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Two-for-One Day:
Garlic Mashed Potatoes or O'Brien Potatoes and Stuffed Potatoes
First thing you're going to do for this is bake the potatoes in the oven. Let cool. Cut off one long side, so that the potato looks like a little boat. Then, with a melon baller, scoop out the meat of the potato. The scooped out part is what you're going to make the Mashed Potatoes OR the O'Brien Potatoes.
Mashed Potatoes
I used to get this at a Greek restaurant on Chausee d'Ixelles in Brussels.
Ingredients: 2 large potatoes, or 3 medium sized
Milk or Plain Yogurt
2 cloves garlic, peeled
Butter
Salt
Optional: chives, chopped hot pepper, and/or grated cheese
1. Bake the potatoes in the oven, and everything else mentioned above. Put the scooped out part into a bowl. Add 2 Tablespoons of butter. With a masher, mash the potatoes. They should get creamy fast. If not, add JUST A LITTLE milk or yogurt. Once smooth, add garlic and salt and whatever else you'll use.
2. They should look like mashed potatoes, but you're not through yet. Put them into a pot and cook them more. Add JUST A LITTLE MILK as the potatoes start cooking. They should start getting fluffy now that you're cooking them again.
3. That's it. Easy.
O'Brien Potatoes
When I was really poor-ok, would you believe poorer than today-I'd make potatoes this way. I would chop up the potato with the skin on, boil in water for a while, drain, and then be at this starting point.
If you want, you could substitute easily. See the next recipe? It makes more stuffing for the potatoes than needed. Take that and fry it up with the potato, as described here.
Ingredients: same potatoes, same process of scooping them out.
1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped.
1 Onion chopped
Hot pepper, if desired
Salt
Any spices you want
Tobasco, if desired
Butter
1. Put some butter in the pan. No, I don't know how much-maybe 2 Tablespoons? Once melted, add potatoes. Stir it up fast, so it won't stick.
2. Add rest of ingredients one at a time. Stir in between.
3. If it starts to stick to the pan, it means the heat is too high. Turn it down. You can also add a little water to cool it down fast. The water will evaporate over the heat.
4. That's it.
Stuffed Potatoes
This is a new recipe for me. Anne Friedrich taught me it. She loved the potato skins we have in the states. We did a version of potato skins here, but with veggies.
Ingredients: The potato boats from above.
1 Zucchini, chopped up fairly fine
2 Tomatoes, skinned and chopped up; don't worry about using the juices. (To skin the tomatoes, cut a little 'x' in the bottom, boil in water. Skin should start to peel off. Take skin off, when cooled a little, and chop up, leaving aside the place where the stem went in.)
1 onion chopped fine
Garlic, if desired
Mushrooms, chopped fairly fine
Grated cheese-Cheddar or Gouda or Swiss. You get the point
Salt
Oregano, Basil, Parsley
1. So, you've got the potato boats already. Now, put a little bit of oil in a frying pan. Once hot, add the zucchini. Wait a few seconds, then drop in the mushrooms. Next, put in the onion. Now put in the spices. Finally, add the garlic and tomatoes. Stir it up quickly, then put into a bowl. Place bowl in fridge to let cool.
2. Once cool, add the grated cheese to the mixture. Stir it up.
3. Take a spoon and carefully place mixture into the potato boats. Press down with the back of the spoon carefully to make sure it really gets in there.
4. Pre-heat oven to 375' F or 200' C. Arrange the stuffed potatoes on a baking pan. Or on a cookie sheet. Take the 'lids' you cut off the tops of the potatoes, salt them, and arrange them in the remaining space.
5. If desired, put a slice of cheese over the opening.
6. Cook for about 20 minutes. More or less. Once finished, place the boats on a plate. For a nice touch, take the lids and put them on top of the potatoes again. If it's just you, leave them on the side and eat them as you wish.
