Lots of people don't know what lefsa is. Try telling them to use their lefsa to swipe up some lutefisk and see what kind of blank expressions you draw. Lutefisk might have been a nice side dish with these Viking looking Pepper Boats and it goes further back into Scandanavian and Baltic Cultures than Potatos do. Knadles by the way, can be Scandanavian cuisine too. Knadles are one of those things that immutably demonstrate the unbreakable relationship historically and culturally between two great cultures, despite their more tragic encounters. Potato Dumplings aka. Knadles are not however, the same as Matzo Balls aka. Knadles. Potato Dumpling Knadles often have bread crusts, diced onions and maybe diced peppers kneaded into them. While a Scandanavian would flatten their potato dough balls and pan fry them in butter, the other potato dough balls get dropped in boiling water or soup. Later, the thing to do with Knadles is to cover them in gravy like one would for Spaetzle as a side to something good like Rouladen or a Schnitzle. The basic ingedients for each, lefsa and knadles, can be very similar, especially if you have Scandanavian Knadles. Sweedish Meatballs and Knadles on a Pepper Boat anyone? I did a search on the internet for Pepper Boats and what do you know? I did not dream them up. Like many things, somebody else arrived at the idea before I did, though their version of Pepper Boats differ from what I created here. There's nothing like a little variety, the spice of life! Did I actually mention the name Darwin in this thread? Gosh, I guess I did ... Diversity is a good thing.

I know the LC pieces I have warn against heating past medium. I've pushed the envelope a bit occassionally, but I'd be hesitant to heat it "screaming hot." Lodge or other CI is cheap, LC is not. I'd not risk it. I like to sear in a skillet, too, One thing I've found is that this method is not ideal if there's a bone involved because the meat quickly shrinks enough to create a small airspace next to the bone. Wonder if others have had this problem. I also tend to like my strip side slightly more done than the tenderloin side, so that presents issues of its own. So I rarely buy Porterhouse, but I'll be happy to order it at a steak house that knows what they're doing better than I do. :) John - Glad your meal worked out. My guess is your "pretty ok" is "pretty excellent" by most people's standards. Interesting about your eel concoction. MC@H mentions using fish sauce to mimic some of the nuances of aged steak, but I don't recall if they marinate it for a while, or how long. Unfortunately I can't locate that cookbook (or much of anything cooking related) to look it up, as my kitchen is still not back together.

Ann_t, I've considered it but it isn't worth it for us. The Costcos are not close to us and driving to areas I don't normally visit aren't worth my time/energy/gas. I enjoy cooking but not every day. Our budget is generous for going out and that's what I most enjoy. I LOVE chicken fried steak! But it is possibly the worst thing in the world for you, LOL. Restaurant versions are okay, but The Real Thing is dynamite. I wrote up my mother's method one day, when I was doing a restaurant review of a cafe that did a decent chicken-fried steak we liked. My younger friends and family have never had this recipe, so I included it in my email as a humorous touch. BTW, I do not claim this is an authentic Southern Recipe. This is just how my JapAm mother made it when we were growing up in Chicago, after she learned it from the Mississippi AfrAms in our neighborhood: *The Traditional (e.g., home-cooked) Chicken Fried Steak Yes, this is another thing my Japanese-American mother learned to make from Southerners (Mississippians transplanted to Chicago, hence our familys love of sweet cornbread and really good fried chicken from the legendary Harolds in Chicago [you can look up Harolds Chicken in Wiki]). It can be eaten for dinner or breakfast. Or lunch. Or....well, you get the idea. Like most Southern food, it goes best with biscuits. Real biscuits, the kind made with white lard and even whiter soft wheat flour, rolled and cut with a biscuit cutter (what do you mean, youve never seen a biscuit cutter?!?) and served hot out of the oven with lots of butterc. Definitely not the fake Pillsbury-in-a-can stuff. To the day she died (at age 84), my mothers idea of heaven would have included a hot biscuit dripping with butter. Start with decent-sized pieces of beef, well trimmed of fat. Bottom