Cilantro-Jalapeno Latkes with Chipotle Sour Cream

photo from Cooking Light Magazine
When I was in high school, my Mom decided that our family should be celebrating-or at least learning about- Hanukkah. She invited one of my Jewish friends (Sheryl Ziff) over to teach us about the festival of lights. At first I was a little embarrassed. I mean, c'mon Mooo-oooo-ooooom. You don't talk about miracles with your high school friends while your little brothers and sisters sit around giggling in a semicircle, do you? Do you? Huh? But as usual, mother knows best. I loved hearing my sweet, smart friend explain some of the beliefs and customs of her religion. It was inspiring, like any miracle I accepted in my own religion. For the record, my grinning brothers and sisters in the semicircle loved it too. Later my parents went on a trip to Israel and bought a menorah, a dreidl and some of the other customary Hanukkah gear. We were outfitted to become honorary Jews, at least during Hanukkah. So we kept on celebrating. Last month, on our trip to Israel, I bought my own menorah in the old city of Jerusalem. (My little brother Jack talked the vendor down to two for $26, and we split the deal.) I couldn't find a dreidl (can you believe that?), but I still have the pathetic one I made from cardboard fifteen years ago. Eh, it works. But most important, we have latkes, my friends. If you have to choose between menorahs, dreidles and latkes, go with latkes everytime. I'm petty sure you can't have Hanukkah without them. I just found this spicy, super-hip (guaranteed to impress high school friends for sure) latkes studded with slices of jalapeno in Cooking Light Magazine. Oh, all right, you can leave out the peppers if you didn't grow up on burnt tongues in southern California. But make these latkes! And get out your candles and get celebrating. A miracle always calls for a party. And for the record, our moms are right about ev-er-y-thing. It is pointless to resist. (I'm talking to you, Sailor!) Notes: Latkes are good, cheap peasant food. Potatoes, onions and oil are the star ingredients, so these will cost you mere pennies to make. Also-I was concerned that the potatoes would discolor after draining for 30 minutes. They got a bit pinkish initially, but once I mixed them with the eggs they returned to pristine white.
Cilantro Jalapeno Latkes with Chipotle Sour Cream
Estimated Cost: $4.00 for six servings
6 tablespoons light sour cream
1 tablespoon chopped chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
3/4 teaspoon grated lime rind
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
6 cups shredded peeled baking potato (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 cup grated fresh onion
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons finely chopped seeded jalapeño pepper
1 large egg
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
Preparation
1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring well. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
2. Combine potato and onion in a colander. Drain 30 minutes, pressing occasionally with the back of a spoon until barely moist. Combine potato mixture, flour, and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl; toss well.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Spoon 1/4 cup potato mixture loosely into a dry measuring cup. Pour mixture into pan; flatten slightly. Repeat the procedure 5 times to form 6 latkes. Sauté 3 1/2 minutes on each side or until golden brown and thoroughly cooked. Remove latkes from pan; keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining 2 tablespoons oil and potato mixture to yield 12 latkes total. Serve with sour cream mixture.

Next Up:

Holiday Baking Tips from Nestle's Very Best Baking

Late Summer Garden Harvest Dinner

Did you have a safe and happy Labor Day weekend? We spent the weekend with my youngest sister Mary Kate, her husband Adam, and their five children. Also present were my parents, and my sister Heidi and husband Mikey, with their four children. All in all, there were 8 adults and 11 kids. The little girls spent the weekend putting on a production of the musical, Annie. They all took turns playing the part of Annie, in democratic style. By the way, I was cast as Miss Lily St. Regis with my Quiet Man as Rooster Hannigan. He surprised me by hamming it up more than just a little bit. And me, well, I didn't take three years of high school acting for nothin'. Thanks, Mr. Byers, you taught me everything I know.

As for the little boys, they spent the weekend collecting sticks and rocks, wrestling, and trying to heckle the Annie actresses.

Ah, it was a great weekend. I think I could put on a play every weekend, provided I was just given Monday off. Pretty please. A looong break makes the week much easier to face.

Speaking of long breaks, our garden is just about to take a hiatus until next spring. I'm going to miss my backyard bounty, especially those juicy red tomatoes, the golden corn, and the crisp green beans. Last week, I fixed a dinner of all of my favorite summer garden vegetables. It's not a farewell, not quite yet, but you can tell it's coming. Here's what we had:

Avocado and Tomato Salad with Lime Drizzle

Buttered Corn on the Cob

Green Beans and Red Potatoes in Cream

Roasted Tomatoes with Breadcrumbs and Olive Oil

If you're feeling really ambitious, a nice crisp or cobbler would be ideal for dessert. Especially with your last batch of homemade ice cream.

