Twice Baked Potatoes (Pan Style)

A little over a month ago, my family got together to celebrate the holidays.  One night which has always been a quandary for us is new years eve.  Traditionally, the family celebration has always been new years day.  The night was a time spent preparing for the next days party, as many dishes need to be started the day before serving.  This year, even without my mother, things were no different.  The family party, which was generously catered by my cousin, was on January 1.  This left me with time to have a few family members (those who did not have another party to attend) over for dinner.

My dad happened to be in Safeway on a day when New York roasts were $5/pound.  He left Safeway with 3 roasts and could not believe his good fortune.  I could not believe my MISfortune, as the New York cut is not a cut I enjoy eating.  My dad has been through a lot of shit this year, so instead of arguing, I agreed to cook, not one, but TWO New York roasts.

In an attempt to placate myself by serving something I would enjoy, I attempted to make twice baked potatoes in the shells.  It was the first time I even considered making it in the shell, and I thought it would look fancy next to the slab of roast beast.  I guess it wasn't my time to make it happen because I ended up making it in a casserole dish.  It turned out to be a huge hit (in addition to the salad).  My cousins loved it.  I made 1 1/2 recipes, and most of it was gone by the end of the evening.  That's a lot of potato pulp for less than 10 people!

Since my cousin Otee is a devoted Kikukat follower, I thought I'd post the recipe for the potatoes (and a link to the dressing is above) for him.  Although he doesn't cook much, he is known to hibachi a steak.  He can print out the recipe for the potatoes and have his brother make it for him!

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Twice Baked Potatoes

     4 russet potatoes

     2 tbsp butter

     1/2 tsp salt

     1/4 tsp pepper

     1 c sour cream

     1 c shredded cheese, divided

     1/2 c bacon bits

     chives

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Bake potatoes for 1 hour, directly on rack.  Let cook 15 minutes.  Scrape pulp into a bowl.  Combine pulp with all other ingredients, reserving 1/2 c shredded cheese for topping.  Place in an au gratin dish and sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Toaster Oven Food: Scalloped Potatoes

The first week of summer vacation is behind me.  "Vacation" might not be the proper word to use because I'm super fricken busy.  I voluntarily attended a computer workshop on Saturday, something I would've been vehemently opposed to doing during the normal work year.  But I went.  For no credit.  For no stipend.  And I checked my PayPal account, and those baboozes still haven't reimbursed me the $20 registration fee (reimbursement contingent upon attending the session). 

I also began the first of multiple summer jobs.  I think this job is even more demanding than my regular day job.  Being a paraprofessional is not the cake walk everyone thinks it is.  The only silver lining is not having to deal directly with headache parents.  Oh, and I did get to see JN, whom I haven't seen in years.  Hi, JN!  Long time no-see.  Seeing you made me think back to the time your car didn't start at the luau in Seattle because some doodoo head you were dating left the lights on!  BTW, its years overdue, but thanks for the ride home that night.

In a week, I will be done with my stint as a paraprofessional and will be returning to the ranks of teacher.  I will be attending a 4-day draining.  One of my work pals, who was supposed to attend with me, saw the list of those attending and decided there was no way in hell he could stomach 4 days with those clowns, so he begged out, leaving me to fend off the infidels by myself.  Wimp!  Weakling!  I actually considered bailing with him, but I'm trying to build my war chest for the upcoming October trip.  The Halekulani isn't free!

I had hoped to be enjoying hot summer days, but instead, I found myself pulling back into the garage to run in the house to retrieve a jacket.  I know it wasn't just me because even D2 ran back in for a jacket.  And more than once in the past week, I turned on the electric blanket, a Valentine gift from The Help from a few years ago.  Now I'm not feeling so foolish for buying 4 giant boxes of Cal Oak firewood from Safeway last month.  I guess we are still not out of fireplace season.

In light of the weather, I'm not feeling so apt to rush out and buy lettuce.  I think I'm gonna stick to the comfort foods for a few more weeks. . .Beryl's Meatloaf, Sugar Bath Ham, Roasted Chicken, to name a few.  And what better to accompany those feel-good foods than a big mound of scalloped potatoes!  And should the weather unexpectedly turn warm, this can (and should, no matter the circumstance) be baked in a toaster oven. 

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Scalloped Potatoes

     4 c thinly sliced potatoes
     1 can cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup
     1/2 c milk
     pepper
     1 c shredded cheese, divided
     1 tbsp butter
     paprika

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Combine soup and milk.  Add a dash of black pepper.  Grease a square baking dish.  Layer 1/3 of potatoes.  Cover with 1/3 of sauce.  Sprinkle 1/3 cup of cheese.  Repeat layers two more times.  Dot with butter and sprinkle with paprika.  Cover with foil and bake 1 hour.  Uncover and bake an additional 25 minutes.

For those who have tried my blog recipes using cake mix (non-pudding type), I have gone back and updated the recipes (both the blog versions and the printable versions) to include the "work around" for the currently-available cake mixes.  Cake mixes sold before 2013 were sold in 18+ oz. boxes.  When Duncan Hines decided to re-do their cake mixes, the boxes shrank to 15 oz.  Apparently, Duncan Hines didn't give a shit about consumers who had religiously purchased their product, developed recipes using a box of cake mix as a base, or even had enough faith in their product to think consumers would be willing to pay a little more to keep the product size the same. . .I know I would've been willing to pay a little more.  Anyway, thanks to the Cake Mix Doctor, there is a a remedy!

Parmesan Frittata

Breakfast For Dinner (BFD) is one of the best inventions (well, for me because I love eggs).  For a twist on the usual BFD fare, try Parmesan Frittata.  You likely have all the ingredients on hand already, and paired with a green salad, this is good enough for company.

Frittata is easy because its made in a skillet (oven-proof).  Once it hits the oven, there is no turning or flipping.  The oven does all the cooking.  Although my recipe calls for potato (raw), feel free to substitute chopped, cooked potato, if you have any on hand, such as leftover from baked potato.  Another easy substitution would be chopped ham instead of bacon.  About 1/3 cup of sliced ham should do the trick. 

When I lived in Seattle, Uncle George and Aunty Char liked to go to Cafe Casino.  Cafe Casino offered cafeteria-style service with cuisine leaning towards the land of the boot.  Aunty would often choose the frittata du jour.  Back then, I had no idea what frittata was.  Anything egg/savory/baked was labeled "quiche", thanks to three years of French class.  I should have tried the frittata at Cafe Casino to see how mine compares, but I haven't been back to Seattle since 19XX, and I'm not even sure Cafe Casino is still in business.  Perhaps Seattle and Hilo have more than rain in common . . . business graveyard for all but a few (Starbucks & Costco, to name a few).

serving suggestion:  a frittata wedge paired with a fresh salad

click on recipe title for printable recipe
Parmesan Frittata

     1 c thinly sliced raw potato (wide matchsticks)

     2 tbsp butter

     6 eggs, slightly beaten

     6 slices bacon, cooked & crumbled

     1/4 c green onion, sliced

     1/4 c milk

     dash of black pepper

     1/2 c grated parmesan cheese

Rinse potato sticks well to remove starch.  Stir-fry in a dry, non-stick pan for 10 minutes.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Melt butter in a 10" oven-proof skillet.  Combine remaining ingredients;  Add potato sticks a little at a time (so egg won't cook).  Pour into skillet.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Sprinkle with additional cheese if desired.