Monday, November 28, 2011

Potato Cheese Sticks and Mashed Potatoes

 


It's time for another Secret Recipe! The Secret Recipe Club is a group of bloggers that secretly browse another member's blog and cook one of their recipes.  We can change the recipe if we want, but we can't tell the recipe owner that we're cooking their recipe until the day of the reveal.
This month I was assigned "Enriching Your Kid".  Shirley is a clinical physiologist, and focuses on making food that is both healthy for kids, and that they will actually eat! What a challenge! 

The recipe I picked this month are Mozzarella Cheese Cutlets. I bought mozzarella for this recipe... I swear I did... but it had disappeared when I went to make it! I did have some wonderful Smoked Habernero White Cheddar from Beehive Cheese, so I used that.  I loved the results of using this cheese. It added spice and dimension to the potato sticks. 

I actually ended up only frying a few sticks, as we tasted the "mash" and decided that we liked it that way better. Either way is good, and I'll include both recipes here.


Potato Cheese Sticks
adapted from Enriching Your Kid

1/4 cup Smoked Habernero White Cheddar (or Mozzarella), diced fine, or grated
2 large potatoes
1/2 teas ground pepper
1/2 teas oregano
1 teas cumin
1/4 teas chili powder  (these are not spicy, promise!)
2 Tb chopped fresh coriander or cilantro
salt to taste
breadcrumbs or panko to coat
Oil for frying  OR 
2 Tb butter for mashed potatoes and 1/4 to 1/2 cup milk

Wash the potatoes, and poke the skin with a fork. Microwave at 5 minute intervals until soft.  Let cool until you can handle them; peel; and chop finely.  

Mix in the rest of the ingredients (except for Panko) and mix well.  I used my pastry cutter to mix it all together. 

Scoop a spoonful of the potato mixture and shape into a rectangle or circular pattie. Dip in the Panko to coat.

Heat oil until hot.  Drop potato sticks into oil, flipping once, until browned.  Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. Eat hot! 

Mashed Potatoes

Cook the potatoes and add other ingredients as outlined above. (I do not include Panko in the mashed version!)  Add butter and milk, and mix, or beat, potatoes until they are light and fluffy. 

Enjoy!

Here are some other recipes from the fabulous participants of The Secret Recipe Club! 


15 comments:

  1. I have made this recipe from Enriching Your Kid too. I love how delicious it is and very easy to adapt. I never thought of just eating the mash, great idea!

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  2. I like the sound of both ways! But the fried ones would be a great way to use up leftover mashed potatoes.

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  3. Strange coincidence, that for last month's SRC too the same recipe was chosen from my blog! Nice to see its popularity! Glad you liked them. Ha ha yes cheese can disappear like that for sure!
    P.S My name's Shirley (not Angela). Glad to have met you through SRC!

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  4. Oh Shirley! So sorry about the name. I searched and searched and found a link that went to Andrea's page... oops!

    We really enjoyed the potatoes, thanks for the recipe!

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  5. These look so fun! I've always wanted to make my own mozzerella sticks, and your choice of cheese was a good one!

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  6. Mmmm, I want some of those potato cheese sticks!! Yum! :)

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  7. Fried potatoes and cheese...could you want anything more? MMMMMM!!! Their like pierogie sticks only different on the outside. :)

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  8. Yum! Both potato recipes look delicious! :)

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  9. Those look delicious. SRC has such wonderful surprises to offer

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  10. Oh goodness, I could go for some of those cheese sticks right now!

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  11. ooo the Smoked Habernero White Cheddar cheese sounds soo good. I think it would be good a just reg mash and fried as well.

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  12. A couple of quick (hopefully) questions...

    Do you mix in the Panko crumbs if you are using the mashed variation?

    If you are frying, do you coat the rectangles with the crumbs or are they mixed in? The recipe seems to say mixed in but the ingredients' list says the crumbs are for coating.

    Thanks!

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  13. Chris,
    Thanks for the questions! I do not use the Panko with the mashed version. When frying, mold your shape, and then coat in the Panko before frying. I'll fix the recipe! Thanks!

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  14. This is so creative! Sounds like delicious comfort food.

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