My kids don’t eat french fries at home very often, so when I saw this recipe for potato sticks I thought it would be a fun one to try. They loved them, and they were the perfect accompaniment to our cheeseburgers. I liked the seasoning on them, taking them a step beyond your normal french fry.

Roasted Potato Sticks with Rosemary and Lemon

Roasted Potato Sticks with Rosemary and Lemon

Recipe from Fine Cooking Appetizers (Special Party Issue, Fall, 2011), altered slightly by Crafty Farm Girl, November, 2011.

Rinsing the potatoes under cold water not only removes any dirt from the peel but also removes starch from the potatoes for crisper potato sticks. Be sure to dry them well.

* I am not a big mustard fan, so I chose to use salad dressing instead. I think any mustard, salad dressing or even BBQ sauce would work well here.

• 3 medium Idaho potatoes, washed & scrubbed (about 1-1/4 pounds total)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1-1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, salad dressing or BBQ sauce*
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• Kosher salt and freshly grated ground black pepper

Arrange racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and heat the oven to 450^o F. Slice the potatoes on a sharp angle into 3/8-inch slices. Stack them and slice into 3/8-inch thick sticks. Or, you can use a V-slicer, Mandoline, or a mandoline-style peeler like I did.

A plastic mandoline, hand julienne peeler, or a good, old-fashioned knife work too.

Put the potatoes in a colander set inside a slightly larger bowl. Rinse the potatoes in cold water, pouring off the water in the bowl several times until it’s clear. Let the potatoes stand in the cold water for 5 minutes.


Drain and shake off excess water and spread the potatoes on 2 large baking sheets lined with 2 layers of paper towels. Cover with a few more paper towels and let dry. (I used clean dishtowels instead of paper towels, and after about 5 minutes they were remarkably dry.)


In a medium bowl, combine the olive oil, mustard or other sauce*, rosemary, lemon zest and juice, 1-1/2 teaspoons salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in a small bowl and whisk well until blended.


Transfer the potato sticks to the bowl (discard the paper towels if you used them, and obviously don’t toss them with the dishtowels, either) and toss until each piece is well coated.


Spread the potatoes on the baking sheets in a single layer. Drizzle with any remaining herb mixture.


Bake the potato sticks until browned on the bottom, about 10 minutes. Turn them with a spatula, spread into a single layer, and bake for 5 minutes, turn again until browned and tender, another 5-10 minutes.


Sprinkle with more salt, if you like, and serve immediately.



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My kids are not huge asparagus fans, and I’m actually not crazy about them if they’re not cooked just right. When I saw this recipe a) I thought my kids would like them and b) I thought they’d be a great party appetizer. With the holidays coming up, I thought I’d give them a whirl. I know, I know; breading and frying the asparagus sort of takes away from the whole ‘healthy vegetable’ thing, but whatever. You don’t have to feed my kids.



The kids came about as close to loving asparagus as they’re ever going to come. And Jim, who is so spoiled by all of my good cooking that I usually don’t get more than a “that was good”, raved about these things.

Asparagus Fries with Smoked Paprika Aïoli

I got this recipe from Fine Cooking’s Special Party Issue “Appetizers” issue, fall 2011. Originally From Fine Cooking, Issue #110, pp. 61

Serves 6

For the Aïoli

4 large cloves garlic, unpeeled
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice, more to taste
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Asparagus Fries

3 cups vegetable oil
2 large eggs, beaten
1 medium lime, juiced
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup panko
1 lb. thick asparagus spears, trimmed, peeled, and halved crosswise

Make the Aïoli

Put the garlic in a small saucepan, add cold water to cover by least 1/2 inch, and bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as the water boils, drain and repeat the process once more. Rinse the garlic with cold water to cool and then peel and mince the cloves. In a medium bowl, whisk the poached garlic with the mayonnaise, olive oil, smoked paprika, and lemon juice until smooth. Add more lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to meld the flavors.



Make the Asparagus Fries

In a 3-quart saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer, heat the oil over medium-high heat to 375°F.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs with the lime juice and 2 Tbs. water. Put the flour on a small plate and season generously with salt and pepper. Put the panko on another small plate.


Dredge the asparagus in the flour and shake off any excess. Dip the asparagus in the egg mixture and then the panko to coat.



Working in batches, fry the asparagus until golden-brown, about 3 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain briefly.




Sprinkle with salt and serve with the smoked paprika aïoli.


Nutrition information (per serving):  Calories (kcal): 340; Fat (g): 33; Fat Calories (kcal): 290; Saturated Fat (g): 4.5; Protein (g): 4; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 11; Carbohydrates (g): 10; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 15; Sodium (mg): 460; Cholesterol (mg): 60; Fiber (g): 1


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My kids adore potstickers, or fried dumplings. I decided to make my own the other day for a treat. I’ve made them before, but not that they’d remember. I found this old Gourmet recipe on Epicurious that seemed to get rave reviews, so I went with that one. The dipping sauce was probably the best dipping sauce I’ve ever had. I changed it a little bit as I like my dipping sauce with grated ginger in it and more on the spicy side, but I loved the fact that it didn’t have any vinegar in it.

