Nanny Florida’s Classic Potato Salad

Tags

barbecue, picnic, pot luck, potato, potato salad, salad, side dish, vegetarian

Here’s another side-dish from Nanny Florida’s recipe box. You can’t go wrong with a classic. Although Nanny Florida & Hubster never had the opportunity to meet, I’m sure she’d approve my addition of bacon crumbles for him. If you’re taking this dish to a pot-luck picnic/barbecue, I suggest serving the bacon crumbles on the side, so more people can enjoy the dish.

Nanny Florida’s Classic Potato Salad

Forgive me for the dark photos, it was a very cloudy day.

Nanny Florida’s Classic Potato Salad with Bacon Crumbles

Ingredients:
4 c. cooked, peeled and cubed potatoes, 1 c. slices celery, 1/2 c. chopped onion, 2 hard-boiled eggs (separated and chopped), 1 c. mayonnaise, 2 Tbsp. Vinegar, 1 tsp. sugar, fresh ground sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper, turkey bacon crumbles (optional)

Directions:
Mix together potatoes, egg whites, onion & celery. To make dressing, mix together mayo, egg yolk, vinegar, sugar, salt & pepper. Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat. Keep chilled until ready to serve.

Do you prefer your potato salad with or without bacon?

Nanny Florida’s Salmon & Potatoes

Tags

casserole, family, food, foodie, history, postaday2011, potato, recipe, salmon, tradition

The entire day has been a chilly rainy mix. My students were off the walls today, dancing jigs around the room (which was actually quite entertaining) when I was trying to review for a huge unit test. Then I get home and the wintry mix starts.

Once home, it was one of those days where you must change into PJs and put on the tea kettle. I perused my great grandmother’s recipe box. I love how some of her recipe cards already have conversions on them. On the left side she has the amount to serve eight and on the right, she halves the recipe. Her salmon & potato recipe sounded like the perfect casserole for tonight.

Nanny's Salmon & Potato Casserole

Ingredients:
1 lb. can of salmon, 1/2 c. chopped sweet onions, 1/2 c. chopped celery, 4 eggs, 2 c. milk, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 1/2 tsp. dried dill weed, 1/2 tsp. pepper, 4 medium potatoes

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. In large bowl combine, salmon, onion, celery, eggs, milk, 1/2 tsp. salt, dill weed, pepper and mix well. Pare potatoes and cut into thin slices. Place potatoes in 2 qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp. salt and spread half of salmon mixture over potatoes. Repeat with remaining with potatoes, salt and salmon. Bake uncovered for 1 hr. 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

*My Recipe Notes:
I have never seen a 1 lb. can of salmon, instead I used 14 3/4 oz. can. Although it turned out deliciously, next time I make this I may add some chopped red bell pepper, smokey paprika and substitute 1/2 c. of milk for 4 oz. cream cheese. Or maybe just a hint of lemon zest in the summer.

While it was in the oven, I curled up with my hot tea and wrapped myself in a blanket that my paternal grandmother had made. It’s nice to try my Nanny Florida’s recipes and have that time to reflect and appreciate the priceless gift I’ve received from her. Now if only I had made some of her rice pudding beforehand, tonight would’ve been perfect!

What is your favorite family recipe?

French Potato Salad

Tags

BBQ, dill, food, foodie, French, French cooking, french cuisine, french food, lunch, picnic, postaday2011, pot luck, potato, recipe, side dishes, tarragon, vegetarian, violet

Potato salad, there are infinite variation to this dish. I have a got to recipe for picnics and that’s more of a side dish for dinner. I had to improvise a little on the ingredients when I made this for Easter, but I’ll share my usual recipe.

French Potato Salad

Ingredients:
potatoes, 1/2 c. champagne or sparkling wine, 1/8 c. apple cider vinaigrette, 2 Tbsp. chopped shallots, 1 tsp. Dijon mustard, dill, chives, tarragon, fresh cracked black pepper, fresh ground sea salt, violets or other fresh picked edible flower

Directions:
Mix together champagne, vinegar, Dijon, and dill to make vinaigrette, set aside.Boil potatoes so that they are cooked but still firm (On Sunday my Dad did this, while I prepped other things, thanks Dad), submerge in cool water (do not cool completely). Peel and slice potatoes, layering them in dish. After each layer, sprinkle on salt, pepper, shallots, chopped tarragon and chives. When finished, pour vinaigrette over potatoes and garnish with violets. Serve hot!

What’s on your dinner table tonight?

Potato & Spinach Curry

Tags

curry dish, dinner, food, foodie, lunch, meal, postaday2011, potato, potato curry, potatoes, recipe, side dish, side dishes, spinach, supper, vegan, vegetarian, vegetarian recipe

There are tons of herbs and spices you can use in any curry. I like to play around with different tastes, so even if the main ingredients are the same, the flavor can be completely different. Hubster loves potatoes, but not spinach; mixed together as a curry though and he loves it. I would eat this dish as a main dish, Hubster prefers it as a side.

