This was it. It is so different and so good!  It encompasses all the flavors you can imagine: tangy, sweet, sour, spicy….The flavors just sort of hit you in layers, one after another, ending with a smoky heat from the chipotle.

And then…the textures! tender, chewy, crisp, crunchy…. the dressing pulls everything together. Balsamic, brown sugar, chipotle and vanilla. Truly incredible.

If you live in a warm climate I can definitely see this on your Thanksgiving Table. Added bonus? Since it is a salad you can make it about 2 days ahead of time and it will be perfect on the BIG day. Gotta love it. If you are foin to make it ahead of time use less chipotle. The chipotle will get spicier as it stands.

Roast Sweet Potato Salad

• 5 Sweet potatoes, peeled and cut int 4ths or 8ths
• Olive oil for drizzling
• 3 stalks of celery
• 1 honey crisp apple (may substitute Granny Smith), chopped (leave the peel on)
• 1 cup chopped pecans pr almonds
• 1 onion peeled and chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped candied ginger
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Vanilla Balsamic Vinaigrette

1. Preheat the oven to 400F
2. Place sweet potatoes in an oiled pan and drizzle with oil. Roast until slightly caramelized and done, about 45 minutes.
3. Let cool
4. Add the sweet potatoes and the rest of the ingredients to a large bowl. Toss lightly, serve or chill for up to three days.

Vanilla Balsamic Vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup Balsamic
• 1/4 cup organic spiced cider
• 1/3 cup light oil (walnut, peanut, etc)
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• 2 tbs honey or maple syrup
• 1 tsp. bourbon vanilla
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• Pinch of cloves
• 1 large chipotle in adobo sauce,  mashed

1. Whisk ingredients together and allow to stand for 20 minutes.
2. Pour over salad and allow to stand for at least an hour or up to three days.

images: marye audet

Post from: Baking Delights

I made a rolled beef roast the other day and it was so good.  There is something so down to  earth good about old fashioned, plain cooking.  We don’t seem to do it so much anymore, preferring to look to European, Asian, and Noveau cuisines for our special meals.  But set a platter of good roast, some roasted potatoes, buttermilk rolls, salad, and pie down in front of most Americans and they will lick the plate.

It is our roots. Someday maybe I will create a new trend in food and call it Noveau American Gothic.

These potatoes are easy easy easy.  Just peel as many potatoes as you are going to need for dinner. Cut them into fourths. Douse them with a good balsamic based Italian salad dressing, either commercial or homemade.  Just don’t use low fat or fat free because you will need the oil for the potatoes to roast properly.

Toss  the potatoes to coat well, add kosher salt and pepper to taste.  You can also toss in some chunks of onion and garlic

Lay them next to your roast to allow them to soak up some of that flavor and just roast at 375 about an hour.  If your roast is going to cook more than an hour and a half you might want to just put the potatoes in for the last hour or so of the cooking time.

So easy.  So good.  So……American Gothic that you might want to add a chunk of cheddar to your apple pie.

image:marye audet (c)2009 all rights reserved

Post from: Baking Delights

I am not really sure why I started calling htis quiche recipe Alsatian, only that I did.  It isn’t at all a fancy thing; good stick to your ribs food really.  With having our own chickens, quiche is not only an easy meal, it is a cheap one.

The first time I ever tried quiche I ws 17.  I took my boyfriend’s mom, who I adored, out to shop at a local, upscale mall.  She was from Europe and had not been in the states too long.  We went to a restaurant that I thought she would like and as we were reading the menu I asked her what quiche was.

Her eyes twinkled and she said , “Oh, try that Chick, you will love it.”

So I did, and I did love it.  When Marc and I married I could not cook a thing so I determined I would learn.  One of the first things I learned to make was quiche and I made it in enough varieties and enough ways that I think it was my signature dish for years.  I have made it with champagne, with olives, with leftover venison chili and nearly everything else you can imagine. It is just one of those dishes that you make the crust, throw some leftovers in, pour the filling over and bake.

Voila.  DInner.  Breakfast.  Brunch.  Lunch. Snack. Tea.

This particular quiche is filling because of the potatoes and bacon.  The potatoes create a new layer of texture and truly, this is one of my favorites.

Inevitably someone is going to ask me if you can use skim milk (shudder) and low fat cheese and egg substitute.  If you must, go ahead.  Personally I would rather eat a sliver with taste than a chunk of cardboard.  Do be aware that if you change the ingredients, especially the fat content, the flavor is going to be different.  I know the diet books tell you that it isn’t so, but they are crazy.

If you need a refresher on how to make pie dough click on the pie dough tutorial.

There really is no trick to good quiche.  Mix the eggs well, cook at a slow rate, don’t overcook, and serve promptly.

Alsatian Quiche

• 1 9 inch pie crust, with sides pinched a little higher than normal
• 1 cup of cheese: swiss, jack, cheddar, edam or what ever you have (I used mild cheddar and jack here)
• 8 sliced of peppered bacon, chopped
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 potatoes, peeled and sliced
• 6 eggs
• 1 3/4 cups half and half cream
• Salt to taste
• cracked black pepper (trust me) to taste

1. Saute bacon and onion in a pan until bacon is crisp and onion is tender.  Carefully reomove bacon and onion and reserve, leaving bacon drippings in the pan.
2. Fry the potato slices in the bacon until tender and they show golden brown color here and there.  Remove the potatoes to the crust, making a flat layer of the fried potato slices.
3. Cover with the bacon and onion.  Sprinkle with the cracked black pepper.
4. Cover with the cheese.
5. Mix the eggs, cream, and salt very well.  Pour carefully over the filling.
6. Bake at 325 for 45 minutes to an hour or until the egg is set.  Check by placing a knife about 1 inch from the center of the quiche.  The knife should come out clean.
7. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Quiche freezes well both in its baked and unbaked states.  If you plan to freeze this I suggest omitting the potatoes as they do not freeze well at all.
Serves 6

images:(c)Marye Audet 2009 All Rights Reserved

Post from: Baking Delights

Yes folks, it’s what you have been waiting for all month…the incredible..the colossal…the stupendous..the amazing…The Potato Ho Down.  Now, put a little starch in your life and check out these great recipes from the most notorious Potato Hos in the known world.

