Remember when our teachers used to encourage us to be stupid by saying  ”There are no stupid questions!” 

You see…I bought this bag of potatoes at Costco. It reads “Idaho Potatoes, Product of USA”.   These beautiful potatoes are just a tad larger than fingerlings, and with their perfect rosy complexion appear as just harvested new potatoes. Just like the ones we clamor for in early summer. 

But wait a minute! Isn’t Idaho potato harvest in late summer??? It’s March.

The first question that came to mind was “Can Idaho Potatoes be grown in warmer climate states and still carry the Idaho Potato logo?”  If not, have these little beauties been in some sort of high-tech cold storage all this time? I assume the later, and  impressed with whoever and whatever preserved these little guys, considering installing a unit in my home and I’ll sit around in it!

Back to this purchase.  These potatoes seem perfect. Ruby Red on the outside with buttery gold flesh inside they are creamy, sweet, tender and a rare treat any time of year. I’ve never had them before and where ever they’ve been hiding,  I want them year ’round. If you see a bag, I highly suggest you grab it and give them a try.

So with all that said,  let’s talk potato salad. 

When I think of potato salad, I think “All-American…summer…picnics…back yard BBQ’s…”    But is Potato Salad really All-American? From what I read on a Google search, our cold mayonnaise based version was surely inspired by German immigrants who served theirs warm and with vinegar. 

While I like German Potato Salad, our version, with creamy mouthfeel and served up just right and wrapped around a dependable American potato just can’t be beat.

What’s your riff on potato salad? Let me know in your replies. Here’s how I do potato salad.

• I take about 8 medium-sized red-skinned potatoes, all about the same size.  I use red-skinned potatoes because they are lower in starch so they hold their shape better.  Higher in sugar, I think they make a better tasting potato salad.  
• Cover un-peeled potatoes in water in a large kettle and gently simmer until tender.  You’ve got to watch them closely. If you cook them too long, you’ll have mashed potatoes when you mix the salad, not enough and you’ve got that raw potato taste.
• Meanwhile, chop your vegetables. I use about a cup of sweet or green onion, 2 – 3 stalks of celery, thin sliced  pimento-stuffed green olives and some chopped bacon.  Place them in a large bowl.
• When potatoes are cooked perfectly, drain them in a colander. Here’s where I decide if I leave the skins on or off.  If the skins are sweet and tender, I leave them. At this point, I take a knife and very coarsly chop them while they’re draining in the colander. 
• Pour steaming chunks of potatoes over the bowl of chopped vegetables and let sit for about 5 minutes before stirring. I like to do this so the flavors marry a little bit.
• Top with 1/2 cup mayonnaise and a tablespoon of mustard. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and gently mix. At this time I start adjusting the flavors, adding more mustard and mayo, if needed, for both texture and taste. 
• Refrigerate until serving time.

Yum!

Potato Salad

It’s What’s For A Side

Here some Tater facts that I found on the www:

Varieties:  Potatoes with a high starch content, like russets, bake well and yield light and fluffy mashed potatoes. Those with a low starch content, like red-skinned potatoes, hold their shape after cooking, and are great for making potato salads and scalloped potatoes.  Medium starch potatoes are called all-purpose potatoes, and they’ll work in most potato dishes.  

Best for baking: Russet potato

Best for potato salads, gratins, and scalloped potatoes: Yellow Finn potatoes, new potatoes, red-skinned potatoes, white round potatoes, and purple potatoes 

Best for mashing: Russet potatoes, Yukon gold potatoes, Caribe potatoes, and purple potatoes 

Best for soups and chowders: Yukon gold potatoes, Yellow Finn potatoes, red-skinned potatoes, white round potatoes, and purple potatoes 

Best for pan-frying: Red-skinned potatoes, white round potatoes, new potatoes, and fingerling potatoes

Best for French fries: Russet potatoes, purple potatoes, Bintje potatoes

Best for purees: Fingerling potatoes

Best for roasting:  New potatoes, Bintje potatoes

Best for steaming:  New potatoes, Yukon gold potatoes

Best for potato pancakes: Russet potatoes, Yukon Gold potatoes

This coming Wednesday, no matter what our lineage, we’ll all be Irish.  It’s the rules folks. Even for Goofy Cats.