Potato & Spinach Curry

Ingredients:
3 large potatoes, 1 bag of fresh baby spinach, olive oil, 3 bay leaves, 1 Tbsp. tomato paste, 1/4 tsp. red chili powder, 1/4 tsp. turmeric, 1/8 tsp. ground ginger, 1/4 tsp. cumin, 1/8 tsp. coriander, 1/8 tsp. ground fennel,  pinch of cardamom, pinch of cinnamon, pinch of nutmeg, fresh ground sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper

Directions:
Bring water and 2 bay leaves to boil in a medium sauce pan. Peel and cube potatoes, lightly boil in water for about 4 minutes In a frying pan add all herbs and spices (except salt) and dry roast over low heat. Add potato cubes, olive oil and tomato paste and cook until potatoes are Remove from heat and make sure potatoes are well coated. Allow dish rest for a few hours (you can skip this step if you don’t want to wait). Reheat potatoes and toss in spinach leaves until wilted. Serve hot over basmati rice.

What is on your menu tonight?

Sweet Potato, Potato & Spinach Curry

Tags

curry, food, foodie, gluten-free, Indian cooking, Indian cuisine, Indian food, postaday2011, potato, recipe, side dishes, spinach, sweet potato, vegan, vegetarian

I’ve been doing really well with the 2011 Post A Day Challenge. However, this was Hubster and my first weekend home this year and we finally had a chance to spend sometime together (okay, so we were running errands and going to doctor’s appointments, but at least we had some quality time together). We had been craving Indian food all weekend and I promised Hubster tonight’s dinner would be a delicious Indian meal! I know it’s a little late to post, but I didn’t want to miss a third day in a row…

Sweet Potato, Potato & Spinach Curry

Ingredients:
1 sweet potatoes, 1 potato (two if smaller than sweet potato), 1 pkg. baby spinach, 2 tsp. minced garlic, 1 tsp. ground cumin, 1 tsp. cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder, 1 tsp. coriander powder, 1 tsp. salt, 2 tbsp of olive oil

Directions:
Cube potatoes and set aside. Wash baby spinach and remove stems. Over medium heat warm olive oil, garlic, cumin, cayenne, turmeric and coriander. Add sweet potatoes and cook for a few minutes. Add potatoes and cover. Cook potatoes until softened. Add spinach and salt. Allow spinach to wilt. Serve hot.

Hubster really enjoyed this. It combined two types on potatoes and incorporated a vegetable he doesn’t like (spinach) into a flavorful dish!

How was your weekend?

Easy New Potatoes

Tags

brunch, food, potato, recipe, red new potatoes, side dish

This is my quick and easy potato side dish recipes, sometimes it’s the simple sides that complete the meal. It’s so versatile, it can be made as a side for brunch or dinner. I happened to make them for dinner one night and warmed the leftovers to serve with the next day’s brunch.

Red New Potatoes

Ingredients:
red new potatoes, olive oil, paprika, garlic powder

Directions:
Preheat oven at 350ºF. Wash potatoes & leave on the skins. Cut each potatoes into eighths. Rub baking tray and potatoes with olive oil. Sprinkle potatoes with paprika and garlic powder and rub until potatoes are well coated. Bake until tender, stirring a few times.

Do you have a side dish that you can serve with brunch and dinner? If so, what is it?

Chicken Pot Pie

Tags

carrot, celery, chicken, chicken breast, chicken stew, corn, crust, dinner, dinner recipe, dough, lunch, lunch recipe, pie crust, pot pie, potato, recipe, rosemary, rosemary pie crust, savory pie crust, wheat germ

Yesterday, I had my nieces help me with dinner. I forgot how much longer it can take to make something, when you have kids doing it for the first time. While I made the filling, I talked them through making the dough. They each made enough dough for several pot pies, measuring, mixing and rolling it out. These are not exact measurements, I definitely estimated for the filling. The dough had more precise measurements.

Chicken Pot Pie

Filling Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb. chicken breasts, 2 large potatoes, 2 carrots, 3 stalked celery, 2 c. corn, 2 Tbsp. minced onions, 1 tsp. ground cumin, 2 tsp. paprika, 1 tsp. celery seed, 3 Tbsp. butter, 3 Tbsp. flour, 3 c. water, cooking wine, 2 bay leaves,  2 c. milk, fresh ground sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper.

Filling Directions:
Cube chicken. Over medium heat melt butter, added cumin, paprika and minced onions. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink. Remove chicken from pan. Chop celery, carrots and potatoes. Add vegetables, water, wine, celery seeds and bay leaves to frying pan, cover and reduce heat. Simmer until vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaves. Return chicken to pan, add milk, flour, salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

Dough Ingredients:
3 c. flour, 1/2 c. wheat germ, 1 c. butter, 1/2 c. vegetable oil, 2 Tbsp. rosemary, 2 tsp. salt, 1/2 c. water.

Dough Directions:
Mix ingredients together. Chill for two hours. Roll dough on a floured surface. Cut six smaller circles for the top crust and 6 larger circles for the bottom crusts.

Pot Pie Directions:
Preheat oven 350°F. Press large dough circle to bottom and sides of each dish. Scoop filling into dish and place smaller dough circle on top. Press seams together. Beat an egg and brush egg over top crust, cut a small slit in top of the crust. Bake on a tray for 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

My nieces worked really well in the kitchen, I am impressed with their developing culinary skills (they seemed to enjoy getting their hands messy in the dough).

*I didn’t have any cooking wine on hand, I used the only open bottle of wine I had, Hazlitt’s Red Cat.

This recipe would work well with beef as well. Any combination of you favorite vegetables would work well.

What do you do with teens in the kitchen?