. I used garlic powder, onion powder and rosemary. You could also give them a southwestern flair by adding seasonings like chili powder and cumin.  Basically, make them yours by adding whatever flavors you and your family like.

Directions

The potato mixture waiting
to be formed into "tots"

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.
2. Scrub the potatoes clean and roast until fork tender. Depending upon the size of the potatoes, you may want to cut them in half first. For my potatoes, this took about 40 minutes.
3. Cool them rapidly by plunging them in ice water. Change the water, and repeat, until the potatoes are cool.
4. Shred the potatoes on the large holes of a box grater. I peeled mine - you can leave the peel on if you prefer.
5. Put the grated potatoes in a bowl and add the other ingredients. I prefer to mix using my hands, but a fork works quite well also. Mix until fully combined.
6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and rub or spray with a layer of olive oil. I used a rosemary infused olive oil to give a bit of extra flavor.

   

   Formed and ready to go
   into the oven

7. Preheat oven to 425° F.
8. Using about a teaspoon of the potato mixture, form it into a small ball.  If you then flatten it on the ends, you'll have the traditional tater tot shape.
9. Place on baking sheet and repeat until all the tots are made. I was able to make just short of 50 tots with the potatoes I used.
10. Bake about 35 to 40 minutes, turning once about 20 minutes into the cooking time.
11. Serve hot with catsup (or, if you're like me, try Heinz 57 sauce - it puts catsup to shame!).
12. Enjoy!

As always, if you try it, please let me know what you think in the comments!

Straight out of the oven...

...and ready to be served!

Potato Pancakes (or Latkes)

Finished breakfast: latkes with sour cream, challah
toast (thanks Amy!) and a cheese omelette!

Anyone that knows me knows about my potato fetish - give them to me in just about ANY fashion and I'm happy. If that fashion happens to have been fried, has onions and I can add sour cream to it, that simply adds to my happy factor!

This recipe has all the above and this morning I was a happy camper indeed. (Well, I really wasn't camping; just an expression, but I WAS a very happy cook!)

We never had potato pancakes growing up; plenty of fried potatoes (what they call home fries here in New England) but never potato pancakes.  I didn't try them until I was in my thirties, and then the ones I had weren't very good. They were the frozen ones at a cheap diner somewhere so I didn't try them again until three or four years ago. THAT time I had good ones and I was hooked. I tried many times to replicate them at home and they always came out too starchy or too "thick" - more like a blob of potatoes than what I had come to know and love.

I had noticed the same thing anytime I tried to make hash browns (another favorite and not really that different than potato pancakes). A couple of years ago I stumbled across an easy trick to make your hash browns MUCH better (and lighter!). After shredding them, remove as much starch as you can by placing them under running water or simply soaking them.  If you do that, they will improve immeasurably.

Last night while I was trying to fall asleep I was thinking about surprising my wife with breakfast this morning (I'm strange) and thinking about making her hash browns. I had one of those odd little leaps in my brain and suddenly thought that I could apply the same principles (removing as much water as possible) to potato pancakes. It made a lot of sense to me (though admittedly, thinking about it when I was trying to sleep did NOT make a lot of sense). Unfortunately, I didn't sleep well because I kept thinking about how good they would be if it worked. Lucky for me (and now you!) it did and I'm going to tell you exactly how I did it if you care to follow along. If you do, you'll be rewarded with some of the best potato pancakes you've ever had - and if you don't, just maybe you learned something that will help the next time you decide to make hash browns.  (I do realize that this is probably common knowledge amongst many chefs, but it was a huge revelation to me!)

Ingredients

Makes enough to serve 3-4

2 large russet potatoes, peeled
1 small onion, shredded
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Olive oil and butter for frying

Optional

*garlic powder to taste (before cooking)

*ground rosemary to taste (before cooking)
applesauce (as a side to the latkes, after cooking)
sour cream (as a side to the latkes, after cooking)

*these are NOT traditional, but they ARE good!

Directions

1. In a food processor or a box grater, shred the potato and onion.
2. Mix the onions with the shredded potato. 

   

   Shredded potatoes (before removing starch)

3. Remove as much starch as possible from the potato/onion mixture. There are a couple of different ways to do this. You can either place them under running water until the water runs clear (which may take a little while) or simply soak them.  I generally soak them and change the water several times.  I do this until I can run water over them and the water runs clear.  
4. Once you've removed as much starch as possible from the potatoes, drain them to remove the water.  It's not necessary to remove all the water, but the more you remove the faster they will cook.
5. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, egg, salt and pepper together and optional ingredients if you're using them. 
6. Stir in the potato/onion mixture until all pieces are evenly coated.
7. On a griddle or in a medium skillet (cast iron is perfect for this), heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tbsp of butter until shimmering. Drop packed tablespoons of the potato mixture into the skillet and flatten them with the back of your spatula (you want them to be fairly thin so that they cook all the way through and are nice and crispy when done). 

