COOKING AND RECIPES.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIX, Issue 92, 20 March 1939, Page 11

COOKING AND RECIPES.

COMMENTS ABOUT POTATOES. (Copyright.) •The preparation of potatoes for the table is a very simple process. The most inexperienced cook is willing to undertake baking and boiling. Aclu ally, however, results are not always satisfactory. According to Dr. Doran. “Without the patience, care and attention —extreme vigilance being applied to the latter —a potato will never come out of the pot triumphantly well boiled.” He recommends simmering rather than boiling with the highflung quotation : “Unon the heat and flame of the distemper, sprinkle eool patience.” Practically, potatoes should not be allowed to boil violently, and as soon as they are tender the wafer should lx 1 drained from them and the pot shaken over a low fire so that they will he dry and mealy.

And now about baked potatoes, which the French call “Pommes de Terre en Robe de Chambre.” Actually I can’t remember ever having baked potatoes in France excepting in Brittany. where stuffed baked potatoes are served and eaten with spoons as are boiled eggs. Potatoes of even size, medium or large, should he chosen for baking. They should be scrubbed thoroughly with a brush and placed on the rack of a hot oven. The skins may be buttered if you like in order to keep them soft and smooth. After fifteen nr twenty minutes, T like to lower the temperature to moderate. At the end of forty minutes, they should he tested by pressing with the fingers, wrapped for safety’s sake in a towel. When soft, they should he taken out of the oven and broken open at once to prevent- sogginess which will result if the potatoes are allowed to cool without an outlet for steam. ! Tf you are not quite ready to serve . them at this point, rover them with a towel which will absorb the steam. You may pop a piece of butter into each potato and sprinkle it with salt and paprika, if you like, before serving. Innumerable potato dishes are made with either boded or baked potatoes as tlie base. Either one may be used • after dicing for hashing in cream, for Ivonnaise or country tried potatoes, land for erea.ming. Boiled potatoes are usually used for our favourite mashed potatoes. After draining and drying, they are mashed and beaten throughly with hot milk and butter. A little minced onion may be added if you like. Mashed potatoes must be server! a§ soon as they are ready. A'ou may. however, add a beaten egg yolk and a stiffly beaten egg white, spread them in a deep pie dish and reheat them in the oven. They mav be sprinkled with cheese if you like. These baked mashed potatoes are appropriate to serve at dinner or at a buffet supper when meal time may be delayed. The third great division in potato cookery is that of frying. Raw potatoes are generally fried in deep fat. They may be called chips, julienne, or French fried, according to the way they arc cut. Sliced raw potatoes may also be sauted in a small amount of fat until they are well browned and then covered for a few minutes until thev are tender.

Although I have seen recipes for cooking potatoes which number well over the hundreds, praetically every one is a variation of boiling, baking or frying. O’Brien Potatoes. —Four cups potato cubes, deep fat, 1 small onion, 2 pimentos, 1 tablespoon butter, 2 teaspoons minced parsley. Fry potato cubes in deep fat. drain on soft- paper and sprinkle with salt. Mince the onion and cook in the butter one minute. Add tbe pimento, cook one minute more, add parsley and pour over potato cubes in a bot dish. Potatoes with cheese meringue.—2 tablespoons butter. 2 eggs, salt, pepper, 3 cups mashed potatoes, hot milk. a cup grated cheese. Add butter, egg yolks and seasonings to mashed potatoes. Add enough milk to make a creamy texture. Pile in a gr.eased baking dish, cover with a meringue made bv l>eating the egg whites stiff and folding in the cheese. Sprinkle lightly with paprika and bake ten minutes in a moderate oven until light brown.