Cooking For Engineers

[Michael Chu]

re: fresh rosemary

It should be okay to add the fresh rosemary at the beginning of the baking. Since it's covered for the first part, the rosemary will just steam and add a lot of fragrance. I don't think it will burn during the uncovered baking portion - it may dry out, which should be okay.

[Guest]

We like taking fresh rosemary and garlic and putting it in a container with olive oil for a few days. The oil can be used for anything, but is especially good on roasted potatoes. I'll use a garlic press and separate the rosemary from the stem if I know I'm making potatoes, or I'll simply crush the garlic with the flat of a knife and use the whole sprig of rosemary so that it is removable. Then you can spread a little oil on a slice of olive or german rye bread, top with some grated cheese and toast till the cheese is melted. Amazing.

[Guest]

3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/3 cup chopped fresh chives
3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 pounds red-skinned new potatoes, halved lengthwise

Blend parsley, chives, rosemary, 1 tablespoon olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, lemon peel, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in processor to coarse puree. (Pesto can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss potatoes and remaining 2 tablespoons oil in large bowl. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Arrange potatoes, cut side down, on rimmed baking sheet. Roast until potatoes are golden brown and tender, about 40 minutes. Using spatula, transfer potatoes to large bowl. Add pesto and toss to coat. Serve.

[Guest]

From personal experience, it is best to apply the salt and pepper before the oil, as the oil prevents the salt to be absorbed by the potatoes, thus needing more salt to get the point.

[Guest]

Potatoes are good with onions too. I cut 2 onions into chunks about the same size as the potato chunks and prepped and cooked them in the same way. Garlic might be overkill with the onions in there, but they're good with rosemary.

[Ivory_Jez]

Have just tried this out for myself using the "whole unpeeled garlic cloves tossed in" method, and it was bloody marvellous

[Aussie recipes]

I have 2 main methods for baked potato and 1 stove top that I will share.

First, one trick to know if you have problems with them sticking to the pan. Initially they will stick but once they have crisped up enough they automatically release and turning is foolproof. If you try to turn them too early, you will find the crisp side will separate from the rest.... be patient.... This also applies if you are pan dry-frying (stove top with barely any oil..... see very healthy recipe below).

Recipe #1:

If you like crisp (on the outside) baked potatoes, then you should dry them with a cloth before baking and after you have roughed up the edges.

After peeling, I run the tines of a fork over the top (rounded edge of half a potato) for a crispy and fancy attractive top (can be slightly dusted with flour also if you want).

Another surface treatment is to make parallel (1cm) 1/4 inch (or deeper) deep cuts, about 1/16-1/8 inch apart across the rounded edge. Remember to dry the potatoes with a cloth after this is done.

Then add salt, pepper and any herbs or spices you like then the oil. Or put everything in a plastic bag and shake so that all surfaces are coated. Bake in hot over (500 degrees is fine) for as long as necessary until nice and brown. Turn when the bottom has released, or if top is sufficiently coated with oil (drying first guarantees this) then there is no need to turn.... both top & bottom will be crisp. I always cook with lots of whole onions & other mixed baking vegetables (pumpkin, sweet potato, carrots) so that the flavours combine. If I want to add garlic to the mix then I wash whole bulbs of garlic, slice the top off, so that most of the clove tops are exposed, drizzle with salt, pepper & oil and lay a small piece of foil over each bulb.... this makes sure that the garlic does not burn (nothing worse than burnt garlic!).

The baking can take a couple of hours. Turn the temperature down if it seems to be burning.... not likely though in the center of the oven. Of course it tastes much better if they are cooked in the same pan as the meat. Just add them to the pan at the same time as the meat..... If you want to cover everything with foil at the beginning then that is ok too.... if you want to cook at a lower temperature, it will just take longer to cook.

If the meat has a fairly quick cooking time, then of course you can par-boil the potatoes or cook (covered) in a microwave before putting in oven, but remember that you must have a dry surface (before adding oil) to get a very crisp potato. This type of baked potato is much crisper (still fluffy and soft on inside) than is typically served in the USA.... I now live in the USA and find that I am always being asked for this recipe.

The other recipe is very different and unbelievably easy and surprising mellow in flavour.

Recipe #2:

For 4 people, I take about 1/2 cup (maybe 20 cloves?) of garlic and a least a half cup of lemon juice (maybe 3/4 cup), salt pepper, & herbs of you want (but certainly not necessary), put in a blender until smooth. You could safely double this if you want!

