July 30th, 2012 · Comments Off on Yukon Gold Potatoes
Several weeks ago we harvested our Yukon Gold Potatoes from one of our front yard plots. Our total yield was about 15 pounds of the creamy succulent potato.
Harvesting Yukon Gold potatoes
With the pitch fork in hand we pulled out the tiny potatoes. This is our first time growing below ground level tubers, and we are pleased with the results.
After pulling up about two pounds of the tasty morsels, we washed them with the garden hose and admired their beauty on the front porch.
Washed Yukon Gold Potatoes
Once inside the kitchen, they did not last very long…Yukon Gold Potatoes ready to cook!
Yukon Gold potatoes ready to cook!
Monique made a batch of Fresh Dill Weed and Garlic Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes.
Fresh Dill and Garlic Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes
Dill and Garlic Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes
Ingredients
2
Lbs.
Yukon Gold potatoes
2
Tbsp
Butter, divided
½
Cup
Sour Cream
1
Tbsp
Garlic, minced
2
Tbsp
Dill, fresh chopped
To taste
Salt and white pepper
Procedure Steps:
1.
In a medium pot cover potatoes with cool water, then place on stop top and turn heat to high. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a slow boil, cooking potatoes until soft, or about 20-30 minutes. In the meantime, heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a small saute pan and cook the garlic for about 2-3 minutes, or until fragrant, remove from heat. When potatoes are tender, drain water from the pot and return potatoes to the pot. Mash the potatoes with the back of a large spoon or a potato masher.
2.
Add the garlic and butter, the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, sour cream, and dill weed to the potatoes and stir well.
This is one of several pepper plants still in the starter tray, ready to transplant soon! What kind of pepper? Good question, we still are not sure, it is one of several from a “Pepper Mix” seed packet, could be either jalapeno, Serrano, ancho, Hungarian, or cayenne!
Hot!
Caliente!
Pickled Peppers and Homemade Hot Sauce are on the horizon!
Gaaahlic! One of my favorite seasoning ingredients!
When I find a new recipe and it calls for garlic, I always quadruple the amount without question!
Now, we are curing our first harvest of garlic that we started in the garden last fall.
We sowed our first sets of seed garlic cloves in the fall following the colder climate method, and is typically the last crop to go into the garden before winter. Garlic is usually planted in the late fall and harvested the following early summer.
Here are some general tips and guidelines for growing your own garlic! Get ready, because I am going to start another batch of garlic in just a few months this fall.
How much seed garlic will I need? Measure out the plot where you want to plant your garlic, then, using a little math you can figure out how much you will need to buy. Typically a pound of seed garlic will yield about 20-25 row feet of garlic when planted with 6″ between the cloves. In my case I used a raised bed that measures 4’X12′, and I was able to plant four twelve foot rows with two pounds of seed garlic.
Each pound of hardneck seed garlic has from 35-50 cloves. As each clove grows into its’ own plant and bulb of garlic, each pound will yield 35-50 garlic bulbs (approx 4-7 pounds).
Each pound of softneck garlic seed has from 50-70 cloves, as softnecks have more cloves per bulb than hardnecks. This will yield 50-70 garlic bulbs or approx 6-10 pounds.
Soil conditions and when to plant: Garlic likes a slightly acidic, well-cultivated soil with plenty of compost organic matter. Once the seed garlic arrives from your supplier you should plant it within a week so they won’t dry out and loose their life-force. Garlic roots best when planted well before the first frost, giving it time to develop an established root system before the wintry cold temperatures start to set in for the season.
Spacing, mulching, and watering: Plant the seed garlic cloves with the blunt end down about 2″ deep and about 6″ apart with about 12″ between rows. Cover the garlic bed with several inches of mulch, straw, or leaves to help keep them warm and to conserve water, protecting the young bulbs through the harsh winter months. The mulch also helps to deter weeds from taking over your garlic bed. Shoots will push up through the mulch and depending on the area may die back over winter, but they will return in the spring. Garlic likes lots of water so be sure they get a regular weekly watering if the rain is not too frequent.
Harvesting: When the bottom rows of leaves begin to turn yellow that is your signal to check your garlic plants. Dig up one garlic plant to check the size of the bulb, if it is full and round, then you know it is getting close, if they are still small and wrapped in many layers of “skin” or wrapper, then they probably need more time. Stop watering your garlic for about a week or so and check back again, then harvest your garlic. If there are too few layers and the bulbs are beginning to split then you have probably left them too long and need to pick the rest quickly. You can dig garlic out with a shovel, pitchfork or potato digging fork, or if you have loose soil, just pull them up and out carefully. A shovel seems to work best in heavy soils. Be sure to dig in far enough away from the bulb so that it won’t be damaged when you lift it. Depending on your area it can be between mid-June and into July when the garlic is ready to harvest.
