A Second Life for Mashed Potatoes Part I

I took a detour from the norm and in lieu of Mashed Potato Pancakes I decided to make a PlannedOver out of a PlannedOver!  Gnocchi, like so many good things in life, is rather time consuming- it is not impossible or even terribly difficult, but if you are going to invest the time - you might as well make it very worth your while.  I started with PlannedOver mashed potatoes and to that added 2 eggs and some AP flour.

Mashed

Mashed with Egg

Potatoes with egg and flour

The amount of flour you will use will be highly dependent on both how wet your mashed potatoes are, and how humid it is outside. You want just enough flour for the dough to hold a soft shape.  If you overwork the dough - you will know it in the form of tough finished product.  Lightly working the dough and keeping it somewhat loose is the key to ethereally light pillow soft gnocchi.  It will take experimentation and you'll probably have some ledden pellets before you achive gnocchi perfection and that is simple part of the learning process.  If it is your very first time I would recommend dividing the mashed potatoes into fourths, add some beaten egg and slowly incorperate AP flour until you think you've got it right.  Keep a pot of salted water on a boil while you work and drop a piece of dough in from time to time to check your work.  Most importantly - have fun with it.

Onto stage two.  We will roll out the dough on a floured surface into long strands.

Then using a fork - cut to your desired length.

Now here is where PlannedOver part two comes into play.  I put all of my gnocchi onto a sheet pan and into the freezer!!

Once frozen I transfer to a gallon freezer ziplock and now you do have an elegant side that is last minute time friendly.

Stay tuned for next week for taking these beauties from blah beige to gorgeous golden brown!

Happy gnocching and Happy Eating!!!

The Roast of PlannedOver Future

So the not so wee one and I recently attended Atlantic Stage's production of "A Christmas Carol"  It was an amazing, and rather large, production with a record cast of 24 actors.  And with the ghosts of Christmas' Past, and Present and Future and it's not so subtle message of "the reason for the season" I got excited.  I've been pretty stoked for the holidays as I am every year with the decorating and menu planning, and anticipation for family arriving and memories created.  What I have been significantly less than stoked about is the buying and the shopping and the finding of the presents.  It is one thing to find a unique and special something for someone, something you know they will cherish and love.  But buying for the sake of

buying is offering me absolutely zero satisfaction.  So I'm not.  I just am not.  Will be interesting to see how this all plays out, but for sure I will be happy about it!

So in honor of the Ghost of Chritstmas Future - I present the Roast of Future PlannedOvers.

This recipe came from Epicurious and the reviews are spot on!  I of course modified with what I had on hand which included Bell's Seasoning, Garlic a splash of white wine and some Smokey Mustard. This product is quite possibly one of my very favorite things and can be added to a myriad of dressings, sauces, vegetables, marinades, and take it to an entire whole new level.

Happy Eating!!! Enjoy!

Patty Cakes and Arancini

So the idea came to me in the form of arancini with my plannedover Spanish rice.  But it was a weeknight and lets be really honest with ourselves in that I am not really partial to deep frying anything.  But the concept was there and that was a good enough start for me!  I followed the premise and basic directions as  Potato Pancakes, using a little egg and breadcrumbs to bind, and then I added a GENEROUS handful of grated Parm.  Because we all know everything is better with cheese!

Formed into pattys

Then a brief stint in the saute pan with a kiss of olive oil!!

Happy Eating!  Enjoy!

I love love love roasting vegetables.  Pretty much any and all and for the seven followers of this blog- my mom is sooo proud and one of them- you know this about me.  I love the way the tantalizing aroma fills the house before dinner.  I love the textural change that occurs.  And I especially love the caramelization of the natural sugars in the veggies into something more than they were to begin with.  My obsession is real and has been going on for close to10 years.  It all started innocently enough as I sat trolling the internet looking for recipes.  I came across one for Roasted Cauliflower that stated no matter how much of this you made, you would not have any leftovers.  I was intrigued.  I read many, many reviews and by the time I upped and headed for home I knew I was going to be making some roasted cauliflower that evening.  And I did.  And it was amazing.  And I have been roasting it up ever sense. 

My method is simple and IMHO (not that I really have one) THE BEST!  Separate a head of cauliflower and cut florets to maximize the amount of flat surface.  It is the flat surface on the pan that creates the beautiful golden  and you want to maximize the amount of flat cauli touching pan.  Trust me.  Spray it all down with Pam or toss with olive oil and a touch of salt, 425 oven 30 minutes.  Deliciousness. 

