Tag: Side Dish

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Skillet Potatoes Au Gratin

When I was young, the idea of potatoes au gratin really appealed to me. They just sounded so special and fancy.  Scalloped potatoes were a regular thing at our house and there were au gratin potato chips, but I don’t recall them being a regular part of our menu.  They may have been, but I don’t remember it.  (Sorry, mom.)

Potatoes and cheese are classic.  Switzerland has raclette (which I have eaten in Switzerland).  Canada has poutine (which I have not eaten in Canada, but I assume I will at some point.)  Sports bars have potato skins.  Diners offer cheese with hashbrowns. One time I made chipotle potatoes au gratin and they were amazing.  I’m not sure I’ve ever had a potato and cheese combination that I didn’t like. These Skillet Potatoes were no exception.  DSCN2768

Maybe these potatoes were so ooey-gooey delicious because we use Weyauwega cheese almost exclusively.  Seriously, there is nothing better.  It’s the cheese I grew up eating, so maybe that’s part of it, but it is really good cheese.  They are even distributing cheese curds to Texas now.  My friend called to ask if they were legit.  Yep.  They are the real thing. (This makes it sounds like an advertisement.  It’s not, I just really love Weyauwega cheese.)

DSCN2769Boiling the potatoes with the onions mellows the onions and just leaves the flavor.  The small amount of water used to boil the potatoes means the potatoes don’t need to be drained and the starch from them helps to thicken the cheesy sauce.  These are not the best au gratin potatoes I’ve ever had in my life.  They aren’t steakhouse worthy, but you know, for something that is ready in 30 minutes or less, it’s a pretty decent side dish for any night of the week.

The Recipe:

Skillet Potatoes Au Gratin

If you like this recipe, check out Smelt Fries and Potato Casserole, Old-Fashioned Potato Salad, and French Potato Salad for an Elegant Picnic.

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Peach Cottage Cheese Loaf

Last night as I was driving home in the rain, Casey Kasem was counting down the top 40 hits from 1976.  I can sing along with most of Saturday at the 70’s, but there are songs that baffle me as to how they even got popular.  As I was pulling up to the house, Captain and Tennille started crooning “Muskrat Love“.  How did that become a hit?  It’s worse than “Angie Baby“. I guess some things just make sense at the time, even if they lose relevance as the years go past.  Kind of like Peach Cottage Cheese Loaf.DSCN2838Now you have to understand, there is only one person at my house that likes cottage cheese, so we were already prejudiced against this recipe.  Then we are going to add in some mayonnaise and gelatin…How could this not be a winning dish?DSCN2840I had to look up what “creamed cottage cheese” was.  Basically, it’s the cottage cheese anyone can get at any grocery store in the US.  It has liquid in it as opposed to being dry.  It’s so common, they don’t label it that way and you’d probably have to go to a specialty store to find non-creamed cottage cheese.  (Or make it yourself).

 

This recipe did not “loaf”.  I don’t know where I went wrong in following the directions, but the gelatin did not hold this recipe into a discernible loaf.  I managed to get it to hold together long enough for pictures, but the neat slices I imagined didn’t happen.  The whole thing got scraped into a bowl and served that way.DSCN2856Everyone was required to take a taste of the vomit-like concoction because that’s the way we do things.  We try ingredients we don’t like in a variety of ways in case there is a way that we do like that ingredient.  It worked with beets, mustard, brussel sprouts, and other things.  The rule at our house is if you say you don’t like it without trying it, you need to eat twice as much as I would normally expect you to eat to try something.  We aren’t talking huge amounts here.  It’s not like I make anyone eat a double full portion, it’s more like 2 teaspoons full instead of 1 teaspoon full.  The kids prefer to have control over their serving sizes, so they agree to the terms.  It works for us and lessens the amount of whining at the table.

 

 

As we expected before we started the meal.  No one really cared for this marvelous creation.  Even the person that “liked” it couldn’t really eat more than a couple of servings over the course of a week.

This recipe, like “Muskrat Love”, should probably stay back in the time period from whence it came.  It’s sometimes better to just leave things in the past.  But if you insist on doing things your own way, maybe you should try the pineapple variation.Peach Cottage Cheese Loaf

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Old-Fashioned Potato Salad

Old Fashioned Potato Salad

I get this sort of arrogance when it comes to cooking.  I use recipes as references only and feel like I can do it better than the recipe writer.  That, somehow, I can improve upon the original intention of the dish.  With a dish like simple old-fashioned potato salad, it seems a shame to not add bacon or pesto or sprinkle the top with paprika.  Liven it up somehow.  But this recipe doesn’t call for any of that.