   

   Potato/onion/egg/flour mixture before
   being spooned into the skillet.

8. Cook them over medium high heat until the edges are just starting to brown, approx. 2 minutes; flip and cook until just starting to brown on the bottom, about 1 minute (if yours are a little thicker it will take more time). 
9. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with the rest of your potato/onion mixture, adding more oil/butter to the skillet as needed.

NOTE: These are actually great to do ahead if you are trying to make them as a side for other things. Either keep them in the fridge for a day or two or just keep them in a warm oven while you're cooking everything else. If they've been in the refrigerator, reheat them in a single layer on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven until they crisp up again.

Latkes are traditionally served with sour cream or applesauce. Either way (or plain!) it's hard to go wrong.

Enjoy! And if you try them, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

Baked/Steamed Potatoes on the Grill

I love potatoes.  There.  I said it.  I keep trying to qualify them as a vegetable when we have dinner but my wife won't let me (if I could, I might be able to sneak two different types into my meals - baked and mashed, fried and scalloped - my idea of heaven!).

Finished meal - corn on the cob roasted on the grill,
potatoes, grilled zucchini, chicken and pork chops

Tonight I wanted to take advantage of the wonderful weather and use the grill - and I had already brined pork chops, chicken and even some tofu for my wife so the grill was going to be used anyway so it became a "potatoes on the grill" night (actually, we really DON'T have potatoes all that often which is probably one of the reasons I always crave them so much).

This is something I came up with a long time ago to make cooking potatoes on the grill quick and easy. I think they do a combination of steaming AND baking this way and when you take them off the grill you don't have to do anything else to them (maybe a bit of salt, pepper and butter, depending upon your tastes but they really don't need it).

If you try this, let me know in the comments and tell me what you think!

Baked/Steamed Potatoes on the Grill

Ingredients

Potatoes after being cut and onion
added between slices of potato.

• 2 - 10 russet or white potatoes (how many do you want to feed? how much do they like potatoes? how big are the potatoes? for four of us, I did about 10 small/medium potatoes and we had plenty of leftovers)
• 1 small/medium/large onion, sliced thin (the size of the onion you use will depend on how many potatoes you use - and how much you like onions!)
• olive oil - enough to drizzle over the top of the potatoes
• seasonings to sprinkle over the top - use whatever you like.  I generally use garlic powder, Lawry's seasoning salt and some freshly ground rosemary, but anything you like will work

Directions

1. Preheat your grill - if using gas, just turn on all the burners (once it's lit) and close the lid.  If you are using charcoal, once it's lit and burning well, put the cover on to let it get good and hot.  You want to leave an area large enough for the pouch to NOT have a fire directly beneath it, so either a "U" shape or coals on only half of the grill usually works well
2. In the meantime, start preparing the potatoes. Tear off a strip of aluminum foil. Size should be determined by how many potatoes you are cooking. This piece is just for the potatoes to rest on, so size accordingly
3. Spray the side of the foil facing you with non-stick cooking spray
4. Slice potatoes into approx 1/2 inch slices
5. Place potatoes on the foil where it was sprayed
6. Put slices of onion between each slice of potato. You can do this every other slice - or any other way you like depending entirely upon how much onion you have and how much you like onion.  I've also done this with garlic, but you have to be VERY careful how much you use or it can quickly become overpowering (and we LOVE garlic)
7. Drizzle olive oil over the potatoes but be careful not to drown them with it.  If you have an infused olive oil, it works wonders for the flavor. You can use pats of butter here instead if you like
8. Sprinkle whatever spices you want over the top of the potatoes 
9. Tear another piece of foil the same size as the first.  Spray one side of it with the non-stick spray.  Place the side with the spray on it over the potatoes and fold all four sides up to make a packet
10. Place the foil packet of potatoes on the grill.  If using a gas grill, turn off a burner to make sure that one area doesn't have a fire underneath it (that will burn the potatoes on the bottom)
11. If you have a way to tell the temperature in the grill, ideally keep it around 350-400 degrees and let it go for an hour.  You don't need to move it or turn it - just let it sit and let the grill work its magic
12. Carefully remove onto a plate or cookie sheet



Potatoes surrounded by grilled corn on the cob.  Serve
potatoes directly out of the foil or transfer to a serving dish

13. Open (be careful - it's hot!), serve and enjoy!