Made-Over Dishes/Potatoes

POTATOES

Cold baked potatoes will be converted at once into stuffed potatoes, and put aside for rewarming. Two cold boiled potatoes will make a comfortable dish of hashed browned potatoes, or may be served with cream sauce or au gratin.

Stuffed Potatoes

Baked potatoes that are left over must be made into stuffed potatoes before they are heavy and cold. At the close of the meal at which they were first served, cut the potatoes directly into halves, scoop out the inside portion, put it through an ordinary vegetable press, or mash it fine; add a little butter, salt, pepper and sufficient milk to make a light mixture; stand this over hot water and beat until light and smooth. Put it back into the shells, and stand them aside in a cold place. When ready to serve, brush the top with beaten egg, run them into a quick oven until hot and golden brown.

Potato Croquettes

Cold mashed potatoes may be made into croquettes by adding to each pint four tablespoonfuls of heated milk, the yolks of two eggs, a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, a teaspoonful of grated onion, a quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper; stir over the fire until the mixture is thoroughly heated; form into cylinder-shaped croquettes, dip in egg and rolled bread crumbs and fry in smoking hot fat. Potato croquettes are more difficult to fry than meat croquettes; the fat must be at least 365 degrees (Fahr.) and the rolling carefully done.

Potato Puff

The above mixture may have the whites of the eggs beaten and stirred in, and baked in the oven; serve in the same dish in which it was baked.

Potato Roses for Garnishing

Cold boiled potatoes may have added sufficient milk to make a soft paste; stir it over the fire until smooth; put it into your pastry bag, using a star tube; hold the bag firmly, pressing out on greased papers these little potato roses; brown in the oven and use them for garnishing fish dishes.

Potato Custards

Stir two cups of cold mashed potatoes, with four tablespoonfuls of milk, over the fire until they are warm and light; take from the fire and add three eggs beaten light with four tablespoonfuls of sugar. Add a teaspoonful of vanilla, stir in carefully a pint and a half of milk. Put this mixture into greased custard cups; stand in a baking pan of boiling water and bake in a moderate oven until set, about twenty or thirty minutes.

Where a little cooked meat and, at the same time, mashed potatoes, are left over, the meat may be seasoned with a savory sauce, turned into a baking dish, the mashed potatoes slightly thinned with hot milk and then slightly thickened with flour, and used as a crust. This makes what we call a potato pie. Four tablespoonfuls of milk and four of flour would be a good allowance to each cupful of mashed potatoes.

POTATOES--COLD BOILED

Hashed Brown Potatoes

Chop two cold boiled potatoes rather fine, season with salt and pepper. Put a tablespoonful of butter in an ordinary sauté pan; when hot, put in the potatoes, smoothing and patting them down; stand over a moderate fire and allow them to cook undisturbed for at least eight minutes; then with a limber knife fold over one half as you would an omelet; stand again over the fire for about three minutes and turn at once on to a heated dish. These are exceedingly difficult to make. Directions must be carefully followed; the butter must be hot when you put in the potatoes; the whole must be packed firmly down so that it will not break when turning out.

O'Brien Potatoes

Chop one green pepper rather fine. Chop sufficient red pepper to make two tablespoonfuls. Put two tablespoonfuls of butter in a frying pan, add the peppers, which must be sweet; shake until the peppers are soft, cover over four cold boiled potatoes, chopped rather fine, that have been seasoned with a teaspoonful of salt and a dash of pepper. Press them down as you do hashed brown potatoes, let them stand for a moment, stir them up, mix well, without breaking, and press down again. Let these stand until brown, fold over as you would an omelet and turn out on a heated platter.

Potatoes au Gratin

To each four good-sized cold potatoes chopped fine allow a pint of cream sauce, to which you have added four tablespoonfuls of grated cheese; mix the potatoes with the sauce, turn them into a baking dish, dust with cheese, and brown in a quick oven.

Scalloped Potatoes

Cut cold boiled potatoes into dice; to each pint allow a half pint of cream sauce. Put a layer of the sauce in the bottom of a baking dish, put in the potatoes, season with salt and pepper, cover with another layer of cream sauce, dust the top with bread crumbs, dot here and there little bits of butter, and bake in a moderate oven until a golden brown.

Potatoes in Milk

Cold boiled potatoes may be cut into slices and cooked in milk in a double boiler until the whole is thoroughly heated; season with salt and pepper and serve.

Sweet Potatoes

Cold boiled or roasted sweet potatoes may be mashed while warm, seasoned with salt, pepper and butter and formed at once into croquettes; dip and fry the same as white potato croquettes.

Lyonnaise Potatoes

Cut cold boiled potatoes into small dice; to each pint allow a tablespoonful of butter; put the butter in an ordinary sauté pan, melt it, add a tablespoonful of chopped onion, shake until the onion is golden brown; throw in the potatoes, shake or toss over a hot fire until each piece is slightly browned; sprinkle lightly with a half teaspoonful of salt, a tablespoonful of parsley, and a dash of pepper; dish and serve.

Broiled Potatoes

Cut cold boiled potatoes into thin slices lengthwise; dip each slice in a little melted butter, dust it with salt and pepper, and broil it over a clear fire until a golden brown. For dyspeptics it is better to broil the potato first and add the butter after, as the heating of the butter renders it indigestible. Sweet potatoes may be broiled after this same rule, and would be less greasy than when fried.

Vegetable Browned Hash

Chop two or three cold boiled potatoes rather fine, add an equal quantity of chopped carrot, and either string beans or peas, which ever you happen to have left over. You can add to this a cupful of stewed cabbage. Put two tablespoonfuls of butter into a shallow frying pan, mix the vegetables, put them into the butter, let them stand over a slow fire until they are browned thoroughly and crusted in the bottom. Fold one half carefully over the other, and press the two halves together; cook just a moment longer, and turn out on to a heated platter. This is a nice dish to serve with omelet and tomato sauce for luncheon or supper.