Potato, Smoked Salmon, Red Onion, Caper, Cream Cheese and Roasted Garlic aka My Favorite Bagel As A Pizza (Pizza Night!)

When the orthodontist told me that both kids needed braces, I didn't make the connection that I would be missing out on my bagel fix.  I mean, would you?
With 75% of the household unable to chew through a proper bagel, I had to get creative.  Sure, I flew home to get a decent everything bagel with lox, capers, and red onion see my entire family of origin when we were in the same time zone for a couple of days.  But that's not a realistic long term solution for the craving.

If the everything bagel as a delivery device is temporarily out of reach, I turned to pizza.  I thought the pizza would need something of substance to <gently> chew through, and my farm share had adorable potatoes (Ok, eye of the beholder, I'll give you that), so I consulted this recipe to get the pre-boil/pre-bake technique.  The side effect of this technique is that you can finish the pizza (second baking) without parchment.  Less chance of burning your arm while shaking the pizza off the parchment paper onto the stone.
My son and I, the lox/caper/red onion/cream cheese fans in the family, loved this pizza.  I think it would be even better if I used a tablespoon of the everything bagel seasoning mix I've seen (onion, garlic, sesame seed, poppy seed, etc) while making the dough.  But I tend not to have poppy seeds in the house (one glaring exception!) so I didn't have any.

Shepherd's Pie--Thanksgiving Leftover Remake

I hate to throw out food, so I am grateful for a family who willingly eats leftovers for lunch or, when we've got enough, for Leftover Night.  When I can turn leftovers into something completely different, it's a bonus.  When I can use 3 different leftovers in one new dish, it's a hat trick.

Making this the other night I scored a Leftover Hat Trick.  I had leftover mashed potatoes, from this dish.  I had leftover green beans, simply sautéed with a bit of bacon.  And my kid wanted grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch so I had half a can (prepared) of tomato soup left.

I did what any self-respecting frugal home cook would do.  I combined them all to make Shepherd's pie!  This may not be the Shepherd's pie of your childhood, but it very nearly is the shepherd's pie of mine, so try it.  You may like it!

My kids are not fans of green beans, but will eat them in this dish and take the obligatory bite of the World's Best Green Bean Casserole (they are even more non-fans of mushrooms than they are of green beans).  For them, I chop the beans pretty small in my shepherd's pie.

If I were feeding green bean and mushroom lovers, I'd try to combine the entire leftover WBGBC with the ground beef and seasonings--without the soup--top it with leftover mashed potatoes, and call it Post-Thanksgiving Shepherd's Pie.  But for now, I'll stick with simply prepared beans and be happy when I hit the jackpot and the leftovers are as good as the original dishes they came from.

Try this if you happen to have 3 or 4 cups of leftover mashed potatoes, 1 1/2 to 2 cups of leftover green beans, and a can of tomato soup in the pantry.

What are your favorite ways to remake Thanksgiving leftovers into new meals?

Silken Turnip and Potato Soup (and How To Make Chicken Stock)

Wrinkled old turnips?  Come on down! We love using you in soup!

I read this recipe in The Washington Post and first tried it when the farm share overwhelmed me with turnips provided us with an overabundance of turnips.  My whole family likes this.  I'm happy to make it earlier in the week and serve it the night before Thanksgiving, when I'm busy prepping and don't feel like cooking or eating a heavy meal.

Awaiting the sour cream garnish.

This soup tastes very rich, but it's made without any cream.  In fact, if you use vegetable broth and oil instead of the chicken stock and butter, it would make a vegan offering on your Thanksgiving table.
I don't usually have vegans at my table, so I make chicken stock for the base of this soup.  Whenever I roast a chicken, or pick up a rotisserie chicken at the store, I save the carcass for chicken stock.  Today I grabbed a soup pack and, armed with 1950 Betty Crocker's New Picture Cookbook, made up a batch.

Fried Potatoes--Farm Fresh Feast Style

Fall comfort food at its best--fried potatoes pumped up with farm fresh ingredients.  I learned how to make fried potatoes in Germany from a very patient social worker friend.  He would cook his potatoes low and slow, until they had a nice crust and were cooked through.  I don't have the patience, so I nuke or boil my potatoes first, and finish them in the skillet.  Try it!

Oops, forgot the seasonings and the garlic.

Confetti Potato Salad

New photo, same salad!

I know everyone has their own version of potato salad.  I love many kinds--bright yellow with mustard, chock full of hard boiled eggs, hot with bacon and vinegar.  Still trying to make one that tastes like my memories of Octoberfest at the Tobacco Company in Richmond, VA.

This is my version.  I like the color and crunch that the veggies give, balanced with the tang of vinegar and the sharpness of the celery seed.  I prefer it freshly mixed, still warm.  My husband prefers it cold.  The kids gobble it up either way.  It works with new potatoes, old potatoes, really anything but large baking potatoes.

Sometimes I use red onions, sometimes green, sometimes white or yellow.

For other recipes using potatoes, please see my Potato Recipes Collection. While you're at it, the Carrot Recipes Collection, the Celery Recipes Collection, the Radish Recipes Collection . . . heck, you may as well just check out the entire Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient. I've got even more ideas from around the web on my Pinterest board for Potatoes. 

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