Bites v 4.0

I was going to do a post on the dinner that I made for New Years Eve, but then, meh. Do you need to see pictures of (extremely delicious) steaks that we did nothing to, other than salt and pepper? Or (really yummy) carrots that I have no recipe for? Especially at the beginning of February? No, I didn't think so either. But, I do want to share the recipe for the potatos that we had. Oh my, were they good.

Since the original recipe was for 8 servings I halved it. Scott is a big eater and we both like potatos, so I knew there wouldn't be any leftovers. I was wrong. Cut in half, this recipe still made a ton. Look at this:



That is 6 HUGE servings. Had I known how enormous they'd be I would have made them smaller. And more of them. On another baking sheet. Between what you see here and the leftovers I ate from the "piping bag" (what? there was no more room on the tray!) I easily could have made 8 servings. They were delicious though, and the leftovers were gone within a couple of days.

I made these in the afternoon and left them to chill until we were ready to eat. Very easy and very good.

Duchess Potatos
adapted from Vegetarian Times magazine

serves 6-8

1 1/2 lb potatos, peeled and cut into chunks
3 tb butter
4 tb non fat sour cream
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup finely chopped chives

Bring a large pot of water to the boil and cook the potatos until very tender. Drain, return to the pot and add the butter and sour cream. Mash until smooth. Add the egg yolk and stir to combine. Add the chives and season with salt and pepper. Spoon the potatos into a pastry bag or zip bag (that's what I used, just fill it, squeeze out the air, cut off one of the corners and go to town) and pipe into 8 servings on a parchment lined sheet. Refrigerate until ready to cook.
Preheat oven to 400' and cook the potatos for 2-25 minutes, or until hot and starting to brown. If you so desire, pop the tray under the broiler for a few minutes to brown. Carefully remove to plates and serve right away.

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I am still madly in love with my juicer and my new hobby is going to the discount table at the local grocery shop and buying big bags of apples and oranges for 99 cents, and then making delicious juices, as seen below:





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I've shared the recipe for my favorite potato pancakes before, but I forgot, and last time I made them I took this picture that I thought came out rather well.



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I found an article on the internet a couple of weeks ago written by Peter Kelly on his appearance on Iron Chef America, and beating Bobby Flay. I found it quite fascinating. Read it here.

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Speaking of Iron Chefs, looks like Rob Feenie is recovering from losing his restaurants last year (well, as much as you could, I suppose); he's going to work for Cactus Club Cafe.

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I've heard via email from a few people on what they are forsaking for Lent. Even though I am not a follower of the faith, here's my decision for Lent: working harder to stick to my
dietlifestyle change, cheating on it less, excersizing more, less alcohol. For 40 days, baby!
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Happy Wednesday everyone!