Potato Latkes

Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays. I spent my vacation in Phuket, Thailand and had a fantastic time. I’ve decided that I love Thai food and I’m going to attempt to make some of my own at home, using spice packets I picked up at the airport on my way back to Seoul.

I’ve only got a few months left in Korea before I move back to Canada for good and the week that followed Christmas was a whirlwind of craziness. I decided to relax this weekend, so I made something that I’d been craving; Potato latkes. These delightful fried potato pancakes have been a favourite side dish of mine since I was a young girl. I remember my mom making them for dinner and me eating several of them!

We ate them for lunch, but they make a great side dish to any main course. Give them a try or let me know below how you like to make these delicious potato treats!

Potato Latkes

Ingredients
4 medium potatoes peeled 1/2 onion fined diced
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp flour
salt and pepper
vegetable oil

Directions
Heat a skillet over medium high heat and place about a tablespoon of oil in the pan and cook onions until soft and translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

Grate the potatoes with a cheese grater into a medium bowl. Place the grated potatoes in a tea towel or cheese cloth and squeeze out as much water as possible. Place them back into the bowl and add in flour, onions, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add in the egg yolk and stir until all ingredients are combined.

In a large skillet, heat about an inch of vegetable oil over medium heat. Take about two tablespoons of the potato mixture and press flat into the hot skillet.  Cook for about two minutes or until they edges appear brown. Flip and cook for another two minutes. Place on a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Serve with sour cream or apple sauce.

Makes about 12 – 15 medium latkes.

Polish Pierogi

Christmas is fast approaching and with the shopping, busy school schedule, and prepping for vacation, I am finding myself slightly overwhelmed. This will be my third Christmas away from my family back in Canada and it’s the one holiday I have the hardest time missing. Being in Korea hasn’t been all that difficult for me as far as adjusting to living in a different country and I haven’t had a difficult time with homesickness, but Christmas is my favourite holiday and there are so many things I miss. I miss our annual tree trimming party and helping prepare all the wonderful trays of food, the smell of a real tree filling our living room, the beautiful flower arrangements my dad makes every year, the decorations…so many decorations, my family, and last but not least, our traditional Polish Christmas Eve dinner.

Our family Christmas Tree a few years ago.

Every year on Christmas Eve, my mother’s side of the family used to get together at my Babcia and Dziadzia’s house to celebrate. We would eat a feast of fish and at least four kinds of pierogi that my Babcia spent all day making. When I was younger I didn’t care for fish, so that meant my plate was filled with pierogi. In fact, my cousin and I used to compete to see who could eat the most. I’d like to think I won every year, but who knows. Now that my grandparents have passed away, and the children have grown, the tradition has lost some of its magic. My mom still makes pierogi and my cousin has made some too, but none will ever be as fantastic as my Babcia’s. Every year that I have been away from home that tradition is the one thing I miss the most.

This year, I will be in Korea on Christmas Eve, so the Simmering Seoulmate and I spend one afternoon making some pierogi, so that I can have a little piece of home this Christmas. We made the classic potato and cheese filled ones and saved some of the mashed potato and made some feta and spinach ones, too. Check out the recipe below to see how to make these polish delights! Merry Christmas.

Polish Pierogi

Ingredients

Dough 4 1/2 cups flour 3/4 cup warm milk 3/4 cup warm water 2 egg yolks 3 tbsp melted butter 1 tsp salt

Potato and Cheese Filling 1 onion, finely chopped 1/4 cup butter 6-8 potatoes 1 cup grated cheddar cheese salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Dough: In a large bowl, combine egg yolks, milk, water, and butter mixing well. Stir in flour and salt. Knead for 5 minutes on a lightly floured surface or until ingredients are well combined and the dough is smooth and soft. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for 30 minutes.

Filling: Meanwhile, peel and cut potatoes into large pieces. Place potatoes in a large pot of water. Bring to a boil and cook for 15-20 minutes or until soft. Mash potatoes in the pot with a potato masher. Sauté onions in butter over medium heat until they are soft and clear. About 2-3 minutes. Add them to the mashed potatoes. Stir in cheddar cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let filling cool.

Once the dough has had time to rest, working with half the dough at a time roll it on a floured surface to about 3mm thick. Cut circles in the dough using a round cookie cutter (or if you don’t have one, use a cup like I did).  Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of each circle. Fold over creating a half circle and pinch the edges closed. If eating right away, cook pierogi 10 at a time in a large pot of boiling water for about 5 minutes or less. You will know they are ready when they float to the top of the water. Stir a few times to prevent sticking. Serve with sautéed onions and sour cream. If you are freezing them like we did, place in a single layer on a parchment paper liner cookie sheet and freeze overnight. In the morning, move frozen pierogi to a zippered freezer bag. If cooking from frozen, they may need a few extra minutes in the boiling water. Enjoy!

Makes about 6 dozen.

Twice "Baked" Potatoes

         Woooooo weee! Hello! It’s been a busy few weeks. I have been traveling to Hong Kong, catching up with work, and celebrating. The weather here is still hot, but is cool in the morning and at night. I’m looking forward to all things fall, as it’s one of my favourite times of the year.