round is ideal. The mechanically tenderized "cube steak" is sheer laziness and has the wrong texture. Traditionally the pieces of bottom round meat are pounded thin with the edge of a heavy china plate (okay, my mother did use a traditional meat mallet instead). Never, under any circumstances, do you use a wet batter. Never, ever! The egg and the flour do not mix together promiscuously in a bowl; this is a worse heresy than a mechanically tenderized steak. As you are pounding the steak pieces thin, you sprinkle them generously with seasoned flour. The flour, up to a cup or more, is pounded into each steak. "Seasoned", BTW, means salt and pepper. Thats it, no garlic (powder) or onion (same). Just lots of the evil white Mortons. Heres where you get a split between the thin batter-fried and the thick batter-fired recipes. My mother was a thin batter advocate, so she fried the steak after pounding it with the flour. The opposing camp sets out a beaten egg and a pan of more seasoned flour. The steak is dipped in egg and then in flour again, making a thicker batter coating. Either way you do it, next you fry the bacon remember I said there was another whole level to this dish? The bacon doesnt actually appear anywhere else in the recipe, so you probably just nosh on the crispy strips which youve fished out of all that bacon-y, salty, greasy artery-clogging saturated rendered fat. If you happen to have rendered bacon fat on hand, why are you reading this recipe? You already know how to make this. While youre chewing and swallowing bacon, you fry the steaks really crisp in the bacon grease. This is where most restaurants fail. Its bad enough they use some kind of healthy polyunsaturated oil but to make things worse, they dont cook it long enough to really get it dark brown. Drain them on newspaper in a warm oven, while you toss leftover flour into the pan to soak up the bacon grease of course you dont drain any of the fat out, why would you do something so silly when thats where all the flavor is stirring and scraping for a few minutes to cook the flour. Then in goes the evaporated milk whole milk, not that ridiculous reduced fat stuff just enough to make a thick gravy that holds in nice clumps on the spoon. Not glue-y, just very thick. Some people make a thin gravy, but not in our house. Oh, and more pepper, too. Serve with two fried eggs. Or maybe three. Or better yet, eggs and biscuits so you can chase all that yummy gravy around the plate to sop up every bit. Real biscuits, the kind made with white lard and even whiter soft wheat flour, rolled and cut with a biscuit cutter (what do you mean, youve never seen a biscuit cutter?!?) and served hot out of the oven with lots of butter handy. After that, you go clear out an entire field of cotton, or chop down every tree in the forest, for the next eight hours straight (as youve already worked five hours before lunch). The discovery of statins to lower cholesterol is obviously Gods way of saying that every American has a right to copious quantities of salt, fat, and cream, three times a day. Also sugar, but that goes into the coffee, tea, and peach cobbler.

* Posted by sally2 (My Page) on Tue, Nov 17, 09 at 20:26 I am getting so hungry reading all these recipes and posts! Here's the potato-fennel soup recipe I mentioned earlier. It was posted on this forum back, oh wow, exactly 3 years ago today, November 17, 2006, by Lynnalexndra. She said in the post that it was an Ina Garten recipe. Roasted Potato-Fennel Soup 4 pounds red potatoes, unpeeled and quartered 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons good olive oil 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 3 cloves) 1 tablepspoon kosher salt 2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper 4 cups choped yellow onions (4 onions) 4 cups chopped fennel bulb (about 2 pounds) 3 quarts chicken stock or water 1 cup heavy cream Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with 1/4 cup olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes, until cooked through. Saute the onions and fennel with 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large stock pot on medium heat until translucent, 10 - 15 minutes. Add the roasted potatoes (including the scrapings from the pan) and the chicken stock. