potato

Sweet Potato Wedges

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Cheerful Choices: Sweet Potato Wedges! Mention the word sweet potato french fries and watch everyone’s eyes glaze over. Just the thought of a crispy outer skin surrounding a fluffy center sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Add homemade ketchup or sriracha mayo for dipping. Ahhh. Suddenly it’s a meal in itself……unless family members think you should share. Better make more.

SWEET POTATO WEDGES

Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes, skin on and cut into wedges

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons agave nectar

Green onion, snipped, for garnish

Instructions:

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine sweet potato wedges and olive oil. Toss to coat. Cover. Microwave on HIGH for 6 minutes or until tender when pierced with a knife, tossing and replacing lid after 3 minutes. Allow to cool 10 minutes. Add chili powder, coarse sea salt, and black pepper. Toss to coat. Preheat grill pan over medium-high heat. Brush with olive oil. Place sweet potato wedges on oiled grill pan. Cook 3 minutes per side until charred and tender. Remove from heat. Drizzle with agave nectar. Garnish with green onion snips. Serve immediately.

Utz’s Spanish Tortilla

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Country Casual Cravings: Utz’s Spanish Tortilla! I like to talk with servers at restaurants. More often than not, they reveal significant tidbits about recipe ingredients or preparation that send my mind spinning. For example: Did you know instead of adding hash brown potatoes to an omelet you can substitute potato chips? When folded into a beaten egg mixture, they thicken the omelet while keeping it light and airy at the same time. It’s pure genius. After all, everyone has a bag of potato chips stashed somewhere.

UTZ’S SPANISH TORTILLA

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon olive oil

4 eggs, beaten

1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 cups Utz’s Kettle Potato Chips*, crushed

Grape tomatoes, green olives, and baby spinach for garnish

Instructions:

Warm the butter and olive oil over medium heat in a small frying pan. In a mixing bowl, combine eggs, seasoned salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Mix well. Fold in the crushed potato chips. Pour the mixture into the preheated pan. Cook 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Place a flat plate over the top of the pan; invert the pan onto the plate to flip the tortilla out. Slide the tortilla back into the pan with the golden side up. Cook 2-3 minutes longer until firm. Transfer to a serving plate. Garnish with grapes tomatoes, green olives, and baby spinach leaves.

*I receive no recompense for mentioning Utz’s Kettle Potato Chips.

Egg & Sweet Potato Boats

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Here Come the Holidays: Egg & Sweet Potato Boats! Breakfast just got more interesting. And so did you. Because today, this Paleo breakfast may leave you feeling like a superhero, “able to leap tall buildings in a single bound”. It not only gives you a nutrient-rich vegetable, it also provides protein in the animal form of bacon and eggs! That fact alone ups your intake of vitamins and minerals without leaving you feeling meh and bloated. Digestion improves as energy levels rise, which leaves me asking one final question: Which superhero are you?

EGG & SWEET POTATO BOATS

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato, halved, washed and patted dry

1/2 teaspoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

2 large eggs

2 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled

Sriracha, to taste

Fresh oregano, for garnish

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Once the sweet potatoes have been washed and patted dry, rub skins with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt, and place cut side down in a shallow pan that has been sprayed with nonstick oil. Bake for about one hour, or until tender. Remove sweet potatoes from oven. With tongs, flip sweet potatoes over so skin side is down. Using a spoon, carefully scoop out the center to form a well for one egg. Crack an egg into each sweet potato boat. Return pan to oven; bake 20 minutes, or until eggs are set. Remove from oven. Crumble bacon over top. Drizzle with sriracha sauce. Garnish with fresh oregano leaves. Serve warm.

Bacon Bit Sweet Potato Bisque

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Here Come the Holidays: Bacon Bit Sweet Potato Bisque! My pantry is sometimes filled with good intentions. I envision a nutritious meal and then get sidelined by other ingredients, especially in the Produce Department of the local grocery. I mean, just look at the bin overflowing with organic sweet potatoes. Medium-sized, smooth skin, pretty color, and screaming “Pick me. I’m healthy.” Soon after I get home, I store them out of sight in a cool, dark area only to discover them three weeks later. Thank goodness, sweet potatoes are very forgiving. Their shelf life is easily 5 weeks. If you ever wondered how to tell if it’s time to toss them out, press the skin. If it’s soft, discolored, or has an unpleasant odor, throw them out and promise yourself you’ll do better next time.

BACON BIT SWEET POTATO BISQUE

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes, cut in half

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup yellow onion, diced

1/4 cup celery, diced

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon cumin powder

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

Green onion snips, for garnish

Bacon bits, for garnish

Dollop Greek yogurt, for garnish

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°. Brush olive oil over the skins of the sweet potatoes. Place cut-side down on a baking sheet. Roast for 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Scoop the sweet potatoes into a bowl and thoroughly mash. Discard peels. Warm butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Do not scorch. Add diced onion and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with garlic powder, oregano, ground ginger, cumin powder, sea salt, and black pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, for one minute longer. Add chicken broth; reduce heat to simmer. Transfer sweet potatoes to a food processor and Pulse until consistency is smooth. Whisk sweet potatoes into broth until heated through. Ladle into bowls. Garnish with green onion snips, bacon bits, and a dollop of Greek yogurt.

Sour Cream ‘n Onion Deviled Eggs

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Elevated Edibles: Sour Cream ‘n Onion Deviled Eggs! Every once in awhile I crave something a little bit salty. To satisfy that urge, I whip up a batch of egg salad to scoop with potato chips or crackers. It’s pretty tasty, too. But what happens if all you have on hand are the crumbs at the bottom of the potato chip bag, hmmm? I’ve got an idea. Go one step further and make deviled eggs. By adding crumbled onion straws to the filling, it adds zing. Then sprinkle the potato chip crumbs on top for a salty finish. It works.