          My trip to Hong Kong was absolutely amazing, with a minor setback (more of that later). I would 100% recommend travelling to Hong Kong if you can. The Simmering Seoulmate and I spend a wonderful five days in Hong Kong at the beginning of September. We saw amazing skyscrapers, walked around down by the harbor, sailed on a boat, rode the Peak Tram, visited the Big Buddha, and of course went to Disneyland! I wanted to do a whole post about the delicious dim sum and other Chinese food that we ate in Hong Kong, but unfortunately I came down with food poisoning the night after our big dim sum meal. But, don’t worry, I've still been cooking and have a recipe to share with you today.    

The Simmering Seoulmate and I found these enormous potatoes at our local mart. We have also made a trip to Costco recently and purchased a bunch of staples and a few other treats, like bacon and cheese! One night, he was craving twice baked potatoes so I whipped up a very indulgent version of them below which included both cheese and bacon, yummy!

So technically these are only once baked, because I was feeling lazy, but they were delicious all the same. I made the mistake of cutting the potatoes in half before microwaving them, don’t do that. The tops dried out and were a bit difficult to scoop the potatoes out of the skin.

Ingredients
2 enormous potatoes
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
3 sliced of bacon
3 tbsp milk
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
2 green onions chopped

Directions
Step 1 - Place your potatoes on a dish and stab them with a fork a few times. Microwave them for eternity, because that’s what it felt like waiting for these monsters to cook through. But, really microwave them for about 20 minutes. While the potatoes are being zapped, fry the bacon until crispy and cut up.

Step 2 – Preheat oven to 400ºF or 200 ºC. Scoop the potatoes out of the skin leaving about 1/2 a centimeter still attached and set skins aside. Add the milk, butter, salt, pepper and garlic powder to the potatoes and mash until there are no huge chunks.

Step 3 – Add the mashed potatoes and top with grated cheese, bacon pieces and green onions. Pop into the oven until the cheese is bubbly. About 10 minutes.

You can serve these with sour cream if you like, but we ate them as is. I hope you enjoy these as much as we did! Enjoy!

Makes four huge portions

Salt and Vinegar Chips

A week ago, our school took the kindergartners to a farm to pick potatoes. They had panted some back in March, and the time had come to got pick some up. It’s mostly just a photo op that involved two men from work digging up the potatoes and the students picking one up and posing for an individual shot. The kids seemed to enjoy themselves anyway and I got to take home some fresh from the garden potatoes. 

I’d had a craving for salt and vinegar favored chips, which are hard to come by and only available in foreigner stores here for a high price. So, I decided to make some using some of the potatoes I got from the farm. A few years back, I attempted to make vinegar infused french fries and they didn't turn out tasting very good. This time I thought I would try to make chips instead, hoping the thin cut of the chips would let them soak up more vinegar flavour. These chips turned out great when served right away and got better when left out for a day to dry up a bit more, when I had them as a snack. 

Salt and Vinegar Chips

Ingredients
6-8 medium potatoes
2 cups of white vinegar
pinch of salt
3-4 cups canola oil for frying

Directions
For this recipe you do not need to peel the potatoes, so make sure you wash them well and cut out any eyes. Next, slice the potatoes as thinly as possible. If you have a mandolin, use that. If not, use a sharp knife and be careful when cutting. Soak the potatoes slices in water for about 20 minutes in a bowl in the refrigerator. After that, put the potatoes into a large pot and pour the vinegar over top. Pour enough boiling water over top to cover the potatoes. Let the potatoes sit in the pot for about 45 minutes to an hour. Fill a large pan with the oil. (I use a wok to fry food, because it’s the biggest pan I've got.) Heat oil over medium to medium low heat on your stove top. Working in small batches, fry the potatoes until they are a light golden brown colour. This takes about 10 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the oil using a slotted spoon or long handled mesh strainer and toss with salt. To keep your potatoes hot while cooking the other batches, put finished chips on a metal sheet pan and throw into a low temperature oven.

The vinegar taste is actually quite subtle, but definitely noticeable. If you like even more of a vinegar taste, drizzle with malt vinegar.

Enjoy!

Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients

Mashed Potatoes
4 medium to large potatoes
1/4 cup milk
2 tbsp melted butter
1 egg yolk
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Filling
2 tbsp canola oil
450g ground beef
1/2 large onion
2 gloves of garlic
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
1 tsp A1 Steak Sauce
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper
2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp dried thyme
3/4 cup cheddar cheese

Directions
Peel and boil potatoes until they can easily be pierced with a fork (approximately 15 minutes). Drain potatoes and return to pot. Mash using a fork or potato masher and then add butter, milk, salt and pepper. Finally, stir in yolk until well combined.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

While the potatoes are cooking, heat oil in a pan over medium high heat. Once oil is hot, add chopped onion and sauté until soft, about 3-5 minutes. Add minced garlic and beef. Season the beef with salt and pepper, and cook until brown. Sprinkle flour on top of the meat and combine. Cook for another minute or two. Add chicken broth, A1, rosemary, thyme, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer slowly 10 to 12 minutes or until the sauce is thickened slightly.