Money Saving Tips: Use what you've got from the garden, or hit up the farmer's market. You can use any variety of tomatoes, even cherry or grape. Just shorten the cooking time. Use other thin skinned potatoes, if red are expensive this week.

Tomato and Avocado Salad with Lime Drizzle

Estimated Cost: $3.50 for four servings

1 small avocado, sliced

2 tomatoes, sliced

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

juice of one lime

2 teaspoons olive oil

Layer avocado, tomato, and cilantro on plate. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle with lime juice and olive oil.

Grandma Darland's Red Potatoes and Green Beans

Estimated Cost: $3.00 for 4 servings

2 lbs. red potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces

1/2 lb. green beans, cut into one inch pieces

1/2-3/4 cup cream of half and half

Place potatoes in cold water in a large pot. Salt water. Bring to a boil. Cook for about eight minutes, or until potatoes are almost tender. Add green beans and cook until just tender and bright green. Drain well. Return to pot. Add cream, mashing a few potatoes with a fork. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Roasted Tomatoes with Bread Crumbs and Olive Oil

Estimated Cost: $3.00 for 4 servings

4 red ripe tomatoes, halved

olive oil, for drizzling

1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs (made from 1-2 pieces of bread)

1 clove minced garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 4000 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment. Place tomatoes, cut side up, on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake for 25 minutes. In a small bowl, combine crumbs, garlic, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Bake an additional ten minutees, or until crumbs are toasted.

Next Up:

Peanut Butter and Honey Popcorn

Creamy Potato Soup in the Slow Cooker

One thing that irks me about some slow cooker recipes is when you are asked to first brown all ingredients in a pot on the stove. For Pete's sake, if I'm going to dirty a pot, I'm going to cook the whole meal in it, start to finish. I know they have slow cookers now that can also brown meats, but I don't have one and I'll have to wait till my circa 1995 crockpot bites the dust before I will lay out more cash for the latest model. For now, if a recipe asks me to cook everything in a pot on the stove, then transfer it to my slow cooker, it doesn't make it into my mealtime repertoire. I categorically refuse to wash two pots for what ought to be a one pot meal.

I have extra justification for my refusal this week. My sink developed a nasty case of slow drip this week. Drip....drip....drip. At first, if I turned the faucet just right, it was an even slower drip. Drip............drip......................drip. But then, it surrendered to dripdripdrip and it had to be addressed. The Quiet Man put on a manly plaid shirt and curled up under the sink for all of Friday night. I was standing close at hand, worried about my sink full of dishes that I desperately wanted to wash so that I could feel that Friday night/peace with the world kind of feeling. At nine thirty plaid-clad Quiet Man informed me that he needed a special part to be able to fix the sink, so would I kindly check Home Depot on-line to see if it was open. Open till ten, I reported. Meanwhile, West found an old flyswatter in the junk that his Dad emptied from under the sink, so he naturally began to chase his sister around the house, who tripped over her Dad who was laying with his face inside the cupboard, fixing the sink. Sailor should seriously consider a career in voice-overs for radio murder mysteries; she can scream, shriek and wail like no body's business. Except I think people would change the radio station, at least I would have if I could have. WAAAAAAAAA!!!!!! MOOOOOMMMMMMMY!!!! HE'S CHAAAAASING ME WITH A FLYYYYYYY SWAAAAAAATER!!!!! We piled all of the ear-shattering chaos into the minivan and raced towards Home Depot, which was naturally dark, quiet, and closed since 9 o'clock. I know we're not supposed to believe everything we read on the Internet, but I thought the Home Depot website would have a little integrity. Didn't they know that a sink full of dirty dishes and my sanity were hanging in the balance?

Just a little peek into my platform for a minimum of dirty dishes. And with that, I'll share my Creamy Potato Soup in the slow cooker. This soup is satisfying, velvety and creamy. The rich flavor comes from a roux that would require dirtying another pan, but I've created a shortcut using a kneaded flour and butter mixture. I've tinkered and reduced cream and butter to the maximum I could get away with and still create a luxurious texture and mouth feel. You'll love the ease of preparing it, the taste of the soup, and the one (crock) pot clean up when you're done. And incidentally, my sink is working again. I think I'll give it the day off, to celebrate.

Money Saving Tips:

Use any potato that is on sale at your grocer's. Idaho russets are delicious, but Yukon gold and red potatoes make a very creamy soup, too. You can use baby carrots to save yourself peeling time. Swap out bouillon cubes for the broth. You can use low fat milk, but you might want to increase the butter a bit if you do.

Creamy Potato Soup in the SlowCooker

Estimated Cost: $ 5.00 for four large servings

Notes: Roughly chop your vegetables, since you'll mash them down later.