If the titillation is too much and you feel you simply must join in the frolic next month check out the official Potato Ho Rules.

We start with these incredible Sweet Potato Muffins from our own Sparky Marie, of Noble Pig.  These sweet potato muffins are light, airy and full of sugary goodness.

Is anyone ready for  Susan’s Potato Cakes?  When Susan is not making delightful Potato Cakes she is spending her time at her blog, My Life’s Joys.  These are a yummy potato side dish that will be a hit at any meal.

The next mouthwatering submission is  Biggie  Lorraine’s Artichoke and Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes. Biggie Lorraine hails from the Choosy Beggars and this is what she says…”This is my take on a Mediterranean version of Colcannon, where creamy Yukon Golds are mashed with marinated artichokes, oregano, and olive oil.  It was part of my Mediterranean themed Thanksgiving dinner!”

Elra from Elra’s Baking brings us an amazing Torta di Patate.   This is a delicious potato pie from Liguria, Italy.

See? It’s international.  Potatoes are taking over the world.

It *is* true what those Japanese Iron Chef judges say. This dish was “subtle, yet profound.”  Please welcome Sherli Hon Dory’s Potatoes Simmered in Miso (Jaga-imo Miso-ni). Sherli is from Eating Club Vancouver.

Christina Shane is one of the very first Potato Ho’s. In fact, it is my belief that she was Sparky Marie’s partner in crime when it came to starting this crazy event.  Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world….

oh ..wait…wrong script.

There is nothing I can say about this.   It is a beautiful truffade. I implore you, with my very best Anne of Green voice, please…you must read for yourself…the drama!  the angst!  the passion! You will find her at Evil Chef Mom.  Go quickly, and don’t look back.

Remember the deli scene from when Harry Met Sally? You might find yourself replaying that scene.  These foods are dangerous folks…step back.

Riley Marie, from dlyn  has created a warm Potato Kale Chowder – fast, hearty and delicious soup for cool fall dinners.

Our own Mandy Lynn of Kiki Out of the Kitchen has created a recipe so unique, so tantalizing, so exceptional that she is unable to show it on her blog for fear of the FCC.  O.k…no..that isn’t true.  She actually is having camera problems but the FCC thing sounds good, right?

She made Clean Out the Fridge Mashed Potatoes.  Go and check it out..sounds amazing.

Sparky Ann, from Livin’ Local  says, “Get yer hands right into the goodies with these deeeeeeeeeelicious rosemary potatoes!  Simple to make and fills your home with a most splendid aroma!” Check out her Potato Ho-licious Rosemary Potatoes

Goshua Lynn, from Where’s My Damn Answer? (Chocolate.  It is always the answer.) has created Basque Style Potatoes.  She calls it her Use what ya got dish.  Uh huh…Use it …babeeee.

Well, Potato Ho Trixie Bell has a tendency to sleep late…but she just emailed me with the links to her stuff..and what stuff it is! Brilliant and imaginative creature that she is she answers the age old question:What to do with potato peels?

Potato Crisps with Chive Sour Cream Dip of course..

Check out all  her stuff on Pages, Pucks and Pantry.

That is it for the roundup this month.  Whew.  That was enough!

There were several entries that I did not recieve email on for some reason..I tracked them down via my links reports…sooooo…if I missed you then please contact me so we can add you in as soon as possible!

Images: Used with permission from the owners of the blogs represented.  Each image is copyright protected by the original photographer.  Please do not use them without the permission of the original photographer.

Post from: Baking Delights

So, honestly, I always run late for events but I do eventually get them done.  Tomorrow is the third Wednesday of the month and the date for the monthly exaltation of the humble, yet lovable, potato.  The Potato Ho Down.

Sonnets could be written.  Operas could be sung.  Why aren’t they, you ask? Because as soon as people think about writing a sonnet to the potato they get hungry.  Then they have to fix it..then they have to eat it…then they have to clean up…then it is bed time.

So, yes, the potato is destined to be the unsung hero of the tuber world.  Sad, isn’t it?

This months event is hosted by Hillary of  Chew On That Blog. Head over there to find even MORE potato recipes.

Duchess Grace’s Southwestern Potatoes

4 lbs of organic potatoes, peeled and diced

1/2 lbs bacon

1 onion, peeled and chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped

1 to 2 jalapenos chopped (or chipotle)

1 pound of organic frozen corn

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded

Chop the bacon and add it to a large saute pan.  Cook for  a few minutes until the fat starts to cover the pan bottom and then add the potatoes, onions, jalapeno, cumin, chili, and garlic.  Add a little olive oil if necessary to keep the mixture form sticking.

Saute over medium heat, stirring often, until potatoes are tender but not squishy.Add corn and cook until heated through.

Sprinkle with cilantro and cheese.

Serves 8

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Image:Marye Audet

Post from: Baking Delights