Potato Croquettes

I was feeling very lazy today and not really wanting a big dinner, but did want to clear out the frig of leftovers. Checking all the Tupperware containers, I spot some leftover mashed potatoes and half a roast chicken.. hmmm?? What can I toss together with little effort?? Why not potato croquettes? I hadn't made them in eons.. and this is a good excuse to cheat on my diet :)

Actually, croquettes are exceedingly easy to prepare and even more delightful to consume. My Mom use to make these often, and no matter how many she had cooling on the counter, some always managed to disappear off the platter before we sat down for dinner. I can't imagine where they went to?! She always made just plain potato croquettes, but I like to add ground chicken to mine, along with some grated carrots, maybe a bit of prosciutto and herbs.
Whichever way you choose to make them, they usually are a big hit, great served warm or at room temperature, and make a nice lunch bite for those always on the run! So don't forget to make a few extras.

1 lb potatoes -washed, peeled and boiled til tender
1 TBL butter
4 TBL milk
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups of pre-cooked or leftover chicken pieces, ground in food processor
2 TBL fresh parsley, rosemary & thyme diced fine
sea salt & ground pepper to taste
2 grated carrots
1/2 cup fontina cheese(or mozzarella cheese)
4 slices prosciutto, chopped (opt)
3 eggs
1 cup seasoned Italian bread crumbs
1 cup flour
Vegetable oil for frying

After your potatoes have cooked, and have drained and cooled, toss them into a mixing bowl. Add the butter, milk and mash them well. Add the cheeses, ground chicken, parsley, rosemary & thyme. Break 1 egg and mix thoroughly into the potato mixture. Add salt & pepper.

In a separate bowl break the remaining two eggs and beat lightly. Place seasoned bread crumbs in another dish, and the flour in yet another dish.

Form each croquette with 2 heaping spoonfuls of the potato mixture: with your hands, roll a croquette.. about 1 1/2 inch in diameter and 2-3 inches long. Roll croquettes in the flour, then into the beaten egg, and finally roll in bread crumbs. Place finished croquettes on a plate, cover with waxed paper and refrigerate 1 hour. When you are ready to fry, heat oil in skillet and fry croquettes until browned on all sides, aproximately 3-4 minutes.
Remove and drain on paper towels. Serve warm or cooled and enjoy!

Fingerlings & Strings

This week at the farmer's market I picked up some fresh string beans and fingerling potatoes with the intent of making a Greek bean dish we enjoy, but with our crazy schedules this week, decided instead to prepare a pretty simple side dish to serve with lemon poached haddock instead.
Versatile and time savers aren't the only reason we enjoy fingerling potatoes. They just so compliment many different dishes be it poultry, beef or fish. Baked, roasted, grilled, steamed, fried, sauteed, boiled or mashed, just try these gems and see why we love the superior flavor.

Fingerling potatoes & string beans



· 2 lb red or white fingerling potatoes
· 1 lb fresh string beans. Snipped ends and snapped in half
· 2 garlic cloves, diced
· 5 slices sweet prosciutto, sliced
· grated Romano cheese
· olive oil
· fresh thyme & parsley
· sea salt & ground pepper to taste

Peel fingerlings and prepare string beans. Boil or steam together until potatoes are just tender. Drain & set aside. Heat olive oil and lightly sautee garlic. Add prociutto slices. Toss the cooked fingerlings and string beans into your pan along with fresh thyme and parsley, sea salt & ground pepper. Gently toss once more. Grate Romano cheese over potatoes and serve warm. Enjoy!

Jicama Mango Salad

I've been on a salad kick these days & decided to play with some jicama.. and since this is relatively new ingredient for me, I wanted to make something that wouldn't hide the flavor of the jicama and yet keep it light for my diet too.

For those that don't know what jicama looks like (because I wasn't really sure what I was shopping for either!) it's kind of a non-descript looking veggie, with a mild apple flavor and consistency of a cross between a sunchoke or water chestnut.. with a nice crunch. My daughter uses this vegetable often, and tells me it's a nice addition to coleslaws as well. I can easily see why.

The only jicama salads I've ever eaten out usually as a side for quesadillas have been the traditional spicy one, with added red pepper flakes and as I am all quessadilla'd out this week LOL thought I'd try something new for me and hopefully lighter. I made this up this yesterday before work and really liked it a lot.




This is a really simple salad of jicama, mango, carrots, scallions, orange pieces, sweet red peppers, with a light dressing of fresh apple mint & lemon balm, squeezed lime juice and orange infused olive oil. This I served as a side with marinated grilled mango-shrimp. I was hoping the crispness of the jicama salad combined with the slightly tart citrus dressing would balance out the salt of the seafood. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

1 jicama peeled and sliced into matchsticks
1 mango peeled and sliced into matchsticks
handful baby carrots, cut into matchsticks
1/2 sweet red pepper, diced
1 scallion, diced
1 orange, diced, with juice reserved
orange zest
1 lime
finely chopped fresh mint - I used apple mint
finely chopped fresh lemon balm
olive oil

Place the cut jicama and remaining ingredients into a bowl and toss together with a good handful of chopped fresh mint and lemon balm. You could use any mint you have growing in your garden.. I just wanted to try & compliment the 'apple flavor' of the jicama, so I used apple mint. Squeeze the fresh lime juice over the salad. Drizzle the orange juice, zest, and olive oil infusion over all. Enjoy!