Love through the stomach... » Potatoes https://www.lovethroughthestomach.com If the way to a love's heart is truly through the stomach, let love commence! Mon, 26 May 2014 20:24:22 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.24 Potato salad https://www.lovethroughthestomach.com/2011/05/potato-salad/ https://www.lovethroughthestomach.com/2011/05/potato-salad/#comments Fri, 13 May 2011 23:11:02 +0000 http://www.lovethroughthestomach.com/?p=2069

I’ve been sick this last week. While I was trying to deep clean my marble kitchen floor out of the blue I suddenly got this terrible throat ache. Literally while I was cleaning. A day later the violent coughing and fever started. I sincerely despise these late-season flues.

Being sick means [...]]]>

I’ve been sick this last week. While I was trying to deep clean my marble kitchen floor out of the blue I suddenly got this terrible throat ache. Literally while I was cleaning. A day later the violent coughing and fever started. I sincerely despise these late-season flues.

Being sick means I don’t really want that much food. And whatever I eat needs to be easy. No hours in the kitchen as all I really want to do is lay on the couch and be miserable.

So this week has been filled with easy-peasy dishes. I’d simply put some steaks and peppers on my stovetop grill, or made some easy chicken soup. And I made this potato salad. Quick, super easy, and even my flu-ridden tastebuds recognized that this was tasty.

 

[print_this]

Potato salad with egg
Recipe Type: side
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 5 mins
Total time: 15 mins
Serves: 2 large servings
Ingredients
  • 5 small potatoes
  • 2 medium-boiled eggs
  • a bunch of fresh parsley
  • 1 or 2 green onions
  • sea salt or pink slat and fresh ground pepper to taste
  • 1 heaping tbsp mayonnaise
  • 1 tbsp sour cream
Instructions
  1. Peal the potatoes and cut them into small chunks. Steam the potatoes and boil the eggs. Let both cool. Peel the eggs and place the yolks into your salad bowl. Finely chop the parsley.
  2. Mix sour cream, mayo, egg yolks, salt, pepper, green onions and parsley in the salad bowl. Chop the egg whites.
  3. Add the cooled potatoes and eggs to the mayo-mixture and let it stand for at least 15 minutes (or up to 24 hrs in the fridge). Mix well and serve.

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]]> https://www.lovethroughthestomach.com/2011/05/potato-salad/feed/ 1 Potato soup (with leeks) https://www.lovethroughthestomach.com/2011/02/potato-soup-with-leeks/ https://www.lovethroughthestomach.com/2011/02/potato-soup-with-leeks/#comments Fri, 04 Feb 2011 18:49:23 +0000 http://www.lovethroughthestomach.com/?p=1399 Our grocery store had the strange idea to make a bunch of leeks the same price as 1 single trimmed leek. So I bought a big bunch of them. The result, adding leeks to many dishes.

I already wrote about my Chicken and Leeks and Dumplings. After that dish, I wasn’t [...]]]> Our grocery store had the strange idea to make a bunch of leeks the same price as 1 single trimmed leek. So I bought a big bunch of them. The result, adding leeks to many dishes.

I already wrote about my Chicken and Leeks and Dumplings. After that dish, I wasn’t through the leeks yet. The cold dreary weather of late, has had me craving potato dishes, so I decided on potato soup. Potato soup with rivels, with leeks.

I ate potato soup for the first time as a pre-teen. My dad had eaten it at my stepmom’s and then proceeded to make it for us, the next time we came over. (My parents were divorced, we spent every other weekend with my dad, and he was married to my stepmom, but he still lived in Europe and she in the US.)
I recall my dad being amazed with this soup. It was so simple, so basic, yet so tasty. We agreed. It was basically thin mashed potatoes loaded with bacon and cheese and scallions and such. It tasted great!

The years had passed and I’d made potato soup once in a while myself. I made alterations to the soup and at some point I just lost control of the original recipe. I didn’t have it anymore, couldn’t find it, didn’t remember it.

