Homemade French Fries

I recently made burgers for dinner and wanted to serve a side of fries with them, as well. I remembered oven-baked fries on Annie's Eats, so of course I headed over to her blog and pulled up this recipe.

These fries take a bit of time, but they are worth it. They came out really crisp and tasty; the husband even said they were better than fast food fries. I think he was lying, because oven fries will never be as good as McDonald's fatty goodness, but I'm glad he thought they were good.

You could easily change the seasoning on these to suit your mood: season salt, cajun seasonings, garlic salt, etc. I dipped my fries in mustard, while the husband reached for a bottle of ketchup (yuck!).



Homemade French Fries
Source: Adapted from Annie's Eats
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
2 russet (baking) potatoes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
salt and pepper

Directions
Pre-heat the oven to 475 degrees.

Scrub the potatoes clean and slice them into thin wedges. (You can peel them first, but I like mine with the skin on.)

Soak the potato wedges in a bowl of hot water for 20 minutes. Drain the water and place the potatos on paper towels, for about 10 minutes, to absorb excess water.

Dry the bowl you soaked the potatoes in, pour in the oil, and add the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper; toss or shake to ensure all the potatoes are evenly coated.

Place a cooling rack on baking sheet and place the potato wedges in one layer on the cooling rack. Cover the baking sheet with foil and bake for 5 minutes.

Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Turn the potato wedges over and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the wedges are golden brown and crispy.

Serve with ketchup, or mustard, as I prefer. :)

Thyme for Beer Potatoes

Ok, I'll admit, that was a cheesy title, but I couldn't think of anything better. Don't worry though, these potatos taste amazing and make up for the lame name. And the best part? They're super easy and they're cooked in beer.

What more could you ask for?

Thyme for Beer Potatoes
Source: Adapted from Martha Stewart
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
12 ounces beer
1 pound red potatos, scrubbed clean and quartered
1-2 teaspoons fresh thyme
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
sprinkle salt
heavy shake of pepper
water

Directions:
Bring just enough water to cover the potatos to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add in the potatos and the bottle of beer. Boil until tender.

Drain the potatos and toss with salt, pepper, rosemary, and thyme.

Grilled Stuffed Potatos

I am a pretty laid back wife when it come to Valentine's Day. I love celebrating Christmas, birthdays, and our anniversary, but for some reason I am just not that into Valentine's Day. I don't think it has to do with the "commercialization" of the holiday (umm, hello, Christmas is super commercialized, but I still love it), but maybe it's just that it was never a big deal for me growing up.

The thought of waiting around forever to get a table at a restaurant, only to overpay for sub-par service and food I can do a better job of making myself, makes me want to just stay home. Which is what we did this year. No flowers, no cards, just a couple of lobster tails grilled up on our patio and served with these potatoes. The perfect accompaniment to our understated holiday.

And I wouldn't have it any other way.


Grilled Stuffed Potatoes
Source: Cooking in Cucamonga Original
Printable Recipe

Directions
2 baking potatoes
1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tablespoon sour cream
1/4 cup chopped green onions, white and green parts
1 tablespoon butter
salt and pepper

Toppings
sour cream
bacon
green onions

Directions
Wash and scrub the potatoes, making sure to get all the dirt off the skin. Pierce the potatoes several times with a fork and then microwave them for 8 minutes, or until for tender.

Cut each potato in half lenghtwise and scoop out all the flesh, being careful to keep the skin in tact.

In a medium bowl, combine the potato flesh with the remaining ingredients and mash together.

Spoon the potato mixture back into the skins, filling each skin completely.

Grill the potatoes for about 10 minutes, until the skin is crispy and the flesh is warmed.

Top with sour cream, bacon, and additional green onions.

Red and Bleu Mashed Potatoes

I love bleu cheese and am always looking for new dishes to incorporate it into. I had a hunk of bleu in the fridge, left over from making buffalo bleu cheese pizza recently, and rather than let it go bad, I immediately thought about adding it into mashed potatoes.

The bleu cheese was the perfect addition! My friend's husband mentioned that he doesn't like bleu cheese, but thought these were wonderful. As tempting as it may be to add more bleu to these potatoes ( I know, I wanted to, too), don't. Restrain yourself. You will thank me later, I promise. The bleu adds a nice understated flavor, almost like a faint aftertaste, that combines fantastically with the roasted garlic flavor.

I woke up the next morning after our dinner party and immediately pulled the leftover potatoes out of the fridge to reheat for breakfast. *sigh* Just as good as the night before.

I can't wait to make these again.



Red and Bleu Mashed Potatoes
Source: Inspired by Relish
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
8 to 10 medium red potatoes
5 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons crumbled bleu cheese
1 stick butter
1 cup milk or cream
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
Wash the potatoes, but do not peel. Boil them for about 20 minutes, or until fork tender. Meanwhile, roast the garlic cloves in the oven. Or you can add them to the boiling potatoes to cook.

Once the potatoes are tender, remove them from the water. Place in a large bowl, and mash with other ingredients until fluffy.


Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Steak Topped with Caramelized Mushrooms, Shallots, and Garlic, Served with Baked Potatos

The husband loves steak, but I rarely buy it. I must have been feeling generous the last time I went grocery shopping; I picked up two organic, free-range, grass fed steaks. Yeah seriously, that is some expensive beef. At least I can feel good about the hippy-ness of its life though and know that the cow did not eat other cows for dinner.