Pork & Chive Dumplings

Original recipe from Gourmet, October, 2008, adapted slightly by Crafty Farm Girl, October, 2011

Yield: serves 8 as appetizer servings

I wasn’t all that thrilled with the ground pork available at the grocery store, so I bought some organic, pasture raised pork chops and ground them in the food processor to combine with the ground pork.

I could not find dumpling wrappers, so I bought egg roll wrappers and cut them into circles.

• 1/2 pound fatty ground pork
• 1/2 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or sake
• 1/4 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Vietnamese chile-garlic sauce
• 1-1/2 teaspoons finely grated peeled ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon rice vinegar (not seasoned)
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• Pinch of white pepper
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro stems
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped flowering chives, flat Chinese chives (garlic chives), or scallions
• 24 to 30 round dumpling wrappers (preferably with egg)

Accompaniment: Lantern dumpling sauce, recipe below

Combine all ingredients (except cilantro stems, chives, and wrappers) in a large bowl, then stir in cilantro stems and chives. Set bowl in a larger bowl of ice to keep chilled while forming dumplings.



Place a slightly rounded teaspoon of filling in center of a wrapper and moisten area around filling with water. Fold in half to form a crescent and press to seal.



Alternatively, if you have a dumpling maker, you can use that to form your dumplings.




Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers, placing on a parchment-lined baking sheet and covering tightly with plastic wrap when finished until ready to cook.


In a large non-stick skillet place 2 tablespoons of water and 1 tablespoon of vegetable or canola oil over medium heat and add dumplings to pan. Try not to have any edges touch or they may stick together, but get as many in the pan as you can. Reduce heat to low, cover, and let steam for about 5 minutes, shaking the pan every minute or two to keep them from sticking.


When the water has evaporated after about 5 minutes, uncover pan, add another tablespoon of oil, and continue to cook, shaking pan occasionally to keep from sticking, until the dumplings are brown on one side. You can remove them from the pan now, or if you prefer, turn them and brown on the other side as well.


Remove the dumplings when finished briefly to a paper towel-covered plate, and then serve hot with dipping sauce.



Cooks’ note: Dumplings can be formed (but not cooked) 2 hours ahead and chilled; or 1 month ahead and frozen on a tray, then transferred to a freezer bag. Cook frozen dumplings in 3 or 4 batches, 7 to 8 minutes per batch.

Lantern Dumpling Sauce

From Gourmet, October, 2008, adapted slightly by Crafty Farm Girl, October, 2011

The rich flavors of the pork and chive dumplings shouldn’t be drowned out by a heavy sauce. This quick one is all you need.

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/2 tablespoon sake wine
• 1/8 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
• 1 garlic clove, smashed3 (2-inch) dried red chiles, wiped clean and cut into thirds
• 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon hot chile oil
• 1/8 teaspoon sugar

Stir together all ingredients and let stand at room temperature at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.




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So there was this awesome looking Pin on Pinterest last week of these potato rings: mashed potatoes rings dredged in seasoned flour and deep fried.

Be still my heart.

There is this local deli called Garden Catering that has this lunch special of white meat chicken nuggets and what they call Potato Cones. They’re little cones of mashed potatoes that are fried. The kids and I get them for a treat every once in a while (when Jim’s not looking, and I’m feeling thin enough to justify a meal of fried foods.)

This recipe looked pretty close to re-creating those potato cones. I tried them yesterday. I made cones and rings. However, the original blog, Spoon Fork Bacon, formed the rings by smoothing the mashed potato mixture out on a sheet pan, freezing it, and then cutting out the rings. It seemed that you could have a lot less waste by simply putting the mixture into a pastry bag and piping them out into rings with a plain tip, so that’s what I tried. I think it worked fine and there was no waste. She also served them with a home-made buttermilk ranch dressing. Since me and my kids are all a bit weird about sauces, we skipped that. We don’t eat our potato cones with sauce, so why should we eat mine with sauce?

I have to admit my photos aren’t that great. These weeknights with the kids’ school schedules are a little nuts. By the time I get home I’m practically throwing food in a pan — even if it’s all been prepped ahead of time. I will also admit to my oil being too hot…I went out to lock up the farm while it was heating and all the animals were being complete knuckleheads so it took much longer than expected. I think the proper temperature oil would have greatly improved their appearance.

She stresses two things she discovered while making them: 1) the importance of having the potatoes completely coated; no holes please, or the mashed potatoes will pour out of the holes once they hit the oil. 2) the importance of the rings being frozen solid before entering the oil. I also found that the seasoning with salt was absolutely essential. You might even want to add a bit to the seasoning mix; I think I will next time.

Potato Rings with Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dipping Sauce

Original recipe from Spoon, Fork, Bacon. Modified slightly by Crafty Farm Girl, October, 2011.

