Hungarian Potato Salad

About 20 years ago I made a Hungarian meal made from a library cookbook. An amazing Hungarian meal. That summer we sat on my patio and indulged in Hungarian potato salad and several stews swimming in paprika (and potatoes). It was the kind of meal where you know you are full, but everything tastes so good. Maybe just a little more of this. Maybe just a touch more of that. In Hungary I feel certain that they don't serve that many potato dishes at once and certainly not when it is humid and above 90 degrees and they don't have air conditioning. I can also vividly remember laying on the floor with my sisters in a bedroom watching the ceiling fan go around and trying to ignore the queasy feeling. We lay there for hours without moving. We discussed the amazingness of the meal and how we weren't sure that we would ever want to eat it again.

I wasn't ready to eat that Hungarian food for several years. When I was ready, it was after the great recipe loss of '92 (see my profile). I went to the library to find the cookbook, only to discover it wasn't there. I've tried a few times to make chicken paprikash or goulash. I haven't made anything I would crave yet. If anyone knows of good paprika based recipes, please point me towards them.

I searched the web about a week ago for my Hungarian Potato Salad. There was nothing like it posted anywhere. I did find a sour cream dill sauce that sounded like what was in the original the potato salad. I cobbled this recipe together from my remnants of the old one. I think it's pretty close, if not almost exactly it. In the end, it is really good, but it's probably not worthy of a 20 year quest.

I forgot the parsley, so I estimated the amount. I used 2 T butter and 2 T flour for the roux. It made a sauce that was too thick. I'm guessing 1 T flour should work. Then you should be able to decrease the butter to I tablespoon, unless you need more to fry the onions. Adding a clove or two of garlic might be good as well.

HUNGARIAN POTATO SALAD

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs potatoes

1-2 T butter

1/2 onion, finely chopped (or more)

1 T flour

1/2 c beef stock

1/4 c chopped fresh dill, or maybe even more if you dare

2 T chopped fresh parsley

1/2 c pickles

1/2 c sour cream

FOR THE SALAD:

1. Cover the whole, unpeeled potatoes with 1 inch of water in a stockpot or dutch oven. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring once or twice to ensure even cooking, until the potatoes are tender (a thin-bladed paring knife or metal cake tester can be slipped into and out of the center of the potatoes with no resistance), 25-30 minutes for medium potatoes, 15-20 minutes for small potatoes.

2. Drain and cool the potatoes, slightly and peel if you like. Cut the potatoes into 3/4-inch cubes (or smaller) Use a serrated knife if they have skins. Cut the potatoes while still warm and rinse the knife as needed.

3. Mix the potatoes, pickles, and sauce together. This salad is meant to be served hot. I prefer it cold the next day. This salad may need extra salt.

FOR THE SAUCE

1. Saute the onions in the butter. It is best to do this very slowly to caramelize them. However a quick saute works too. Whisk in the flour with a silicone coated whisk. Cook somewhat to make a roux. Begin slowly whisking in the beef broth. Add a little broth whisk until smooth, repeat. Do this until you've added all the broth. Whisk in the sour cream. Heat through, but do not boil. Stir in the parsley and dill. Now it is ready for the potato salad.

French Potato Salad

If you are like my sister and hate potato (and pasta) salads with mayo, this could be the potato salad for you. It still may not be for you because tarragon has a strong flavor that's not for everyone. After a several year absence, I am growing tarragon again. In about a month, when it gets a little bigger, I'm looking forward to the "Why are you letting that weed grow?" question. Tarragon isn't a pretty plant. This recipe also calls for chervil. Chervil grows easily from seed. In the past, I never knew what to do with it, so I stopped growing it. If you grow chervil, go ahead and use the first herb mix. If you don't grow it, it's hard to find in supermarkets. Then use the second herb mixture. I never have shallots on hand. Shallots would be a better choice in this salad, but I used finely chopped yellow onion instead. I added the onion to the vinaigrette, thinking the hot potato water would soften its bite. It worked just fine. I sliced my potatoes with my mandolin (v-slicer). So for me, this is a pretty quick recipe. This is yet another recipe from Cook's Illustrated The Best Recipe.