I called my stepmom and she promptly gave it to me and added a cookbook to my Christmas Stocking that year. A collection of recipes from people who have a link with adoption. My stepmom added, among other things, the recipe for potato soup.

When I read the book I noticed that my dad had omitted one vital ingredient in the version of the soup he’d given my brother and me some 20 years earlier. He hadn’t made rivels.

Seeing that I like starchy foods anyways, I figured trying to add rivels wouldn’t be a bad thing. I wasn’t entirely sure, as it changed the soup, but hey, live adventurously and give things a try, right?!

The soup made with rivels was wonderful. It added a whole extra layer of flavour and texture to the soup. I’ve never made potato soup without it after that.

The only alterations I’ve made to the recipe in the book (sorry Dixie, sorry grandma Julia) was the order in which you add things and do things. The recipe calls for dropping in rivels and after that mashing your potatoes and trying to avoid mashing rivels. That just really doesn’t work too well. Once the soup gets cloudy (and yummy) there’s no way to distinguish rivels from unmashed potatoes. So I changed the order. First purée, then add rivels. I also add a bouillon cube to the water I boil the potatoes in, instead of using salt. Besides that, the recipe is perfect the way it is.

Having said that. Obviously I alter things, add things, do things. I had a piece of ham (bone in) hanging out in my fridge. I had a bunch of leeks. I figured, why not.

The pictures you see here, are pictures of the newest version of this magical potato soup. I first simmered the piece of ham in  a big stockpot to make a sort of ham broth. After removing the ham I proceeded with the regular recipe, only adding in a whole leek, chopped. I cut up the meat on the ham and after puréeing not only the potatoes, but the leeks as well (with an immersion blender, sorry, I’m lazy that way!). Then in addition to the rivels, I added the pieces of ham.

A great adjustment, if I might say so. Leeks and potato just work really well together.

For now however, I will give you the base recipe. The one I found in my stepmom’s cookbook. Enjoy!

Grandma Julia’s potato soup with rivels

  • 4 cups potatoes, diced
  • salt
  • pepper
  • parsley flakes
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 2 eggs, beaten slightly
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 cups milk
  • water
  • bouillion cube (my personal addition to grandmas recipe)

Place diced potatoes in a large kettle, cover with water and add salt or a bouillion cube to taste. Cook 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Mash them up, add pepper, butter parsley flakes and onion.

Make rivels by beating the eggs, adding 1/2 tsp salt and mixing in the flour and baking powder. Drop into soup by the spoonful. Stir, cover and cook for 10 more minutes. Add 2 cups of milk. Thicken as needed by adding a thickening of 1/2 c of milk mixed with 1 or 2 tbsp of flour.

]]> https://www.lovethroughthestomach.com/2011/02/potato-soup-with-leeks/feed/ 0 Chicken and dumplings https://www.lovethroughthestomach.com/2011/02/chicken-and-dumplings/ https://www.lovethroughthestomach.com/2011/02/chicken-and-dumplings/#comments Wed, 02 Feb 2011 20:48:47 +0000 http://www.lovethroughthestomach.com/?p=1396 The first time I ever made chicken and dumplings, was a total disaster. I mean, complete, utter, insane bad, terrible, icky goo. I’d used a recipe I found online and the explanation was just terrible. At least for someone who’d never made it before. The dumplings just fell apart and became gooey [...]]]> The first time I ever made chicken and dumplings, was a total disaster. I mean, complete, utter, insane bad, terrible, icky goo. I’d used a recipe I found online and the explanation was just terrible. At least for someone who’d never made it before. The dumplings just fell apart and became gooey and gluey in the pot, the vegetables were way overcooked and bland. It was a horrific sight.

I called my friend Amber, devastated. Waht did I do wrong? The answer was, obviously, I didn’t ask for her recipe and explanation of the process.

A few years have gone by since that fateful day with the terrible food. I’ve made chicken and dumplings from Ambers recipe many times, with great succes. I added her mom’s chicken and dumpling soup recipe to the repertoire as well with much succes. And this year I finally got to feeling confident enough with the recipe to alter it and make it to an entirely different tasting dish.

