Mt Lady Washington

She stands lonely, next to Long's Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. Long's Peak gets all the attention and she is ignored while 1000's of hikers and climbers pass her gorgeous figure on the way to one of Colorado's 54, 14,000' + peaks.

Now I know Mt. Lady Washington is a long way from Popocateptl in Mexico, but here is why I want to name a great lunch entree in her honor usinf some of the leftover ingredients from our Popocateptl.

Lady Washington is a really an enormous pile of huge boulders. If you go to the summit you basically hop boulders forever until your on the highest boulder. The view is grand and you have it all to yourself. In this potato creation, my boulders are made out of chips and spuds.

I'm taking my leftover salsa from yesterday and serving it with a pile of mashed potatoes and a whole bunch of chips sticking out of the potatoes. Then I'll use the chips to scoop out boulders of potatoes, top with my side of salsa and eat with the passion of a hungry mountaineer. Maybe I'll even have some cheese sauce for dipping on the side next to my salsa.

What a great appetizer or even a meal! Hop to the Top! Skip with a Chip. Mt. Lady Washington is standing taller than ever today!

It's gonna be a great day!

Potato Mountain Salsa

It's Sunday.

Break From Potatoes?

Of course not, that would be a cardninal sin. But, that Popocateptl we made yesterday had a wonderful salsa with it and here is the recipe. I'm actually going to have it again this morning. This time I'll do it the n0n-fry method. Just put lettuce and tomatoes on the plate. Add a mountain of mashed potatoes (hot). Scoop out a groove in the potatoes and fill it with meat, beans just like a taco. Top with cheese. Add fresh homemade salsa to the top and stick some tortilla chips in the spuds. Baby. Baby. Baby! Yooooo...Weeeee. It's gonna be a great day!

6 Tomatoes

A Bunch of Cilantro

1 Orange Bell Pepper

1 Yellow Bell Pepper

1 Pablano Pepper

1 Anaheim Pepper

1-2 Small Chili Peppers or 1-2 tsp Chili Pepper Paste. (you may want to thin the paste with a little of the tomatoe juice so as to mix better).

1-2 Tbsp Minced Garlic

1 Finely Diced Onion (med)

1 Pear

Sat to Taste

Blanch 4 Tomatoes and Peel off skin. Puree or mash well until juicey and pulpy. Add Garlic, Chili Pepper Paste and Onion. Finely dice the Peppers and add to mix. Finely chop Pear and add to mix. Take last two Tomatoes, halve them and scoop out seeds. Dice and add to mix. Add cut up Cilantro. Stir well, further Salt and Garlic to taste.

Popocatepetl (Po-'po-cuh-tuh-'peh-tul)

A Mexican volcano that is closed to climbing permits because it is active. Oh, well, if it's as hard to climb as it is to pronounce and spell, then forget it huh?

At Potato Mountain we have a little tool we call the Spud Buddy. You can make one at home for this recipe and a zillion others too. Here is what it is and how it works...and how to make it.

Buy a small strainer with a handle. One that is about 5 inches, give or take, across. Then bend the handle so that you can dip the strainer. In other words it should look like the picture below.

After re-fashioning the strainer you can put a couple sheets of Filo (Phyllo dough) dough in the strainer and then fill it with the ingredients as stated below. It really makes a nice presentation and it tastes great. Use a tiny strainer to make small individual Potato Mountain's this way.

Now, let's go to Mexico and visit Popocatepetl.

Don't line your Spud Buddy until you are actually ready to fill it so it does not dry out and break up. It's kinda delicate to use. Read the directions on the package.

Fry meat or meat substitute along with some onions. Put your hot mashed potatoes in the Spud Buddy and then add some meat and onions. Put some cheese on top and then some more potatoes.

Now, close up the Filo dough and try to make it tight, but when you dip it in the hot oil (fryer) do not completely submerse it because you do not want the oil to leak inside and saturate the ingredients.

Fry until golden brown. Usually 2-4 minutes.

Have a plate loaded with lettuce, and tomatoe and roll out the Potato Mountain onto the plate. Add some tortilla chips to the sides of the plate and serve some homemade salsa on the side.

Si Senora. Tis Veeery Gooood!

I'll give ya my salsa recipe tomorrow. "It's to die for".... that's a terrible cliche' ain't it?

It's gonna be a great day!

