Category: Side Dishes

Crispy Salt and Vinegar Smashed Potatoes

Crispy-Salt-and-Vinegar-Smashed-Potatoes
When I was a young cook, potatoes were a specialty of mine.  After all, I could prepare them various ways to end up with something different each time.  Times sure do change because I rarely cook potatoes these days.  Mostly, because Greg likes to eat a low-carb diet.  Sometimes I just get a craving that I can’t stop, though.  These potatoes were a result of one of those cravings.
The crispy smashed potatoes are delicious on their own, but when you add the salt and vinegar it takes these babies over the top!  They are perfect as a side with hamburgers and hot dogs or delicious with a meat and sides.
Watch the potatoes closely during the last 20 minutes of baking.  It may not take quite that long.  Also, if you have a few potatoes that are too big, it’s fine to cut the larger potatoes in half, or even quarter them.  I have had to do this before.  However, if you do this be sure to toss the boiled potatoes very gently with the butter, because they will fall apart easily.

 

Crispy Salt and Vinegar Smashed Potatoes
 
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Ingredients
  • 2 lb. baby potatoes (Red, White, or Yukon Gold)
  • 1 tbsp. kosher salt, plus additional for sprinkling
  • 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 tbsp. white vinegar
  • Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 450° F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
  2. Add potatoes and 1 tbsp. kosher salt to a medium saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
  3. Drain and return potatoes to saucepan. Add butter and gently toss to coat. Transfer potatoes to prepared baking sheet, spreading them out in a singer layer. Using a heavy mug or glad, gently press down on each potato until it pops and smash down to about ½-inch thickness.
  4. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove potatoes from oven and turn each with a spatula. Drizzle with olive oil and continue baking for 20 minutes more.
  5. Once baked, sprinkle with vinegar, salt and freshly ground pepper. Serve hot.

 

Vidalia Onion Pie

vidalia-onion-pie

 

First of all, thanks to Loretta and Katy for the cookbook that this great recipe came from.  While I was recovering from my heel surgery, I received a box from them with several old cookbooks (my favorite pastime) and a beautiful wooden spoon.  I have spent hours reading these books and this is the second recipe I have tried, with many others marked to try!

Greg and I went to the farmers market for the first time this year over the weekend. We came home with fresh juicy peaches, crunchy cucumbers, with no wax coating, baby squash, delicious lettuce and microgreens, and a 10-pound bag of those oh-so-good Vidalia onions.

With all my trips to Vidalia over the past few weeks, going to the orthopedic surgeon’s office and taking 14 puppies to the vet, I have been watching the farmers harvest the onion crop and dying to get my hands on a few. This Vidalia onion pie is excellent topped with the smoked Gouda cheese. It is a perfect side dish for any protein or a simple vegetable plate, which I love this time of year!

 

Vidalia Onion Pie
 
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Ingredients
  • 2 lb. Vidalia onions, peeled and sliced thin
  • 4 tbsp. unsalted butter
  • 1 c. sour cream
  • Dash Tabasco sauce
  • Pinch salt
  • Pinch black pepper
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 1 unbaked pie crust
  • ¾ c. grated smoked Gouda or Swiss cheese
Instructions
  1. Melt butter in a large skillet. Add onions and cook until soft, and most of the liquid has evaporated. In a bowl combine the sour cream, seasonings, and eggs. Add the onion mixture to the sour cream mixture and stir to combine. Pour into pie crust. Bake at 450° F for 20 minutes. Top with grated cheese and reduce the oven temperature to 325°F and bake for 20 more minutes.
Notes
If the cheese starts to brown too much (like mine), cover with foil until the pie is done.

 

Cornbread Dressing

njsd cornbread dressing 6

Many of us south of the Mason-Dixon line serve dressing rather than stuffing on Thanksgiving. There are different kinds of dressing, and your preference probably depends on the style your mother or grandmother made. I prefer to make my dressing as Greg’s grandmother did. She made a spoonable dressing, with a thinner consistency. (Some dressings are the consistency of cornbread.) She always recommended making cornbread dressing ahead of time and storing it in the freezer so that the flavors would have a chance to meld.
This recipe is  Greg’s grandmother’s, only with a few changes.  Years ago I began adding Pepperidge Farm stuffing like my mother-in-law does. Then I started making my homemade chicken broth and changed up the cornbread to Mexican cornbread. The combination has my family begging for more! You can always substitute homemade country style cornbread (not sweet) if you prefer.
I like to keep this homemade chicken broth in the freezer for any recipe that calls for broth. The homemade taste is much better than any you will find in the store and in my opinion well worth the time it takes to make it. If you do not already have the broth prepared, I would suggest that in making this cornbread dressing you split the tasks up into two days.  Making the broth on day one and the cornbread and dressing on day two.

Cornbread Dressing
 
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Serves: 18 cups
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Ingredients
  • Mexican Cornbread (recipe below)
  • 1 (14-oz.) bag Herb Seasoned Stuffing
  • 2 to 3 quarts Homemade Chicken Stock (recipe below)
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. ground black pepper
  • 2 tsp. poultry seasoning
  • 2 lg. minced onions
  • 1 c. finely chopped celery
  • 1 c. melted butter
  • 4 eggs, beaten
Instructions
  1. Crumble cornbread in a very large bowl. Add Herb Seasoned Stuffing to bowl. Pour stock over crumbs to soften and let stand while you prepare onions and celery.
  2. While bread crumbs are soaking, cook onions and celery in melted butter over low heat until softened, stirring occasionally. When soft pour onto bread crumbs and stir together.
  3. Add poultry seasoning and black pepper, stir and taste for seasoning. Add beaten eggs, stirring well. Pour into a large greased casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned.
  4. If desired you can spoon into freezer container and freeze up to 6 months. Thaw dressing in the refrigerator and follow baking directions above.
  5. Makes about 18 cups.
Notes
Can be stored in the freezer for about 6 months.

