By By Lisa Tindell
As I began pondering which recipes to share with you this week, I thought that sharing some new recipes for old standbys was the direction I wanted to take.
I can remember growing up with plenty of potatoes in late spring and on into the summer. I recalled a particular occasion when my father decided he would drive down to Baldwin County to get potatoes for the family.
Apparently, though my memory has begun to fade at times, Baldwin County was widely known as the Potato Capital of the South. On one occasion, Daddy decided to fill the back end of his newly purchased long-wheel based truck with freshly dug potatoes.
You probably remember an old saying about having way too many of something – well, we had potatoes for breakfast, potatoes for lunch, potatoes for supper and potatoes to get the taste of potatoes out of our mouths.
After all those potatoes, I wasn't too keen on potatoes for a while. However, now that I'm grown up and have the good sense to only purchase them in five-pound bags, they seem to fit just right with many meals.
Potatoes are very versatile. Baked, fried, mashed, boiled – the possibilities are endless. Here are a few recipes for you to try. If you have a truck load of potatoes, my heart goes out to you.
Roasted Garlic
Mashed Potatoes
1 medium head garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
4 tablespoons butter, softened
one-half cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drizzle garlic with olive oil, then wrap in aluminum foil. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool and chop. Stir in butter, milk, salt and pepper. Remove the garlic from the oven, and cut in half. Squeeze the softened cloves into the potatoes. Blend potatoes with an electric mixer until desired consistency is achieved.
Philly Mashed Potatoes
4 potatoes, chopped
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste
one-half (6 ounce) can French-fried onions, crushed
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain and mash. In a large mixing bowl combine mashed potatoes, cream cheese, onion, eggs, flour, salt and pepper. Using an electric mixer, beat on medium speed for several minutes. Spoon mixture into a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish and top with crushed fried onions. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes.
These kind of potato dishes are served in many restaurants and are a great accompaniment to beef, pork and chicken. However, if you