Makes 32-40

Ingredients:
3 large russet potatoes, cleaned peeled and chopped into large pieces
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
¼ cup unsalted butter (½ stick), softened
½ caramelized yellow onions, chopped
3 tablespoons chives, thinly sliced
2/3 cup  all purpose flour
1/3 cup rice flour
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
2 eggs, lightly beaten
salt and pepper to taste
2 quarts vegetable oil
buttermilk ranch sauce:
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
¼ cup low-fat buttermilk
1 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, minced
1 tablespoon chives, thinly sliced
1 teaspoons dill, minced
½ teaspoon dry mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Place the potatoes in a large pot and fill with water.
2. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat and cook until the potatoes are fork tender, a20-25 minutes.
3. Drain the potatoes into a colander and pour back into the pot. Mash with a potato masher or a ricer, as I used.


4. Pour the cream and butter over the potatoes and mash with a potato masher until smooth (Add more cream 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed).



5. Fold in the caramelized onions and chives until fully incorporated. Season with salt and pepper and stir.



6. put the potato mixture into a large pastry bag fitted with a large plain round tip. I used a #806 tip.
7. Now pipe the mixture onto parchment-lined baking sheets into either rings or cones, depending on which shape you desire — or both. You can space them closely together. I found I had to smooth down the ‘point’ of the cones a bit when I was done. When finished, loosely cover with plastic wrap and freeze completely, 4-6 hours.




8. While the potato shapes freeze, place both flours, garlic powder, onion powder and smoked paprika into a shallow dish and stir together until fully combined. Set aside.
9. Dip the potato rings into the flour mixture followed by the egg mixture and finally again in the flour mixture (make sure the rings are completely coated).




10. Place the coated rings onto a clean, parchment-lined sheet pan and place back in the freezer and allow the rings to re-freeze completely, 1/2 an hour to an hour.


11. Once the potato rings are frozen, preheat the oil, in a large pot, to 375°F.
12. While the oil heats up, place the ingredients for the dipping sauce into a mixing bowl and whisk together. Season with salt and pepper.
13. When the oil is hot, carefully drop a few of the rings into the oil and fry for 4-6 minutes or until golden brown.


14. Drain onto a large plate lined with paper towels and season with salt with pepper.
15. Repeat with the remaining potato rings and serve immediately with the dipping sauce.

Fried Mashed Potato Rings

Continuing with my soup obsession of late, the most recent soup I made was another one by the folks over at Fine Cooking. This one was also pretty quick to prep and pretty quick to put together. I have to apologize in advance for the lack of photos; a playdate’s mom came to pick up her daughter and got me chatting right in the middle of cooking. Before I even realized what was happening the soup was almost finished. But, this isn’t brain surgery here so I’m pretty sure you can figure it out without my photos.

This hearty Tuscan-style soup is full of flavor. The original recipe called for Lacinato kale (also called dinosaur or black kale) , but I couldn’t find anything like this around (and my local grocers have pretty good produce departments.) It said that any variety of kale will work. The original recipe also said to roll the sausage into bite-sized meatballs. While I’m sure this is a nice touch, I simply didn’t have time to do this and I don’t think the soup suffered any. I also chose not to add the cider vinegar, as none of my family are big vinegar lovers.

This recipe is easily adaptable to serve meat-lovers and vegetarians alike: see the variation to serve one vegetarian, below.

Italian Sausage, Bean & Kale Soup

Original recipe from Fine Cooking, Issue, December 30, 2009. Adapted (slightly) by Crafty Farm Girl, September, 2011.

Serves 4

1-1/2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped (1-1/2 cups)
1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped (3/4 cup)
1 medium celery stalk, finely chopped (3/4 cup)
1-1/2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
2 Tbs. tomato paste
2 large cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbs.)
1 quart homemade or lower-salt chicken or vegetable broth
Two 15-oz. cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
6 oz. kale, center ribs removed, leaves chopped (about 4 firmly packed cups)
1 Parmigiano-Reggiano rind (1×3 inches; optional)
2/3 lb. sweet or hot bulk Italian sausage (I used a combination of sweet and hot combined)
1-1/2 tsp. cider vinegar (optional)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Assemble your ingredients before you start cooking. I forgot the cannellini beans in this photo!

Heat 1 Tbs. of the oil in a 4- to 5-quart pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and rosemary and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 6 minutes. Add the tomato paste and garlic and cook until fragrant, 45 seconds. Add the broth, beans, kale, and Parmigiano rind (if using). Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low, and simmer gently until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.



Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1/2 Tbs. oil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add the sausage meatballs, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes.


Add the sausage to the soup and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook 5 minutes more to meld the flavors. Stir the cider vinegar into the soup and season to taste with salt and pepper.


To serve 1 vegetarian and 3 meat lovers: Use vegetable broth for the soup. Reduce the sausage to 1/2 lb. and cook the meatballs in the same fashion. After stirring the cider vinegar into the soup and seasoning to taste, set aside 1-3/4 cups of the soup for the vegetarian before adding the meatballs.



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