Mt. Elbrus

Sarah Smith is a friend of mine with whose dog I do some behavior therapy. She makes these biscuits called sausage pinwheels. Her recipe was the inspiration for the Mt. Elbrus. Thanks Sarah! Say hi to Petey and Elly, (her two canine companions).

18,500 Feet and the tallest point in Europe, and Russia. Mt Elbrus and the Caucusas Mountains are the border between Georgia and Russia. Getting there I hear is difficult due to political and geopolitical tensions. Oh well, politics and greed might ruin a good mountain but they can't hurt a good Potato Mountain.

Russians are great with potatoes...even though they don't know how to make a Mt. Elbrus, yet.

OK, about the picture you're about to view. I send to you my deepest and most sincere apologies. I simply could not wait to eat most of last nights dinner while I fiddled around with a stupid camera. Mt Elbrus is kind of a potato biscuit and I made 8 of them. I could not put down my fork until I had eaten the first four of my five...I had to give my wife three.

MT Elbrus

Make a biscuit mix. I use 2 cups of self-rising flour and about 1/8 -1/4 cup oil. Stir it together until it is all clumpy then add 1/2-3/4 cup milk.
Final mixture should be soft and workable but not sticky. If too sticky, add flour.

Now flatten out (roll it) onto the counter and make a rectangle. Make it fairly thin, like less than 1/4 inch. Make sure you can flip it and that it is not sticking to counter.

Now spoon on an equal depth of mashed potatoes (chilled). Then add chicken (I use fake chicken) and onions. Load it up good with chicken and onion and press them into the potatoes lightly with a spoon. Now, roll it up into a loaf. Wrap it in wax paper and freeze it for 2-3 hours. It should not be hard frozen but 1/2 way frozen so you can cut it into about 1- 1 1/2 inch pieces. Place these flat on a lightly oiled cookie sheet and bake at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes or more. Until starting to brown. Then sprinkle liberally with cheese, return to oven and turn off oven as it melts over the next few minutes. Remove from oven and serve with gravy! I use a fake chix bouillon, water and flour along with garlic and spices. So much for the old cold war, this baby warms up every bone in your body and every taste bud on your tongue. It was not even easy to get the picture you got, so cut me some slack.

It's gonna be a great day!

Gendarme (Pope John Paul II)

Yeah, it is an Italian mountain named after the late pope. And, it is also a pepperoni pizza potato.

I don't eat meat so I use a soy ptoduct, which is even better, but it's very simple.

Spread the potatoes out on your plate and add tomatoe suace or pasta sauce. *Important, since this is not a pizza crust, DO NOT add too much sauce. Spread it very lightly over the potato. Add the "pepperoni" and then cheese to the top. If the potatoes are already hot just put it under the broiler for 1-2 minutes or until browned.

If the potatoes are leftover or chilled, you'll need to bake or microwave them.

I am so excited to go eat this, I am stopping my blo

Pike's Peak

Ok, so you're not in the mood at 5:00 AM to plan how you'll have your potatoes today. That's alright, I'll do it for you.

Remember the Mt Adams? It's the one with potatoes, rutabegas, turnips and cauliflower mashed together. I'm going to use it and add cheese. The original Clingman's Dome (highest point in Tennessee) is mashed potatoes with melted cheese on top, but adding cheese to the Mt Adams gives us the all new Pike's Peak!

Start with your potatoes. They may be fresh, hot ready-to-go or, this is a good one to use leftover spuds that have been in the fridge. Use a spoon or a spatula to flatten out the mashed potatoes (Mt Adams) on the plate. If the potatoes are cold, warm them on the (microwave safe) plate in the oven on 325 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Then, add your favorite cheese(s) to the top and place under the broiler for 2 minutes or until cheese is browned and beautiful.

UUUMMMM Baaaaby! Pike's Peak is good for any meal or even, every meal! Oooh La La!

Did you know you can drive to the top of Pike's Peak just west of Colorado Springs but, you can also take the long scenic way by accessing a trail in the back country and spend all day going to the top from the back side. Beautiful streams, awesome paths through the forest, unbelievably serene alpine meadows and views to eternity. Consult with sites like trailsandopenspaces.org for more information.

Laugh Well. Live Well. Love Well. Make Potatoes Well.

It's gonna be a great day!

Gannett Peak (Wyoming)

The Mountain: The Giant of Wyoming, Gannett Peak, is a demanding climb that requires techinical skills. Hidden in the Wind River Range of Wyoming's share of the great Rocky Mountains. Ok, you can't really hide a mountain like Gannett Peak, but it takes several days to climb because it is so remote.