DSCN2380

My arrogance extends to my cooking methods.

I spent a lot of time with my grandparents last summer.  At the beginning of summer they announced they were moving into an assisted living facility about 5 hours away from me.  Their decision to move so far away broke me a bit.  I had spent years developing a close relationship with them. I spent as much of the summer with them as I possibly could to try to help them get things squared away and just to spend some time with them before it became more difficult for me to do so.

When I was up there once, my mom, grandma and I were all in the kitchen together cooking dinner.  I cut some potatoes and got them into a pan to boil them for potato salad or something.  Grandma scolded me as I added water to the pot.  Apparently, I spent the last 30 years adding too much water to the potato pot.  “There is no need to waste so much water, just put a little water in the pan and let those potatoes steam.”  My mom stated that she always used a lot of water, but then used the potato water for other things like soups or breads.

That was the same summer I was informed that I was middle-aged and reminded that I don’t know everything even if I walk around like a know-it-all.  I think about that every time I boil potatoes now. I never put too much water in unless I have plans for the extra water.dscn2390.jpg

 

When I was prepping this recipe, I realized that the can of evaporated milk I had was actually sweetened condensed milk.  This is where smart phones are handy.  I learned there are at least 2 different ways to make evaporated milk.  You can reduce about 2 ¼ cups of milk on the stove top until it’s 1 cup or, even quicker, make double strength milk from milk powder.  I tried the first, but realized that it was going to take much longer than I felt like I had.  I pulled the milk and will use it to make cocoa for the kids later.

DSCN2407Most delis have at least three varieties of potato salad on hand at all times because potato salad can be so many things.  In the book Consuming Passions by Michael Lee West, she dedicates an entire chapter to potato salad.  Her mother has very definite ideas as to what potato salad should be and what it should not be.  My opinions on it are not nearly as strong as hers.  However, I do like my potato salad to have enough variety in ingredients and texture so every bite is a bit different.  And this is that sort of potato salad.  It’s a classic.  The eggs provide a nice texture.  It’s the perfect kind of mushy without being sludge.  It’s sweet and would be great with fried chicken or BBQ meats.  It tastes like summer.

The Recipe:
Old Fashioned Potato Salad
If you like this recipe try Cabbage Salad, French Potato Salad, or Skillet Au Gratin Potatoes.  
An old fashioned potato salad recipe.
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Cabbage Salad

Cabbage Salad

Cole slaw is something we all grow up with.  It’s usually mayo based, or vinegar based and not that interesting.  Occasionally you get cole slaw that is amazing for some reason, like at Bismarck’s Bar and Grill where they add bacon.  But normally, it’s something we eat as a side dish because of tradition more than anything else.  Cabbage is cheap. It is mostly used the cut the richness of fatty foods.  (See what I did there?  Cheap Cabbage/Rich food? I’m hilarious.)  I’m not sure I’ve ever heard someone exclaim “Cole Slaw!  That’s my favorite!”

dscn2408.jpgThis isn’t cole slaw.  It is a cabbage salad. It was John’s favorite part of the meal.  He said it was the only part of the meal he didn’t think he’d get sick of eating as leftovers.  I thought that perhaps the onion rings were a little much.  I am not sure if I would’ve preferred them to be thinner slices or chopped more, but they were too much.

But it’s not memorable.  I wrote up the first part of this when we first had the salad.  A few days and a few recipes later, I can’t even remember what the salad tasted like.  It was good, it was fine, it wasn’t worth having it the second day if there were other options.  And it kind of sucks for the salad.DSCN2377

Actually, thinking back, this would probably be a great accompaniment to grilled food. There are hot days where a nice cold cabbage salad is the perfect thing to go with a nice pork shoulder, rubbed with onion and herb paste and slow roasted on the grill all day long.  Or BBQ chicken.  Nice and moist and falling off the bone.  That tang of the barbecue sauce.  But this salad is never going to be the star of the show.  It’s always going to be a member of the chorus.  It might get a line or two in a major production, but it’s ultimately going to back to its waitressing gig to wait for the big break that will never come.  I mean, come on.  It’s still just cabbage salad.Cabbage Salad