As I was prepping the steaks, I decided I wanted them to be kind of fancy, so I grabbed a bunch of shallots, garlic and mushrooms to caramelize for a topping. Ohhhhhh, the smell was intoxicating! I wanted to spoon the mushroom mix straight from the pan to my mouth. Instead, I waited until the husband got home and topped my steak, as well as my potato with the goodness.

Make this...soon. You won't be sorry. Well, unless you are trying to stick to a diet.


Mushroom-topped Steak with Baked Potatos
Source: me
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
2 small steaks (whatever cut you like.)
2 baking potatos
8 ounces crimini mushrooms
4 large garlic cloves
5 shallots
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
salt
pepper
chili powder (optional)
baked potato toppings (we had butter, shredded cheese, bacon bits, and sour cream)

Directions

Prepare your charcoal grill with coals on only one side of the grill.

Salt and pepper the steaks. Add a dash of chili powder as well, if you like a bit of heat.

Heat the oil and butter in a large pan over medium heat.

Roughly chop the mushrooms, shallots and garlic. Add them to the butter and oil, and cook on medium-low for 20 minutes, until caramelized.

Scrub the potatos clean and pierce with a fork in several places. Cook in the microwave for 10 minutes.

Once the grill is hot, cook the steaks over indirect heat (the side without the charcoal). Cook for 6-10 minutes (depending on how done you like your steaks), and then move to direct heat for one minute to get the nice char on the outside.

Let the steaks sit for 5-10 minutes to rest and reabsorb the juices.

While the steaks are resting, place the potatos over the hot coals for 2-3 minutes to char the skin a bit.

Plate the steaks, spoon the mushroom mixture on the top, and serve with the baked potatos.

Mashed Potato Soup

December in southern California. What can I say? Pull out your long-sleeved t-shirts and warm sweaters, but leave room for tank tops and warm weather wear. We go from 80 degrees and sunny one day, to freezing winds, grey skies, and threats of rain the next.
As the weather began to turn colder and rainy this week, I found myself craving potato soup. I wanted something thick, creamy, and satifyingly warm on a winter night. This recipe does just that.
One word of caution though; I mashed the potatos with a fork before adding them to the soup, which caused it to *really* thicken up. Either, just cut up into small chunks, or if you mash them like I did, add more milk to the soup. I didn't add any additional milk to account for the extra starch and we wound up with a huge bowl of soup that was almost the consistency of mashed potatos. I loved it, but the husband was hoping for a more liquid-y texture. The original recipe, from Annie's Eats, calls for the potatos to briefly run through the food processor before being added to the soup.
This dish is incredibly filling, so don't worry about planning any side dishes....you won't need them!

Mashed Potato Soup
Source: Adapted from Annie's Eats
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
5 baking potatos, scrubbed clean
4 tbsp. unsalted butter (I used salted as that's all I had on hand)
½ cup all-purpose flour, divided
6 cups 2% milk
2 tsp. salt (I started with 1 tsp. to account for the salted butter, and added more to taste)
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 1/4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
½ cup green onions, chopped
½ cup light sour cream

Toppings
Additional cheese
Additional green onions
bacon bits

Directions

Poke several holes in each potato to allow steam to escape. Microwave the potatos for about 20-30 minutes, or until cooked through. Once microwaved, chop into small chunks or mash with a fork. I kept the skins on most of the potatos, but you can discard them if you like.

Melt the butter in a large pot. Add ¼ cup of flour to the pot and whisk into the butter. Cook, whisking constantly, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the 6 cups milk and the remaining flour. Cook until thick and bubbling, about 6-8 minutes. Be sure to whisk thoroughly to ensure the soup does not burn on the bottom.

Mix in the potato, stirring to fully incorporate them into the soup. Whisk in the salt, pepper, and cheddar cheese and stir until the cheese is melted. Remove from the heat, stir in the green onions and sour cream.

Ladle into bowls and serve with your favorite toppings and a hunk of crusty bread.

Fake Fries

My husband and I are increasing our effort to eat at home more often. In the past few years we've gone from eating out 4-6 nights a week and 2-4 breakfasts/lunches a weekend, to maybe 2 nights a week and maybe 1-2 breakfasts/lunches a weekend. But even that can be cut down, not only to save our pocket books, but of course, our waistlines.

This is sometimes incredibly difficult considering we live right next to an In-N-Out, Taco Bell, Arbys, Weinerschnitzel, McDonalds, and a Chik-Fil-A, as well as a nearby handful of terrific Mexican places, inexpensive yet delicious sushi, and numerous other restaurants.

We recently made homemade Big Macs using ground turkey and sandwich thins. Alas, there was no "special sauce", lettuce, tomatos, onions, or sesame buns. Guess, they weren't really Big Macs then.

Just like these aren't really french fries.

Fake Fries
Source: Me
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
2 large baking potatos
salt
pepper
Cajon Seasoning or Season Salt
olive oil

Directions
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Slice the potatos into long wedges or strips, whatever size and shape suits your. Place them in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil (I use an oil mister), and season liberally with seasonings. Toss to ensure all potato slices are seasoned.

Place in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until the outside is crisp.