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Who doesnt love a potato pancake, right?  Crispy flavored potatoes that can be eaten at any time of the day make this girl very happy!  I thought that this would be a great addition to my cookie exchange brunch menu.  In fact, I think it was the best new recipe I made that day.  I found this recipe on The Enchanted Cook and loved her kicked up version of potato pancakes.  Even more I loved how the red of the pepper and the green of the chives made this seem very festive!
I never made potato pancakes before so I got a little nervous when the potatoes didnt hold together. I just went with it and they were perfectly fine.  I spoke to a few people and was told that this is totally normal.  Thank goodness!  I slightly adapted this recipe because I had pre-shredded potatoes I wanted to use and wasnt sure what the measurements were.  I also bought a package of thinly sliced pancetta and it only had 6 slices in it. I wouldnt mind doubling that next time. It all worked out and I was very pleased.  The only thing that I think that could be improved is my drying of the potatoes.  The potatoes should be very dry and I was a little lazy about it.  I ended up with a pool of eggy water at the bottom of the bowl which made the last batch a little messy. I served these two per person with a poached egg cradled in between.  Of course, at that point I was rushing too much to take a picture.  No worries though, I will be making these again without a doubt and will be sure to get a good picture of the plated dish. 


If you would like to make these patties a couple of hours ahead of time just leave them out on the counter and right before serving preheat the oven to 375 place on baking sheet and heat until warmed through.

Serving options - Sour Cream or cream fraiche topped with chopped chives, Serve with a poached egg on top or enjoy them as they are.

Click here for a printable version of this recipe.

I finally created Sweet Potato Fries  with a Dipping Sauce  thats simply addicting ~ (Use small appetizer forks  for dipping)...

Serves: (2 to 4)
Prep: 5 min. |
Roast: 35 min

Posted by Sandra

INGREDIENTS

***Sweet Potato Fries:
2 large sweet potatoes, washed (cooking time will lessen if you use medium or small)
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste

***Dipping Sauce: (Yields about 1 cup)
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
2 tablespoons honey
kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste

METHOD

Combine with a whisk in a small bowl all of the Dipping Sauce ingredients, and then place in refrigerator for flavors to meld, while you begin making the Sweet Potato Fries.

In a large pot, par-boil the whole, unpeeled sweet potatoes by covering them with cold salted water. Bring them to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling point is reached, lower the heat so you have a gentle boiling point, and cook for about 20 to 25 minutes - testing with a paring knife just until there is little a little resistance (be careful not to overcook them).

Meanwhile, while sweet potatoes are cooking, preheat oven broiler. Also, prepare a baking sheet lined with foil, and then spray it with oil, and set aside.

Once sweet potatoes are par-boiled to the right stage, transfer them to a large bowl of cold water to stop their cooking process. Once the sweet potatoes have cooled, drain them well, and peel with a paring knife, and then cut them lengthwise in half, and then into 6 wedges per sweet potato. Place the potatoes into a large ziploc bag, and drizzle them with olive oil and the remaining ingredients, and toss to evenly coat. Put the wedges on prepared baking sheet, and broil for about 3 to 4 minutes per side until they are caramelized, turning half way through. Serve them immediately with a side of  Dipping Sauce. ~ Enjoy!

We still have our own potatoes from last year, although most of them are pretty sprouted by now, so its race between the kitchen and the compost heap as to who gets them. There are leeks still in the garden, and they are perking up now that the weather is getting nicer (it is getting nicer, isnt it?) and we have lots of lovely spinach in our hoop-house. Altogether, they make a lovely soup.

4 to 6 servings
45 minutes - 30 minutes prep time


500 grams (1 pound) potatoes
6 cups chicken stock
2 bay leaves
3 medium leeks
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon celery seed, ground
6 cups finely chopped spinach
salt & pepper to taste

Scrub the potatoes and trim off any bad spots; peel them if you like. Cut them in chunks and put them in a large pot with the chicken stock and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil, and boil steadily until the potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile, wash and trim the leeks. Slice them fairly thinly. Heat the butter in a large skillet, and cook the leeks with the celery seed until soft but not browned. Add them to the potatoes.

Wash and pick over the spinach. Chop it finely.

When the potatoes are tender, mash them thoroughly, in the broth. (Remove the bay leaves first.) Add the spinach and cook until done, just a few minutes. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.




Last year at this time I made Cinnamon Sour Cream Coffee Cake.

1 12 oz. sweet potato
1 1/4 c. flour
1/4 corn meal
2 t. sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 lg. eggs, separated
1 1/4 c. milk
2 t. butter, melted
cranberry syrup*
1 c. cranberries
1 c. water
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. pure maple syrup
hazelnut butter*
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/4 c. hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
1 t. honey
1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

To prepare the waffles: Prick sweet potato with a fork and microwave on high until soft. Cut in half and scoop onto a plate. Mash until smooth, measure 1 cup and let cool.* Combine flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Whisk egg yolks, milk, butter, and sweet potato until blended. Beat egg whites on medium -high speed until stiff but not dry. Add sweet potato mixture to dry ingredients; stir just until moistened; fold in the egg whites. Heat a waffle iron. Add 1/2 cup batter and cook according to manufacturers directions. Serve hot with Cranberry
Syrup and Hazelnut Butter.

