Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Even though it's mid-winter and the temperature outside was hovering around 7 degrees F., it was time to grill. I had purchased some boneless chicken breast and was having a hankering for some Chicken Bryan. We'd just purchased a new charcoal grill after ours had faithfully served us for many years and then fallen completely apart, and we had a nice pile of charcoal to go with it after the previous evening's boneless sirloin dinner, so I convinced my husband (it didn't take much) to fire up the grill and toss on the chicken part of the Chicken Bryan. While he was seasoning and grilling the chicken, 14-year-old Aleks and I put together the sauce and side dishes. One of our favorite Italian restaurants serves Chicken Bryan with garlic mashed potatoes, which is a simply delicious vehicle for the extra sun-dried tomato and basil sauce that slides off of the grilled chicken breasts. Whether you make this as a side for Chicken Bryan or for a simple grilled sirloin, you'll love the zip of these potatoes.

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Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Serves 4-6

10 medium russett potatoes, peeled and diced
1 1/2 sticks butter (12 tablespoons butter), room temperature
3/4 cup sour cream, room temperature
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
3 tablespoon heavy cream, room temperature
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Remember to always start your potatoes in COLD water. Put just enough water in a medium saucepot to cover the potatoes. Salt the water, and then bring it to a boil. Once they start boiling, set timer for 5 minutes. Check potatoes occasionally for tenderness. They should be fork tender (a fork easily inserts into the piece of potato) but not so tender that they disintigrate in the water. Drain potatoes and return to the saucepan.

Add the butter, sour cream, heavy cream and garlic to the potatoes, mashing with a potato masher. Add more heavy cream if the potatoes aren't creamy enough. Season with additional salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste. Sprinkle with fresh chives and freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

Potted Chicken: An Update!

We've really been enjoying potted chicken recently. Today, I'm making two chickens in my electric roaster and I've heaped it full of russet potatoes, carrots, onions and garlic. While teaching 17-year-old Zach to make it today, I decided that I needed to update it a bit with the variations I've made.

For one thing, I've taken to rubbing the chicken with a rosemary spice rub before putting it in the pot. Secondly, I've adapted the way I do the lemons--I don't take the peels off. I've found that it's not only a royal pain, but it also makes it hard to use that wonderful golden goo that's leftover because there's too much lemon pulp in the goo. Also, because it's not in season, I'm omitting the fresh rosemary, and because I'm using the spice rub, I'm omitting the pepper and salt. Also, since oranges are inexpensive right now, I'm substituting some of the lemons with oranges.

Here's the variation:

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Potted Chicken with Rosemary Spice Rub

Rub:

1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbs. onion salt
1 Tbs. seasoned salt, such as Lawry's
1 Tbs. garlic salt
2 Tbs. paprika
1-1/2 tsp. chili powder
1-1/2 tsp. lemon pepper
1 Tbs. dried sage
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary, crumbled
1/4 tsp. cayenne

Combine all the ingredients and blend well.

1 locally-raised, free-range (preferably organic) roasting chicken
6-10 whole heads of garlic, rinsed, cut in half side-to-side (giving a cross-section look). Remove any loose papery skin, but leave heads as much intact as possible
2 large lemons
1 large orange
4 large onions, sliced
olive oil
heaps of baby carrots or cleaned carrots cut into small chunks
handfuls of chunked potatoes, either Yukon Gold or red-skinned potatoes

In a dutch oven, lay the sliced onions and 4 of the cut heads of garlic. Rub the spice rub all over the chicken, inside and out. Cut lemons and oranges in quarters (or eighths, depending on the size of the fruit). Stuff the chicken with the lemon and orange wedges, several more of the heads of garlic, more onion, and then sprinkle with spice rub.

Top the whole thing with as many heads of garlic and slices of onion as you like. Tuck as many carrots and potatoes as you would like or can fit around and on top of the chicken. Sprinkle with more a bit more spice rub. Drizzle with olive oil.

Bake, covered, (I use the cast iron dutch over my mother-in-law got me last Christmas) in a 350 degree F oven for about 3 hours. The chicken will literally fall off of the bone. Dig the garlic heads out, scoop the buttery-soft garlic out of the skins and spread on the chicken or on pieces of crusty bread, like the No-Knead Rosemary Bread or Genovese Basil Bread. Serve the carrots and potatoes on the side. When you've finished the meal, separate the chicken from the bones and skin and use it later for delicious chicken salad. Transfer all of the garlic pulp, juices and soft onions to another container and use it for a stock base or a fabulous gravy for your next batch of redskin mashed potatoes.

Grandma Jane's Special Potato Salad

Grandma Jane had a way with food. Everything she made was delicious--perfectly seasoned, just the right balance of everything, and always plenty for everyone. Her potato salad, for example, was a special treat. There are some things in life that you just *know,* and getting potato salad when you went to Grandma Jane's was one of them. My main goal when visiting her was to wake before everyone else in the house so that I could devour my special breakfast. Potato salad.

I've had this recipe for years. Grandma wrote it out especially for her daughter-in-law and me. Yet no matter how many times I make it, I just can't get it to taste like Grandma's. Still, it's a big hit in our house and everywhere else we take it.

I've altered the recipe a bit to use yukon gold and red potatoes, which just need to be scrubbed but not peeled. Be careful not to overcook the potatoes!

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Potato Salad Special

Cube about four cups of Yukon Gold and red potatoes, and place them in a pot, covering with just enough cold water to cover them. Add a tablespoon of salt.
Place two eggs, whole, in the pot, too, to boil while the potatoes cook.
Bring the water to a slow boil and cook until you can *just* put a fork in them. You don't want them to fall apart, but you don't want them to be too firm. This usually takes about ten minutes from the time the water starts to boil.

While potatoes are cooking, get a large bowl and mix together:

1 1/2 cups REAL mayonnaise, either homemade or Hellman's
1 cup chopped red onion
1 cup finely diced celery
1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 small sweet pickle, diced
salt to taste

When potatoes are done cooking, drain them. Remove the eggs and place them in a bowl of cold water to cool. Cool potatoes, gently turning them occasionally to keep them from further cooking in the bowl.

When eggs are cooled, peel them and chop them very fine. Add this to the mayonnaise mixture.

When potatoes are cool, add them to the mayonnaise mixture, stirring well, but being careful not to mash the potatoes. Sprinkle top with chopped parsley.

If it seems too dry, add more mayonnaise.

Chill all of this, preferably overnight, as the flavor is better the next day!