French Potato Salad

INGREDIENTS
2 lbs red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 T salt
1 med garlic clove, peeled and threaded on a skewer
1 1/2 T champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar (I actually used cider vinegar)
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 c olive oil
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 small shallot, minced (about 2 T or onion. See intro)

1 T chervil
1 T parsley
1 T chives
1 T tarragon

OR

1 1/2 T parsley
1 T chives
1 1/2 T tarragon

1. place the potatoes, 6 cups cold water, and the 2 T salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium. Lower the skewered garlic into the simmering water and partially blanch, about 45 seconds. Immediately run the garlic under cold tap water to stop the cooking; remove the garlic from the skewer and set aside. Simmer the potatoes, uncovered, until tender but still firm (a thin-bladed paring knife can be slipped into and out of the center of a potato slice with no resistance), about 5 minutes. Drain the potatoes, reserving 1/4 c cooking water. Arrange the hot potatoes close together in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
2. Press the garlic through a garlic press or mince by hand. Whisk the garlic, reserved potato cooking water, vinegar, mustard, oil, and pepper together in a small bowl until combined. Drizzle the dressing evenly over the warm potato slices; let stand 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, toss the shallot and herbs gently together in a small bowl. transfer the potatoes to a large serving bowl. Add the shallot-herb mixture and mix lightly with a rubber spatula to combine. Serve immediately if serving hot or chilled for a few hours and brought to room temperature.

Potato Pancakes

These weren't as good as I remembered. Then I remembered that they never were that spectacular. But they are easy and different. You don't have to shred potatoes, you just blend and cook. Serve these pancakes with applesauce or ketchup. I like my sweet potato pancake version of this recipe better.

POTATO PANCAKES

INGREDIENTS

2 eggs

1 small onion, peeled and cut into large pieces

1 tsp salt

2 T flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

3 raw potatoes, peeled and cubed

Put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Pour in 4 to 6 inch size pancakes on an oiled pan. Cook like pancakes. Make sure the pancakes are cooked through.

Herb butter (several variations)

This isn't rocket science folks. You can just guess on amounts and tinker. It's very forgiving. In fact if you can tell by the amounts in my herb butter recipes. Why the strange amounts? I just eyeballed the amount of herbs I thought I should cut from my herb garden and brought them into the house. Then I wrote down how much I actually put in for a general guideline. I use half butter and half olive oil. This does two things. First it makes it mostly spreadable strait from the fridge and second it cuts the saturated fat almost in half. Herb butters are good on fish or under the skin of chicken to be grilled. If you like butter on your steak, this would be good. It's good on potatoes or on french bread to make garlic bread. Best of all it can add some zing to your veggies. I mostly use it for veggies. I'll add more variations as I go along. I'll add a basic herb butter with basil.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS Process in the food processor until it is evenly mixed. The mixture may be a bit too "soupy" at this point to work with. If it is, put in the refrigerator until it solidifies enough to work with. When you have a semi-solid butter, put the mixture into the center of a sheet of waxed paper. Fold the waxed paper in half and hold the edges of the paper together. While holding the paper press the flat edge of a spatula against the table. Move the spatula toward the fold of the waxed paper until the butter is a uniform width and as long as you want. (Look at the dill butter picture. That should help explain what the heck I'm talking about.) When the butter is shorter then the width of a gallon freezer bag, fold in the sides of the waxed paper, and roll the butter in the excess waxed paper. Then place in a freezer bag. If you keep the herb butter in the refrigerator it will be (mostly) spreadable right out of the fridge. If you keep it in the freezer, it will keep for months

Lemon Dill Butter
INGREDIENTS
1 T dill
2 1/2 tsp lemon juice
zest from 1/2 a lemon
1 1/2 tsp parsley
2 tsp chives
1/2 clove garlic
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c butter

Lemon herb butter is good on fish or beets.

