Baked Minced Potatoes with Cream, Garlic, and Cheese

 

Walking back from the mailbox, arms laden with toy catalogs and Christmas cards, a frigid gust blew a Toys R' Us mailer out of my grasp.  It seemed to sprout wings as it glided 15 feet in the air, threatening to land in the holly bushes before making its descent to earth.  It blew swiftly along the road.  As I awkwardly speed-walked with an uneven gait, trying to halt its errant voyage with my foot, I thought, "I should try to make that minced potato thing for dinner tonight."

A woman's thought process:  the source of endless fascination and mystery. 

This recipe originates in the Tuscan kitchen of Sarah Fioroni, author of "A Family Farm in Tuscany:  Recipes and Stories from Fattoria Poggio Alloro".  I made it last month--the full, feeds-a-huge-herd-of-hungry-men version--when I prepared a feast for my husband as he returned from his 15 day, 165-mile hike.  Except I foolishly assembled it the night before and left it unbaked in the fridge.  Duh.  The potatoes turned a most unappealing shade of black.  Rookie mistake.  

This time I decided to halve the recipe (the original makes a 13" x 9" dish and easily serves 8) and tinker with the ingredients a wee bit.

The recipe calls for minced potatoes.  Unless you need to kill about an hour and are just aching to try out your new knife, I suggest using a food processor.  (If you don't have one, use pre-shredded potatoes (like the ones near the dairy section of the grocery store used for hash browns) and just mince and chop the heck out of them. 

I began by peeling and chopping these potatoes into the size shown above; then I shredded them in my food processor.  And then I put in the steel blade attachment and minced them finely.  (Seems like a lot of work...but the steps from the peeling through the mincing took less than 10 minutes...)

Nearly 3 cups of minced potatoes later...

Next, I mixed the potatoes with whipping cream (you can substitute half-and-half or whole milk), garlic powder, a finely diced onion, melted butter, salt, pepper, a beaten egg, and some Parmesan and Swiss cheeses. 

I love the promise of a buttered and floured baking dish.

Fill the dish with the mixture,

 

And top with Swiss or Parmesan cheese.  I loved, loved, loved the flavor of the Swiss on top, but you can swap it out for Parmesan as Sarah originally suggested.

(I baked it on top of a cookie sheet, just to be on the safe side.  With my history of setting my oven aflame and all...)

 

Sprinkled with chopped parsley, it was the pinnacle of comfort and warmth.

Baked Minced Potatoes with Cream, Garlic, and Cheese
Serves 6 as a side item

5 small/medium-sized russet potatoes (about 1.75 pounds), peeled and finely minced
1 cup heavy cream (substitute half-and-half or whole milk)
1 and 3/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese, divided
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup finely diced yellow onion (about 1 small onion)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 egg, well beaten
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon freshly chopped parsley (optional topping)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Butter and flour an 8"x8" baking dish (or a dish of similar size...). Set aside.

(If you mince the potatoes in a food processor, be sure to drain off the liquid.  Be careful not to over-process them to the point of mush.)

Combine all ingredients except 1 cup of the Swiss cheese and the parsley in a large bowl.  Mix well.  Turn out into the prepared baking dish; scatter the reserved Swiss cheese over the top.  Bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until top has lightly browned and the center is firm.  Remove from oven and sprinkle chopped parsley over the top, if desired.

Serve hot.

Garlic Bread Buttermilk Upside-Down Biscuits

When I first began this blog, I was terrified to look at other food blogs.

So monstrous was the magnitude of self-doubt that my passion to write, cook and share was in danger of being sucked out to sea by the strong undertow of insecurity.

My early photographs are unappealing, and there's a large part of me--that pride-controlled portion which strives to project unwavering perfection to the world--that wants to delete every post prior to 2012.

Other bloggers seemed to have it together:  mouth-watering photos, magazine-worthy styling, and devoted followers who just couldn't wait to scroll to the bottom of posts to comment.