Amber’s recipe is very forgiving, I’ve found. Right from the first time I made it, to the first time I made something else, the dumplings have never failed to puff up and be tender and wonderful. The stew-like consistency of the base can be flavored in many ways. And the vegetables you add can go from the standard onion, celery, peas, carrots and potatoes to any vegetable you like, exotic or local.

The only thing I haven’t altered (yet) is the chicken and garlic. And really, why would you necessarily want to change that. Many or most savory dishes just taste better with garlic. It’s true, don’t even try to deny it. And well, chicken and dumplings without chicken would just be silly, right?

The pictures shown here are leek and chicken with dumplings. This worked very well. I just cooked the chicken and sweated the leek (and garlic) in my nice big Le Creuset Dutch Oven. I did add 2 tiny potatoes in little pieces, because I wanted to use them up. I added herbs I like with leek (marjoram, rosemary, thyme). I added a can of cream of chicken soup, which I needed to use up anyways, and right before adding the dumplings, I threw in a bunch of frozen peas. I made my dumplings with garlic oil instead of regular oil, and that added a whole different dimension to the dish.

So we ate chicken and dumplings that night and it tasted completely different from the normal dish. Not beter, not worse, just a different dish from the same basic recipe. I’m thinking a pumpkin version would be wonderful as well, this season. Or maybe a pepper, corn, kidney-bean version, with a Mexican twist.

So hereby I give you Amber’s recipe. Try it, eat it, enjoy it, and alter it where you see fit. It’s the perfect winter food!

Thanks Amber, for your wonderful recipe!

Amber’s chicken and dumplings (recipe feeds 4 with some leftovers)

  • 1/2 stick butter
  • 2 onions, cut up
  • lots of garlic
  • 1 or 2 chicken breasts (depends on size and your hunger for chicken) cut into smallish pieces
  • 5 or 6 carrots, cut into stew sized chunks
  • 2 small potatoes , cut into stew sized chunks
  • 3 or 4 stalks of celery, cut up
  • 1 bay leaf

Saute everything in butter until the chicken is cooked. Add some water and a bay leaf to cook the potatoes.

  • 1 can cream of something soup
  • milk

Add the can of soup and add milk until you barely cover everything.

  • 1 to 2 cups of frozen peas (and carrots)
  • sage, thyme, rosemary, parsley, pepper and salt

Add the frozen peas (And carrots and seasonings (choose whichever ones you like, I like the ones mentioned above. Let everything stew while preparing dumplings.

  • 1.5 cup white flour
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 1 scant tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup of milk
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl, make a dip in the middle and pour milk and oil in. Stir until you have a nice sticky mixture.

Make dumplings using 2 spoons and drop them on top of the stew. Cover the pan tightly and don’t peek for 15 to 20 minutes. (It needs to simmer, really really low! Use a simmer pad if needed to prevent burning). Stir cooked dumplings into stew and serve hot.

]]> https://www.lovethroughthestomach.com/2011/02/chicken-and-dumplings/feed/ 0 Moussaka stew https://www.lovethroughthestomach.com/2011/01/moussaka-stew/ https://www.lovethroughthestomach.com/2011/01/moussaka-stew/#comments Thu, 20 Jan 2011 21:35:31 +0000 http://www.lovethroughthestomach.com/?p=1589 Leftovers and stuff that needs to be eaten or tossed in the fridge often lead to somewhat creative new dishes. Ot at least for me they do.

Please note my latest creation, moussaka stew.

If you like eggplant, cheese, potatoes and ground beef, there’s no going wrong with moussaka. [...]]]> Leftovers and stuff that needs to be eaten or tossed in the fridge often lead to somewhat creative new dishes. Ot at least for me they do.

Please note my latest creation, moussaka stew.

If you like eggplant, cheese, potatoes and ground beef, there’s no going wrong with moussaka. If you still have a big chunk of stew meat, eggplant, a package of passata and some pantry staples, you can make moussaka stew.

