Pommes Anna - Potato Cake

Up for a challenge? Well here it is. 2 ingredients, that’s it! Well, not really. The problem to conquer is the cake, molding it, and having it come out in one piece. I recommend a 8” diameter oven/stove-top safe skillet or pot as it will build a compact and tall cake. Larger diameter is ok but it will be a little harder. This is a Julia Child recipe that I adore and make 1x per year. It is heavenly and well worth the effort. This recipe serves 4-6.

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees, middle to lower rack.

2. 3 lbs russet potatoes, yes more starch the better. If possible, pick out potatoes all the same size. Peel and slice 1/4- 1/8” thick. Don’t wash. You want that starch to help you bind the cake. Dry the potatoes with a paper towel and have at ready.

3. 1/2 lb butter (2 sticks). Melt and clarify it. If you want to skip the clarification, buy some ghee. Layer 1/4” of clarified butter in pan/pot over medium heat. Once butter is hot, get ready.

4. READ THIS A FEW TIMES. Quickly, put one potato slice in middle, then in a clockwise pattern lay overlapping slices in a circle around the one in the middle. And continue to build out larger circles until you reach the edge. Drizzle a spoonful of butter on this layer and if desired, sprinkle some salt and pepper. Do the same thing for the next layer but build a circle of potatoes counterclockwise. Keep repeating this procedure until you run out of potatoes switching back between clockwise and counterclockwise. Make sure you shake the pan/pot from time to time so potatoes don’t stick to bottom.

5. Take a smaller pan or pot, butter/oil the bottom. Now use this to push down hard on the potatoes. Cover the pot and put potatoes in the oven. Put a pan underneath in case any butter spills out. No need to have a fire in your oven… Anyway - Cook 20 minutes.

6. Take a smaller pot/pan and push down on the potatoes again. Cook, uncovered 25 minutes. Press down again toward the end of the baking.

7. Take pot out of oven and carefully, tilt the pot/pan to drain any excess butter. Run a spatula around the edge of the potatoes. Shake the pan. Now do you best with this and the rest of the recipe.

8. Unmold the cake. Safely, take a flat plate or cooking pan, cover the pot. Invert pot. If any potatoes stick, do you best to mold back into the cake.

9. If desired, you can add cheese, sour cream and other accents.

Eat.Drink.Savor.

Twice Baked Stuffed Potatoes

Wow! Look at these potatoes! A family favorite! The best part of this recipe? You can experiment with the ingredients. Have fun!

1) Bake 4 whole potatoes as you normally would or grill cut sides down to sear. Put on indirect side of grill to finish cooking. Let potatoes cool and cut in half. Scoop out a majority of the potato into a bowl without piercing the skin. Mash the potato up.

2) In the bowl, mix in 3/4C sour cream, 1/2C whole milk. Mix in 1/2C minced ham and 3/4C gruyere (Swiss) cheese, 2 tsp of Dijon mustard. Salt and pepper to taste. If it is a little dry, you can add more milk or cream. It is easy to make it soupy so be careful.

3) Put mixture back into the potato halves. Sprinkle 3/4C of cheese on them and put in 350 oven/grill for about 15 minutes to melt the cheese and warm the mixture.

Oh my!! The potatoes can be made up 1-2 days ahead so a very versatile recipe. Have fun the ingredients and how you bake the potatoes. Eat.Drink.Savor.!

Gnocchi

This dish is really growing on me and it is so much easier than making other types of pasta. Basically, they are flour and potato dumplings. You can deviate like I did here with the beets but here is the base which you can work your magic:

1) 65% (say 500 g) Boiled, dry, starchy russet potatoes, 35% AP flour (300 g) or what I use, semolina. 1 egg, pinch of salt.

2) Mash or grate the potatoes and mix with the flour, then start to incorporate the egg to make a dough. Don’t knead too much or the gnocchi will get dense.

3) Roll out the dough into ropes. Cut into 1” pieces. You can leave them alone or build ridges which help your sauce bind to it. Roll them on the back of a fork. I used my cooling rack but you get the idea. Put in fridge until you are ready to cook or you can freeze them.

4) Cook fresh or frozen gnocchi in salted, boiling water for about 2-4 minutes and they are floating. Put on your favorite sauce. Buon Appetito!

Eat.Drink.Savor.