So this weeks plannedover starts with some amazingly delicious roasted veggies, a hungry husband, and not a lot of time and what do you get?  This amazing omelet.

Happy Eating!  Enjoy 

And just what am I suppose to do with all that Turkey?

I hope that you and your loved ones had a fantastic memory filled, perfectly orchestrated, cooked to perfection Thanksgiving.  Or if your family gatherings are more akin to the Griswold's, I hope you survived and are now safely home.   Either way, you have probably had your fill of turkey, turkey sandwiches, and carbtastically overloaded- the turkey dinner sandwich, in which a little bit of all of the components that comprise the T-Day dinner get enrobed in bread and eaten out of hand, most likely over the kitchen sink.  But the poor overlooked turkey that seems to only make it's debut in the fourth quarter each year, is as versitle as chicken and can be used in leiu in any and every recipe which calls for cooked chicken.  But you went and hit the midnight/earlybird/all day/can't miss/you are never going to see a deal like this again ever in your life sale shopping.  And you are tired.  I get it.  So I have provided some great links to inspire you to create something so awesome with your PlannedOver turkey - you just might cook one EVERY quarter next year!

Stuffed Pumpkin - how delicious would this be with turkey, sourdough, cubed brie, pine nuts, and crasins?  Maybe even throw in a few mushrooms and a little chopped thyme!!!

Turkey Pot Pie - always a hit and a great way to use up gravy as well

Thai Curry Turkey - this certainally won't taste like your Thanksgiving dinner.  Unless of course you had Thai for Thanksgiving, in which case make yourself a turkey sandwich.

Next-Day Turkey Soup with Mashed Potato Polpetti - Finish off your turkey AND your mashed potatoes!

Turkey Enchiladas - for a quick supper with a nod south of the Border.

Happy Eating!!!  Enjoy!

Potato Pork Produces Pot Pasta

Who doesn't love that alteration?  Lot of pasta of late, that probably means the weather is turning cool and the stove's lure tends to win over going outside to grill. Although I do grill year round it is funny how READY I am to head out to grill in the springtime and how equally READY I am to focus on indoor cooking in the fall, or to be more geographically specific, when the temperatures start to dip.  The older I've gotten the more I really look forward to and really crave the foods of the various seasons.  Menu items in the short future include butternut squash, collards, sweet potatoes and caramelized onions.  I find myself turning to baked, roasted and pan searing as preferential cooking methods.  I think the simple act of turning the oven on warms me.  The cooler temps and darker days encourage us inside and focus us on home and the special people in our lives that make it so.

In this vein, I made a quick weeknight supper of stuffed baked potatoes baking up some russets and topping with ground turkey, broccoli and a cheddar cheese sauce.  Friday found me with more time to devote to dinner and I decided to take my PlannedOver turkey and turn it into a tasty treat!  Michael loves pasta and it, along with eggs, and salad can pretty much turn anything into a PlannedOver!  I started a roux with butter and flour and made a sauce using PlannedOver greens broth as well as a can of chicken broth, finished it off with a generous handful of Parmesan cheese.  Into the pot went the ground turkey, cooked pasta and broccoli.  I like to slightly under cook my pasta and let it finish in the sauce.  I feel like the pasta absorbs some of the sauce and becomes infinitely more flavorful.

I would love to hear what you do with your PlannedOvers and Pasta!

Enjoy!  Happy Eating!

PlannedOver via MIL

We were out of town recently to attend a convention for our travel company Take the Trip and my husband's mom graciously offered to house sit and keep an eye on the baby doggy and the not so baby teenager.  I am always grateful for Spencer to stay at home rather than board him for any length of time, and the teenager is also very grateful to NOT have a change in his routine.  As a show of my appreciation I like to cook a few things for them to have on hand for suppers and snacks and the like, upon our return it seems as though my plannie nature has rubbed off and she created the ultimate planned over!  What began as our farewell dinner of pasta, greeted our return as soup combining many elements of many meals planned in our absense!!!  Brilliant.

Planned Over Rotisserary Chicken
Stock 
Planned Over Greens
Planned Over Pasta

Enjoy!!! Happy Eating!!