Take whole baby potatoes, or chopped up regular baking potatoes, wedges of onions or whole small onions, and combine with garlic/lemon mixture. Put in same pan as the Meat (whole chicken breasts, chicken thighs, whole pork loin etc.). Cook covered or uncovered until meat has cooked. Take meat out and continue cooking vegetables until caramelized. Baste as often as necessary. The flavours of this are incredibly complex and it does not taste heavily of either garlic or lemon. I'm sure you could even be more generous with the garlic and lemon without any problem. It tastes like the finest French cooking!

Recipe #3:

This recipe is very different but a healthy and delicious way to get your vegetables. It is basically a combination of 2 vegetables cooked separately and then combined. The best combinations are: potato/eggplant, potato/cauliflower, potato/okra, and potato/brussel sprouts. I want to add here that I don't really enjoy any of these vegetables cooked any other way but love them prepared this way... I find others say the same thing.

You need 2 large flat bottom fry-pans. Add very little oil to each pan (maybe 1 tablespoon) and make sure that it barely coats the bottom of the pan.

In one pan you add COOKED chopped up potatoes (bite sized pieces), in the other pan you add the other vegetable.... salt and pepper both to taste. Cover this second pan with a glass lid (so you can see what is going on without lifting the lid unnecessarily.... you need the natural moisture in the vegetable to be retained). Steam this vegetable to start it's cooking. When this vegetable is just about cooked through, then remove the lid and brown it a little. Toss/turn as necessary. Note: If you prepare using eggplant, don't worry if it gets mushy. It blends well with the potato as mush anyway! If you are preparing okra, then don't cover, just cook both sides with the lid off till brown... the sticky stiff will disappear as it browns.

The potato will initially stick to the pan but when it has started to crisp up it will release automatically (especially on an aluminum or non-stick pan) allowing you to turn it as often as necessary to crisp on all sides. (As an aside note, if you are pan-frying pot-stickers/dumplings the same principal applies.)

Once both vegetables are cooked, add them together in the larger pan and sprinkle with your favourite herb/curry-powder/spice blend and toss together.... maybe a little extra salt/pepper. Our favourite spice for this is something called Sambar powder (777 brand is good) from the Indian section of the grocery store. Cover for a few minutes on low heat for the flavours of the herb/spices/browning of the vegetables to blossom and to merge.

This is a great dish to prepare as a healthy snack or as a side dish. It is the sort of dish that is great for preparing when you are on your own or for kids.... they love it.... I think they don't think of it as vegetables because it is not served the way they are used to seeing vegetables.... so simple and healthy. Best when eaten fresh from the stove..... people just seem to want to pick at it in our house. I find I rarely serve it as part of a meal.

[Karolina]

I liked the rosemary+ garlic option for the potatoes. Thanks!
I also have another way of doing the potatoes. Cut them in half; do the same with apples and add them together to a roasted chicken (duck/goose) to the oven (375F). Then add a little water, crushed/minced garlic, marjoram and salt/pepper to taste.
Baste it once every 30 minutes or so...

[Guest]

To avoid the sticking problem, try a Silpat. You'll wonder why you didnt get one sooner.

http://www.demarleusa.com/product/silpat/silpat.htm

[Cindy D.]

Hey,
I just wanted to thank you for posting this receipe up. It was the first thing I've cooked on my own, and everything came out great! Thanks again.

-Cindy

[lsb]

absolutely fabulous-wouldn't change a thing. THANKS

[Tara]

I just made these last weekened and this method was easy and turned out some rockin' roast potatoes. I just posted my crack at it today. Thank you!

[Joy]

Try it with the chicken! It is only a little more work and the roasted meat element is nice. I tried it last night with an approximately 3.7 lb. fresh chicken (and fresh is a whole different bird than brand names). I covered it for about 20 minutes at 450 F. and then kept it open at 425 F. for about another 50-60 minutes. Until the legs were loose. I wouldn't have left it any longer as fresh chicken is never "basted" or injected with anything that helps it stay juicy. You just have to know when to take it out. Also I stuffed it with some fresh herbs and a quartered yellow onion, which makes it cook a little slower. Anyway, I found my veges got done way before the chicken; which was fine really, because I used the "put the garlic cloves in whole and let them roast in their skin" technique, so I still had to mush them out and make my paste, which I had to re-toss with the veges (I added a couple carrots too for color). Note, I had significant shrinkage on the root veges, so I would suggest using twice as many as you think you will want. Don't worry, you'll eat them all.

[mooremarqitta]

I have never cooked potatoes with the skin on never mind the fact that tey are red. I cooked this recipe for the pastors at my church, I hope they will enjoy them because we enjoyed tasting them as i cooked them.

[Guest]

I tried this recipe with fingerling potatoes. Just awesome!