Potato Pizza

The very first time I used yeast was to make a pizza dough back in 2006.  Up to that point I had cooked pretty frequently but had never endeavored to bake anything requiring yeast/kneading/waiting.  I didn't know that dough sometimes needed to rest a while to keep the gluten from causing the dough to seize up when you tried to work with it.  The first time I made a pizza dough I nearly quit in frustration when the harder I tried to form the dough into a perfect round, the harder it fought to remain in a ball.  Though I've certainly gotten back on the horse and made many a yeast dough since that first disastrous pizza dough, I haven't made many pizzas.

Pizza is one of those things that can be made as many different ways as their are people who make it.  I tend to like a thin and crispy crust with a moderate amount of spicy tomato sauce, a light layer of fresh mozzarella, and some combination of mushrooms, onions and pepperoni. 

A few weeks back the man of the house and I caught an episode of "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" in which the guests described the most delicious pizzas they had ever eaten.  Alex Guarnaschelli cited the Yukon Gold Potato Pizza from Five Points as her number one pick.  When we decided to have pizza for dinner last night I left the pepperoni and fresh mozzarella in my fridge and decided to put together a potato pizza of my own.  I topped my pizza with olive oil, thyme, russet potato slices and garlic.  The flavor was very delicate and I could easily see how a drizzle of truffle oil just before serving would be an excellent topper.  When I make this again I think I'll add a little goat cheese and Parmesan to the top of the pizza in the last few minutes of baking.  

Skillet Fries

Though neither the man of the house nor I could be described as rabid environmentalists, we do try to do our part when it comes to using resources wisely.  We watch our energy consumption and, most relevant to this blog, do everything we can to avoid wasting a lot of food.  Often, since ours is a two person household, I end up halving or even quartering recipes.  Other times I prepare a full batch of something and then freeze part of the batch partially-prepared for leftovers (there are raw meatballs and mushroom ravioli tucked into my freezer as we speak) rather than cooking the entire batch and then eating the same thing for days on end.

The last time we grilled out we ended up with some leftover grilled onion and red peppers.  Not wanting all of that delicious flavor to go to waste, we cooked up some absolutely delicious skillet home fries and served them with bacon and a fried egg for breakfast.  The potatoes would also be really tasty as part of the filling for a breakfast burrito, etc.  The potatoes came together easily and they were much tastier than the soggy mess you often get on the side of your plate at a restaurant.  Though you could certainly cut up some fresh red peppers and onions and cook them along with the potatoes, using the leftovers made the preparation of the potatoes a little simpler and the smokiness from the grill added wonderful flavor.

Mustard Roasted Potatoes

 
We love roasted potatoes and eat them frequently with our dinners.  We also have no fewer than five different kinds of mustard in our refrigerator (down from an absurd eight a month ago).  When I stumbled upon Ina Garten's recipe for mustard roasted potatoes I knew they'd be a hit at our household.  I also knew, despite not having been to the grocery store in a few weeks, we had all the necessary ingredients in our pantry.

Potato-Leek Galette

I tried this recipe for the first time a few years ago in a tiny apartment kitchen.  I served it with rack of lamb.  Though the rack of lamb was excellent, it's these potatoes that have been requested over and over again by the man of the house.  The potatoes are crisp, the cheese is creamy, and the leeks give just enough flavor to keep things interesting.  A mandoline slicer makes quick work of the potatoes but, as demonstrated below, they can also be cut by hand to excellent results.  Martha Stewart gets all the thanks for this one.