Sage Butter
INGREDIENTS
1/2 T thyme
3/8 tsp rosemary
1 T parsley
1 T + 1 tsp chives
2 T sage
1/2 tsp mustard
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c butter

Good on turkey, chicken, or potatoes.

Chipotle Lime Butter
INGREDIENTS
1/4 c butter
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c cilantro, loosely packed
1/8 c chives
1/2 lime, zest and juice
1 clove garlic
1 chipotle pepper + 1 tsp adobo sauce (the sauce in the can)

Chipotle lime butter is good on corn. You can also saute corn, chopped green pepper, and chopped onion as a side dish. I've seen is used on broccoli, but have never tried it. Good on chicken. Chicken pieces could be sauteed in this for a taco filling. I'm guessing this would be good on fish as well for fish tacos. I used this in place of the butter in a boxed mac and cheese. It's pretty good for a twist on boxed mac and cheese.

Basic Herb Butter
1/2 c butter
1/2 c olive oil
2 1/4 tsp parsley
1 tsp rosemary
1 1/2 tsp thyme
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 T chives
2 T basil

Good on pretty much any veggie. Add fresh garlic and some grated Parmesan and salt. Spread on slice french bread and grill or broil for garlic bread.

Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Muffins

This is another healthy recipe from Kristy. Well, there's a good amount of sugar, but I'll still call them healthy. I've never made the muffins with white flour (as called for in the original recipe), because they are really good with wheat flour. The whole wheat and sweet potatoes make a nice match. I use whole wheat pastry flour for all muffins, because they come out lighter. By the way, paper cup liners are for cupcakes and not muffins. If you bake muffins in greased muffin tins, the outsides of any muffins form a nice enticing crust. Julie taught me that.

KRISTY’S SWEET POTATO MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS

1 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c canola oil (or whatever oil)
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 c AP flour -I used all whole wheat pastry flour, whole wheat will work too

2 t baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp salt

4 c peeled, grated sweet potato (I use the grating attachment on my food processor)

1/2 c raisins

1 c walnuts, pecans, or almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together brown sugar, oil, vanilla, and eggs in a small bowl. Mix together flour, baking powder, spices, salt, and sweet potatoes in large bowl. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture until just combined, stir in raisins and nuts. Spoon into greased muffin tins. The muffins don't really rise in the oven, so fill the muffin tins to the top and smooth the tops of the muffins. If the batter is uneven, the muffins will have bumpy tops. Bake 25-30 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Run knife around the edge to release muffins and invert. They taste best when warm (or rewarmed).

Twice Baked Potatoes

I, of course, had to make a healthier version of this recipe. If you make it as written, I'm sure they would be a decadent delight. They are good my way too. I use Swiss in the version with the ham and peas because that is what I'm more likely to have on hand. You'd think the broccoli (pictured) would be the better twice baked potato of the two recipes. But, I like the ham and pea version much better. This reicpe is from America's Test Kitchen.

TWICE BAKED POTATOES

baked potatoes for twice baked potatoes

Adjust rack to middle position; preheat oven to 400. Scrub, dry,, and lightly rub 4 russet potatoes (8 to 9 oz each) with vegetable oil. Bake potatoes on a foil lined baking sheet until skewer can be inserted into and removed without much resistance, 60-70 minutes. Do not turn oven off. Cool potatoes on baking sheet 10 minutes

TWICE-BAKED POTATOES WITH BROCCOLI, CHEDDAR, AND SCALLIONS

serves 4 as a main course or 8 as a side dish

INGREDIENTS

4 russet potatoes baked as above

4 T butter , 2 of those tablespoons melted (I used 2 T total in the broccoli saute)

6 c broccoli florets (form 2 lb bunch) cut into 1/2-1 inch pieces, stems discarded

1/2 tsp table salt + 3/4 tsp table salt

1 tsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp powdered mustard

6 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded, about 2 cups

3-4 scallions, sliced thin (about ½ cup)

½ c sour cream (I use yogurt)

1/4 c half and half (I use milk or buttermilk)

ground black pepper

1. While potatoes are baking, heat 2 T butter in 12 inch skillet over medium-high heat until foaming subsides; add broccoli and ½ tsp salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add 2 T water and cover and cook until crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Uncover and continue to cook until water evaporates, about 1 minute. Transfer to bowl and stir in lemon juice.