Unfortunately I didn’t write up the exact recipe. I never thought it’d turn out this good. It was literally just some stuff that needed to be finished. The approximate recipe is as follows.

 

[print_this]Moussaka stew

  • some stew meat
  • an eggplant
  • a package of passata di pomodoro, tomato sauce
  • some potatoes
  • garlic and onions if you have them
  • some parmigiano, grated
  • flour for dredging
  • olive oil

In a Dutch oven or other heavy bottomed pan, brown dredged stew meat in some olive oil. Add onion and garlic to cook them a little. Add the passata di pomodori and let this simmer long enough to get the meat cooked and tender. In the mean time cut up the eggplant and place in a colander with a generous amount of salt sprinkled over to pull out the bitter juices. Peel your potatoes and cut up in stew sized chunks. About 30 minutes before dinner time, add the potatoes to the stew (make sure they’re fully covered with sauce, so they can cook, add water or a diluted beef broth if needed.) 10 to 15 minutes later rinse the salt off the eggplant and add the eggplant to the stew. Cook until the eggplant is tender and the sauce has thickened. Sprinkle a generous amount of parmigiano into the sauce, stir well and serve. Yummm, moussaka stew!!!

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P.S. Laurens referred to this stew as spezzatino. It totally reminded him of the spezzatino his mom used to make. A stew with potatoes and peas. He missed the peas, but still liked the dish :-)

]]> https://www.lovethroughthestomach.com/2011/01/moussaka-stew/feed/ 2 2010 in review https://www.lovethroughthestomach.com/2010/12/2010-in-review/ https://www.lovethroughthestomach.com/2010/12/2010-in-review/#comments Fri, 31 Dec 2010 12:06:27 +0000 http://www.lovethroughthestomach.com/?p=1425 Around these days people do their years in review. They tell their loved ones the highlights of the last year in their lives. Moves, changes of jobs, babies, pets, vacations come by in these stories. If I were to do a roundup like that this year, either by month or by importance, three quarters of the [...]]]> Around these days people do their years in review. They tell their loved ones the highlights of the last year in their lives. Moves, changes of jobs, babies, pets, vacations come by in these stories. If I were to do a roundup like that this year, either by month or by importance, three quarters of the story would be about our new home. Very important to us, but in all honesty it probably wouldn’t be very interesting to read for the rest of the world who isn’t the two of us.

So I decided on a different review. My last year in food. And no, I’m not even going month by month, but I’ll give you the top-10 most visited blogposts on here, and then I’ll add my own top 5 in addition to that.

10: Chicken in puff pastry

This is an insanely easy recipe that renders a very nice simple dinner. I don’t make it all that often, but whenever I do it’s an instant hit!

9: Candy bar ice cream

I love love love making my own ice cream, I started doing that for the first time this year. First without an ice cream maker, but after 1 batch I gave in and bought myself a machine. And some candy bars. The result was this candy bar ice cream, that’s just wonderful on any warm day when you’re craving chocolate.

8: Gratin Dauphinoise

A classic. Everyone who’s not lactose intolerant and doesn’t absolutely hate potatoes, needs to make this. It’s deceivingly simple. The only thing it really requires is a little time to sit in the oven. It’s good with everything and anything and makes your dinner instantly fancy!

7: Pierogi

Making pierogi was a daring cooks’ challenge which I finished about 3 hours after the challenge was posted. I’d only made pierogi once before, with my friend Amber. I forgot how easy and scrumptious they were. I altered the recipe just a tiny bit, to make them seem more healthy, like a full meal in a little dough pocket. The result, whole wheat pierogi to die for.

6: Cantuccini

These cantuccini  resulted in a multi-post day. At first I thought I’d totally screwed them up and failed miserably. I went on baking them, as I wanted to find out what the end result was. Boy was I glad I did. Even though they weren’t the pretty, small cookies I wanted (I’d just made them too big) they were very very tasty.

