Recipes Master 12

One of my earliest “exotic” food experiences was eating potato knishes with my Dad when we’d visit Coney Island. There were the square variety, and we’d buy them from a hot dog cart, and since potatoes were my favorite food growing up, I was in heaven. I mean, mashed potatoes in a warm, flaky pastry? I’ll have two, please. Back then they were still made with copious amounts of chicken fat, also know as “schmaltz,” which was the real secret behind their awesomeness, but you can make a perfectly fine version without that, especially if you have some leftover corned beef around. Regardless of how you fill these, the technique seen herein will work, and half the fun is trying new versions. As long as the base is mashed potato, spiked with onions fried in lots of fat, anything goes. I think the baked version is the easiest, but if you feel so inclined, these can also be deep-fried, or pan-fried. No matter how you cook them, one of the keys is getting the dough nice and thin, so your finish...

Sorry for the late upload, but I had some mysterious modem issues, and this German potato dumpling video took over 5 hours to upload! I was having flashbacks to those good, old dial-up AOL days, and they weren’t good flashbacks. I do miss that cool modem sound, but that's about it. Anyway, it’s late, but I wanted to post the ingredient amounts, and maybe I'll add some more info tomorrow, although these are so basic that’s probably not necessary. The only tip I’ll give is that I think baking the potatoes works better than boiling them whole. Peeling, quartering, and boiling until tender will also work, but don’t overcook them, otherwise they'll absorb too much water. By the way, if you’re German, or know the same things they do, I’d love to learn why we're sticking croutons in the middle of these things. I totally get the crumbs on top, but inside? If you have an explanation, I’d like love to hear it, and in the meantime, I really do hope you give these a try soon. Enjo...

These crispy yuca fries are often presented as a healthier alternative to fried potatoes, but the taste and texture is so good, I think it would be more appropriate to describe French fries as a less-healthy alternative to these. They really are that good, and do a great job of bridging the gap between regular fried potatoes, and sweet potato fries. Once fried, the texture is remarkably similar to a russet or Kennebec potato (the variety most commonly used for fries and chips), and while these do have a slightly sweeter taste, it’s not nearly as pronounced as a sweet potato. Like I mentioned in the video, I always regret ordering sweet potato fries, since, to my palate at least, they’re just not savory enough, which is not the case with these. Just be sure to boil them first, since they can be toxic eaten raw in larger amounts. Why you’d ever want to eat a big pile of raw yuca is beyond me, but the legal department wanted to mention that regardless. Anyway, once safely cooked, they ca...

They say your greatest strength is also your biggest weakness, which certainly is true when it comes to sweet potatoes.   The starchy sweetness that makes this tuber such a popular holiday side dish, is also its fatal flaw, since, for me at least, it quickly leads to palate fatigue. After a few bites of mashed sweet potatoes, or sweet potato casserole, I’m pretty much over the experience, and I’m reaching for the cranberry sauce to reset my tongue, but here we’ve mixed in a few ingredients specifically selected to cut that sweetness, and push this much closer to the savory side of town. Lime, jalapeño, and sharp cheddar may seem like odd choices here, but paired with the green onions, and bacon, they work wonders, and I had no problem finishing a whole sweet potato. And by whole, I mean two. By the way, these orange-fleshed sweet potatoes are often sold as “yams,” but they’re not, in case that ever comes up in conversation. Besides all the obvious reasons, this is a great choice fo...

The hardest line cook job I ever had was working the broiler station at the Carnelian Room, where on a busy night I’d prepare over 250 steaks and chops, which wasn’t even the most difficult part. No, the biggest challenge was actually frying these potato puffs to order, to go on all those plates. It was a lot of work, but a labor of love, since pomme dauphine , as my French friends would call this, is one of the greatest foods ever invented, especially for potato fanatics like me. However, as with most fried foods, they can be messy to make, and unless you have an industrial-strength hood fan, your kitchen will smell like a deep fryer for days, which is why I wanted to try and do a baked version. I was very happy with the results, and while the outside wasn’t dark and crispy like the fried version, the inside was virtually identical, and thoroughly enjoyable in their own right. Whether you’re making them as a warm snack with a dip, or to go alongside some eggs, or a grilled steak, the ...

If you’ve made and loved our Greek Lemon Chicken , and Fondant Potatoes , then you will absolutely adore these lemon pepper potatoes, since it’s basically the best of those two recipes put together, minus the chicken. The only problem is, whatever main course you decide to go with is in serious danger of being upstaged. Speaking of chicken, if you happen to be roasting one, besides keeping the bones for stock, be sure to save the rendered fat as well, since that will elevate this dish to even greater heights. Also, feel free to add some garlic here, but if you do, I’d go with whole cloves, since minced garlic may burn onto the bottom of the dish towards the end of the roasting time. These are incredible eaten hot and fresh, but if for some reason you don’t finish them all, they make the best homefries you’ll ever eat. Just cut them up, and fry in some olive oil until crispy. They’re so good, you’ll be tempted to make them just for that purpose, although that will take way more willpow...