Harry's Mashed Spuds

Back in Manitoba, everything tastes better, even the potatoes.

Onions bear some discussion.   The type, and how you cut them up.  
Red onions are mild and great raw in salads, also good for colour in stir fries, and roasted vegetable medleys.  
Walla Walla or Vidalia are super sweet, very flat shaped, almost like a space ship.   They are yellow, very moist and sweet, so they get moldy fast.   They are shipped out from either Georgia (Vidalia) or Washington (Walla Walla) to the stores once a year in fall.   Expensive.   So check through them to make sure they are not rotting, the chain grocery stores are too greedy to cull them.  
White onions are stronger flavoured so the best for flavour.
Yellow onions are in between.  

http://www.foodsubs.com/Onionsdry.html

To cut up an onion, cut off both ends, then cut in half.   Use a very sharp knife.   I use my santuko chef's knife.  Then slice and chop.   Do it fast, and rinse the knife in between if it bothers your eyes. 

Potatoes
I've talked about these before.   I love local German yellow potatoes or Island Ambers, Yukon Golds in a pinch.   These potatoes are waxy (firm when cooked) and so delicious.   Round white potatoes are also great.   There is quite a difference in flavour too. 

Store potoatoes in a cool, dark, dry, well-ventilated place. Don't refrigerate them--doing so converts some of the potato's starch to sugar. And don't expose them to direct sunlight, which turns them green and makes them bitter. Scrape away any sprouts or green spots, since they might contain a mildly toxic compound called solanine.

Potatoes with a high starch content, like russets, bake well and yield light and fluffy mashed potatoes. Those with a low starch content, like red-skinned potatoes, hold their shape after cooking, and are great for making potato salads and scalloped potatoes. Medium starch potatoes are called all-purpose potatoes, and they'll work in most potato dishes.


Best for baking: russet potato
Best for potato salads, gratins, and scalloped potatoes: Yellow Finn potato, new potato, red-skinned potato, white round potato, and purple potato
Best for mashing: russet potato, Yukon gold potato, Caribe potato, and purple potato
Best for soups and chowders: Yukon gold potato, Yellow Finn potato, red-skinned potato, white round potato, and purple potato
Best for pan-frying: red-skinned potatoes, white round potatoes, new potatoes, and fingerling potatoes
Best for French fries: russet potato, purple potato, Bintje potato
Best for purees: fingerling potatoes
Best for roasting: new potatoes, Bintje potatoes
Best for steaming: new potatoes, Yukon gold potatoes
Best for potato pancakes: russet potato, Yukon Gold potato

Bintje potato
This is a creamy, yellow-fleshed potato that's especially good for roasting and making fries. Pronunciation: BEN-jee Substitutes: Yukon Gold OR Yellow Finn


boiling potato = waxy potato = low-starch potato
Potatoes in this category hold their shape after cooking, so they're great for making potato salads and scalloped potatoes. They're not good for mashing, baking, or making fries. Types of boiling potatoes are new potatoes, fingerling potatoes, round white potatoes, and round red potatoes.

Caribe potato
These large, starchy potatoes have purple skins and white flesh. They're great mashed, but they don't hold their shape well, so they shouldn't be used in potato salads or scalloped potatoes. Substitutes: Yukon Gold potato


fingerling potato
There are many varieties of these small, finger-shaped potatoes, but they all tend to be low in starch, and great for roasting or making potato salads. Substitutes: new potatoes


long white potato
These oblong potatoes have a medium starch content, and are valued for their versatility. They're good to keep in the pantry as an all-purpose potato.

new potatoes = creamers = baby potatoes = chats = potato nuggets = earlies:
The term "new potatoes" is sometimes used to describe all small waxy potatoes, but technically it refers just to immature potatoes harvested in the spring and early summer. You can tell if a potato is truly new by its skin; immature potatoes have flimsy, parchment-like skins that you can peel off with your fingers. New potatoes are prized for their high moisture content and creamy texture, and because they can be cooked whole. They're especially good steamed or roasted. They're more perishable than other potatoes, so use them within a few days after buying them. Substitutes: Larger boiling potatoes, cut into smaller cubes

purple potato = purple Peruvian potato = blue potato = black potato
These purple-fleshed potatoes have a medium starch content, so they're good all-purpose potatoes. They lend an interesting color to mashed potatoes or potato salads, but they're not as flavorful as other varieties. They tend to get mushy if they're over-cooked. Substitutes: Yukon Gold OR Yellow Finn


red-skinned potato = red potato = red round potato
These waxy potatoes hold their shape after they're cooked, so they're great for making potato salads and scalloped potatoes. Don't mash them--you'll end up with a sticky, gooey mess. Substitutes: Yellow Finn potato (yellow flesh) OR Yukon Gold potato (yellow flesh) OR white round


russet potato = Idaho potato = baking potato = starchy potato = chef's potato
These potatoes are high in starch and low in moisture, so they bake well and yield light, fluffy mashed potatoes. They don't hold their shape after cooking, so don't use them to make potato salads or scalloped potatoes. Don't wrap them in aluminum foil while baking them; the foil traps moisture and makes the potato mushier. Substitutes: white rose potato (for fries) OR Yukon gold potatoes (for mashing)


white round potato
These low-starch potatoes are great for boiling.