To prepare Cranberry Syrup: In a medium saucepan, combine cranberries, water and sugar and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-high and boil 10 minutes. Puree in a food processor until smooth and strain through a sieve into a small bowl, then stir in the maple syrup.

To make Hazelnut Butter: Stir butter until fluffy then add the nuts, honey and spice.

Makes 8 servings: eight 6 waffles, 1 3/4 cups syrup and 3/4 cup butter.

We have decided not to send away for sweet potato slips this year, but to try starting some ourselves. I dont believe its difficult. Its the sort of thing you used to do in grade school as a science project.

Stick 3 or 4 toothpicks into a model sweet potato; the sort of sweet potato you would like to grow - I suggest you get one grown locally so that you know it will mature in an Ontario summer - and stick the end into a glass of water or a jar, so that the sweet potato is half in and half out.

There is a right end and a wrong end. A little examination should show which end is inclined to sprout shoots and which end is inclined to sprout roots. That would be blunt end up, pointy end down pretty much. Some of our sweet potatoes were obligingly sending out a few buds to help make it clear which end was up. Now we will keep them on a warm, sunny windowsill as they grow.

When the sprouts are about 6" long we will carefully break them off and put them into a glass or jar of water, half in and half out until they form roots. Then they can be potted up or planted out, whenever it is warm enough; probably the beginning of June.

This is the first time weve done this. Ill keep you posted on how it works, but if you want to do it too Id say now is the time to get started.

UPDATE: May 28, 2012. Next stage has begun. 

Tender pull-apart biscuits that are gluten-free and vegan.

Detox schmeetox. Am I the only one eschewing the perennial pressure trend to buckle down and face the new year (new decade!) with a tidy, self actualized list of "healthy" resolutions sprinkled with key buzz words like fat-free and detox and no sugar and low calorie? Really? Am I the only gluten-free goddess out there craving the homespun comfort of warm tender biscuits instead of a drink-it-fast-because-it-tastes-like-shag-carpet-shampoo-but-its-good-for-you spinach-kale smoothie?

You can whip up all the low calorie high fiber cleansing smoothies you want if they help you feel virtuous and powerful and fresh as a daisy. Ive got nothing against smoothies. Im a fan of creamy breakfasts, actually. And I love antioxidants as much as the next gluten-free soul (bring on the blueberries, Buster). But I chafe at the word diet. And should. And so I resist the collective push to declare my commitment with a list of New Years Resolutions for a Better Me.

Sweet potato biscuits are fab with soup.

This is an "almost" Turkish recipe because of the pastirma. It is not easy to find Turkish or middle eastern pastirma in states, but its not imposssible either. I buy pastirma from international markets. To see what pastirma looks like click here.

-pastirma is optional

1 pound/bag of baby potatoes, red or golden peeled and sliced thinly
2 leeks, chopped finely
10 strips of pastrami, cut in thin slices (you can have more or less)
1 cup cream
1 1/2 cup vegetable stock
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
black pepper
pepper flakes
salt
1 cup or more crumbled feta or grated cheddar cheese

-Grease an oven pan (I used an 11 X 9 inch one) and place one layer of potatoes. Season with salt, black pepper, pepper flakes, and garlic. Sprinkle half of the leeks and pastrami. Put another layer of potatoes. Season with salt, black pepper, pepper flakes, and garlic. Add the other half of leeks and pastrami. Finally, put the last layer of potatoes. (With less ingredient, you can easily have only two layers of potatoes)
-In a little pot mix cream, stock, and bay leaves. First bring them to a boil and then turn it off.
-Top with grated cheese. Pour the creamy mixture on top (take the bay leaves out). Bake in a preheated oven at 400 F for 40-60 minutes loosely covered with an aluminum foil. For a crispy top, uncover and broil for 5 -10 minutes or until lightly brown.

This is a recipe I tried for a Turkish food blogging event "Patates Ye" (Eat Potatoes) which is hosted by Evren of Annemin Mutfak Kokusu (the smell of my moms kitchen).

Lovely roasted potatoes make a fab frittata.

Whenever I roast potatoes I make extra. That way Im sure to have some yummy leftover morsels to play around with the following day. The night before I roasted Yukon Gold, red and blue potatoes cut into wedges and tossed in olive oil, sea salt and Old Bay Seasoning. The leftovers were perfect for a crustless quiche or baked frittata- an easy and simple way to make a savory gluten-free pie.

Roasted Potato Frittata Recipe