SOUR CREAM ‘N ONION DEVILED EGGS

Ingredients:

6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled

2 tablespoons ranch salad dressing

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1 tablespoon sour cream

2 tablespoons onion straw pieces

1 tablespoon chives, chopped

2 tablespoons sour cream and onion potato chips, crushed

Fresh chives, for garnish

Instructions:

Slice eggs in half horizontally and carefully transfer yolks to a bowl. Place the empty whites on a platter. Mix ranch salad dressing, mayonnaise, and sour cream with the egg yolks. Stir until smooth. Fold in onion straw pieces and chopped chives. Fill the egg whites. Garnish with crushed sour cream and onion potato chips sprinkled with fresh chives.

April’s Potato Salad

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Elevated Edibles: April’s Potato Salad! For years whenever I made a six-hour road trip to visit my best friend, April, I would request her famous potato salad. Upon arrival, between hugs and laughter, we’d eventually meander to the front porch with a couple of ham sandwiches and a plate of homemade potato salad. As we’d sit there gazing out over cornfields at sunset, I’d inhale the intoxicating scent of juicy sweet corn, the pleasant odor of dewy stalks, humid green earth, and maybe even a touch of honey from waning wildflowers. I probably said the same thing over and over every year, “Life doesn’t get any better than this.”

APRIL’S POTATO SALAD

Ingredients:

7 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered

5 eggs, hard-boiled and chopped

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 tablespoon yellow mustard

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup celery, chopped

1/2 cup onion, chopped

Instructions:

Boil potatoes in salted water for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain. Set aside. Combine mayonnaise, vinegar, yellow mustard, sea salt, and black pepper. Mix well. In a large bowl, add cooked potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, chopped celery, and chopped onions. Toss to combine. Pour mayonnaise mixture over all. Coat well. Refrigerate one hour before serving.

Unforgettable Wild Ramp Bacon Chowder

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Table Food: Unforgettable Wild Ramp Bacon Chowder! For American hunter-gatherers, as well as European foragers of gourmet plants, wild ramps are as coveted as the elusive morel mushrooms. Since the leafy garlic bulbs are popular with curiosity seekers, in addition to critters of the woods, the quest for a fragrant “bouquet” becomes a challenge between man and beast. Who will get there first to reap the wild-growing delicacy? Perhaps both have their secret stomping grounds. I invite you to stick around awhile to sample the wide variety of ways to enjoy wild ramps.

UNFORGETTABLE WILD RAMP BACON CHOWDER

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon bacon drippings

1/2 cup ramps roughly chopped, bulbs and greens

1 potato, skin on and diced

1 3/4 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic and herb seasoning

1 1/4 cups coconut milk

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Crumbled bacon, for garnish

Charred ramp greens, for garnish

Instructions:

In a Dutch oven, over medium heat, sauté ramps in bacon drippings until soft. Add diced potatoes, chicken broth, seasoned salt, and garlic and herb seasoning. Simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are cooked thoroughly. Reduce heat to low. Add coconut milk, cheddar cheese, and red pepper flakes. Stir well to combine. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, but do not boil. Gently heat for 30 minutes. Allow to rest for 10 minutes to thicken. Ladle into soup bowls; garnish with crumbled bacon and charred ramp greens.

Oregano Hasselback Sweet Potato

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Table Food: Oregano Hasselback Sweet Potato! Have you ever stepped foot in a grocery store and been greeted by a warmer filled with foil-wrapped oven-baked sweet potatoes? The naturally sweet, earthy aromas trigger the tastebuds the same way rotisserie chicken and sizzling bacon do. You want it and gotta have it. Wait until you bite into the creamy texture infused with oregano and cinnamon. Sounds like a sensual adventure, doesn’t it?

OREGANO HASSELBACK SWEET POTATO

Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes, skin on

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon oregano, crushed

1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Leaving skin on potatoes, wash thoroughly and pat dry. Put one potato on a cutting board. Beginning at one end, slice in strips, being careful to stop before slicing the bottom skin. Transfer to a shallow baking dish. Continue until both potatoes are sliced. In a small bowl, mix olive oil, crushed oregano, seasoned salt, and cinnamon. Brush each potato with olive oil mixture, separating slices to coat both sides. Drizzle remaining oil over all. Bake potatoes one hour until crispy, basting occasionally. Serve immediately.

Sea Salt-Rubbed Baked Potato

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Clean Eating: Sea Salt-Rubbed Baked Potato! When my sister-in-law worked in a fine dining restaurant years ago, she shared with me an amazing secret for perfectly seasoned baked potatoes. “Wash the skins, then butter them up before sprinkling with sea salt,” she instructed. The skins become as tasty as a savory cracker. I thanked her and with enthusiasm have been making them that way ever since. It’s pretty much fool-proof. There’s no need for extra butter or salt since they are baked into the skin. She went on to share another tidbit of information with me. “Leftover baked potatoes prepared this way become the best shredded hash browns.” Bonus!

SEA SALT-RUBBED BAKED POTATOES

2 russet potatoes, washed and pierced

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1 teaspoon sea salt

Dollop of sour cream

Green onions, for garnish

Sprinkling of crushed oregano

Instructions;

Preheat oven to 350°. Wash potatoes and pat dry. Pierce the top with a paring knife. Holding the potato in one hand, apply softened butter all over the outer skin. Then sprinkle with sea salt. Place the potatoes on a stone, or directly on the oven rack, in the preheated oven. Be sure the pierce mark is facing up. Bake one hour, or until tender. To serve, split the potato open on a plate. Dollop with a generous spoonful of sour cream. Garnish with green onions and sprinkle with crushed oregano.