We’ve been lucky, on a few occasions, to be gifted with a bag of mushrooms from a fellow vendor at the mid-week market where we sell our jewelry. This was a lucky week. It’s also been a busy week, so we didn’t get to play with the mushrooms until today. Cut up and combined with gorgeous, just-picked purple potatoes from our market neighbors Jack and Doris, the ‘shrooms became a meaty, earthy, fresh, end-of-summer dish that I’ll remember for a good long time.

Fresh Purple Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 quart purple potatoes
• 1 quart mixed mushrooms (we used button and porcini, because that’s what we were given)
• 1 1/2 sticks butter
• Salt to taste
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Wash potatoes and mushrooms and pat dry. Slice potatoes approximately 1/4″ thick, halving or quartering large potatoes as necessary to achieve a consistent size. Set aside. Slice or roughly chop mushrooms. Set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1/2 stick butter. When butter has melted, add half of the potato slices. Salt to taste. Cook until potatoes have taken on a blueish hue and are barely fork-tender. Remove from pan and set aside. Repeat with 1/2 stick butter, salt, and remaining potaotes. Set aside. Add remaining butter to pan. When melted, add mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms have given off their liquid and pan is almost dry. Remove from heat.

Combine potatoes and mushrooms in a large mixing bowl. Turn out into 8×8″ baking dish and top with parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350° F for 30 minutes.

Serves 6-8.

Not a recipe by my normal standards, but worth preserving nonetheless. If you’re counting calories, you want to look away now.

It starts with mildly garlicky mashed potatoes. Take three pounds or so of russet potatoes. Peel about a third of them, quarter them all, and drop them into boiling salted water. Cook until just fork-tender. Drain well and cool slightly. Add a stick of butter, 1/2 cup sour cream, a tablespoon of garlic powder, and about a cup of good chicken stock. Mash roughly.

Make some beef gravy: make a semi-dark roux, and add beef stock. Whisk until thick.

In a bowl, layer some taters, canned corn, shredded cheddar cheese, and gravy. Apologize to your cardiologist, and dig in.

I’m a bit under the weather this week, so I’m naturally seeking out comfort foods and easy throw-together meals. This is a bit like the Greek classic moussaka, minus the eggplant; it’s savory, creamy, satisfying, and filling.

Be sure to use plain tomato sauce and not spaghetti sauce — the added Italian seasonings aren’t necessary here. The breadcrumbs thicken the sauce and sop up any grease from the beef.

Greek-Style Beef and Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds white potatoes
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs
• 1 cup plain yogurt (homemade if available)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Peel potatoes and slice into 1/8″ thick rounds. In a small bowl, whisk eggs until well-blended and stir in yogurt. Set yogurt and potatoes aside.

In a nonstick skillet set over medium heat, brown beef, onions, and garlic. Add salt, potatoes and tomato sauce and cook 10 minutes or until edges of potatoes become translucent. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top and stir to combine. Pour into a baking dish and top with yogurt mixture. Sprinkle cinnamon on top.

Bake at 350° F for 90 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Serves 4-6.

If you’re looking for an easy side dish that’s sure to please, look no further than these creamy, tasty ‘taters. The secret is starting with baked potatoes and, of course, using delicious (read: high-fat) ingredients: no chicken stock substitutions here.

Roasted Garlic and Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 1 head of garlic, whole
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1.5 lbs. russet potatoes, washed
• 1.5 lbs. waxy red-skinned potatoes, washed
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• salt and pepper to taste, plus extra salt for garlic and potatoes

Preheat your oven (a toaster oven works great for this) to 400 degrees. Slice the top off the head of garlic so that the ends of the cloves are exposed. Cut a strip of heavy-duty tin foil large enough to tightly enclose the garlic. Set the garlic on the foil, drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. Wad the foil around the garlic, sealing tightly, and bake for 20-25 minutes or until garlic feels soft and smells slightly sweet. Remove and let sit, without opening, for 45 minutes.

Prick your potatoes with a fork and place in a large bowl. Add remaining olive oil and a heavy pinch of salt, and toss until coated. Bake potatoes in the oven (directly on the rack, in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour or until tender) or in the microwave (4-8 minutes per potato, depending on size). Set aside to cool slightly.

Carefully use your hands to break them apart into a large bowl. Open garlic package and carefully squeeze roasted garlic pulp into the potatoes. Begin mashing, adding cream and butter as you go. Mash only until combined – potatoes will be lumpy (if you prefer smooth potatoes, use all russets and no reds.) Fold in salt, pepper, and cheese.

Serves 4-6.

This recipe can be partially or fully prepared in advance. For the freshest dish, roast the garlic and potatoes the day before, and combine just before serving. Otherwise, make the entire recipe as listed, transfer to baking pan, and set aside. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes to heat through before serving.

Hungry for something different? How about some roasted asparagus, “corn thang“, balsamic green beans, or potato and mushroom gratin?

Today’s post is a recipe from guest chef Mel Hynes, who also happens to be the author of one of our favorite comics, Two Lumps. Thanks, Mel, for sharing your soup-y goodness!

