Yukon Gold Potatoes Sautéed in Clarified Butter

Clarified butter. Never heard of it. From clicking the Clarified Butter link on the original recipe I learned that milk solids are skimmed away leaving the clarified butter to have a higher smoke point than just regular butter. This once again is another reason I call myself the Pretend Chef. I learn something new every day and even after attempting to look in the saucepan of melted butter nothing looked solid. Hmmm.... maybe I just didn't know exactly what I was looking at. I just decided not to bother and continued making the recipe with the butter I had just melted. Saved myself one step as far as I was concerned.

Growing up my mama would make homestyle potatoes with breakfast many mornings. I loved her well seasoned potatoes with my eggs and bacon. Oh how I miss living under here roof and sitting around her table! Although I didn't make these potatoes for breakfast I have plans of reheating them with my eggs and making sort of a scramble.

Whether you know what or how to make clarified butter or just use regular butter these potatoes are amazing! Simple. Yes. But oh so flavorful! Crispy and creamy. The Yukon gold potatoes cook for 20 minutes in a skillet to get tender and browned before being seasoned with parsley, garlic, salt and pepper.

These would make a great side dish for breakfast or dinner. I prefer them for breakfast with a poached egg over the top so the runny yolk runs down and onto the potatoes! Yummy!

Yukon Gold Potatoes Sautéed in Clarified Butter

MyRecipes.com and Cooking Light, January 2007

Makes 8 Servings (Serving size = 1 cup)

Stars of the Show:

• 3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup clarified butter - I used Land O' Lakes Butter with Olive Oil and didn't skim any milk solids off the top. Remember... I had no clue what I was looking for.
• 2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley - I used dried parsley.
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 garlic clove, minced

And Action:

Place the potatoes in a pot covered with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Drain and let stand for 2 minutes.

Heat the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add the potatoes to the skillet, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are nice and browned and tender. Stir occasionally. Stir in the parsley, salt, pepper, and garlic.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 197 (29% from fat)
Fat: 6.4g (sat 4g,mono 1.8g,poly 0.2g)
Protein: 4.1g
Carbohydrate: 30.2g
Fiber: 2.1g
Cholesterol: 16mg
Iron: 1.5mg
Sodium: 158mg
Calcium: 2mg

Crostini with Anchovy Butter Topping

The day we left for our two week vacation I checked the mailbox to find a package. It was thick and heavy and I already knew what it was... my prize from winning Lora's giveaway over at Cake Duchess. If you have never checked out her blog I recommend you do so. It's sweet! No pun intended. The giveaway was for Domenica Marchetti's Big Night In Cookbook. You can imagine my disappointment to have to wait for over two weeks to finally be able to mark recipes to try and actually make a new recipe.

Pregnancy rumors to rest... I'm not pregnant. Just a lot of layers and too much Primanti Brothers.

While I loved being on vacation and enjoyed my time in Ohio and the Pittsburgh area... (This girl went to her first NFL game and got to see my beloved Steelers with Mr. Sideline Chef and also ate my way through town!) I was ready to get home and get back in the kitchen and into our California King sized bed. Mr. Sideline Chef is truly a bed hog and knees to the ribs don't feel too good. Haha!



We came home to an empty fridge and needed to go shopping. Shopping ran close to the time of kickoff for the Steelers game today against the Browns and we were hungry. Game day and snacks go hand in hand. I decided to try an appetizer from the Big Night In Cookbook and chose to make the Crostini with Anchovy Butter Topping.

I have never had anchovies before. I'm hesitant to try new ingredients but that's half the fun of being in the kitchen to experiment with new tastes and textures. After opening the cans of anchovies I chopped them up and took a tiny morsel to taste. Anchovies are incredibly salty but that's what I loved about it because I don't have a sweet tooth instead I crave all things crunchy and salty. 

A baguette was sliced and brushed with olive oil and toasted in the oven until golden brown. The anchovy butter topping was incredibly easy to make and could easily be doubled for hosting a get together. Psst... that is what the theme of the cookbook is... feeding family and friends Italian Style.

I recommend picking up a copy of this cookbook and hosting a dinner party for your loved ones. The first recipe I tried out of it and it's a winner!