5: Lard

Lard, oh lard… Lard seems to have made a total comeback this year, and I took part in the craze. Why fill your body with chemically enhanced fats, when you can go all natural and produce tastier results. The featured post was the first time I rendered lard, I recently rendered a second, larger, batch and don’t think I’ll ever be willing to go back to the nasty stuff in the blue package!

4: Pasta with ham and peas

I never would’ve thought that such a simple ‘let’s see what I still have laying around in the fridge’ recipe would become so popular. But it did. I guess people just love their easy peasy comfortable food, that tastes great and looks good!

3: Gelato alla nocciole or hazelnut ice cream

This was my favorite ice cream last summer, no doubt about it! It tasted amazing. It was a very light ice cream, in texture and taste, yet very sweet and nutty. The reason I tried this recipe, was because it used egg whites as well as yolks. With the amount of ice cream I’d been making, I was drowning in egg whites. I was happy to find a recipe that didn’t render me more whites, and even happier that it became my favorite tasting gelato.

2: Angel food cupcakes

The ton of egg whites that the ice cream left me, was sitting in the freezer taking up space. Something needed to be done, and the only surefire way to get rid of a ton of egg whites, is by either making meringues or angel food cake. I decided on the cake and made cupcakes out of it. The result, the egg whites had left my freezer, and now a dozen cupcakes inhabited it. But not for long!

1: Swiss roll ice cream cake

Does this surprise you? The number 1. With the ice cream recipes in this list and the angel food cake? Ofcourse not! The swiss roll ice cream cake was a daring baker challenge. It took forever and a day to make, but it was surely worth the time. 2 kinds of ice cream, caramel sauce and chocolate-angel-food-cake-whipped-cream-swiss-roll. What’s not to like?  Apparently you, dear readers, agreed, as this is the post that, by far, received the most visitors in 2010.

My personal top 5, in no particular order, as it’s hard enough to choose just 5 posts on here.

Ginger snaps
The last post I did before this roundup, so I knew it wouldn’t make it into the list. But it so deserves it’s spot. Laurens filmed me while making ginger snaps and spent hours editing the prepping, 10 minutes of baking and cooling them into a less-than-1-minute-film. It was my first ‘cooking video’, so it holds a special place in my heart. Especially because both the film and the cookies turned out awesome.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igXt8Z8CAD4&hd=1[/youtube]

Pasta
My very first blog post here. And an important one at that. I love making pasta and there are many Italian (pasta) dishes featured on this blog. The basic though, is learning to make good quality pasta. This is the accomplishment I like most in this year. Laurens gave me my pasta rollers for Christmas in 2009. I made my first batch of pasta in januari and failed miserably. Then I tried again and it turned out okay. And then I tried again and again and within a couple of weeks making fresh pasta hardly took more time than boiling up some store bought. The taste is a big difference though. Homemade pasta is awesome!

Almost Cinnabons
Cinnamon rolls, yummm, is all I have to say about this. And I love showing you my nifty little trick making the casserole smaller. A tight fitting casserole is the trick to the best tasting rolles, they ooze together and make them gooey and wonderful!

Poached egg
One of my favorite posts because it makes me want to scream ‘I did it’. Poached eggs had always given me trouble. Granted, I’d only tried twice. And then, suddenly, I tried again and it worked. Such a proud moment in the kitchen!

Tiramisu
Just look at that picture for a minute will you? This was one of the first posts where Laurens and I really worked together to make the photo’s work. In our overstuffed-thus-tiny old kitchen, we’d walk around each other, re-positioning ourselves, so the pictures would work. Before that it was basically cook, serve, picture, eat. The pictures turned out beautifully and the Tiramisu was delish. What more do you want?

So there you have it. There are tons more posts I could write about, recipes I loved, photo’s that turned out beautifully, food I want to eat every single day for the next 2 years while I gain 3 million pounds. I’ll leave finding them up to you though. And if you find your favorite recipe on here, just visit it, let me know. The review next year might just turn out completely different because of that!

For now, I sign off, wishing you a wonderful, delicious, creative, inspired, food-filled new year!

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