2. Halve each potato lengthwise. Using soup spoon, scoop flesh from each half into bowl, leaving about 3/8 inch thickness of flesh. Place shells cut-sides up on baking sheet and return to oven until dry and slightly crisp, about 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, mash potato flesh with fork until smooth; stir in melted butter, 3/4 tsp salt, powdered mustard, 1 c cheese, scallions, sour cream, half and half, and pepper to taste, then stir in broccoli.

4. Remove shells from oven; heat broiler. Mound filling into shells; sprinkle with remaining 1 c cheese and broil until spotty brown, 6-10 minutes. Cool 5 minutes; serve.

TWICE-BAKED POTATOES WITH HAM, PEAS, AND GRUYERE

Serves 4 as a main course, 8 as a side dish

INGREDIENTS

4 russet potatoes, baked as above

3 T unsalted butter (I just used the 1 T to saute)

3/4 lb baked deli ham, sliced 1/4 inch thick and cut into 1/4-inch cubes

1 c frozen peas

6 oz Gruyere cheese, shredded (2 c) (I used Swiss)

½ c sour cream

1/4 c half and half (1 use milk or buttermilk)

2 T whole-grained mustard

salt and pepper

1. While potatoes are baking, heat 1 T butter in 12 inch skillet over medium high heat until foaming; add ham in even layer and cook, without stirring until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Stir and cook 30 seconds longer. Off heat stir in peas; transfer mixture to a large plate.

2. Halve each potato lengthwise. Using soup spoon, scoop flesh from each half into bowl, leaving about 3/8 inch thickness of flesh. Place shells cut-sides up on baking sheet and return to oven until dry and slightly crisp, about 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, mash potato flesh with a fork until smooth; stir in melted butter, ham mixture, 1 c cheese, sour cream, half and half, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste.

4. Remove shells from oven; heat broiler. Mound filling into shells; sprinkle with remaining 1 c cheese and broil until spotty brown, 6-10 minutes. Cool 5 minutes; serve.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

I went on a cooking adventure tonight. I only had one lone sweet potato and I didn't know what to do with it. All my recipes call for more then one sweet potato and I didn't want to heat the oven just to bake it. So I decided to experiment. I combined my recipe for potato pancakes (I'll post it sometime) with the spices in my oven baked sweet potato fries. Oh the tension. Would the sweet potatoes be too much work for the food processor? Would the pancakes cook before the they burned? Would they taste good? The results? The were really good. They would be good as a side dish or served for breakfast along side breakfast burritos. They were good on their own or with ketchup. I doubled the recipe when I wrote it here. I'm sure they would be good with whole wheat flour or without the spices (ya know, for the kids). But, I haven't tried either of these things.

SWEET POTATO PANCAKES

Yield 14 3-4-inch pancakes

INGREDIENTS

2 eggs

1 small onion, cut into large chunks

1 tsp salt

2 T flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

2 sweet potatoes, peeled, cut in half and then sliced (it's easier then cutting it into cubes)

1/2 tsp chili powder (I used half chili powder and half chipoltle powder)

1/4 tsp pepper

Place all ingredients in the food processor and process until combined. Cook the pancakes in an oiled, nonstick pan. Spoon on the batter and spread it out. Cook on medium to medium-high. Make sure the first side is done before you flip them so the pancake stays together.

