Vicki's Three Potato Salad

Today is Labor Day and as is the custom, I'm preparing cookout food:  hot dogs, burgers and our favorite potato salad.

I've been making this potato salad for probably 25 years.  I used to buy a 3 potato salad at my local grocery that had sweet potatoes, red potatoes and white potatoes.  It had a sweetish dressing which I liked without having pickle relish in it which I don't like in potato salad.

When they quit carrying it, I played around with ingredients and came up with my own recipe.
My mom always added vinegar and sugar to mayo for her potato salad so I started there.
I like the extra kick of the mango chutney--probably due to the ginger.

It's really pretty when made with the multicolored potatoes that are available now.  It's
always been a family favorite!

Vicki’s 3-Potato Salad

 Printable Recipe

2 or 3 sweet potatoes

about 12 oz. Each baby Yukon Gold and Red potatoes

Peel and dice sweet potatoes and boil until fork tender.  

Run under cold water and drain.

Quarter baby potatoes, leaving skins on and boil until fork tender.  

Run under cold water and drain.

Combine potatoes in large bowl.

Add 1 sweet onion (such as Vidalia) chopped.

Dressing:

2/3 cup mayonnaise

2 tsp. sugar

1 Tbl. Cider vinegar

3 Tbl. Commercially prepared Mango Chutney (I use Taj or 

          Trader Joe’sbrand)

Combine dressing ingredients in small bowl and mix well.  

Toss with potatoes and onion.

Salt and pepper to taste.  Chill until serving time.

I find that leaving the potatoes slightly warm when combining the salad 

ingredients helps the flavors to blend better!

To make in a smaller quantity:  Just use a bag of assorted baby potatoes

Such as Trader Joe’s 3-potato variety which comes in a 1.5 pound bag
plus 1 sweet potato.  Use about ⅔ - 1 c. diced sweet onion and keep the

dressing ingredients the same.

Mom's Veggie Pizza

Every Sunday is pizza night at our house.  I love a loaded pie and mine has to be eaten with a fork because the crust is thin and it's loaded with too much stuff to pick up.  I've been making this pizza crust in the bread machine for about 25 years at least.   It can be done with a mixer or hand kneaded.  We used to have a large garden and we would always top the pizza with peppers and tomatoes that were fresh picked. 

Mom’s Veggie Pizza

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

⅔ cup warm water

1 ½ tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups unbleached flour

1 package dry yeast

Pizza sauce of choice

1 pound shredded cheese

Toppings:  I used 1 yellow pepper, 1 green pepper, 

1 sweet onion, 1 bag spinach, 3 cans sliced black olives,

1 package sliced mushrooms, pickled jalepeño peppers

Add first 5 ingredients to a bread machine and set

on dough setting.  When dough is done, place in greased 

bowl cover with a cloth and allow to rise again.

Lightly oil a 14 inch pizza pan and sprinkle with 

Cornmeal.  Roll crust out to fit the pan.  Spread about ½ - 1 cup of tomato sauce over the crust and top with 1 pound

of shredded cheese.  If topping with vegetables, precook them.  I microwave mine for about 5 minutes then drain.

Cook at 450 degrees for 20 minutes.

Note:  If you don’t have a bread machine, mix ingredients in mixer or by hand, allow to rise 1 hour, punch down and allow to rise again as above.

Nannie Embrey's Pizzelles

Christmas wasn't Christmas without Nannie's pizzelles when we got together with the extended family.  When we were married almost 40 years ago, Nannie, my mother-in-law, gifted me with a new pizzelle iron and gave me her recipe which I've been making every year.  These pizzelles are super thin and fragile and I find that storing them stacked in a tin that is a little wider than they are is the best way to store them.

We were faced with a dilemma a few years ago when Gloria joined our family.  Gloria, a 30 year old Amazon parrot, caused me to have to rethink much of what I do in the kitchen because the fumes from non stick cookware can kill a parrot in short order.  The pizzelle iron had a nonstick coating.  What to do!  I thought that if it wasn't TOO cold, I could make them out on the deck but I really didn't want to be standing in 40 degree weather trying to do that.  A little research led me to the original Cucina Pro pizzelle iron which is made out of aluminum.  Problem solved.  Now pizzelle making may resume on schedule with the nonstick appliance being passed to my son. You will need to follow the instructions on your own pizzelle maker.  I find that  usually have to throw away the first two as they are the test ones!  I hope you enjoy these as much as we do!

Nannie Embrey’s Pizzelles

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

3 eggs, beaten

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup butter, melted

¾ - 1 cup flour

1 tsp. Baking powder

2 tsp. Anise extract

1 tsp. Vanilla 

Add and beat ingredients together in order listed--using the smaller 

amount of flour for thinner pizzelle.  Batter should be thick but flow 

from a spoon. Place about one tablespoon of batter in the center of 

both section of preheated pizzelle iron.  Close lid. Allow to cook 

until steaming stops -- about 30 - 60 seconds. Remove with fork.  

