Potato Doughnuts

 

I found this recipe a couple of years ago when I happened to have a few leftover mashed potatoes, more than I typically do.      These doughnuts were a hit with my family.  We had some sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and some of the other frosted and decorated with sprinkles. My family was amazed to learn that I used mashed potatoes in the dough!

This recipe is courtesy of Tasty.co

Potato Doughnuts

Ingredients

for 18 donuts

• 3 ¼ cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 cup mashed potato
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 2 qt canola oil, for frying

COATING

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Nutrition Info

Preparation

1. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg into a medium bowl.
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter with an electric hand mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 1–2 minutes. Add the granulated and brown sugars and the mashed potatoes and cream until combined. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.
3. Add half of the dry ingredients to the mashed potato mixture and mix on medium speed until mostly incorporated. Add the buttermilk, and mix until almost combined. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and use a spatula to finish mixing until just incorporated.
4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 1–2 minutes, adding up to ¼ cup (30 g) more flour as needed until the dough is cohesive and no longer sticky.
5. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to ½ inch (1 ½ cm) thick, flouring the dough as needed.
6. Use a 3-inch (7 cm) round cutter to cut out donuts. Use a 1-inch (2 ½ cm) round cutter to cut out holes from the centers. Set the donuts and holes on a baking sheet. Re-roll the dough scraps and cut out more donuts. Refrigerate the donuts and holes until ready to fry.
7. Heat the canola oil in a large pot fitted with a deep fry thermometer over medium heat until it reaches 375°F (190°C). Set a wire rack over a baking sheet and place nearby.
8. In a medium bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon. Set near the wire rack.
9. Working in batches, fry the donuts and holes in the hot oil for about 2 minutes per side, until deep golden brown. The donut holes will take less time than the donuts. Transfer to the wire rack to cool for 1 minute, then carefully toss in the cinnamon sugar.
10. Eat warm, or let cool completely.
11. Enjoy!
12. The original recipe here gives instructions for frying the doughnuts. I purchased some doughnut pans quite a while back on Amazon.com and prefer to use those to bake doughnuts.  375F oven for about 15-18 minutes will work just fine.  Place the 'holes' on a baking sheet and bake them alongside.

Steakhouse Fried Onion Dip

Dip for Fried Onions

This is a delicious and refreshing dip for onion petals or fries or even corn fritters.  This particular version is from Spend With Pennies.

• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• ▢3 tablespoons sour cream
• ▢2 teaspoons ketchup
• ▢1 tablespoon horseradish mayo sauce or regular horseradish
• ▢½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• ▢½ teaspoon paprika
• ▢¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ▢¼ teaspoon black pepper
• Mix all ingredients and refrigerate.

Corn Fritters

 Corn Fritters

John and I don't often order appetizers but that favorite steakhouse we love that is tucked away used to have corn fritters on the menu.  Every time we went in, we ordered some of those little gems.  They served them with a dipping sauce that put them over the top in our opinion.  Then the menu changed and they haven't had corn fritters on the menu in something like two years.  I look every time we go in, always hopeful and always disappointed!

You can find recipes in just about any cookbook, but I found one online that we liked really well.  This is a fairly basic recipe.  The one I'm sharing here is from Spend With Pennies, a wonderful site for recipes overall.

• 2 cups corn fresh, frozen or leftover corn on the cob
• ▢½ cup Monterey jack cheese
• ▢⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• ▢¼ cup cornmeal
• ▢1 egg
• ▢1 green onion chopped
• ▢1 tablespoon jalapeno minced
• ▢⅛ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ▢salt & pepper to taste
• ▢¼ cup milk or more if needed
• ▢2 tablespoons oil
• Combine all ingredients except the milk and oil in a small bowl. Mix well.
• Add milk a little bit at a time if needed to make a moist mixture that can still hold its shape.
• Heat oil over medium heat in a pan. Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the corn mixture onto the hot oil. Cook 3-4 minutes or until golden, flip and cook an additional 3-4 minutes.
• Top with sour cream for serving.

The site says this recipe serves 4.

The same steak house has a form of fried onion petals that is delicious and the sauce they serve with them is very similar to the sauce they served with the corn fritters.  I found this recipe online and we enjoyed it with leftovers one night.  When we brought home a half order of fried onion petals I made up another batch of this sauce and we served it with that as well.  I'm going to share the dip recipe here but also form a separate post for it.

This recipe too is from Spend With Pennies.  She lists it under Texas Roadhouse but it tastes very similar to the one we used to get at our favorite steakhouse.

• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• ▢3 tablespoons sour cream
• ▢2 teaspoons ketchup
• ▢1 tablespoon horseradish mayo sauce or regular horseradish
• ▢½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• ▢½ teaspoon paprika
• ▢¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ▢¼ teaspoon black pepper

Just as a note, you can skip the ketchup and horse radish and use cocktail sauce, which is very similar.  I keep prepared horseradish on hand.  Just a quick tip, if like me you use it slowly and worry it will spoil, dollop teaspoons of horseradish onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and freeze until hard.  Then put in a zippered bag or jar and keep in the freezer.  I do the same with pesto and tomato paste.  Works wonderfully well for keeping it on hand.

