My daughter is a fan of Pioneer Woman. She thinks she's (Pioneer Woman) damn funny and a great photographer plus a pretty good cook, in that order. Which means I shouldn't be so jealous of her because I'd like to think I 'm the reverse order of the woman. So, feeling less threatened, I checked out PW's website recently and immediately drooled over crashed potatoes.
Tonight's dinner has completely ruined my whole week of dieting. I have been dieting to get ready to eat in Malaysia's food heaven, Penang, this Friday and Sat. I actually lost 2" off my waistline and the last couple of hungry nights have been worth it. I have this plan to start eating the minute I'm out of the airport because someone told me of a good place for Hokkien prawn mee 5 minutes from the airport. The only bummer about this trip is I will have to decide between eating dinner out and missing the Olympics opening, or eating in (oh no, hotel food!) to watch the show. What do you think I'll do? Hub bets I'll forgo the Olympics.
Like I said, dinner's tonight was great. We had the crashed potatoes (love the crispy potato skin, plus the intense aroma of the olive oil and herb baked into the fluffy spud) with tenderloin steaks and a summery leaf salad. It's been scorching the last 2 weeks. While I'd hate to live through Canadian winters (and their springs and falls, which basically leaves 3 months in a year to enjoy life), I'd also hate to live inferno desert days which is what it feels like here now. I want rain, rain! Oh if I'm rambling it's because of that cabarnet sauvignon that's racing through my veins and my brains as I type. Before I pass out, here's the recipe for PW's crashed pototes. You should also check out the lady's posting on this recipe because as usual she has fantastic step-by-step pictures of her cooking.
Crashed Potatoes (serves 3)
9 to 12 new potatoes
1 t (or more) coarse sea salt (or kosher salt)
1 t herb (thyme/rosemary/chives/basil/dill/garlic etc)
extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
1. Scrub the pototoes, do not peel their skin. Boil them in salted water until tender; if not soft enough, it will crack into half because you'll need to press too hard to crush it (test with a skewer which should go through easily). Drain.
2. Heat oven at 230 C.
3. Drizzle olive oil all over your baking sheet and place the potatoes well spaced apart on it. Using a potato masher, press down on the potatoes until they are about 1 cm thick; do not press them too flat.
4. Sprinkle the ground pepper, herb (I used thyme) and coarse salt over the potatoes. Brush the potatoes generously with olive oil.
5. Pop tray of potatoes into oven (upper middle) and bake 20 minutes (I baked 20 min middle of the oven but next time will put rack on the upper level towards the last 10 min to get a browner skin).
6. Take out, sprinkle with fresh chives or spring onions. Mmmm.
Ermm... seems really delicious! Too bad the recipe didn't came in earlier, otherwise would've used it for the guests over at my place on Sunday evening.
ReplyDeletewhere did you get your tenderloin from ??
ReplyDeleteAhhhhhhh. Making me hungry again......................
ReplyDeleteCan I use fine table salt instead? Thanks for all your wonderful recipes. I always learn something new here. Keep blogging and cooking!
ReplyDeleteThat is another wonderful dish from you. I love potatoes and you know what? I actually tot of if i ever open up a restaurant, it will be 'potato' as my theme. Everything potatoes!
ReplyDeletejohnathan: try it out this sunday?
ReplyDeleteganache: i usually get it frm Hong Seng, the cold storage round the corner from Coffee Bean in Damai. the lady never smiles n will never let u off even 5 sen--she'll wait for u to rumage thru ur bag. my friends all avoid the shop now, n i also try to get local beef at foh san.i hear tong hing's chilled beef frm australia is very good.
fooman: hey, did u make the mien tiao??
steff: sea salt is pure, does not have iodine so some ppl like the taste better. using coarse salt is good bc even after baking, there'll be tiny grains of salt u can taste here n there as opposed to an even saltiness, hope u know what i mean. i like to use coarse salt when grilling saba fish, for the same reason.
get the coarse salt frm china; much cheaper.
pea: really? i have a friend whose kids grew up on potatoes, not rice, n they are all very tall. potatoes have more vitamins n nutrients than polished rice, so u r on the right track :)
steff: i mean get chinese sea salt :)
ReplyDeleteI know Hong Seng that old lady once overcharged me for the striploin I went back to look for her she wanted receipt I threw it away, I demanded her son refunded me the diff, u shld see her face, haha ! Oh hubby loves steak but this is one dish I'm still not confident in, Hong Seng sells by per block which is more than 2kg & I'm not good in tying & trimming, local tenderloin tried once, so tough, Tong Hing prices are so steep, when we make a mistake in the doneness no rerverse, at least if we order steak @ peppino we can send it back if it's not up to standard, any suggestions ??
ReplyDeleteNope, haven't made the mien tiao yet. Camping trip got postponed and I only cook while camping. Hahah.
ReplyDeleteI'll probably cook it when I get some of the cell ppl over for our next cookout.
I'm wondering how well Bario salt will work with this, but having grains of coarse salt in it will be nice.
wow..once i saw the picture of the beautiful durian.. i experienced instant moisture build up in my mouth. wow..
ReplyDeleteganache: the lady at bornion mini wet mart (next to the fish seller stall) can get u good local tenderloin. give her ur no.she'll call when she gets good beef.
ReplyDeleteif you cut the tenderloin very level n not too thick, there's no need to tie it.yes, getting the right doneness is not easy. i usually test it by piercing the steak during cooking...but u can also tell by the degree of softness or toguhness when u press it with your tongs.i usually prefer to take it out when it is stll quite soft/rare bc it will cook further on standing.
hey, tong hing giving beef sampling this week. c u there?? u prolly can tell who's me but not me u :(
fooman: only cook during camping! isn't tt stressful?? what's bario salt??
jc: u don't look like the type to like durians..i'm discriminatory :D
I still haven't gotten around to making the mien tiao, but I finally made the crashed hot potatoes as you probably heard.
ReplyDeleteI slightly underboiled the potatoes the night before to save time. I drained them and stuck them in the fridge.
I only had regular salt and yes sea salt would have had a better texture to it. I only had the mixed herbs in a bottle so sprinkled that on top.
I think they went over quite well with people at and after the party.
Bario salt is mineral salt from the highlands of Bario in Sarawak. Its kinda coarse and has a light pinkish tint to it
yeah i tried the potatoes from when eric made them.. was awesome!!! i wanna make them sometime (or ask my mom to when i go back for cny cos i dont have an oven here..)
ReplyDelete