HELP with potatoes

Subject: HELP with potatoes
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking

From: Pat Kilinski (markk at gate.net)
Date: Sat, 20 May 2000 13:10:41 -0400
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Does anyone have any recommendations for potato dish for 75-100 people. I will have 4 ovens available.

Mark Kilinski, Coconut Creek, FL

From: Goomba (goomba at mindspring.com)
Date: Sat, 20 May 2000 14:06:19 -0400
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> Does anyone have any recommendations for potato dish for 75-100 people. I
> will have 4 ovens available.

I would think anything along the lines of scalloped potatoes would work. I've exported a recipe for you from Mastercook for different idea: It would just entail expanding the recipes and making a few batches, but I'm sure it could be done in advance easily enough.

Potatoes Romanoff

Recipe By: Elizabeth Powell
Serving Size: 6
Preparation Time: 1:30
Categories: Potatoes

4 potatoes -- quartered
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup sour cream
4 whole green onions -- sliced
1 1/4 cups cheddar cheese -- shredded
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
paprika -- to taste

Boil potatoes until tender. Mash with butter, sour cream, onions, 3/4 cup cheese, salt and pepper. Turn mixture into buttered 1-1/2 quart casserole. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and paprika. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

From: freethingsforyou at aol.com (Chuck)
Date: 22 May 2000 08:43:21 GMT
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Mark,

I think it really depends on what type of meal you are serving. My guess is that with that number of people, you are looking at an outdoor picnic. If that's the case, I would go with potato salad.

If my hunch is right and you are interested, drop me a line and I'll send you a few potato salad recipes.

Chuck

Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
Subject: Re: HELP with potatoes - not potatoes, mac & cheese?

From: Jill McQuown
Date: Sat, 20 May 2000 16:07:55 -0500
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>Does anyone have any recommendations for potato dish for 75-100 people. I
>will have 4 ovens available.

I'm afraid I can't help for sure with a potato dish for tons of people. But somewhere along the line I picked up a recipe for Mac & Cheese for 100. Maybe you could adapt this to Au Gratin Potatoes?

20 Lbs. of elbow (or spiral) pasta (what's the equivalent of potatoes, sliced?)
20 Lbs. of shredded cheddar cheese
2.5 lbs. Flour
6 Gal. of milk, scalded
2.5 Lbs. of butter
lots of salt and pepper

Add pasta to salted boiling water and cook until al dente (in this case, cook potatoes until just tender). In a separate pot, heat butter and then add flour and stir. Pour milk in slowly and stir to mix well. Bring up to a simmer and then adjust sauce with more flour or milk. Turn off the heat. Add grated cheese to sauce; stirring well. Allow to melt from heat of sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour over pasta (or in this case, cooked potato slices) and stir to mix well. Keep warm in large chafing dishes. Might this work?

From: penmart10 at aol.com (Sheldon)
Date: 20 May 2000 22:08:46 GMT
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Pat Kilinski wrote:
>Does anyone have any recommendations for potato dish for 75-100 people.

A potato dish for what occasion and to accompany what?

>I will have 4 ovens available.

Then you have enough oven space to accommodate any potato dish for 100 and more requiring an oven.

Having not the foggiest idea what your intentions are and since I'm not a mind reader I will suggest this; my favorite potato recipe in all the universe:

This recipe turns out much better using a grinder rather than a grater.

Potatonik

"Secrets of a Jewish Baker" by George Greenstein, pg. 60

Sponge
1 cup warm water
1 1/2 packages active dry yeast (scant 1 1/2 Tbls)
1 1/2 cups bread flour or unbleached all-purpose flour

Dough
3/4 pound potatoes (about 1 1/2 medium potatoes) skins on
6 ounces yellow onions (1 1/4 medium onions), ground or grated
1 small stale roll or 2 slices old bread (torn or crumbs)
1/2 cup bread flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsps salt
Scant 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup lightly beaten egg
Shortening for greasing pans

Sponge
In a large bowl sprinkle yeast over the warm water; stir to dissolve. Add the flour and mix until smooth. Cover and sert aside until it pulls up (20 to 15 minutes).

Dough
Stir down the sponge. Scrub the potatoes, then grind or grate them with the skins on. Add the ground potatoes and onion to the Sponge and stir until blended. Add the stale roll, flour, salt, baking powder, and ground pepper; mix until incorporated. Add the oil and egg and mix well. Drop the mixture out into 3 well-greased 8-or 9-inch loaf pans. Each loaf should weigh about 15 ounces. Leave room for expansion -- the potatonik will rise in the oven.

Baking
Bake with steam in a preheated 360 F oven until the crust is brown and feels firm when pressed in the center with your fingertips (about 1 hour). Let cool on a wire rack covered with a cloth for 5 minutes to allow the loaves to steam. Invert and tap out onto the rack. Serve warm. Potatonik can be frozen for 1 to 2 weeks. Reheat at 325 F until warm -- can also be reheated for 35-45 minutes to develop a hard crust.

Steam
To produce steam place a roasting pan half filled with boiling water on bottom of oven at the onset of baking -- use caution opening oven -- steam burns are dangerous and very painful.

Yield
Makes 3 loaves

"Secrets of a Jewish Baker" by George Greenstein

From: grau at uic.edu (Barry Grau)
Date: Mon, 22 May 2000 18:48:51 GMT
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> I will suggest this; my favorite potato recipe in all the universe:
>
>This recipe turns out much better using a grinder rather than a grater.
>
>Potatonik
>
>"Secrets of a Jewish Baker" by George Greenstein, pg. 60

Thank you for the memories. When I was a kid my father would take me to visit his brother, Anczel, on Saturday afternoons. Dad and Uncle Anczel would sit in a dark living room and speak Yiddish which I didnt understand. It was very boring. The thing that made it worthwhile was Aunt Ida always had a potatonik or two sitting in the kitchen. Wonderful stuff potatonik is. After a while Cousin Helen and I would tear up some stale bread and go feed the ducks in the Bronx Zoo. Then, before we left for home, Aunt Ida would slip me a dollar and whisper "Don't tell Uncle Anczel."