Mustardy Mashed Potato Salad

 

Being a fan of potatoes prepared just about any way imaginable, I make several different kinds of potato salad.  This version is pretty close to the potato salad I grew up with.  The potatoes were always mashed, not cubed.  I was in high school before I ever saw potato salad made from cubed potatoes; it was shocking!  My mother often made potato salad from leftover mashed potatoes. 

I rarely measure when making this kind of potato salad, but I tried to measure just this once and write down the formula.  In my previous career, I made huge tubs of potato salad from time to time, without measuring.  Please take the following recipe as a place to start with potato salad experimentation.  The amount of relish, pimientos, mustard, salt, pepper, and salad dressing depends a lot on personal preference.  I don’t really care for boiled eggs in potato salad, but I included them this time because my mama always put some in the potato salad.  She didn’t put onions in hers, but I like onions.  Some people might prefer sweet relish to dill relish.  I don't add extra salt; the mustard, salad, dressing, and relish make the potato salad salty enough for my taste.

Peeling potatoes seems like a waste of time and fiber and nutrients; I like to use gold potatoes to avoid peeling.  The skins are very tender and cannot be detected in the finished product.  If you like to peel potatoes, go for it; I do peel the potatoes if using russets.  The amounts of relish, mustard, and salad dressing might need to be decreased if you peel potatoes because the yield of cooked potatoes will be less than with unpeeled potatoes.

Mustardy Mashed Potato Salad

3.5 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes

2 hard cooked eggs, coarsely grated

1 (4 oz.) jar chopped pimientos, drained

1 cup finely chopped red onion

2/3 cup dill pickle relish

3 tablespoons mustard

1 cup Miracle Whip salad dressing

Salt and pepper to taste

Paprika to garnish

Wash potatoes, cut into large chunks, and place in 4 quart saucepan.  Add water to a depth of about an inch.  Cover and cook on high heat until boiling.  Reduce heat and cook, still covered, until potatoes reach desired tenderness.  Drain, reserving cooking liquid.  Using a potato masher, mash potatoes, adding cooking liquid as needed.  Add boiled eggs, pimientos, onion, pickle relish, mustard, and salad dressing.  Stir gently.  Add additional salad dressing to reach desired consistency.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Place in 2 quart bowl or dish, dust with paprika, and chill for several hours before serving to allow flavors to blend.  Serves 8.

Peach Cobbler

Peach Cobbler with Ice Cream!



As someone who regularly tracks calories and activity, (check out MyFitnessPal, http://www.myfitnesspal.com/), I try not to spend calories on foods that are low in nutrient density; excessively high in fat, sugar, or salt;  and/or not to my liking.  For example, foods that I used to enjoy that I now deem “not worth the calories” include corn dogs, gas station pizza, Swanson chicken pot pies, Vienna sausage, and other assorted forms of junk food.  Other popular foods that I deem “not worth the calories” include funnel cakes, cream cheese frosting, cotton candy, and regular sodas.  However, some foods that are not great in the nutrient density department or which are high in fat, sugar, and/or sodium are “worth the calories” to me on occasion.  This list includes but is not limited to Mexican food, Thai food, chicken fried steak with gravy and mashed potatoes, pecan pie, brownies, pound cake, frosted chocolate sheet cake, peach cobbler, and ice cream.

There is nothing “low test” about this classic peach cobbler.  If you want a really healthy dessert, eat a peach.  If you want to spurge occasionally on a really good dessert, go for the real thing!

Peach Cobbler

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Spray a 2 quart casserole with pan spray.

Filling:

8 cups peeled, sliced peaches (about 3 lbs. peaches)
1-1/2 cups sugar
¼ cup water (or less, or none at all)
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons cornstarch (or none at all)
1 tablespoon sugar
Dash cinnamon

Pastry:

3 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening
8 tablespoons water

To make pastry, add salt to flour.  Using a pastry blender, cut the shortening into the flour until the fat is evenly dispersed, with pieces of fat/flour about the size of split peas.  Toss cool tap water into the flour/fat mixture and stir until the dough forms a ball; I always have to use my hands at this point.  Split dough into four equal balls.  On a floured surface, roll each ball into a thin sheet of dough.  Place a whole sheet of dough in bottom of 2 quart baking dish.  Cut other portions of dough into long strips, about 1 inch wide; set aside.

Save longest strips for lattice top crust.

Use shorter or imperfect strips for interior layers that don't show.



To prepare filling, peel peaches and slice into reasonably large chunks.  Place peaches in a heavy saucepan with sugar and water.  If the peaches are juicy, omit or decrease the water; the purpose of the water is to keep the peaches from sticking to the bottom of the pan until juice forms.  Cook peaches and sugar mixture on low heat about half an hour or until peaches are tender but not mushy.  If the mixture looks too watery, remove a small amount of liquid, let it cool, and stir cornstarch into liquid until all cornstarch lumps are dissolved.  Pour cornstarch mixture through a strainer into the pan with peaches; cook just until juice is thickened.  Remove peaches from heat and begin layering the cobbler.

Four layers crust, three layers peaches.

Ladle one third of the peaches on the prepared bottom crust; add a few bits of butter; and place some strips of pastry on top of peaches.  Repeat with one third of peaches, strips of pastry, and a little butter.  Pour remaining peaches on top of the existing layers. 

Hint:  start in the middle when creating lattice. 

 

 

Carefully arrange pastry strips on top of the cobbler in a lattice structure.  After completing lattice, trim ends of pastry strips even with dish.

 

 

 

 

 

Brush pastry with a bit of milk; sprinkle with sugar, about 1 tablespoon; and lightly dust with cinnamon.  

Milk and sugar on top of pastry helps with browning.

  Bake for 35 minutes or until crust is golden brown. 

The finished product.