If you would like to share your recipe and appear as guest chef on Catch the Spoon, please submit your bio and recipe here.

Soup of Teh Awesome

by Mel Hynes

Ingredients:

• 3 leeks, finely chopped (white part only)
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 4 medium potatoes (or 1 medium, 1 large, and one HONKIN HUGE)
• 2 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground mustard
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 cups chicken broth
• salt, pepper, and white pepper to taste
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar* cheese (I used a pre-shredded cheddar and jack mix)
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 8 oz sliced baby portobello mushrooms
• 1/4 lb thin-sliced lean prosciutto

In a skillet, cook leeks, garlic, and potato in 1 tablespoon of butter and the olive oil over medium-low heat, stirring often. Do not allow potato to brown. Basically get the leeks & garlic nice and soft and don’t worry about the potato as long as it doesn’t get crispy.

Mix mustard, salt, pepper(s) and flour together in a bowl.

Mix chicken broth and water in a large pot, slowly whisk in dry mixture to avoid clumping. Bring to a boil.

Add potato, leek & garlic mixture to pot. Dodge red-hot broth splatter lava action. Reduce to a simmer, and cook for 1 hour.

Reduce heat to med-low. Mash softened potato/leek mixture (either by hand or with electric mixer). Stir in cheeses until melted, then add milk but do not boil.

Cook mushrooms over medium heat in remaining 1 tablespoon of butter until soft. Slice prosciutto into very thin strips. Add prosciutto and mushrooms + sauteing sauce to the soup, stir and let warm through.

EDIT: OM NOM NOM NOM

EDIT2: good lord, this stuff is FILLING. J. and I are both stuffed after one bowl.

Image by Snowy’s Goodthings

Potato and Mushroom Gratin

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 cloves garlic
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 lbs red potatoes, cleaned and sliced paper thin
• 1 lb shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps thinly sliced
• 1 lb portobello mushroom caps, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 1/4 cup chopped chives
• 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 2 cups smoked cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine milk, cream, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and remove from heat. Cover and set aside to steep for 30 minutes.

Melt butter over medium-high heat in a large sautee pan or wok. Cook mushrooms, in batches if necessary, until they are soft and most of their juices have been expressed and evaporated. Season with salt and pepper; set aside.

Grease a large casserole dish. Create three complete layers of the gratin: potatoes, parsley, chives, parmesan, mushrooms, cheddar. Strain the infused milk and pour over the potatoes, squeezing the layers with another casserole dish or a large spatula to evenly distribute the liquid. Cover and bake for 90 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until top is brown. Let stand for 30 minutes before serving.

Serves 6-8.

Mer says: “I never liked my Mom’s roasted potatoes, but I don’t think she did either, since we never ate them very much. She used my grandmother’s recipe, which consisted of cut-up baking potatoes roasted dry in the oven. Very much not recommended. Seasoning, spicing, flavoring and using fat isn’t a big part of my family’s traditional cooking.”

These potatoes were a complete accident, but they’re excellent for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. They’re somewhere between roasted potatoes and home fries, and they do take a little more time than cooking either alone, but it’s mostly unsupervised time.

Double-Baked Home Fries

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds red potatoes, cubed
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup onion and chive dip mix
• 1 cup onion, diced (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

Toss all ingredients together and wrap in a heavy-duty foil packet. Bake for 90 minutes at 425 degrees. Remove from foil and spread out in a single layer on a sheet pan.Broil for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes so that all edges are browned.

Serves 4-6.

Image by Smitten

About 3 years ago, a friend of mine asked me to find a Pennsylvania Dutch recipe for her, called Wurgles. She described it as:

“[Dumplings] made of mashed potatoes (with some flour to help them take shape?), then baked with lots of butter and milk on top. [The milk and butter] sort of resorbed into the potatoes, so there were pockets of dairy goodness, and it was dappled-brown on top.”

My research over the years has failed me, but I believe that I may have finally hit on something. This is a combination of a few recipes that I’ve found. They’re not dumplings per se, but I believe that the effect is the same. Anything firmer would essentially be gnocchi.

If anyone has heard of Wurgles and has a more accurate recipe, please let me know!

Wurgles (Mashed Potato Casserole)

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds white potatoes, washed and peeled
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 1 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup flour
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 pound butter
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup celery, finely diced
• 1 cup onion, finely diced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt and potatoes, and cook until fork-tender. Drain.

Sauteé celery and onion in 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat until soft and lightly colored. Cool.

Mash potatoes with 1/2 pound butter and 1 cup milk. Stir in flour, breadcrumbs, vegetables, and then beaten eggs. Turn out into a greased 13″ x 9″ baking dish; do not smooth surface (peaks will encourage browning).

In a small saucepan, heat remaining milk and butter until butter is completely melted. Stir thoroughly and pour evenly over potato mixture. Bake 30-45 minutes, or until top is nicely browned.

Serves 4-6.