Group 04: Potatoes & Vegetables – Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project

4-5: Potatoes O’Brien

Jamie Martin Group 04: Potatoes & Vegetables, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters December 26, 2021December 24, 2021black pepper, bread crumbs, breakfast, Cheddar, cheese, chopped, cooked potatoes, diced, dried herbs, easy, egg-free, green bell peppers, green chiles, half-and-half, inexpensive, lunch, milk, new book, potatoes, salt, shredded, thyme, untested, vegetarian, whipping cream, white bread, yellow onions

It’s been a while since I’ve covered anything breakfast-related, so let’s dig into 4-5: Potatoes O’Brien to change that. I’ve heard of Potatoes O’Brien before (and you may have as well)–you can even buy them frozen from the grocery store. Here’s how to make them at home on your own, since takeout/delivery/eating in can be a bit hit-or-miss these days.

I suppose eggs might fall under the category of meat or poultry, but it seems to be the go-to accompaniment for this dish. As you can see from the header image, I served mine with a homemade breakfast sandwich which also made a good option. Who needs those big breakfast guys anyway?

4-15: Scalloped Onions

Adam Martin Group 04: Potatoes & Vegetables, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters April 13, 2019October 6, 2020all-purpose flour, basil, black pepper, broccoli, butter, carrots, cheese, chervil, cream sauce, dinner, dried herbs, egg-free, fajitas, fennel, grated, green bell peppers, herbs and spices, layers, paprika, Parmesan, parsley, peeled, red bell peppers, salt, sautéed, scalloped, side dish, sliced, tarragon, thyme, untested, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow onions

“It smells like weird Mexican food in here,” Jamie said as she walked in the door. She wasn’t wrong. The example image sets a rustic farm tone with the watering can, basket of red peppers, and parmesan cheese in the background. The watering can even has onions painted on it. Awesome!

When I saw that it will need reheating before eating, I decided to make this dish in a large rectangle Pyrex. I made this recipe at half size to accommodate the baking dish. I only used two onions because Simply Delicious bases the number of onions on the smaller onions that were available when these recipes were written. Two was more than enough.

4-14: Stuffed Artichokes

Adam Martin Group 04: Potatoes & Vegetables, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters March 1, 2019October 4, 2020all-purpose flour, appetizers, artichoke hearts, artichokes, black pepper, boiled, broiled, butter, butter sauce, chopped, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, Greek yogurt, half-and-half, Hollandaise sauce, lunch, milk, mushrooms, party food, port wine, salt, sautéed, stews, stuffed, untested, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow onions

Hot Take: Artichokes are the lobster of the vegetable world. 4-14: Stuffed Artichokes represents this well: too much work for too little satisfaction. Peeling the little leaves off the artichoke and harvesting the heart feels a lot like picking apart the carapace of an undersea crustacean.

Stuffing an artichoke with a mushroom stew is a unique way to serve this giant edible thistle flower. These plants don’t grow naturally where I’m from, so my experience with artichokes only came after moving to California. My favorite way to enjoy them is marinated artichoke hearts.

4-36: Golden Potato Medley

Adam Martin Group 04: Potatoes & Vegetables, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters February 27, 2018October 13, 2020all-purpose flour, au gratin, black pepper, blanched, boiled, bread crumbs, butter, carrots, casserole, celery, Cheddar, cheese, cheese sauce, chopped, creamy, dinner, easy, egg-free, fairly inexpensive, grated, green bell peppers, half-and-half, lunch, melted, milk, Monterey Jack, panko, pared, Parmesan, party food, peeled, potatoes, red bell peppers, roux, salt, sautéed, side dish, sliced, untested, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow onions, yellow potatoes

There are few things in this world as good as potatoes and vegetables covered in cheesy breadcrumbs. It’s a popular side dish that you’ve seen many variations of. I really enjoyed 4-36: Golden Potato Medley and the plating that Simply Delicious shows below looks so much better than how my dish came out. I go more for utility than aesthetics when I’m cooking, but it’s also true that you eat with your eyes before your stomach. 👀

This dish is the perfect side dish, but it is hearty enough to be eaten as an entree. It doesn’t look like much, but is perfect with hot sauce.

4-10: Spinach-Mushroom Ring

Adam Martin Group 04: Potatoes & Vegetables, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters January 19, 2018October 4, 2020all-purpose flour, black pepper, butter, chopped, creamy, diced, dinner, eggs, fail, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, frozen, grated, half-and-half, herbs and spices, lunch, milk, mushrooms, nutmeg, ring mold, salt, sautéed, side dish, sliced, spinach, stews, tart pan, untested, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow onions

4-10: Spinach-Mushroom Ring claims to be perfect for a ladies’ luncheon…this light and fluffy egg and mushroom stew dish is yet another dish that I wouldn’t generally make for myself. I ate one of these rings and threw the rest out, and if you know anything about me, that’s something I rarely do.

This dish is described as luscious and from the most accepted and common definition, it can described as richly luxurious or appealing to the senses. The combined flavors of the mushroom sauce and spinach omelette could be described as rich and creamy, but that still doesn’t mean it was a tasty dish.