The Potato Mountain: Another thing you can't hide is the flavor of this Potato Mountain Giant. And, it's simple to boot:

If you use the non-fry option, all you do is put your favorite baked beans (although Potato Mountain has a darn excellent baked bean recipe) on top of your mashed potatoes and add parsley. Quick, Easy, Delicious and...while I blog, I have a pot of taters boiling and I plan on climbing Gannett Peak, (in the Potato sense) before noon! Yee Haw!

It's gonna be a great day!

How Can Something That Tastes So Good Be Soo Good For You?

Just ask the USDA who says that "mashed potatoes may be the nearly perfect food." Of course, I've known that for years. Just like a sandwich is not a sandwich without pickles, so a meal is not a meal without potatoes. As I consider this bold staement, I am pressed to go a step further and say that "a life without mountains, potatoes and Potato Mountains, is a lonely and unexciting life."

Today I will be making a Mt Adams for lunch. This is a great way to do potatoes anytime, either as a meal or as part of a meal. Don't just do the same ol' thing over and over.

Mt Adams

6 potatoes

1 rutabega

2 small turnips

1 head cauliflower

milk and butter and spices as needed.

Boil the root veggies together for 10 minutes and then add the cauliflower for the last 12-15 minutes or until everything will fall off of a fork when jabbed.

Add 1/2 -1 stick butter and slowly add enough milk to make spuds mash nicely and creamy without being runnny. Salt and spice to taste.

The view from Mt Adams in Washington is pretty impressive, as are these wonderful potatoes.

Washington is a great supplier of awesome potatoes and of course Mt Adams close neighbor to the south has been the leader in potato production forever and a day...Idaho.

One taste of this potato dish will have your head in the clouds and your feet firmly on Potato Mountain!

Mt Everest

If cooking at your place is getting old and drum, I think I can help you turn it around...actually I KNOW I can help you turn it around 180 degrees!

This Potato Mountain dish was so named not becuae of the geographical relevancy with regard to the spices used, but because it is a grand daddy of a entree. It's really simple, because you're just putting stuff on potatoes as opposed to going to a big fuss like in many of our other recipes. Yet, it's good to have quick things you can do that look and taste like you just came from a culinary school competition. Mt Everest is fun, simple and delicious!

As a kid I loved grandmas homemade egg noodles with mashed potatoes and gravy! AWESOME.

Mt Everest: At Potato Mountain, we simply take our mashed potatoes and top them with chicken, add egg noodles, add gravy andtop with green onions. Or, try melting cheese on top of the gravy for a few seconds in the microwave and then add the green onions! WOOOO WEEEE!

I used to eat this several times a week for BREAKFAST...and then again at lunch. In my book, Potato Mountain-Trail Guide to Creative Cooking I have a good story to go with this dish that I won't post here but, you can learn more at potatomountain.com.

We do mashed potatoes over 100 different ways among a plethora of other entrees for the Creative Cook.

It's gonna be a great day!

Potato Mountain Mashed Potatoes 100 Different Ways.

K-2

Curried Chicken, Green Pepper and Onion Potato

Located in Pakistan, this giant is a giant even to Mt Everest. Though it is slightly lower in altitude, it offers a challenge even few Everest summiters are able to meet. If you are not able to climb it...oh well, it tastes great so, eat it! Now, that's a fun way to conquer a mountain huh? This recipe is written for the vegetarian model. If you eat meat, you'd make the substitutions.

2 cup water

non-chix brothe

1 pound Meatless chicken (or chicken)

1 green pepper (diced)

1 small onion (diced)

1 Tbsp curry powder

4-6 medium potatoes

3-4 ounces of egg noodles (cooked)

butter and milk to mash potatoes

favorite spice ( dill mix is great. dill-garlic etc)

Instructions:

Boil and mash taters

fry chix and onion in oil until browned

make a gravy with brothe and water and salt/pepper to taste.

while boiling water for gravy add diced green peppers to water and leave them in the water as you turn it to gravy, (rather than frying peppers, as this will add a slight texture to final dish)

Place potatoes on each plate

Add chicken and onions on top

Add egg noodles to top

Pour Gravy with Green Peppers on top

Sprinkle with Green onion tops

YUMMM. Poato Lovers everywhere will enjoy this mountaintop experience.