Jeannette, a Slashfood Flickr user - who also happens to write a fantastic blog, Everybody likes Sandwiches - shared her recipe for colcannon, traditional Irish comfort food made of cabbage or kale, mashed potatoes, and a healthy dose of butter or cream. Jeannette added leeks to hers (onions or chives are often added, as well).
Colcannon can be eaten anytime, obviously, but it's typically enjoyed around Halloween, and some families hide charms or coins in the mixture. The idea is that whomever finds it has luck for the coming year. There's actually an adorable scene that illustrates this concept in In America, a film about an Irish family who immigrates to America.
Hanukkah starts tomorrow at sundown and with it brings an assortment of yummy seasonal foods. It is traditional to eat food that are fried during Hanukkah because the cooking fat symbolizes the oil that burned for eight days instead of one in the temple. My favorite Hanukkah food is the humble latke, because really, there's very little that's better than the fried potato.
The first time I made potato latkes was my junior year of college, when I was an RA. I decided that I wanted to do a Hanukkah-themed study break and so determined to make latkes. For 75 people. Thankfully, someone in my hall had a salad spinner, so I didn't have to do all the shredding by hand. But let me tell you, it was worth the three hours of shredding, mixing, draining and frying (we kept them warm and mostly crisp on a sheet pan in the oven). They were delicious.
If you're searching for latke recipes, look no further. I've searched far and wide for an assortment of links to good recipes, from the basic to the more unique. Happy frying!
1. Last year, Deb stayed fairly traditional with a latke recipe adapted from Food and Wine. These puppies are what I think of when someone says the word latke to me. 2. If you want to start getting a little fancier, check out these Potato-Turnip Duck-Fat Latkes over at Chow. Even just thinking about them makes me start to salivate ever so slightly. 3. Epicurious offers five variations on the latke theme. I am particularly intrigued by the New England-Style Cod and Potato Cakes with Tartar Sauce latkes. 4. Over at That's Fit, one of our sister sites, they have taken the greasy latke and made it low fat. It's a good recipe, if you want to go that direction (although it does sort of defeat the purpose. I'm just sayin'). 5. For those of you who aren't fans of potato, you might be thinking about how to turn other veggies into latkes. Look no further than Elana'sButternut Squash Latkes. 6. Another variation on the theme, Eat Like a Girldoes it with beets. They look a little disconcerting, but I'm sure they taste wonderful and earthy. 7. From the archives at the Amateur Gourmet, Adam makes latkes with apples and celeriac. Yum, yum! 8. And for the visual learners, check the episode of Fork You that Scott and I filmed last year in which we made latkes. Or as Scott calls them, kosher hashbrowns.
For the last couple of weeks, I've been posting links to good Thanksgiving sides. Some of them have come from the recesses of my brain and some of have been pinched from other sites. I thought it might be helpful to round all those posts up in one place so that you can see some options in one place and narrow down your finalist dishes.
If after all those posts, you still don't think you have enough side dish options, I'd also like to point you in the direction of the oven roasted brussels sprouts I made last month. They are also excellent (and add a nice, green counterpoint to your plate) on the Thanksgiving table.
Ha, just kidding! But I had to get your attention, right? Actually, men and women are equal in the kitchen, though they have their differences. I learned about the differences between men and women the first time I went to the beach (ba-doom bang - thank you everyone, I'm here all week!).
Esquire has a really nice section called Recipes For Men, where they feature a bunch of recipes from men, for men. Of course, don't worry ladies, we're probably making these for you tonight). Lots of meat and potatoes, sure, but spaghetti, lobster, and stews too.
I was getting off the bus on my way to a craft swap, and I was mind-numbingly sleep-deprived. I needed coffee immediately and almost cried with happiness when I saw the sign outside the new electric car dealership. "Hip Drip Cafe," or something. Whatever. They had coffee.
I bought a cup and started feeling guilty when I got to the airpots to fill up. There was a sign encouraging patrons to bring their own cups -- you'd save 25 cents -- and I've been really working to reduce my waste lately. I mentally reminded myself to bring the cup home, so I could compost it and recycle the plastic lid. I grabbed the lid and... discovered Tater Ware.
Tater Ware is, as the cup lid indicates, made of potatoes. They are 100% biodegradable and, if you're worried about those things, GMO free. In addition to the to go cup lid I had on my coffee, the company makes clamshell takeout containers, deli trays, cutlery, and hot/cold cups. The products are "microwarmable" (you can use them to reheat food and beverages in the microwave) and, yep, they can go straight in the compost pile.
