Michael Symon's Live to Cook_ Recipes and Techniques to Rock Your Kitchen - Michael Symon [54]
Serves 4 to 6
2 pounds 2-inch red potatoes
Kosher salt
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup Chicken Stock
2 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ to ½ pound arugula
Put the potatoes in a large pot and add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Season the water well with salt and bring to a boil. Cook until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife, 30 to 40 minutes. Drain them and let the moisture steam off. When they’re cool enough to handle, peel them if you wish. Cut into ½-inch-thick slices.
In a medium sauté pan, whisk together the cream, stock, and mustard. Reduce by one-third over high heat, about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and toss to coat. Stir in the butter and season with salt and pepper to taste. When the cream comes to a simmer, add the arugula. Continue to cook until the arugula is completely wilted, about 45 seconds.
DAD’S POTATO PANCAKES
My dad worked the midnight shift at a Ford Motors plant throughout most of my childhood, so when he got home, we were just getting up. He used to make us meals that worked as both our breakfast and his dinner, hearty sandwiches with eggs on top and these potato pancakes. To us, he was the king of breakfast. I don’t think my sister, Nikki, loved anything more than his potato pancakes. They’re the best I know, light, thin, and crisp. Now that I’ve worked my share of late nights, I realize how hard starting his shift at midnight must have been for him, both physically and emotionally. When his shift was done, he could have hit the drive-through and picked up fast food, but he didn’t. I’m sure he missed us and so he’d come home and cook for us. All the men in my family cooked. Those breakfasts he made are some of my best childhood memories and serve now to remind me what a powerful force food is in bringing people together.
I always had these for breakfast as a kid, but they make a great side dish for roasted chicken, grilled steak, just about any meat. In the summer I add some grated zucchini for another layer of flavor.
Serves 8
4 medium russet potatoes (about 2 pounds)
1 large egg, beaten
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 medium yellow onion
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
Preheat the oven to 200°F.
Peel the potatoes and keep them submerged in cold water. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, baking powder, flour, salt, and pepper. Using the large holes on a box grater, grate the onion and add it to the egg mixture. Grate the potatoes onto a clean kitchen towel and wring as much water out of them as you can. Add the potatoes to the egg mixture. Toss so that the mixture is evenly combined.
Heat a medium sauté pan over medium heat and melt half of the butter in it. Using half of the potato mixture, shape 4 pancakes, each about 4 inches in diameter and about ½ inch thick. Sauté the pancakes in the butter until each side is golden brown and the interior is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels and keep them warm in the oven while you shape and cook 4 more pancakes using the remaining butter and potato mixture.
CRAB TATER TOTS
These are simply potato croquettes—pâte à choux mixed with mashed potatoes—loaded with crab meat. Customers at Lola kept asking me to get crab on the menu, but I didn’t want to do crab cakes like every other restaurant; I wanted to do something different. Tater tots would be something my customers would be familiar with and they’d provide that same satisfaction—the Cleveland version of the crab cake. These add texture and flavor to grouper, but they also make a great side dish or even an appetizer, served with some Red Pepper Relish and Shasha Sauce.
The tater tots can be prepared up to a day before you intend