Easy Chicken Shawarma Salad

Easy Chicken Shawarma Salad

I found this recipe at bakingmischief.com    We really enjoyed this dish.  John surprised me in liking the dressing as much as he did.  

Ingredients

Chicken and Marinade

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 cloves garlic pressed
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs

Yogurt Dressing

• 5 to 6 ounces (2/3 cup) plain, unsweetened yogurt*
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic pressed
• 1 to 3 teaspoons milk
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Pepper

Vegetables

• 1/4 cup chicken broth or water
• 1 small red onion cut into thin wedges
• 1 head romaine washed and chopped
• 1 cucumber peeled and chopped
• 1 large tomato chopped

Instructions

Marinate Chicken

• In a small bowl, whisk together all marinade ingredients. Pour over chicken thighs and toss to coat. Return chicken to the refrigerator and marinate for 30 minutes, up to 2 hours.

Prepare Dressing

• Combine yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, 1 teaspoon of milk, and salt. If desired, add more milk by the 1/2 teaspoon until dressing reaches your desired consistency. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

Cook Chicken and Onions

• On the stove, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add chicken thighs and cook for 2 to 5 minutes per side, until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. If at any time the outside of the chicken begins to cook too quickly and burn, turn the heat down. Transfer chicken to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
• Deglaze the pan over medium-high heat with 1/4 cup of water or chicken broth, scraping all the crispy browned bits from the bottom of the pan, and add the onions. Cook onions until they reach your preferred level of doneness, 2 to 4 minutes.

Assemble

• Slice the chicken and assemble salad. Top with dressing and enjoy!

Orange Sunflower Quick Bread

 Orange Sunflower Quick Bread

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

3/4cup orange juice*

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup butter

4 teaspoons grated orange peel*

1 egg

3 cups All Purpose Flour

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup raw sunflower nuts* (mine were salted and roasted and worked wonderfully)

Heat oven to 350f.  Grease one 9 x 5 or 2 8x4 laof pans.

In large bowl, blend sugar, orange juice, buttermilk, butter, orange peel and egg.  Add dry ingredients.  Mix by hand just 25-30 strokes (in mixer just blend ingredients do NOT beat).  Pour into prepared pan(s) and bake.  9x5 pan for 55-65 minutes, 8x4 pans 35-45 minutes   Use pick test to check for doneness  Cool in pan for 10 minutes then cool on rack.

This is really good and made a nice breakfast when toasted and spread with cream cheese.

I might not buy the sunflower seeds again, since John isn't as keen as I thought he might be but I expect that walnuts of pecans would be good in this bread as would dried cranberries.  I am fond of the orange/cranberry combination.

Creamy Orange Salad

 Creamy Orange Salad

I think I found this recipe in one of the 1950's vintage magazines, likely a Woman's Day issue, but honestly am not sure at the moment.   However, it was really good.  It was a firmer gelatin dish; no doubt would be perfect in a mold if you happen to have any of those on hand.  I wonder why I never think to pick them up in the thrift stores...Surely, I could also bake cake in them?  There's a thought!  I'll have to check into that.  I'm all about multipurpose items for the kitchen.

I made the recipe in a bowl and served it as a dessert, since it's sweet enough...The serving suggestion was to serve on lettuce surrounded by chilled orange wedges which likely would be very good as well.

Creamy Orange Salad

1 8-ounce package of cream cheese, softened 

1/4 cup orange juice*

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon orange zest*

1 3-ounce package orange gelatin

1 cup hot water

I mixed my gelatin with the boiling water first.  I added in the lemon and orange juices and the orange zest then left that to sit for a few moments and cool a bit more while I prepared the cream cheese.  I beat the cream cheese with a mixer until smooth and light and then added the gelatin mixture slowly, a bit at a time.  At one stage it just looks like a curdled mess but keep beating it.   When it's a creamy looking mixture, pour into a mold or bowl and let sit in fridge until firm.  

Deviled Chicken Legs

 Deviled Chicken  (Legs, Backs and Wings)

from The Culinary Arts Institute Encyclopedic Cookbook

To 'devil' in this instance means to use a spiced mustard mixture (hence why we call eggs Deviled when we make those for a picnic) to season.  It's a simple seasoning that adds a powerful lot of flavors out of common kitchen ingredients.

In the past using legs, wings and back was a frugal thing and it's sad to me that you so seldom see chicken backs in the market these days.  There's far more meat than you might think upon a back piece.

1 1/2 pounds of chicken legs, backs and wings (This is really about the quantity of a back, two wings and two legs from a whole chicken you cut yourself.  I have made the recipe with just the legs and just the wings)

1/4 cup fat (I used olive oil) melted if needed

1 tsp mustard (I used prepared yellow)

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp salt

Few grains of cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 cup soft buttered breadcrumbs (I've also subbed in crushed potato crumbs and I think cornflakes would work just as well as cracker crumbs).

Place chicken in a baking dish.  Mix the fat and seasonings and spread over the pieces, preferably on the skin side.  Cover with crumbs and bake covered at 350F until tender.   

The end note on this recipe in my old cookbook offers this tip: Heart, gizzard, and neck may be simmered in water until partially tender, then cooked in the same way.   This note tickles me because it appeals to my frugalista side.