Next, add frozen veggies and stir to combine. Spread the mixture on the bottom of an 11x7 inch baking dish. Top with the mashed potatoes, using a rubber spatula. Sprinkle cheese over top. Place pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 25 minutes or just until the potatoes begin to brown. Remove and let cool for at least 15 minutes. 

Spoon into a bowl or dish and enjoy!

Crock Pot Guinness Beef Stew

There’s nothing better than a steamy hot bowl of hearty stew, served with a fresh baguette, smeared with some butter. The best part of this recipe is that it’s delicious and requires little effort. You can make it in the morning and have dinner ready when you get home from work.

Ingredients
4 medium/large potatoes
2 carrots
3 stocks of celery
1 onion
1 pound of cubed lean beef (see Pot Roast post for details on the beef I used)
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 bottle of Guinness beer
2-3 dried bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp dried thyme
2-3 cups of beef stock
3-4 tbsp of butter
3-4 tbsp flour and a bit extra to cover the beef

First, toss the beef in a bowl with a sprinkling of flour, salt, and pepper. Pour the olive oil into a pot or pan and turn the heat up to medium-high. Place the floured beef in the pot and brown on all sides. Avoid crowding the pan and cook in small batches.

Next, clean, peel, and chop the vegetables into medium chunks. We left the peels on the potatoes this time and the stew turned out as tasty as ever.

Add the beef, spices, and vegetables into the crock pot. Pour the beer in next. Then, pour 2-3 cups of beef stock over the veggies and beef so everything is covered. (You may need more or less stock depending on your crock pot and how many vegetables you used).

Turn the crock pot on low for 6-8 hours or high for about 4 hours.

Relax and have a delicious treat, because you deserve it.

After the time is up or your vegetables have cooked through and you can cut the meat with a spoon, it’s time to spoon out the meat and veggies with a slotted spoon. Set aside.

 Using the flour and butter in an even ratio whip up a rue. (To make a rue, simply heat equal parts butter and flour over a very low temperature, while stirring constantly).  Then, slowly add the liquid from the stew and thicken, while stirring constantly over low heat and bring to a boil. Once the liquid has become thick (similar to gravy), pour back into the crock pot. Add the meat and veggies and give it a stir until evenly combined. This process helps to make your stew creamy and the right consistency. If you prefer it runnier, like a soup, you can skip this step.

Serve hot, with thick crusty bread and butter.

Makes 6-8 servings

Sunday Beef Roast

Today was an enjoyable Sunday Funday. Slept in, went to Itaewon for some cocktails and gourmet hotdogs (Bulldogs), and arrived back home to a delicious fully cooked dinner!

How? Well...crock pots are amazing. Throw some food in them, and bing, bang, boom, dinner with little effort. I especially enjoy using them on weekdays, when the last thing I want to do is cook when I get through a particularly stressful day at work. 

Last night, my lovely boyfriend, Warren, and I decided that we wanted to eat a nice beef roast for dinner today. Once we had decided, step one was thawing the beef out in the fridge overnight. We managed to purchase approximately 1.5kg worth of eye of the round portions from Costco. The beef was cut into 4 equal portions, which we tossed into zipper bags, and then placed them into the freezer. We use this beef in a variety of different meals, one of my favourite being a classic beef stew.

Without further adieu, here’s how Warren created our delicious Sunday night supper!

Throw some carrots, an onion, several potatoes, and the beef into a large crock pot. Pour enough beef stock in to cover everything. Turn that baby on low for 8 hours (or 5-6 on high).Next, go enjoy your day.

 We splurged on some delicious looking alcoholic cocktails.

When the time is up on your crock pot removed meat and vegetables and use the liqud to create delicious homemade gravy.

Whip up a basic rue. (1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp flour for every cup of liquid you plan to add)

Finally, serve on a plate with a simple salad or enjoy on its own. Bon Appétit!

Ingredients:

Pot Roast
- 1lb of eye of the round beef (or a similar cut)
- 1 large carrot
- 10 small/medium potatoes
- 1 large onion
- 4 cups of beef stock (or enough to cover)

Gravy
- remaining liquid from crock pot (about 3 ½- 4 cups)
- 4 tbsp butter
- 4 tbsp flour

Directions:

Place thawed beef into the crock pot. Cut onion in large pieces and throw into crock pot. Peel, wash, and cut carrot into 1 inch slices and toss in crock pot. Wash and cut potatoes in half and toss into the crock pot. Pour beef stock over the beef and vegetables, making sure everything is covered. Cook on low setting for 8 hours or 5-6 on high. Once cooked, remove beef and vegetables using a slotted spoon. Set aside.

In a pot gently melt butter on low heat. Slowly add flour, a tablespoon at a time stirring constantly. Continue to stir and cook until the rue changes to a golden brown. (The darker the rue, the thicker your gravy will be.) Next, pour in your crock pot liquid, a cup at a time and stir. Once combined, bring to a boil, and simmer until desired thickness is reached.

Pour gravy over sliced beef and potatoes and voila!

Serves 2-3