Most importantly, my coffee did not have a potato-ey aftertaste. My next campaign: convincing my neighborhood coffee shop to switch to Tater Ware. Someone's got to keep Idaho in business!
Looking for a creative and tasty breakfast this weekend? Something a little out of the ordinary that isn't too energy intensive? Why not take a page out of Brys at Cookthink's book and whip yourself up a batch of Leek and Potato Latkes? Because latkes aren't just for Hanukkah anymore. He dresses a few up with a spoonful of caviar and tops the rest with a fried egg. After seeing this post, I wished fervently for the ability to crawl into my computer screen and magically travel through time and space to the kitchen where these puppies were created. Sadly, it was not to be.
On a different latke note, if you're the type of person who learns through watching, you might want to check out this here little video in which my friend Scott and I make up a batch of potato latkes. So yummy.
I've had corn beef exactly one time in my life, about 20 years ago. I was over a good friend's house and his wife made it, and I thought I was going to be sick. Nothing wrong with the way that she made it, I just don't like corned beef (which I quickly discovered that night). The entire meal was a chore, trying to smile and talk while I'm chewing the corned beef a thousand times, afraid to swallow.
I needed a salad to serve with the Haddock Beurre Blanc I made for guests. This salad has all the veggies I was planning to serve as side dishes combined ,so that it has some substance to it, but still remains light and summery. (Light and summery are two of my favorite food words at this time of year.)
I had a cup left of the marble-sized baby red potatoes I mentioned awhile ago and then picked up some sweet and crisp green beans, and super ripe summer tomatoes. I then plucked some of the first of my herbs in my container garden outside my door and I knew a feast was in the offing. I served this salad with the incredibly lush Haddock Beurre Blanc for a great meal that my guests enjoyed. Recipe and photos after the jump.
I haven't been to McDonald's in quite some time, but today might be the perfect day to stop by.
It's National French Fries Day. It doesn't sound like the healthiest of food holidays, but it's Friday (and Friday the 13th!) so maybe you can splurge diet-wise today.
Here's a basic recipe for french fries, and here's one for Cajun French Fries. This is a recipe for healthier Oven Baked Fries, and here's one for Japanese Frites. Of course, you could just go to McDonald's like I'm going to do. They still have the best fast food fries, right? Like I said, I haven't been in a really long time.
I like to spend my mornings cruising the Maine byways, looking for farms and produce stands to put together a fresh and tasty lunch and dinner. I let the season control what is available and the daily finds are always a surprise.
This morning I came across a few nice tasty treats. Fresh green peas in the pod; firm, sweet, and an intense, summery green. Tiny, new, red potatoes the size of marbles. Sweet, green topped, early summer onions looking like fat golf balls. Farm fresh butter made from cultured sour cream and churned pale yellow and creamy with just a hint of sea salt. Local, double rich cream so thick it wouldn't even need whipping. I picked up a potted rosemary bush a deep, verdant green that I could put just outside my front door. Finally I stopped by a U-Pick strawberry field for some deep red, fat and luscious berries. I had some other items at home that would round out these items into a meal that would be full of summer flavors, filling but not too heavy.
In the summer I find I am just not as hungry as other times of the year unless I spend the day hiking or biking. I tend to eat less and much healthier, although I do like a wee bit of fat in my food to appease my craving for luxuriousness. I love soup and decided on a Fresh Pea, Baby Potato, and Sweet Onion Soup; blended into a smooth puree and with a hint of ginger, rosemary, and garlic. This would be a late lunch / early dinner that would be filling enough to last all evening; with just some fresh strawberries and cream for a dessert later in the evening.
It almost looks like some strange abstract painting of "food" because of the purple color, but it really is a photograph of a bowl of soup. Mercedes of food blog Desert Candy made vichyssoise, a chilled potato soup, but instead of using plain old white potatoes, went with purple. The color of the soup is incredible, and hard to believe that there isn't a drop of unnatural food coloring in there. The recipe is super simple, with just butter, leeks, potatoes, water, salt and cream, plus the gorgeous chives as garnish.
It sits alone and untouched at the end of a long buffet table -- a bowl full of apples and bananas, maybe a seedy orange tossed in as an afterthought. Don't let your fruit salad meet this awful fate, spruce it up instead!
The cover this month is food porn for those of you who love 
Everything you need to know
Men are better cooks than women.
I was getting off the bus on my way to a craft swap, and I was mind-numbingly sleep-deprived. I needed coffee immediately and almost cried with happiness when I saw the sign outside the new electric car dealership. "Hip Drip Cafe," or something. Whatever. They had coffee.
I haven't been to McDonald's in quite some time, but today might be the perfect day to stop by.
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