4-20: Oven-Baked Tomatoes

Adam Martin Group 04: Potatoes & Vegetables, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters January 2, 2018October 13, 2020all-purpose flour, appetizers, black pepper, bread crumbs, broccoli, butter, Cheddar, cheese, chopped, crispy, dinner, dried herbs, easy, egg-free, filling, half-and-half, heirloom tomatoes, herbs and spices, hors d'oeuvres, Hutton house, inexpensive, Jarlsberg, lunch, mushrooms, parsley, party food, revisited, roux, salt, sautéed, side dish, sliced, sour cream, stuffed, Swiss, tomatoes, vegetables, vegetarian

I love the appetizer-style dishes featured in Simply Delicious. They are complicated because of making individual portions, but you can prepare them ahead of time to heat and serve when ready. When I make a batch of an appetizer like 4-20: Oven Baked Tomatoes, I like to eat a few right away and then stash the rest in the refrigerator to eat later as a healthy snack.

My family did not grow up eating baked, hollowed-out, stuffed tomatoes, however, that didn’t stop me from thoroughly enjoying this dish.

Editor’s note: Looks like my mom made this one before, and substituted broccoli for mushrooms–that makes sense, she hates mushrooms. She also dislikes tomatoes, so I have no idea why she was making this in the first place.

4-3: French Potato Gratin

Adam Martin Group 04: Potatoes & Vegetables, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters December 7, 2016October 4, 20204-6-09 dinner, au gratin, black pepper, casserole, creamy, dinner, easy, food processor, French, garlic, gluten-free, grated, half-and-half, herbs and spices, inexpensive, lunch, mandoline, milk, minced, nutmeg, peeled, potatoes, ranch house, revisited, salt, side dish, sliced, vegetables, vegetarian, whipping cream

4-3: French Potato Gratin is a great side dish for a dinner. It was easy to make and it only takes one pan to cook this recipe.

Jamie made notes on this recipe that I completely ignored. I used the mandoline to cut the potatoes and I used 9 medium/small potatoes.

Editor’s note: I did indeed make notes on this, from when I made this for a fancy dinner for my family during Spring Break of 2009. I stand by my recommendation of using the food processor, but you do you, boo.

4-27: Mushroom-Parsnip Au Gratin

Jamie Martin Group 04: Potatoes & Vegetables, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters November 26, 2016November 14, 2020all-purpose flour, au gratin, blanched, boiled, broiled, butter, Cheddar, cheese, crab, creamy, dinner, easy, egg-free, fairly inexpensive, food processor, grated, half-and-half, lunch, mandoline, melted, mushrooms, Parmesan, parsnips, peeled, salt, sautéed, seafood, shellfish, shrimp, side dish, sliced, Swiss, TGV 2016, Thanksgiving, untested, vegetable bouillon, vegetable broth, vegetables, vegetarian, whipping cream

It’s been a hell of a month, y’all. Between my birthday at the very beginning, the election, an aunt passing away, unexpected horse-sitting, and planning/executing my very first self-made Thanksgiving dinner, I unfortunately didn’t do a lot of writing. However, our Thanksgiving this year (TGV 2016) was Simply Delicious-themed, as I used 7 recipes for this year’s feast.

I started the cooking marathon on Tuesday 11/22 with 4-27: Mushroom-Parsnip Au Gratin–I thought parsnips would make an interesting variation on the “vegetable” dish for Thanksgiving. I also cooked this one first because I knew I could cook it most of the way, and save the final broiling for right before the dinner was served.

I don’t know much about parsnips being the “poor man’s lobster” (a quick Google search reveals butter baking cod/haddock/etc. to be the most common modern use for that term), but I’d describe them as a cross between potatoes and carrots. Too potato-y to be a carrot, but too carrot-y to be a potato.

4-18: French Vegetable Casserole

Adam Martin Group 04: Potatoes & Vegetables, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters October 27, 2016October 13, 2020basil, black pepper, chopped, crushed tomatoes, dairy-free, dinner, dried herbs, easy, egg-free, eggplant, fairly inexpensive, French, garlic, Glendale apt, gluten-free, green bell peppers, herbs and spices, lunch, minced, olive oil, parsley, peeled, red bell peppers, revisited, salt, sautéed, side dish, simmered, sliced, squash, summer, thyme, tomatoes, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow onions, zucchini

Everything I needed to learn about making 4-18: French Vegetable Casserole was told to me by Remy the animated rat, star of Ratatouille. I know…the editors of Simply Delicious call this dish “French Vegetable Casserole” to make the name more palatable for Middle America. 🇫🇷

The card mentions that the dish is referred to as “ratatouille” in its area of origin.

Editor’s note: I did the underlining you see above when I realized this recipe was “ratatouille”. I’ve made this recipe before, a year or two prior to embarking on this project. I even watched Ratatouille on my laptop while I made it. 🐀

4-7: Mixed Vegetable Bake

Adam Martin Group 04: Potatoes & Vegetables, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters August 5, 2016October 4, 2020all-purpose flour, appetizers, baked goods, black pepper, breakfast, butter, carrots, cheese, chopped, cottage cheese, cream cheese, creamy, diced, dill, dinner, eggs, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, frittata, garlic, grated, herbs and spices, lemon juice, lunch, minced, Parmesan, parsley, salt, sautéed, side dish, springform pan, tart pan, untested, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow onions, zucchini

4-7: Mixed Vegetable Bake is yet another boring vegetable dish. 🍆 🌶 🍠 There wasn’t an emoji for the vegetables used in this dish, but it was such a bland dish that even the text needs a little excitement with some added emojis! 😉

This onion is about the most flavorful part of this combination behind the cheese. The vegetables add a lot of color, but not a lot of flavor.

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