As for me & my blog?  Not so much.  

But solitude and isolation are lonely, barren, and ultimately unfruitful places to remain.  I eventually began to peruse other blogs, leave genuine comments, and develop relationships with the hearts behind the blogs.  And I soon realized that the thing I so deeply desired for myself and for this blog wasn't perfection but community. 

Community doesn't just happen. 

It has to be pursued.

And the fruit of this pursuit has been involvement with people who love the combination of beautiful food and beautiful photographs as much as I do.  Connection.  A sense of belonging somewhere in this vast online world.

This recipe is the result of my throwing the "I can't look at other food blogs" blinders into the ravine behind my house.  I found these buttery, garlicky biscuits on the beautiful site of Katherine Martinelli; she prepared it from another food blog for our recent Secret Recipe Club reveal day.

And all of these connections serve as confirmation that stepping out of insecurity and into a circle of community is a wonderful thing.

Arriving at comforting, bread-y goodness couldn't be any easier (or faster) than this.  It's like upside-down cake in biscuit form.  Melted butter, minced garlic, and dried thyme pool in the bottom of a baking dish and welcome the biscuit dough.  Once baked, the biscuits are inverted onto a serving dish, revealing the gorgeous browned color of the biscuits and the toasted perfection of the garlic.  A food marriage made in heaven.  The recipe takes about 35 minutes from melting the butter to removing the finished product from the oven.

Garlic Bread Buttermilk Upside-Down Biscuits
About 14-16 servings

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoons dried oregano (I substituted thyme)
2 and 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (all-purpose flour can be also be used)
1 tablespoon sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 and 3/4 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Grease an 8x8 baking dish (an 8- or 9-inch cake pan works well, too).  Combine the melted butter, minced garlic, garlic powder, and dried oregano (or thyme) in the baking dish.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Pour in the buttermilk and mix until smooth.  The batter will be thick.  

Spread the biscuit dough on top of the melted butter/garlic mixture, using an off-set spatula to get it as smooth and even as possible.  

Bake biscuits for 20-25 minutes or until golden.

Let biscuits rest in baking dish for 5 minutes after removal from oven.  Then invert onto a serving dish, slice, and serve.

Moroccan Toasted Couscous with Spiced Honey Citrus Dressing

 Long title.

 Lots of ingredients.

But please don't be deterred by either one.

Because I'd hate for you to miss out on this kaleidoscope of flavors and colors.

This stuff is perfect for a summer picnic...

You can make it a day in advance, giving the flavors a chance to fall in love in the fridge.  Also, the dressing is awesome on a green salad.

Enjoy!

Moroccan Toasted Couscous with Spiced Honey Citrus Dressing
Serves 4

The Dressing
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (1-inch piece)
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup lemon oil*
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

The Salad
1.5 cups Israeli couscous (also called "pearl couscous")
1.5 cups water
1/4 teaspoon tumeric
1 small red pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 small yellow pepper, seeded and finely diced
1/2 small red onion, finely diced
10 dried apricots, finely diced
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 cup shelled pistachios, toasted
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
1.5 tablespoons grated orange zest

To prepare the dressing, combine the cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, lemon and orange juices, ginger, honey and lemon oil with a wire whisk or an immersion blender.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  (This can be made in advance and refrigerated for several days.)

To prepare the salad, toast the couscous on a baking sheet in a preheated 375-degree oven for 10-15 minutes, until the couscous becomes golden brown.  

In a medium saucepan, combine the water and the tumeric and bring to a boil.  Add toasted couscous to water.  Partially cover pot with lid and reduce heat to very low.  Simmer for about 10-15 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside, fully covered, for an additional 10 minutes until all water is absorbed and the couscous is tender.  

In a large bowl, combine the couscous with the peppers, onion, apricots, raisins, nuts, cilantro, and orange zest.  Pour dressing over the salad and mix well.  Serve warm or cold. 

Recipe from The Whole Foods Cookbook