1 onion, chopped

4 carrots, peeled and chopped

6 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped (I used Yukon gold)

5 cups chicken or vegetable broth

2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley, or 1 tablespoon dried

2 tablespoons softened butter

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 -3/4 cream, half and half, whole milk, evaporated milk, or evaporated fat free milk

salt and pepper to taste

In a slow cooker, place the onion, carrots, potatoes, broth and parsley. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours. Use a potato mashed to crush the potatoes and vegetables to an almost smooth consistency. In a small bowl, combine butter and flour until smooth. Using a wire whisk, combine butter mixture with soup, whisking until smooth. Pour in cream and heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately. IMPORTANT: If you are using milk in place of the cream, do not let the soup boil after adding.

Up Next:

Beef and Barley Soup in the Slow Cooker

Super Easy Hot and Cheesy Potatoes and Smoky Orange and Honey Barbecue Sauce

Happy Memorial Day Weekend! We have lots of family coming to soak up some sun, sit by my parent's pool (across the street from my house), and watch our little human tadpoles splash around. I'm planning on joining in the poolside revelry, which means food prep has to be kept to a lazy minimum. I'm happy spending the whole day in the kitchen on cold holidays, like Christmas and Thanksgiving, but on warm holidays it feels like indentured servitude to be slaving over a hot stove. So save yourself some work and some pennies and follow my lead to a delicious Memorial Day feast.

Here's what we're having:

Smoky Orange and Honey Barbecued Chicken

Hot and Cheesy Potatoes

Corn on the Cob

From our Garden Spinach Salad with Homemade Ranch

Lemonade

Ice Cream Cones

Buttermilk Brownies

It might seem counter intuitive to serve hot potatoes at the official summer kick off weekend, but they are always a huge hit. I kid you not, I've made these AND potato salad AND put out potato chips for barbecues, and these hot potatoes always go first. (And then there are people like me, who take a heaping scoop of all three, and then go back for seconds.) They couldn't be simpler to put together; no peeling, no pre-cooking, and they always come out perfect.

I'm also including a recipe for my Smoky Orange and Honey Barbecue Sauce that you can throw together and slather on some chicken. It's heavenly and miles above any bottled sauce. It's got tang, sweetness, spice, smoke, and overall fabulous balance. Have barrels of fun and be safe. Put on your sunscreen and eat your veggies and call your mother. See you after the weekend!

Super Easy Hot and Cheesy Potatoes

Estimated Cost: $4.00 to serve 6

Notes: Don't make these ahead of time or the potatoes will turn brown. Sometimes I make a double batch by using the same size of pan but making four layers of potatoes, then increasing the cooking time by 30 minutes.

about 6 medium potatoes, unpeeled, scubbed

1 onion

about 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

about 3/4 cup -1 cup half and half

Coat a 9 by 13 inch baking dish with no stick cooking spray. Thinly slice 3 of the potatoes and layer on the bottom of dish. Sprinkle with half of the onion and season generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with half of the cheese. Repeat with remaining potatoes, onions, and cheese. Pour in half and half at the corners to cover the bottom. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 350 for about 1 hour or a little longer until potatoes are tender. Sprinkle with green onions for garnish, if desired.

Smoky Orange and Honey Barbecue Sauce

Estimated Cost: $2.00

Notes: Set aside half of the sauce to pass at the table. Always be careful to not dip any utensils in the sauce that have been in contact with raw meat juices. Just a little public service announcement. If you don't have a grill, you can dump all the sauce and a few chicken breasts into a crockpot. Yum!
3/4 ketchup

1/4 cup dijon

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup honey

2 tablesooons worcestershire

juice and zest of one orange

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon-1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Combine all ingredients in medium skillet. Simmer for fifteen minutes. Store in refrigerator for up to one month.

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Chipster Topped Brownies

Twice Baked Potato Appetizers

This is my brother-in law Adam and my littlest sister Mary Kate. (Aren't they cute? And they're nice, too. To know them is to love them.) Adam is living every man's dream today at the Super Bowl, having won a trip at work. It was probably a most popular or best personality or most likely to make everyone love you any contest. But Adam says it was something to do with sales, or some other something that I don't know anything about. Congratulations for whatever it was, Adam, you lucky dog. I was planning to make the five hour drive to visit the lonesome but ever charming Mary Kate for the weekend. (If it had been a cutest couple contest then she could have gone too.) We were going to have our own Super Exciting Unbelievably Thrilling Super Bowl party. A Super Exciting Unbelievably Thrilling food Super Bowl Party, not a Super Exciting Unbelievably Thrilling football Super Bowl party. Except last weekend I got sick with the flu, and while I was moaning on the couch, I started to notice my unmopped floors, the dust on the ceiling fan, my stack of ungraded papers dating back to 1987, and the sprig of holly on the cuckoo clock, and the Star Wars figurines under the ottoman, and the overdue library books, and the 172 Polly Pocket shoes and accesories in the couch crevasses, and I started to moan some more and went back to bed. And I decided to stay home for the weekend and work, which I don't like to make a habit of. So now poor Mary Kate is forced to have her own lonesome Super Exciting Unbelievably Thrilling food Super Bowl party. Alone, with her four children under the age of 9. And if that doesn't make for Super Exciting Unbelievable Thrills, then I don't know what does. The food had better be good.