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, until all the vegetables are very soft. Add the heavy cream and allow the soup to cool slightly. Pass the soup through the largest disk of a food mill or chop coarsely in batches in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. (I use an immersion blender). Taste for salt and pepper. Reheat and serve hot. This past weekend I made a different roasted potato soup which combined this cookalong with the squash one. I just made it up as I went along. I made a mistake or 2, but it ended up tasting quite good. One of the mistakes I made was cutting the squash up into too small of pieces. I tried peeling it before roasting, but the scalloped shape made that too frustrating, so I decided to roast it first, then scrape the squash out. Well, it was a pain to do since I had cut it up into small pieces. My goal was to get all the vegetables cut into fairly equal sizes. The second mistake was just not having the equipment. I didn't have my trusty immersion blender with me (we were at our Oklahoma house), so I couldn't puree the veggies. I was never able to smash up the onions, so they remained in pretty big pieces. We just called it country style. Next time I make this, I'll experiment with the size of squash pieces and use a blender. Roasted vegetable soup Pre heat oven to 375 degrees 1 acorn squash 2 russet potatoes 2 onions 1 bulb of garlic Olive Oil Salt and pepper to taste dried sage, around 1/2 to 1 teaspoon or to taste Cut up the potatoes and onions into similar sizes. If you can peel the squash ahead of time, that's great, otherwise, just cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, and place along side the other vegetables on a large baking sheet. Coat the veggies with olive oil, and sprinkle with the salt, pepper and sage. Bake until the veggies are barely tender, around 40 minutes to an hour, stirring them every 15 or 20 minutes. Towards the end of roasting time, in a large soup pan, bring some water to a boil, enough water to cover the vegetables. When the veggies are done roasting, add them into the boiling water. Scrape the squash pulp out of the skins and add to the pot, too. Stir and let simmer till the veggies are tender. Turn off heat and puree using an immersion blender if you have one, or just smash them with your spoon as best you can, which is what I did. That makes it more "country style." Enjoy. Sally o RE: Cookalong #15 ------------ POTATOES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by lakeguy35 (My Page) on Wed, Nov 18, 09 at 0:03 Nancy and all, glad to see the cookalongs are back!! Lots of great recipes above that I'll be saving and working my way through. I've loved these pancakes for years and finally found a copy cat recipes that I've been playing with. I add at least twice as much onion and double the parsley. Sour cream and applesauce are my choices to go on top of them. Perkin's Potatoe Pancakes Ingredients: 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup whole milk 4 eggs 3 tablespoons butter, melted 3 tablespoons sugar 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley 1 tablespoon minced onion 4 shredded fresh potatoes -or- 2 1/2 cups frozen hash browns (defrosted) Directions: Combine all of the ingredients, except for the potatoes, in a large mixing bowl. Beat by hand until smooth. Add the potatoes to the batter and mix by hand until the potatoes are combined. Let the batter rest while you preheat a skillet to about medium heat. Grease the pan with some butter. Ladle 1/4 cup scoops of batter into the pan. Cook as many at a time as will fit comfortably into your pan. Cook each pancake for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side until brown. David o RE: Cookalong #15 ------------ POTATOES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by wizardnm (My Page) on Thu, Nov 19, 09 at 22:20 Looking through the recipes that have been posted already, I can see that I will be using this thread many, many times. It's a good reminder of some of the very best uses of potatoes. Then I got to thinking that I didn't notice any basic potato salad recipes..... and what potato collection would be complete without potato salad. I also wanted to share a favorite soup, I make a double batch of this and take to my DM in 8oz freezer containers, every few months.... she loves it! I usually cut back the milk a bit so that it is almost like a side dish. Loaded Baked Potato Soup 4 lg baking potatoes, baked (Note: Plan ahead and bake the potatoes when convenient) 2/3 C butter 2/3 C flour 6 C milk 3/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp black pepper 4 green onions, chopped and divided 1 1/4 C grated cheddar cheese, divided 12 slices bacon (thick is best), cooked, crumbled and divided 1 8-oz carton sour cream (can use plain yogurt) ~Cut potatoes in half, scoop out the pulp and set aside. Discard skins (or make some potato skin snacks) ~Melt butter in a heavy saucepan, add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook 1 min., stirring constantly and gradually add milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick and bubbly. ~Add potato pulp, salt pepper, 2 tbsp of the green onion, 1/2 C bacon and 1 C cheese. Cook until thoroughly heated and stir in sour cream. Add extra milk for desired consistency. ~Garnish with remaining onion, bacon and cheese. Yield: about 10 cups. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Backwoods Basic Potato Salad 3# cooked and cooled red potatoes, chopped 4 hard boiled eggs, chopped 2 lg stalks of celery, chopped 6 green onions, chopped ¼ C sweet pickle relish Dressing 1½ C Hellman's (Best Foods) mayo 1 tsp celery seed 1 Tbsp vinegar 1 Tbsp sugar ½ tsp garlic powder 1 tsp salt ½ tsp pepper 1 tsp dry mustard Combine dressing ingredients and toss with potato mixture. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Backwoods Deli Style Potato Salad 3# red potatoes, cooked, cooled and chopped 2 stalks of celery, chopped 6 green onions, chopped ½ C chopped red pepper ½ C thin sliced radishes Dressing 1½ C Miracle Whip 2 Tbsp vinegar 2 Tbsp sugar 1 tsp celery seed 1-2 Tbsp prepared mustard Combine dressing ingredients and toss with potatoes and vegetables. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Blue Cheese Potato Salad 3# cooked red potatoes, cooled and chopped ¼ C dry white wine ½ tsp salt ¼ tsp pepper ½ C mayo (Hellman's) ½ C sour cream 1½ Tbsp Dijon mustard 4 oz. blue cheese, crumbled 3 green onions, chopped fine 1 C coarsely chopped celery In a large bowl combine potatoes, wine, salt and pepper. Let sit until the wine is absorbed by the potatoes, about 30 minutes. Combine mayo with remaining ingredients. Add to potatoes and stir well. Allow about 30 minutes for flavors to combine before serving. This blue cheese salad is great with a good steak or grilled tenderloin. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ranch Potato Salad 3# cooked red potatoes, cooled and chopped 5-6 green onions, chopped 6-8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled ½ C shredded cheddar cheese 1 envelope dry ranch dressing mix 1½ C Hellman's Mayo (sometimes I use part sour cream if I have it on hand) Toss together the potatoes, onions, bacon and cheddar. Combine the ranch dressing mix and mayo, pour over the potato mixture and stir to combine. Nancy o RE: Cookalong #15 ------------ POTATOES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by sally2 (My Page) on Sun, Nov 22, 09 at 22:55 Was this the weekend to do the cookalong? Did anybody else do it this weekend? I tried Lori's Gnocchi. It was the first time I've ever eaten them, and certainly the first time to make them, but that was half the fun! I think I need more practice, but DH really enjoyed them, so I don't think he'll object to me practicing on him. I did the sage butter sauce that she recommended. Very simple but quite delicious. On the side, I served a spinach salad with dried cranberries, shallots, shredded carrots and toasted almonds, and a vinaigrette made from Trader Joes Orange Mango Vinegar sauce and olive oil. Photobucket Sally o RE: Cookalong #15 ------------ POTATOES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by wizardnm (My Page) on Mon, Nov 23, 09 at 1:14 I'll be here tomorrow, to draw a name. Got caught up in watching the AMA awards tonight... LOL Nancy o RE: Cookalong #15 ------------ POTATOES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by wizardnm (My Page) on Mon, Nov 23, 09 at 10:45 Just drew a name.... Sherrman....hope you check this thread! Please pick a new topic and post it here asap. I'll be checking. Nancy o RE: Cookalong #15 ------------ POTATOES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by wizardnm (My Page) on Mon, Nov 23, 09 at 12:03 TTT so Sherrman can see :) o RE: Cookalong #15 ------------ POTATOES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by chase (My Page) on Mon, Nov 23, 09 at 13:42 I'm way late posting but ;last night I made Potato and cheese pierogi for the cook a long. Sauted the pierogi in butter and onion after boiling. Served with cabbage roll's, sour cream and sauerkraut. It was so good! Can't wait to hear what Sherrman has up her sleeve! o RE: Cookalong #15 ------------ POTATOES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by annie1992 (My Page) on Mon, Nov 23, 09 at 14:40 Sharon, I'm late too. I was in Toledo, Ohio, I took my mother to the library there to do her geneology stuff, she was looking for birth/death/marriage records, etc. Anyway, while I was at Elery's I made potato bread using the King Arthur Flour recipe. I made it Friday evening and baked it on Saturday to take to Mom's cousin for dinner on Saturday night. I forgot my camera, so no pictures, but here's the recipe: Potato Bread 1 tablespoon dry yeast 9 tablespoons (1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon) granulated sugar 1 1/2 cups lukewarm (110°F) potato water (water in which potatoes have been cooked) 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened 1 1/2 tablespoons salt 2 eggs 1 cup mashed potatoes (5 small potatoes, 2 medium or 1 large) 6 cups (approximately) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour Boil unskinned potatoes until easily pierced with the tip of a knife. Remove potatoes from water (reserving water), and let sit till they're cool enough to handle. Peel potatoes and mash them. Set aside. Dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon of sugar in lukewarm potato water. Beat in butter, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, salt, eggs and potato. Stir in enough flour to make a dough suitable for kneading. Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Or, knead in a mixer equipped with a dough hook for 5 minutes, or in a food processor for 90 seconds to 2 minutes. Place kneaded dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Set bowl in the refrigerator overnight; for maximum flavor, we like to refrigerate it for about 16 hours. Remove dough from refrigerator and shape to fit 3 medium-sized (8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch) loaf pans, or 1 medium-sized and 1 large (10 x 5-inch) loaf pan, or 8 mini (6 x 3 1/2-inch) loaf pans. Let rise until doubled in bulk, about 4 hours (remember, dough is cold from refrigerator, and will take longer to rise). Bakes loaves in a preheated 375°F oven for 45 minutes, or until bread tests done. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Annie o RE: Cookalong #15 ------------ POTATOES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by wizardnm (My Page) on Mon, Nov 23, 09 at 19:59 TTT...still waiting for Sherrman.. o RE: Cookalong #15 ------------ POTATOES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by wizardnm (My Page) on Tue, Nov 24, 09 at 7:07 TTT o RE: Cookalong #15 ------------ POTATOES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by sally2 (My Page) on Tue, Nov 24, 09 at 9:44 Annie, I'm glad you posted that potato bread recipe, because when I made the gnocchi, I boiled one too many potatoes. They were very large, so I decided I didn't need 3. I'm wanting to make potato bread with the 3rd potato. Thanks. Sally o RE: Cookalong #15 ------------ POTATOES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by wizardnm (My Page) on Tue, Nov 24, 09 at 12:03 I have to go out for the rest of the day but I'll check back this evening. Sherrman......where are you???? Nancy o RE: Cookalong #15 ------------ POTATOES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by wizardnm (My Page) on Tue, Nov 24, 09 at 23:23 TTT o RE: Cookalong #15 ------------ POTATOES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by wizardnm (My Page) on Wed, Nov 25, 09 at 11:48 Sherrman? o RE: Cookalong #15 ------------ POTATOES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by kathleen_li (My Page) on Wed, Nov 25, 09 at 15:37 I bought a 50 lb bag of potatoes at the farm and I have been trying to find 50 ways to use them on my blog.. I cut them with fall shaped cutter, tossed them in oil and s and p and baked till browned.. I intend to do them with star cutters for Christmas. The gkids loved them.. Photobucket So many excellent potato recipes from all of you here..thank you! Here is a link that might be useful: LOTS of POTATOES... o RE: Cookalong #15 ------------ POTATOES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by woodie2 (My Page) on Wed, Nov 25, 09 at 17:29 Kathleen - they're beautiful! What a cool idea. o RE: Cookalong #15 ------------ POTATOES clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by sally2 (My Page) on Thu, Nov 26, 09 at 8:02 How cute! I can't imagine trying to use up 50# of potatoes before they start growing. I see you don't have the limited imagination I do. Sally