Scalloped Potatoes

The scalloped potatoes with chipoltle and smoked cheddar are amazing. They are vegetarian, but the smokiness of the cheddar and the chipoltle make them have a bacony flavor. I haven't tried the regular recipe. But I'm sure that's good too. I would imagine it would be good with Swiss cheese too. The recipe originally called for all the cheese on the top. But Kristy (who found the recipe) and I think mixing in some cheese with the potatoes would be better. Be sure to actually wait the ten minutes before serving. When casseroles or meat or scalloped potatoes cook, all the moisture is pushed to the edges of the casserole (or meat). After resting, the moisture is distributed more evenly. In the case of casseroles, that means when you dish it all the sauce won't seep into the whole where you dished from. In the case of meat it means the juice will stay in the meat and not run all over the plate. This reicpe is from America's Test Kitchen.

SCALLOPED POTATOES

Serves 4 to 6

You can substitute Parmesan instead of cheddar.

INGREDIENTS

2 T unsalted butter

1 small onion, minced

2 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press ( about 2 tsp)

1 T chopped fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme)

1 1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground pepper

2 ½ lbs ( about 5 medium) russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch -thick slices with the slicing disk of a food processor

1 c canned low-sodium chicken broth

1 c heavy cream

4 oz cheddar cheese, shredded (1 c)

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until the foaming subsides. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the potatoes, broth, and cream and bring to a simmer. Cover and reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the potatoes are almost tender ( a paring knife can be slipped into and out of a potato slice with some resistance), about 10 minutes. Mix in half of the cheese.

3. Transfer the mixture to an 8-inch square baking dish ( or other 1 ½ quart gratin dish); sprinkle evenly with the remaining cheese. Bake until the cream is bubbling around the edges and the top is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

SCALLOPED POTATOES WITH CHIPOLTLE CHILE AND SMOKED CHEDDAR CHEESE

INGREDIENTS

2 T unsalted butter

1 small onion, minced

1 large chipoltle chile in adobo sauce, minced (about 1 ½ T)

2 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press ( about 2 tsp)

1 T chopped fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme)

1 1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground pepper

2 ½ lbs ( about 5 medium) russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch -thick slices with the slicing disk of a food processor

1 c canned low-sodium chicken broth

1 c heavy cream

4 oz smoked cheddar cheese, shredded (1 c)

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until the foaming subsides. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add the chipotle, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the potatoes, broth, and cream and bring to a simmer. Cover and reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the potatoes are almost tender ( a paring knife can be slipped into and out of a potato slice with some resistance), about 10 minutes. Mix in half of the cheese.

3. Transfer the mixture to an 8-inch square baking dish ( or other 1 ½ quart gratin dish); sprinkle evenly with remaining cheese. Bake until the cream is bubbling around the edges and the top is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

This is another quick easy recipe. I changed the original 2 T cream to 2 T milk. The recipe also says to mash with a potato masher, but I think the texture is much better with an immersion blender. You should try to cut the sweet potatoes the same thickness so they cook evenly. It's easier to slice sweet potatoes then it is to dice them. However, if you're like me and forget to actually read the recipe and dice the sweet potatoes, that will still work. I like to slice the sweet potatoes with a mandoline (not mine in link). This recipe come from America's Test Kitchen.

MASHED SWEET POTATOES

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

4 T butter (½ stick), cut into 4 pieces

2 T milk

½ tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

2 lbs sweet potatoes (about 2 large or 3 medium-small potatoes), peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cut crosswise into 1/4 inch thick slices.

Pinch ground black pepper

1. Combine the butter, milk, salt, sugar, and sweet potatoes in a 3 to 4-quart saucepan. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes fall apart when poked with a fork, 35 to 45 minutes.

2. Off the heat, mash the sweet potatoes with an immersion blender. Stir in the pepper and serve immediately.

Skillet-roasted potatoes

I usually make the skillet-roasted potatoes or the skillet-roasted potatoes with chili and cumin. Don't stir constantly or you won't get the really browned sides of the potatoes that makes this recipe so good. Serve skillet-roasted potatoes with chili and cumin with breakfast burritos. This recipe is from America's Test Kitchen.

SKILLET-ROASTED POTATOES

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ lbs small or medium red bliss potatoes, scrubbed and unpeeled

2 T olive oil (less)

2/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1. If using small potatoes (1 ½ - to 2-inch diameter), half each potato. If using medium potatoes (2- to 3-inch diameter), quarter each potato to create 3/4-to 1-inch chunks. Rinse potatoes in cold water and drain well; spread on clean kitchen towel and thoroughly pat dry.

