western potato rounds

This is a PC recipe that I have enjoyed but when I shared it with Dawn, she really did like it, as did her friends (the Friday Party People). Dawn called for it again just now cuz she thought it was on our family blog and it wasn't. So I'll post it here and she can add pictures. Try it...I am sure you'll really like it.

2 large unpeeled baking potatoes vegetable oil 1 cup Co-Jack Cheese, shredded 6 bacon slices, crisply cooked, drained, crumbled 1/3 cup green onion, slices 1/3 cup barbecue sauce 1 Preheat oven to 450. Using Garnisher, cut pototoes into 1/4" thick slices. Using Kitchen Spritzer, generously spray both sides of potato slices with oil; place on 15" round baking stone. Bake 20 minutes or til lightly browned' remove from oven. 2 In 1-qt. batter bowl, combine cheese, bacon and green onion. Using Pastry Bursh, generously brush potato slices with bbq sauce; sprinkle with cheese mixture. Return potato slices to oven. Bake 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

loaded Baked Potato Chowder (PC)

Ingredients:
3 baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 lb/1.1 kg)

3 1/2 cups (875 mL) milk, divided

4 oz (125 g) cream cheese, softened

2 tbsp (30 mL) butter

2-3 green onions with tops (1/4 cup/50 mL sliced)

4 oz (125 g) sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) salt

1/2 tsp (2 mL) coarsely ground black pepper

Optional toppings such as chopped cooked bacon, sour cream or steamed broccoli florets


Directions:
1. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise with Santoku Knife; place in Deep Covered Baker. Pour 1/2 cup (125 mL) of the milk over potatoes. Microwave, covered, on HIGH 11 minutes. Remove baker from microwave. Move center potatoes to ends of baker and outer potatoes to center. Cover; microwave on HIGH 8-11 minutes or until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. Remove baker from microwave. Coarsely mash potatoes with Mix 'N Chop.

2. Meanwhile, whisk cream cheese until smooth in Classic Batter Bowl. Slowly add remaining 3 cups (750 mL) milk, whisking until smooth. Add cream cheese mixture and butter to baker. Microwave, covered, on HIGH 3-5 minutes or until mixture is hot. Slice green onions with Chef's Knife.

3. Carefully remove baker from microwave. Grate cheddar cheese over chowder using Rotary Grater; add green onions, salt and black pepper and mix using Small Mix 'N Scraper(R) until cheese is melted. Serve with toppings, if desired.

Yield: 6 servings (8 cups/2 L)

Nutrients per serving: (about 1 1/3 cups/325 mL): Calories 390, Total Fat 19 g, Saturated Fat 11 g, Cholesterol 65 mg, Carbohydrate 43 g, Protein 14 g, Sodium 880 mg, Fiber 3 g

Cook's Tip: For a lighter version, omit butter. Substitute fat-free (skim) milk, reduced-fat (Neufchâtel) cheese and light cheddar for the 2% milk and full-fat cheeses.



U.S. Nutrients per serving: Calories 300, Total Fat 8 g, Saturated Fat 5 g, Cholesterol 30 mg, Carbohydrate 43 g, Protein 16 g, Sodium 890 mg, Fiber 3 g

Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries and Friday Night Leftovers

Let me begin by making a quick confession:

I like Southern cuisine (as long as there's no seafood involved).

And the sweet potato seems to be quite the staple in Southern dishes. That and okra, which tends to have a slimy, weird texture that I'd rather not think about. People down here seem to find many, many uses for sweet potatoes, a delicacy I had not encountered until college... in a dining hall, no less. Since that fateful day in 1999, I have done my homework on this fabulous root vegetable.

I present to you a few fun facts on the sweet potato (whose color just so happens to go well with the color scheme of my favorite holiday-guess which one):

--Sweet potatoes are native to tropical parts of South America and were domesticated there 5000 years ago!

--Sweet potatoes were grown before Western exposure to the Polynesian Islands, possibly by travelers in airtight boats (I added that last part)

-The genus that contains the sweet potato is manifested in flower form as Morning Glories.

see Wikipedia for more exciting info on the Sweet Potato (c'mon, you know you want to!)

Tonight, we needed some Friday Night food, so rather than elbow our way through Atlanta's notoriously bad traffic, we stayed home, we took our leftover London Broil meat
(see Yorkshire Pudding Post), we made sandwiches similar to Phillies, and we topped it off with

Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil greased with cooking spray.

Halve the sweet potatoes lengthwise and cut each half into long spears. (Soak in cold water for 20-30 minutes before continuing for crispy texture outside. Drain well and pat dry.) Place the potato spears on the sheet pan and toss with olive oil. Spread them in a single layer. Combine the brown sugar, salt, and pepper and sprinkle on the potatoes. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn with a spatula or tongs. Bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and serve hot.

As for the Philly-ish Subs, I took some London broil meat, turned it over to Hank to chop with his meat cleaver, sauteed some mushrooms with a dash of lemon juice to make it pop, along with some onions to keep Hank feeling stable, toasted the inside of a couple of sub rolls, tossed Muenster cheese in the mix, and then ATE THE TAR OUT OF IT!

It was good, so good. And this post has grown long, so long...