I’m getting a head start on the culinary celebration of St. Patrick’s Day because I’ll be attending a business networking event on Wednesday which will prevent me from spending time in the kitchen. It’s a “must attend”, as many of Denver’s top movers, shakers and hoppers will be there!

It’s our annual Realtor Association Bowling Tournament where about 500 of us who make our living in the Real Estate Industry take to the lanes. The only moving will consist of rolling balls down alleys at some pins. And the shaking?  Well that would be the bartenders shaking green food color into pitchers of beer. And more shaking when Realtor Debbie leads the group in the Electric Slide and then of course the annual group Hokey Pokey embarrassment.  The hopping???  Why that would be when the D.J. plays Cotton Eyed Joe, of course.

My company (Title Insurance) has two teams which I’ve named The Bowling Stones. Even though I stole that name from a good friend, I’m very proud of the steal and taking full credit for its cleverness.

With all that said, as predicted and right on schedule, Safeway put corned beef on sale last Wednesday. Friday morning I put the brisket in the crockpot for an all day slow simmering. 

Friday evening we enjoyed Glazed Corn Beef: (photo too horrible to post – but believe me, it was delicious).

1 lb to 4 lb corned beef brisket
2 Tbs prepared mustard
1.5 tsp cream-style horseradish
2 Tbs red wine vinegar
1/4 cup molasses

1. In a slow cooker, cover corned beef with water. Cover and cook on low 10-12 hours or until tender. Drain corned beef and place on a broiler pan or ovenproof platter.

2. Preheat oven to 400F. In a small bowl, combine mustard, horseradish, vinegar and molasses. Brush on all sides of meat. Bake, brushing with sauce several times, for about 20 minutes or until meat begins to brown. Cut into thin slices.

I served this with a simple side of Cole Slaw.

Saturday for breakfast was over easy eggs, warmed corned beef and some pumpernickel toast. To warm up the corned beef without drying it out, I simply sautéed it in a little butter. 

Saturday night we enjoyed Glazed Corned Beef Sandwiches. I just popped the bottom half of the sandwich which consisted of shredded corned beef  topped with some Swiss Cheese and broiled until warm and oozy. Along with the Cole Slaw I added a side of potato salad.

So there, I feel amply Irish to start out my week. How are you culinarily celebrating St. Patrick’s Day?

Corned Beef and Potatoes

It’s What’s For St. Patrick’s Day.

By the way, just what the heck is Corned Beef?  According to Wisegeek.com:

Corned beef, also called corned beef brisket, is a popular meat item which hearkens back to the days before refrigeration. Faced with the challenge of preserving fresh meat for the winter season, butchers would routinely pack beef or pork products in salt to prevent the formation of bacteria and mold. Meats like beef brisket could also be pickled in a spicy, salty brine. At one time, the word corn referred to a number of kernels or seeds, including the coarse salt granules packed around the brisket. Thus the meat was called “corned beef “ in reference to the corns of salt.

I call it “The Spaniard” even though the only thing Spanish about the final version of this sandwich is the Manchego Cheese.

I call it “The Spaniard” because I swiped this recipe from a local liquor store and they had named it ”The Spaniard”. You’re probably scratching your head and asking “HUH, food? liquor store, Spaniard???” Let me explain. 

A couple of years ago, a huge liquor super mart, about the size of a Costco Warehouse opened up on the West side of Denver. I kid you not.  HUGE store, almost laughably huge. The name of the store is Tipsy’s Liquor World and it sports a two-story neon martini glass on the back of the building,  which faces the highway, and I’m sure is also visible from the Hubble Space Telescope. In other words, ya can’t miss Tipsy’s Liquor World.

The south end of Tipsy’s Liquor World houses a specialty food store/deli counter. It’s actually kind of a cool idea. Tipsy’s is located on our main highway that leads up into our beautiful Rocky Mountains and I’m thinkin’ that they’re thinkin’ that on your way up to the hills you’ll stop for some wine and picnic lunch. 

