Patatas Bravas: My Version (or..what to do with those leftover mashed potatoes)

Patatas Bravas (fierce potatoes) is a Spanish tapas dish made with fried cubed potatoes served with a spicy tomato sauce and aioli. With smashed yukon gold potatoes leftover from a previous dinner, I made potato pancakes reminiscent of this tasty dish. My other favorite way to eat potato pancakes is with sour cream or applesauce. It's one of my favorite breakfasts!



To 2 cups of smashed potatoes, I added 1/3 cup of flour, 1 tablespoon of baking powder, a tablespoon of dried thyme, 2 eggs and some kosher salt. Stir until all ingredients are incorporated. I dropped 2 large tablespoon dollops into a medium high pan with 3 tablespoons of hot vegetable oil. After the first side browned nicely and the potatoes set, I turned and browned the other side. The potato pancakes were placed on a paper towel to drain.

For the aioli, I added to my mini food processor: 6 tablespoons of mayonnaise, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, a pinch of saffron, 1/2 zested lemon, juice from 1/2 lemon and one clove garlic. I blended until it was a smooth paste and added salt to taste.
*note* this is more of a method than a recipe-you may alter the amounts to get your batter just right.
Here's the process ending with the "patatas bravas" topped with the aioli:


The taters waiting to be recreated into something wonderful.







Frying up in the pan.

Tada! Crispy on the outside with a savory creamy center.

p.s. Thanks, Mom, for making these for me in your trusty Revereware pan.

Cheddar Corn Chowder

The corn** from this week's farmer's market haul is white, crisp, juicy and sweet. It's perfect for making one of my favorite soups; cheddar corn chowder. This recipe is Ina Garten's "The Barefoot Contessa".

I think Ina is brilliant. Without any formal training, she built a gourmet food empire, has written books and catered, and has a successful show on Food Network. And, she has to be the best neighbor in the world. What I'd give to pop over her better-than-home-and-garden manse, and be a guinea pig for a new recipe!

I've tweaked the recipe just a bit to make it my own. I feel the additions to her original recipe give the flavor an additional boost. First, here's a link to the recipe. Now, I add a tablespoon of paprika in addition to the turmeric. I think the flavor goes really well and boosts the rich color. In fact, I would say simply skip the turmeric if you don't happen to have it on hand when you want to make this recipe. Second, I cook the potatoes about 10 minutes longer and use an immersion blender to blend about 25% of the cubed potatoes*. This enhances the creaminess. Last, I also add a tablespoon of thyme to accent the corn.

This recipe makes a great deal of soup. I've frozen it before with success.

Enjoy!

* Here's a photo instruction of how to get equal sized potato cubes. Planks, sticks and cubes.

First, place the potato on it's side and cut into 3-4 "planks".

Then, lay each potato half flat and cut into "sticks".

Now, cut across sticks to make "cubes". This makes quick work for cubing 2 lbs. of potatoes.

**To remove kernels from corn, without them flying 2 feet away, get a big bowl and place a smaller bowl, inverted, in the big bowl. Place your ear of corn and slice kernels from top to bottom.