Here's something to get the party started, Mary Kate! I know you'll love it and I promise to come for a visit soon!

For my fellow penny pinchers, there's hardly an appetizer in the world that will ring in cheaper than the humble potato. Depending on what you put inside, you could potentially spend less than $5.00 for a hearty scrumptious dozen.

Bake the potatoes until tender, about 1 hour at 375.

When cool enough to handle, halve them and scoop out about 2/3 of the insides. Place the potato flesh in a bowl, and mix it up with what you like. Some should be plain, with cheddar cheese, sour cream, butter, cream cheese, salt and pepper. Others might have a pinch of curry, chopped broccoli, green onions, cheddar and swiss cheese, and sour cream. My husband's favorite is chili-seasoned ground meat, cheddar cheese, salsa and sour cream. Put them back in the oven and bake for another 20 minutes, or until hot and melty.

Now, give them a garnish that offers a clue to what's inside the potato. Some people would rather die than unexpectedly bit into some broccoli. Three of those people live at my house. So it's best to give them fair warning with a visible florette.

Up Next:

World Peace Cookies

Cowboy Shepherd's Pie with Summer Vegetables and Cheddar Potatoes

I love getting comments and feedback from my readers. It makes the daily hours of blogging worth while. So pipe up!
If you've got a recipe that's giving you trouble, or you need ideas about menu planning for parties, or info on how to utilize a certain ingredient, leave me a comment or shoot me an email at vsmylroie@aol.com. I am Prudence Pennywise, your humble servant. I've had a reader request for updated recipes ideas using ground beef. Ground beef can be an economical (shop sales!) and with today's lean cuts, a healthful way of feeding a family. And it goes way beyond hamburgers. (But I love those, too.) I've toyed around with the classic, ever-popular Shepherd's Pie to include some summery vegetables and flavors, like corn, zucchini, and barbecue sauce. It's tough to resist the mashed potato and melted cheddar topping. This is a great make ahead Sunday late lunch, or a fun weeknight dinner; it's a stick to your ribs, homey and comfortable, man pleasin' kind of casserole. I baked mine in individual portions, just for fun, and also to have a few easy lunches to pop into the freezer.
Money Saving Tips: Always stock up on lean ground beef on sale, to be sure you're getting a good deal. You can use leftover corn from the cob here, or frozen or canned kernels. The zucchini here is optional, so if you can grab some from your garden, toss it in.

Cowboy Shepherd's Pie with Summer Vegetables and Cheddar Potatoes
Estimated Cost: $7.50 for 6 hearty servings
Notes: For a vegetarian version, replace the meat with two (15 ounce) cans of drained black beans.
1 and 1/2 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper
1 lb. lean ground beef (or turkey)
1 medium zucchini, chopped (optional)
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup smoky barbecue sauce
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 and 1/2 cups corn, fresh or frozen, thawed
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
chopped cilantro or scallions, for garnish

Place potatoes in a large pot of coled water over medium high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer. Cook potatoes for about 13 minutes, or until tender. Drain potatoes and mash with milk, butter, salt, and pepper. Set aside briefly. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease an 8 by 8 inch casserole. In a large saucepan, cook meat with zucchini, onions and garlic, breaking up with back of spoon, until meat is just cooked. Drain if necessary. Stir in barbecue sauce, mustard and brown sugar. Transfer to prepared casserole dish. Scatter corn evenly on top. Spread potatoes carefully over corn and sprinkle with cheese. (You can refrigerate this for up to 24 hours and bake it later, if desired.) Bake at 400 degrees, just until filling is bubbly and cheddar is nicely melted, about 25 minutes.

Coming Tomorrow:
August Corn Chowder and Soft Honey Wheat Rolls

Pennywise Tip

With the weather heating up and the air conditioning coming on, it seems counterproductive to crank up the oven. Did you know it only costs about 25 cents in energy to use your slow cooker? This week, try using your slow cooker to make baked potatoes. Wrap each potato individually in foil, poke with a fork and place in the slow cooker. That's it. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or on high for 3-5 hours. The spuds emerge hot, fluffy, and surrenderingly soft.

Serve them plain with butter as a side dish.Or stuff them with meat, veggies, and cheese and make it an easy meal. Either way, you're saving your pennies.