Anyway, we were browsing  in Tipsy’s Liquor World around lunch time one Saturday and decided to grab a sandwich. We each ordered  ”The Spaniard”. DEElicious. About halfway through the sandwich, coming up for my first breath and with glazed eyes, I said to Bob “I can make this at home”.   So you know I did.

Here’s what you’ll need for “The Spaniard”

• 8 slices of Black Forest Ham
• About 8 thick slices of onion, caramelized
• One roasted yellow bell pepper
• One roasted red bell pepper (both divided in half for each sandwich)
• 2 thick slices Manchego Cheese

I think the original sandwich had Serrano Ham, which I’ve used. Black Forest Ham seems to be easier for me to work with.

4 slices of pumpernickel bread slathered in mayonnaise

Starting with the ham, layer ingredients on one slice of bread with the Manchego Cheese ending up on top. Place the two sandwich halves on a baking sheet and broil until cheese is bubbly and just starting to brown.  Remove from oven, top with remaining slice of bread, press down to a bit on the top to press everything together, plate and dig in. Makes 2 sandwiches.

I like to serve a lot of simple garden salads with my meals.  Makes me feel healthy.  This time served with a tangerine vinaigrette.

What is the name of your local liquor store?

Invite the “The Spaniard”.

It’s What’s For Dinner.

I’m Public Relations Coordinator for the Highlands Ranch Rotary Club. One of our annual fund-raisers is to sell delicious Colorado Western Slope Peaches after they are harvested and in our hands in August. I’ve come up with this big idea to produce a little cookbook full of peach recipes submitted by our members.  A fun little handout when folks pick up their peaches they’ve ordered from us. I’m getting an early start on this production, so over the next few months, you’ may be seeing some tested peach recipes on my blog. This is the first. 

But first, let’s talk geography.  Denver lies on east side of  the Rocky Mountains. We call our area the Front Range.  On the west side of our mountains, Colorado’s Western Slope is home to orchards and vineyards.  Juicy peaches, sweet apples, pears and grapes for wine are grown here. 

Nearly 200 orchards are located near Palisade, CO.  The Colorado River Valley of Colorado’s Western Slope has a unique mix of ideal climate and soil full of phosphates, sulfates and nitrogen and has been churning out consistently flavorful peaches. You can pick up some of these summer treats along roadside stands throughout August. Farmers also deliver their crops to Front Range Farmers Markets.  

I won’t test all of the recipes for this little cookbook project,  just the ones I’m unfamiliar with or curious about. Using frozen peaches from last August’s purchase, Here’s my first test recipe. 

Peach Clafouti (Custard): 

Submitted by Jan Keyton, Highlands Ranch Rotarian
Adapted from a Tony’s Meats Recipe 

4 large eggs
½ cup heavy cream (or half-half)
½ cup milk
3 Tbs flour
¾ cup sugar
3 Tbs unsalted butter
6 medium peaches – peeled & quartered 

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.  In a blender, combine eggs with cream, milk and flour.  Add ½ C sugar and blend till smooth. 

2. In a medium heavy skillet, melt butter over med-high heat.  Add peaches, sprinkle with remaining ¼ C sugar, and cook till tender, about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Butter a 10 inch round deep dish pie plate. Pour one quarter of batter into bottom, spoon peaches with remaining liquid into dish, and pour remaining batter on top. Sprinkle a little cinnamon on top if desired. Set pie plate on a baking sheet & bake for 55-60 minutes, or until golden and just set. Transfer to a rack & cool to room temperature before serving.   Top with some whipped cream. 

Right Out Of The Oven

3. Make ahead: Can be refrigerated overnight.  Gently rewarm in a 300 degree oven before serving. 

This was easy to make and very tasty.  

Peach Clafouti 

It’s Whats For Dessert.

I bought some lard yesterday. Ok, pipe down everyone and don’t have a heart attack (pun intended). It’s not like I”m going to be frying up vats of flour-dredged deep fat fried food everyday, I just happen to like lard for certain things and the last time I looked, Safeway was lardless. And look, the logo even sports a graphic of a heart. (wink)

Yesterday we set out across town on a Foodie Field Trip. Our destination was the Mexican grocery store, Avanza.