Mexican Cornbread
 
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Ingredients
  • 2¼ c. yellow cornbread mix
  • 3 tbsp. sugar
  • ½ c. oil
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 1 (8.5-oz.) can cream style corn
  • 1½ c. shredded Cheddar cheese
  • 1 lg. onion, grated
  • chopped jalapeno peppers, to taste
Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients. Heat a large, well greased iron skillet at 400 degrees for 3 minutes or until very hot. Raise temperature of oven to 450 degrees.
  2. Pour batter into hot pan, bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Homemade Chicken Broth
 
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Ingredients
  • 3 (5-lb.) roasting chickens
  • 3 lg. yellow onions, unpeeled and quartered
  • 6 carrots, unpeeled and halved
  • 4 celery stalks with leaves, cut in thirds
  • 4 parsnips, unpeeled and cut in half (optional)
  • 20 fresh parsley sprigs
  • 15 fresh thyme sprigs
  • 20 fresh dill sprigs
  • 1 head garlic, unpeeled and cut in half crosswise
  • 2 tbsp. kosher salt
  • 2 tsp. whole black peppercorns
Instructions
  1. Place the chickens, onions, carrots, celery, parsnips, parsley, thyme, dill, garlic, salt and pepper in a 16- to 20-quart stockpot. Add 7 quarts of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Skim any foam that comes to the surface. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 4 hours.
  2. Strain the entire contents of the pot through a colander. You can discard solids if desired. (I save the chicken, cool, pick the meat from the bones and use immediately, or freeze.) Pour stock into containers and refrigerate. When the stock is cold, remove the surface fat and refrigerate or freeze.

 

Debbie’s Caramelized Onion and Cornbread Stuffing

Debbie's Caramelized Onion and Cornbread Stuffing 1

This was my first attempt at making stuffing. Honestly, this was my first time eating stuffing. I was raised in a family that prepared cornbread dressing for the big meal on Thanksgiving day. Dressing is my favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal, of course with delicious cranberry sauce on the side. Special meals like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter have a lot to do with tradition. In all honestly, cornbread dressing will most likely be on my menu again this year. However, I would be perfectly happy to sit down to a Thanksgiving meal with this delicious stuffing.

This recipe was given to me by Debbie, a wonderful friend and a fabulous cook! It is super simple, using prepared corn muffins. The caramelized onions and fresh sage are delicious in this stuffing. So if you are looking for a fabulous stuffing, give this recipe a try.

Debbie's Caramelized Onion and Cornbread Stuffing
 
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Ingredients
  • 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 6 lg. cornmeal muffins, cubed
  • Handful of fresh sage leaves, chopped
  • 1 egg
  • ¼ c. heavy cream
  • ¼ c. chicken broth
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  2. Melt butter in a large shallow skillet, add onions and toss with the butter. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes to sweat the onions. Remove the lid and continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally for 25 to 30 minutes, until the onions are caramelized and golden brown. This could take longer than 30 minutes. If the onions are cooking too fast, lower the heat. Don't rush the process.
  3. After the onions have caramelized, add the sage and scrape into a large mixing bowl. Add the cornbread pieces, season well with salt and pepper and give it a good toss until it's well combined.
  4. In a separate bowl whisk together the egg, cream, and broth, and pour over the cornbread mixture. Stir the stuffing together. Spoon into a buttered dish and put it in the oven. Bake until hot and crusty on top, about 30 minutes. (This can be baked in the oven with your turkey, if desired.)

 

Favorite Sweet Potato Casserole

sweet potato casserole

Just eight days until Thanksgiving.  If you are still looking for a sweet potato recipe then look no further, this is the best!  I have always been a fan of sweet potato casseroles.  This casserole is the best of everything.  It has that wonderful crumb topping and melty marshmallows too.  Surprisingly, it’s not too sweet.  It is, in fact, the perfect sweet potato casserole!

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Favorite Sweet Potato Casserole
 
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Ingredients
  • 4½ to 5 pounds fresh sweet potatoes
  • 4 tbsp. butter
  • 2 lg. eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp. vanilla extract
  • ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
  • ½ c. dark brown sugar
  • up to ¼ c. heavy cream
  • non-stick cooking spray
  • ½ c. all-purpose flour
  • 1 c. dark brown sugar
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 c. old-fashioned oats
  • ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 c. mini marshmallows
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
  2. Bake sweet potatoes on a foil lined baking sheet, in a 400°F oven for about 1 hour, or until tender. Allow the sweet potatoes to cool to touch. Remove skins and place the potatoes in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Mash the potatoes with the butter using a potato masher. Add eggs, salt, cinnamon, vanilla extract, nutmeg, and brown sugar. Mix until well combined. Add the cream, a little at a time until desired consistency. Pour potato mixture into prepared dish. Top evenly with marshmallows and set aside.
  4. Combine the flour, brown sugar, salt, oats, and cinnamon in a medium bowl and mix together until mixed well. Add butter and mix until crumbly. (I mash this mixture together with my hand.) Crumble the mixture on top of the marshmallows. Bake in 350°F oven for 30 to 45 minutes until lightly browned.