Cook seeks potato and egg ideas, singly or in combos
You are a welcome presence on the other side of this page, and as is Fare Exchangers’ custom, we expect some of you to head to your recipe file for solutions to today’s requests.
St. Elmo Reader is pondering kitchen questions. “I made riced potatoes for Easter dinner, and they didn’t sell well. So now I am thinking of what else I could do with potatoes. One thing that occurred to me was a frittata, mixing potatoes and eggs and vegetables. I am open to other ideas for potatoes and eggs, maybe even latkes.”
Can you all help?
FUDGY SAUCES
Mary Katherine O’Kelley served up a semifamous chocolate sauce for us this morning. “For decades, Chattanoogans have loved my great-aunt, Miss Gertrude Oehmig’s, chocolate sauce. I love to give it as a hostess gift; no one ever turns it down.”
She added that it is “an old but never fail to please recipe.”
Miss Gertrude’s Chocolate Sauce
4 ounces bitter chocolate 1/2 cup boiling water 2 cups granulated sugar 1/4 stick butter Pinch of salt
7 ounces evaporated milk 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
extract
In a double boiler, let the chocolate melt with the boiling water to dissolve and make a smooth paste. Add the sugar, and let cook until it dissolves. Add the butter, salt, milk and vanilla. Cook until everything is hot and a nice consistency. Serve warm over ice cream or cake. Store in the refrigerator in a jar, ready to be heated and served anytime.
A second sauce, and very similar, came from Mary Ann McInturff. In copying it for us she admitted, “This recipe is making my mouth water for a hot fudge sundae.” This version contains cocoa.
Hot Fudge Sauce
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa 1 (5-ounce) can
evaporated milk 2 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine sugar and cocoa. Add evaporated milk and butter. Bring to boil; boil 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
Sauce may be refrigerated to be reheated later. It will not get hard in the refrigerator.
APRICOT CAKE
Another version of apricot nectar cake came also from Ms. McInturff’s capacious files.
Apricot Nectar Cake
1 box lemon cake mix 4 eggs
3/4 cup oil (preferably
canola)
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup apricot nectar
1 cup powdered sugar Juice of 1 lemon
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Mix all ingredients well, and pour into greased and floured tube or Bundt pan. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cool about 20 minutes, and turn out of pan.
Make glaze of confectioners sugar and juice of 1 lemon. Pour over cooled cake.
POTATO SALAD
Your request for the unforgettable Shapiro’s Deli potato salad has not produced the real thing … yet. But Euela Laubenheim did a little digging and found this recipe that sounds very similar. “The notes for this recipe recommended a mandoline to slice the potatoes, and that seems like a great idea.”
New York Deli Potato Salad
New York Deli potato salad is a simple side dish that combines thinly sliced potatoes with a vinegar brine, mayonnaise, and shredded carrot and parsley for garnish.
For the brine:
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup onion, grated
1 1/4 teaspoons fine sea
salt
3/4 teaspoon white pepper
In a large bowl, whisk together all of the brine ingredients, and set aside.
For the potatoes:
3 1/2 pounds new potatoes
or Yukon Gold
3/4 cup mayonnaise, plus more to achieve a smooth consistency 1/2 small carrot shredded,
for garnish 3 tablespoons flat-leaf Italian parsley for garnish
Place the potatoes in a large pot, and cover with water. Bring the potatoes to a boil, and cook until almost fork-tender.
Drain the potatoes, and run under cold water to cool them enough to handle. Peel the potatoes and chop into smaller pieces, then slice them into 1/8-inch or thinner pieces. You can use a mandoline for this process.
Place the potatoes in a flat baking dish, then pour the brine on top. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight (for even better flavor, wait 2 days). Halfway through the refrigeration process, mix the potatoes to evenly coat them with the brine.
For the potato salad: The next day, drain the potatoes of excess brine.
Place the potatoes into a bowl, and mix with 3/4 cup of mayonnaise to start. Add more mayo until a smooth creamy consistency has been achieved. Taste-test and season with a bit more salt and pepper if required, but you shouldn’t need much. Garnish with carrot and parsley.
Notes: ›
The key to getting that New York deli flavor is the brine. If you can wait, let the potatoes sit in the brine for 2 days before mixing with mayo. This is how most delis do it. ›
White pepper can be used for appearance. ›
Leftovers can be saved for up to 5 days and taste even better after a few days.
Nutrition information: 294 calories, 37.8 grams carbohydrates, 2.9 grams protein, 15.3 grams fat (2.6 grams saturated), 6 milligrams cholesterol, 468 milligrams sodium, 663 milligrams potassium, 3.9 grams fiber, 10.3 grams sugar, 20 milligrams calcium, 1 milligram iron.
CHICKEN DIPPER
As we still await Shapiro’s official version, Gigi Gross joined in the reminiscing about that downtown eatery. “I too can taste the potato salad from Shapiro’s and wish I had some right now. I have never been able to come up with that taste, and yes the aroma from the minute you walked into the deli.”
Ooltewah Anonymous did some sleuthing for a copycat version of Guthrie’s sauce (you asked), and found a pretty simple formula. “I will definitely double the ingredients, as ¾ cup of the sauce wouldn’t be enough for our family.”
Copycat Guthrie’s Sauce for Chicken Fingers
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon
Worcestershire sauce 1 tablespoon black
pepper, divided Optional: Frank’s Red-Hot Sauce to taste
Mix first 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Grind fresh ground pepper onto the sauce until the top is covered. Stir. Repeat another coating of pepper. Stir. Let sit for 2 hours for flavors to mingle. Serve.
And now to the work: Cook. Serve. Enjoy … both the food and your companions.