Allow to cool on wire rack or towels.  While hot, they may be rolled 

into a cylinder or shaped into cones.  Dust with confectioners’ sugar.  

Store in airtight container.  

Makes 2 dozen

Lemon variation:  Omit vanilla and anise extract.  

Add 1 teaspoon lemon extract and 1 tablespoon 

grated lemon peel to batter.

Note:   It will take a couple of tries to get the cooking time right.  My most recent batch took 40 seconds each time.  Also-- a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop makes easy work of scooping the batter onto the pizzelle baker.  With my Cuchina machine, you place the batter just a little toward the back of center.  Experiment to find what works with you. I place paper towels on a cooling rack and place the hot pizzelles there before stacking them in a tin.  Having your confectioners' sugar in a shaker or sifter gives a nice even coat.

Spiced Party Nuts

One of our favorite gifts to give.  These are extremely addicting and your house will smell like the spice mixture for days after!

Spiced Party Nuts

Adapted from The New Basics Cookbook by Julie Russo and Sheila Lukins

Printable Recipe

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 cups shelled pecan halves

1 Tablespoon coarse (kosher) salt (optional)

Garlic salt (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

2. Mix the cumin, chili powder, curry powder , garlic salt, cayenne, ginger, and
cinnamon in a bowl.  Set aside.

3. Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over low heat.  

    Add the spice mixture and stir well.  

    Simmer to mellow the flavors, 3 or 4 minutes.

4. Place the nuts in a mixing bowl, add the spice mixture, and toss well.  

    Spread the nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet (I use a jelly roll pan).  

    Bake for 15 minutes, shaking the pan once or twice.

5. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and using a rubber spatula, 

    toss the nuts with any spices and oil that have accumulated on the 

    bottom of the pan.  

    Sprinkle with the coarse salt, and a bit more garlic salt if desired.  

    Let rest for 2 hours in a cool place.  Store in airtight jars.

Yield:  2 cups

Parmesan Rice Squares

This is the tine of year when we make snacks for gifts  These were a favorite that my mom made when I was growing up.  I made them for my kids too.  Easy and tasty!  What's not to like?

Parmesan Rice Squares

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups Rice Chex or rice squares cereal

3 Tbl. melted butter

¼  cup grated Parmesan Cheese (the kind in the can)

In a shallow pan, toss rice squares in butter until coated.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Toast in slow oven at 300 degrees about 15 minutes,

stirring occasionally.

Cool.

Enjoy!

New Year's Day Bean Soup

This has been a family tradition forever.  I came across this recipe in 1980 at a holiday craft fair at a local armory.  Someone was selling 1 pound packs of 12 - 16 bean blend in cute calico bags with this recipe attached on a card.  I've seen other versions that include a tiny bottle of tabasco tied to the beans as well.  Through the years, we've given this or gifts and even had the cub scouts make this for their moms by layering the different beans in 1 pint mason jars and tying the recipe cards to the jar.  It turns out that a 1 pint jar holds 1 pound of beans.  As I'm gotten older, I just buy the 16 bean mix at the local grocery store and put them in the soup pot to soak before I go to bed New Year's Eve.

Happy New Year!  Enjoy!

New Year’s Day Bean Soup

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 bag of Mixed Beans (Butter beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, great

northern beans, navy beans, blackeyed peas, split peas etc.

1 ham hock, ham bone, smoked ham piece's, or 1 - 2 pounds beef shank
1 - 28 oz can chopped or crushed tomatoes
1 garlic clove
1 small onion (chopped)
1 lemon
red pepper (to taste, 1/4 - 1/2 tsp.)
1 1/2 tbsp.salt (less if preferred)
pepper (to taste)

Instructions:

Wash beans thoroughly. Place in large kettle & cover with water. Add 1 1/2 tbsp. salt & soak overnight.

In morning drain. Add 2 quarts water, and ham hock, smoked ham or beef shanks. Simmer slowly 2 1/2 - 3 hrs.  Remove any bones and shred or chop meat. Add onion, tomatoes, red pepper, juice of lemon, salt & pepper to taste. Simmer at least 30 minutes longer. Enjoy with crackers & green salad.

Cranberry Pear Salsa

This has been one of our favorite holiday appetizers for 20 years.  I first had it when a friend brought it to work.  I like to serve it with sweet potato tortilla chips but really any kind of chip will do.  It's also good on turkey sandwiches!

Cranberry-Pear Salsa

Printable Recipe

Adapted from Fine Cooking Magazine, Dec 1996/Jan 1997

Delicious with tortilla chips, this salsa is even better on turkey

sandwiches.

Yields 4 1/2 cups.

12 oz. Fresh cranberries

1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pears (about 2 medium pears)

1/2 cup diced green bell pepper

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup sugar

1 serrano chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced

1 tsp. Minced orange zest

2 Tbs. Fresh orange juice

1 Tbs. Canola oil

Pinch salt

Chop the cranberries, or pulse them in a food processor until coarse.  

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss gently.  

Taste and adjust seasonings.