Crostini with Anchovy Butter Topping

Domenica Marchetti's Big Night In: More Than 100 Wonderful Recipes for Feeding Family and Friends Italian-Style

Makes about 40 slices

Stars of the Show for the Crostini:

• 1 thin baguette
• extra virgin olive oil for brushing - I needed about 2 tbsp to coat all of my slices.

And Action:

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Slice the baguette into 1/2-inch slices and brush both sides with olive oil. Place the slices in a single layer on a baking sheet.

Toast the slices for 7 to 8 minutes until golden brown around the edges. Flip the slices and toast for another 5 minutes or more until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature.

Stars of the Show for the Anchovy Butter Topping:

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened - Make sure you really pay attention to using unsalted butter because the anchovies are incredibly salty.
• 3 to 4 Italian anchovy fillets in olive oil, drained and finely chopped

And Action:

In a small bowl combine the butter and anchovies and blend thoroughly with a fork. Spread on the crostini and enjoy!

Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes with Horseradish Butter

I had a jar of prepared horseradish sitting in the fridge that rarely gets used except for the occasional addition to a roast beef sandwich. It was time to put some of it to use. I found a recipe for Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes with Horseradish Butter and knew I needed to make it. Since setting out on my weight loss journey I rarely top my potatoes with any fatty condiments and such. I feel less guilty for topping my tatoes when I make the recipe or I am eating out.

Mr. Sideline Chef loves mashed potatoes and could very well have them with every meal. I on the other hand when eating them tend to over do it and get filled up off of them and end up with stomach aches that turn my stomach at the very mention of mashed potatoes days after. Don't get me started on KFC commercials with them dumping gravy onto the pile of mashed potatoes.

Not this mashed potato recipe. It came from Cooking Light and it sure tasted light. The mashed potatoes themselves tasted to me like a plain potato that had been boiled and mashed. The amount of milk, chicken broth and sour cream didn't do much to make them very creamy. The flavor came from the horseradish butter. Butter flavored with shallots, parsley and horseradish.

I loved the horseradish butter. Of course a serving size of the butter wasn't even to satisfy but when does a serving size of butter satisfy? If you are not watching your weight then I suggest making more of it. Mashed potatoes and pools of butter go hand in hand. Mr. Sideline Chef smeared his butter on just a small portion of the tatoes and told me, "I'm not sure what I think." He left it at that. I swear this man doesn't even taste the food. It enters his mouth and I think it just gets swallowed. There were no leftovers if that says along about how much he liked the recipe.

I think the horseradish butter would be delicious spread on warm biscuits as well with some roast beef. What's not to love when it's quick, easy, and delicious?!

Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes with Horseradish Butter

MyRecipes.com and Cooking Light, December 2009

Makes 8 servings (Serving size = 1/2 cup mashed potatoes and 1 1/2 tsp horseradish butter)

Stars of the Show for the Horseradish Butter:

• cooking spray
• 1 tbsp minced shallots
• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley - I used dried parsley.
• 2 tsp prepared horseradish

And Action:

Heat a small nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add shallots and to skillet and cook 1 minute (This step seemed like a waste since 1 minute didn't seem like enough time. I took mine out at the suggested 1 minute but would skip this step entirely next time.) Remove from heat and cool.

Combine shallots, butter, parsley, and horseradish in a small bowl and blend well. Transfer butter mixture to a sheet of plastic wrap. Shape butter mixture into a 3 inch log. Use the plastic wrap to help mold into shape. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm.

Stars of the Show for the Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes:

• 6 1/2 cups cubed, peeled Yukon Gold Potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds of potatoes)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 cup 1% low fat milk - We only buy nonfat milk in our household.
• 1/4 cup fat free, less sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup reduced fat sour cream
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

And Action:

Place potatoes and bay leaf in a large pot and cover with water. Boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook 20 minutes or until fork tender. Drain and discard bay leaf. Combine milk and chicken broth in a microwave safe dish and heat for 1 minute. Add milk mixture, sour cream, salt and pepper to the potatoes. Mash the potatoes until well blended. Serve with the horseradish butter.

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 182

Fat: 6.7g (sat 4.2g,mono 1.8g,poly 0.3g)

Protein: 4g

Carbohydrate: 26.1g

Fiber: 1.8g

Cholesterol: 18mg

Iron: 1.3mg

Sodium: 369mg

Calcium: 21mg