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Herein you will find my entry for the Potato Ho-Down, brain child of Cathy and Krysta. This is our venerated mascot, the lovely Miss Potato Ho herself There is still time to blog a potato recipe – the rules are here at Krysta’s blog – the host for this month.

Enough palaver – lets get to the ‘taters! The potatoes down in Larry’s garden are enjoying a banner year so I am more than glad to come up with some new ideas using these yummy beauties. By its nature, a gratin is a simple recipe and I’m not changing that here. Potatoes, onion, garlic, oregano, thyme, rosemary, feta cheese and half & half and salt and pepper.Fresh herbs are always best and these came from garden about 10 minutes before I took this photo. I didn’t chop – just stripped the leaves from the stems and tore them a bit.Always easier if you prep everything before you begin assembling. Slice the potatoes and onions very thin. You can use a mandolin for this, and I do have a mandolin, but it is taking a sabatical to write a book. Ok, really it is still packed in a box in the infamous spare bedroom, and I have nice sharp knives so I can do it by hand. How many potatoes and onions you ask? As many as you want. I will give you amounts for this recipe, but really it is very flexible and you can use a larger baking dish to make a lot more or a smaller one and cut down the amounts. I used my trusty 10 inch square Corningware casserole dish, given to us as a wedding gift by my grandparents. I used two smallish onions and about 2 lbs of new red potatoes a couple cloves of garlic, minced. That is a half cup measure heaped with feta cheese and I should have just used a cup for starters because I ended up using more than this anyway.Put 1/3 of the potatoes and 1/2 of the onion in an even layer in a baking dish that has been generously coated with olive oil. Scatter half of the herbs and half the garlic over top.Layer on about 1/3 of a cup of feta cheese and salt and pepper everything.Repeat, again using 1/3 of the potatoes, the remaning onions, garlic and herbs and another 1/3 cup of feta.Finally, use the rest of the potatoes to completely cover the top. Push down all over the top surface to compact the ingredients. Gently pour about 1 & 1/3 cup of half and half over the surface. Salt and pepper the top and add a generous sprinkle of paprika.Bake at 350 degrees for about 90 minutes, scattering the final 1/3 cup of feta over the top for the last 30 minutes. If you have ever had a table full of hungry in-laws gnawing on the tablecloth while your scalloped potatoes finish baking, you know that the baking time for this kind of dish is not hard and fast. Allow plenty of time for it to finish baking because depending on the age of the potatoes, the size of the casserole and so on, it can take anywhere from 1 hour to 2. Better it should sit on low in the oven for a half hour than to hold up the works while Aunt Bessie has a third glass of Chianti and starts telling dirty jokes to the kids.I have to be honest here – this tasted even better than I had anticipated. Give it a try and let me know what you thought.
Potato Gratin with Feta and Herbs
2 lbs red potatoes, thinly sliced
1 med onion, thinly sliced
1 large or 2 smaller cloves garlic, minced
about 1/4 cup assorted fresh herbs [oregano, rosemary and thyme used here], stems removed and coarsely torn
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 & 1/3 cup half and half

Generously coat the bottom and sides of a 10 in flat baking dish with olive oil. Layer 1/3 of the potatoes, 1/2 of the onion, garlic and herbs and 1/3 of the feta cheese and season with salt and pepper. Reapeat in a second layer. End with the final 1/3 of the potatoes. Press layers to compact a bit and gently pour the half an half over. Season with salt and pepper and dust top with paprika. Bake at 350 for an hour, scatter remaning feta over top and bake about another 30 minutes until potatos are tender, most of the liquid has been absorbed and the top is nicely browned.

I don’t know what the heck to call this recipe. Tomatoey Green Beans? Tomatoes with Green Beans? Green Beans with Tomatoes seems both descriptive and logical. Boring though.

A local Italian restaurant serves a side of flat beans cooked in a similar way and this is my take on that. Mine is way better though and you don’t have to pay for it. Well except buying the ingredients. And you have to do the work yourself which is less fun that going out to eat. But if you are eating at home anyway and you happen to have all the ingredients on hand, you might as well go ahead and make this because your whole life is going to look better after you eat this little gem.

I of course, used fresh beans for this because I had a bucket of them sitting on my kitchen floor. It is actually a really good way to liven up frozen beans in the winter and I suppose canned would not be harmed by the addition of the other ingredients. Yuck though. But what do I know – I love canned spinach. Usually when you have fresh green beans, you have a lot of them all at once. This is a way to prepare them that allows you to hold on to that fresh picked flavor a few extra days.

So, moving right along. Snip the ends from your beans, cut into approximately inch [or 2] long pieces and wash. I used about 2 lbs of beans here and got probably 6 servings.

Chop 2 slices of raw bacon into a small dice and put in a wide sauté pan over medium heat, stirring often. When they are about half way done, lower the heat a bit and add 1 medium chopped onion [cut so that the pieces will be about the same size as the beans] and several smashed and chopped garlic cloves.Mix around every so often and continue cooking over low heat for about 5 minutes.Add the beans, about 3/4 of a teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/2 cup of chicken broth, lower the heat a bit more and cover the pan.At this point, things become very subjective. If you like your beans cooked to death – and who am I to criticize – this is the time to do that. If you like them a little more al dente, cook about 10 minutes, remove the lid and raise the heat for 2 or 3 minutes to cook off most of the broth. Taste and add salt if needed. Give it about ten grinds of pepper and about a tablespoon of fresh chopped oregano or a teaspoon of the dried stuff. Stir in either 2 cups fresh diced tomatoes or a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes that have been drained and heat through.Now here is the best thing about this recipe. You can eat it right away. You can make it ahead and keep it at a simmer for awhile. You can put it in the fridge and reheat it later. You can make enough for several meals and take out what you want when you need it. If anything, it gets better after a few days in the fridge. It even freezes pretty well – do that right after adding the tomatoes though – don’t heat it up again if you want to freeze it. It is heavenly no matter what you do with it. Enjoy!

Tomatoey Green Beans/Green Beans with Tomatoes
2 lbs fresh green beans, cut in 1 to 2 inch pieces or the equivalent of frozen or canned beans
2 strips bacon, cut in small dice
1 medium onion choppe
2 -3 cloves garlic smashed and finely minced
1/2 cup chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano [1 teaspoon dried]
10 grinds pepper
2 cups diced fresh tomatoes or 1 14oz can diced tomatoes, drained

In a saute pan over medium heat, fry bacon until about half way done. Lower hear slightly, add onion and garlic and stirring frequently, cook about 5 minutes. Add beans, chicken broth and salt and simmer covered for about 10 minutes. Taste and add salt if needed, add the pepper, oregano and tomatoes. Heat through and serve or simmer awhile longer if preferred. Will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and reheats very well.