Curing: Set or hang your bulbs in a shady dry place to cure for a week or so before storing. The softneck varieties can be braided into bundles of 6-10 bulbs and hung to dry. There is some debate on whether washing garlic bulbs leads to storage diseases and problems or not. Some folks say that rinsing garlic with water makes it easier to use later and does no harm as long as it dries thoroughly afterward. Others say that you should never wash garlic with water, just brush off the dirt after a few days of curing. If you don’t like the rustic look of the garlic you can remove the outer later of “skin” or wrapper.
Storage: Store garlic in a cool, semi-dry, and well-ventilated area or in containers such as mesh bags that allow air flow. Hardneck varieties have a storage life from 4-6 months, and softnecks will store for up to 10 months. The “ideal” at home conditions for storing garlic is between 55 and 70 degrees F, with plenty of air circulation, and moderate humidity.
Garlic bulb curing in a shaded dry area on the front porch
One of the staple food items at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is Crawfish Bread, and some years a booth will also sell Crawfish Meat Pies. This year as usual Mrs. Wheat’s Foods is selling them again. There are actually eighteen ways you can eat crawfish this year at the Fest, including the bread and pie I mentioned above, and there is the Crawfish Sausage Po-Boy, Crawfish Bisque, Crawfish Remoulade, Louisiana Crawfish Po-Boy, Boiled Crawfish (Suck da Head, Peel da Tail), Crawfish Sack, Crawfish Beignets, Louisiana Crawfish Etoufee, Cajun Crawfish Rice, Fried Crawfish Tails, Crab and Crawfish Stuffed Mushrooms, Crawfish Enchilada, Crawfish Strudel, Spicy Crawfish Sushi Roll, Crawfish Spinach and Zucchini Bisque, and the ever famous Crawfish Monica.
This is a short promotion video for this year’s musical line up at the Fest!
A few images of the pies straight out of the oven!
Crawfish Pies cooling!
Crawfish Pie close up and personal!
Another Fest promotion video!
The Recipe!
Ingredients
1 ½
Lbs.
Crawfish tail meat
½
Lb.
Shrimp, chopped
2
Cups
Onions, chopped
1
Cup
Bell pepper, chopped
1
Cup
Celery, chopped
6
Cloves
Garlic, minced
4
Ounces
Bacon, diced
1 ½
Lb
Cream cheese, softened
1
Cup
Cheddar cheese, shredded
2
Tbsp
Finger Lickin Rub, divided
½
Stick
Butter (4 ounces)
¼
Cup
Flour
1
Cup
Chicken stock, room temperature
½
Cup
Parsley, chopped
½
Cup
Green onions, chopped
2
Large
Eggs, beaten with ¼ cup water
2
Packages
Puff Pastry Dough
Procedure Steps:
1.
Have all the ingredients prepped as listed above.
2.
In a large skillet cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Then add the butter and melt, then add in the onions, bell pepper, celery, and 1 Tbsp of the Finger Lickin Rub, and sauté until tender, or about 5-7 minutes. Then add in the garlic and sauté another 2-3 minutes. Stir well while cooking down the seasonings over medium low heat.
3.
In the meantime use a medium bowl and combine the softened cream cheese with the cheddar cheese and add in the remaining 1 Tbsp of the Finger Lickin Rub, mix well to incorporate. Set aside until needed later.
4.
Add in the crawfish tails and the chopped shrimp to the skillet and cook until shrimp are pink, or about 3-5 minutes. Stir often.
5.
Next, in a small bowl whisk the flour into room temperature chicken stock until well dissolved, then add this to the skillet and bring to a low simmer and stir well to thicken or about 3-5 minutes. Then turn off the heat.
6.
Next, fold in the cream cheese mixture into the skillet mixture and stir until well incorporated. Fold in the chopped parsley and chopped green onions and then allow to cool to room temperature.
7.
Allow the puff pastry dough to temper and spread out a sheet onto a floured work surface. Then cut each sheet into 3X3 inch squares.
8.
Make an egg wash with the two beaten eggs and ¼ cup water, then start filling your pastry sheets in the following manner. Pre-heat your oven to 375° F.
A. Brush 1 pastry dough square with the egg wash.
B. Drop 1-2 Tbsp of the crawfish filling into the center of the square.
C. Fold the corner over to form a triangle.
D. Crimp the edges with a fork
E. Transfer the pie to a coated sheet pan
Repeat the above procedure for all your puff pastry dough sheets. And then brush all the crawfish pies with more egg wash.
9.
Bake the crawfish pies in the oven for 25 – 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
To Serve: Remove with a spatula and serve with your favorite sauce. Yield: 24 pies approximate
This is my version of Crawfish Pie using prepared puff pastry dough, and served with an Asian sauce.