Yellow Finn potato = Yellow Finnish potato = Finnish yellow wax
These are great all-purpose potatoes, known for their yellow flesh, creamy texture, and buttery flavor. Substitutes: Yukon Gold potato (not as sweet as Yellow Finn) OR red-skinned potatoes OR white round potatoes


Yukon Gold potato
These are good all-purpose potatoes that have yellow flesh and a rich flavor. They're great for boiling, but they tend to fall apart if over-cooked. Substitutes: Yellow Finn potatoes (slightly sweeter than Yukon gold) OR red-skinned potato (lacks yellow flesh) OR white round potatoes.

Ingredients:
2 red onions
Round white potatoes, enough to fill the pot
Butter
Salt
Pepper
Whipping cream
Fresh herbs (optional)

Instructions:
Chop the onion very fine.
Wash, trim,  and chop the potatoes into chunks, with skin.
Put onion and potatoes into a pot, bring to a boil, turn down to keep at a low boil
When the potatoes are cooked, cook another 15-20 minutes.
Drain the potatoes and put back on the cooling stove element to "steam".
Mash with potato masher, but don't over mash.
Add butter, sea salt, and freshly ground pepper, and little cream.
Chop and add fresh herbs.

Arugula Salad with Pistachio Dressing

I had this salad at Provence on w. 19th a few weeks ago.   It was so amazing (better than my own dressing), so I had to ask for the recipe.

Ingredients:
Pistacchios
Grainy mustard
Parmesan cheese
Olive oil
Lemon
Arugula
Fennel (Optional)

Shrimp (Optional)

Instructions:
Grind the pistacchios into granules
Grind some Parmesan
Whip together pistacchios, grainy mustard, cheese, olive oil
and a bit of lemon juice.
Toss with arugula.
If you have some around, add a couple of slivers of fresh fennel and 4-5 cooked shrimp.

Turmeric Roasted Chicken Thighs

This is a really delicious recipe, created this evening.   The mushrooms are really crispy and delicious.  A mildly spicy dish is calming and satifying. Drink cold beer or white wine with this meal. Follow with fresh mango or grapefruit. It takes maybe 3 minutes to prepare, so faster than any take-out and way better tasting.Turmeric has a lot of health benefits, and we should eat a lot of it because it:


- is anti-bacterial
- is anti-inflammatory
- shrinks cancer tumors
- prevents breast cancer
- detoxifies the liver
- protects against Alzheimers
- treats psoriasis, myeloma
- counter-acts free radicals
- counter-acts harmful effects of barbecueing food
- helps with burn pain
- regulates blood sugar
- helps alleviate stomach and bowel problems e.g. IBS


I use chicken thighs as they are the tastiest part of the chicken.   Be sure to eat the skin and leave the bone in while cooking, to enhance flavours.

Mushroom tips:
Don't leave out the mushrooms in this recipe as they are really the tastiest part.  
Buy Crimini (brown) mushrooms, the taste is worth it.  
Don't wash the mushrooms, just brush off the dirt with a cloth, paper towel or special mushroom brush.  
Cook them whole to retain the juices.   (thanks Harry for that tip)
When you get them home from the store, take them out of the wrapping and store them in an open bowl in the frig to prevent them getting slimy.   They make special mushroom containers with holes in them, but I just use an open pottery bowl.  They will dry out a little, but it does not affect the taste, and if you are making a fried mushrooms, they fry better a little dry. 

•Ingredients:
2 chicken thighs, with skin and bone
2 Yukon gold potatoes, 1 inch chunks, with peel
4 carrots, 1 inch chunks, with peel
6 fresh garlic cloves, unpeeled
Crimini mushrooms
Olive oil
Turmeric
Aniseed, dried
Thyme, dried
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Prepare a baking sheet by covering it with tin foil.
In a large mixing bowl, put all the chicken and vegetables, mushrooms, and garlic cloves. 
In a small dish, mix the spices, salt, and pepper, about 1-2 tsp. of each.
Toss the spices, olive oil, chicken and vegetables, to coat them with oil and spices.
Spread the chicken and vegetables out on the baking sheet.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until everything is cooked and crispy.