2. Heat oil in heavy-bottomed 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add potatoes cut side down in a single layer;cook, without stirring, until golden brown (oil should sizzle but not smoke), 5 to 7 minutes. Using tongs, turn potatoes skin side down if using halved small potatoes, or second cut side if using quartered medium potatoes; cook, without stirring, until deep golden brown, 5 to 6 minutes longer. Stir potatoes, then redistribute in a single layer. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until potatoes are tender (paring knife can be inserted into potatoes with no resistance, 6 to 9 minutes.

3. When potatoes are tender, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss or stir gently to combine; serve immediately.

SKILLET-ROASTED POTATOES WITH GARLIC AND ROSEMARY

Combine 1 ½ tsp minced garlic or pressed garlic and 2 tsp fresh minced rosemary in a small bowl. Follow recipe for skillet-roasted potatoes; after seasoning potatoes with salt and pepper in step 3, clear center of skillet and add garlic and rosemary mixture. Cook over medium heat, mashing with heatproof rubber spatula, until fragrant, about 45 seconds, then stir the mixture into potatoes.

SKILLET-ROASTED POTATOES WITH LEMON AND CHIVES

Combine 2 tsp grated lemon zest and 2 T minced fresh chives in small bowl. Follow the recipe for skillet-roasted potatoes with salt and pepper in step 3, stir in lemon zest and chives into potatoes.

SPICY SKILLET-ROASTED POTATOES WITH CHILI AND CUMIN

Stir together 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp sweet paprika, ½ tsp ground cumin, and 1/4 tsp cayenne in a small bowl. Follow recipe for skillet roasted potatoes, substituting chili mixture for black pepper and cooking seasoned potatoes over medium-low heat until spices are fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Oven Roasted Chili Sweet Potato Fries

Even people who don’t like sweet potatoes (like my sister) like this recipe. The spicy and sweet combination is nice. They are very toddler friendly with just salt, pepper and oil. Last time I made these I baked them 25 minutes and had the oven temperature at 450 for the last 15 minutes. This recipe is from Everyday Foods.

OVEN ROASTED CHILI SWEET POTATO FRIES (or wedges)

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ lbs (2 to 3 medium) sweet potatoes

2 T olive oil

1 T sugar

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp coarse salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425. Cut each potato lengthwise (with skin on) into 8 wedges; halve long wedges crosswise or cut into fries.

2. On a large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or without), toss potatoes with oil, sugar, chili powder, salt, and pepper, until coated or toss in a bowl first. Arrange wedges cut side down or spread out fries on a half sheet pan or cookie sheets.

3. Roast potatoes until browned and tender, 15-20 minutes. Season with additional salt if desired before serving.

Potato Soup

This is a real crowd pleaser. From Epicurious.

POTATO SOUP

INGREDIENTS

4 1/2 pounds russet (baking) potatoes (about 4)

3 1/2 cups chicken broth (2 cans)

6 slices of bacon

1 onion, chopped coarse

12 mushrooms, chopped coarse

2 cup milk

8 oz cream cheese, cut into bits and softened

In a kettle combine the potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch Pieces, with the broth and simmer the mixture, covered for 20 Minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Remove the kettle from the heat and in the kettle mash the potatoes with the potato masher. Whlie the potatoes are cooking, in a large skillet cook the bacon over moderate heat until it is crisp and transfer it to paper towels and drain. Crumble the bacon into ½ inch pieces and reserve it. Add the onion and mushrooms to the fat remaining in the skillet and cook mixture over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the onion is softened. Add the reserved bacon and the onion mixture to the potato mixture. Stir in the milk, the cream cheese, and salt and pepper to taste, and heat the soup over moderate heat, stirring until the cream cheese is melted and the soup is combined well (do not let the soup boil).

Makes 4 ½ cups, serving 4 to 5.