Leftover Recipe: Potato Croquettes

I made mashed potatoes last night and had leftovers so I decided to make these croquettes tonight. The picture is not mine; it's from the Food Network, but they looked just the same. I wanted a sauce for them and developed one by combining a little mayo, a little cranberry sauce, a little bit of finely chopped jalapeno and lime juice with salt and pepper and mixed it. It was quite tasty with these croquettes. This is a great recipe for Thanksgiving or Christmas leftovers.

INGREDIENTS (makes about 15 croquettes)

• 2 tablespoons milk
• Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped green onion
• 2 egg yolks, beaten
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 cups mashed potatoes
• 1 egg, beaten
• Sifted dried bread crumbs (I used Panko bread crumbs)
• Vegetable oil, enough to fill pan 1/2-inch

DIRECTIONS

Add milk, salt, pepper, chopped onion, beaten egg yolks and flour to mashed potatoes. Chill and then shape using an ice cream scoop. Dip in the beaten egg, then roll through bread crumbs. Fry each croquette in shallow oil until brown on all sides.

Cook's Note: Cook in small batches, giving each croquette at least 2 inches of space around it to not overcrowd the pan. This prevents the croquettes from crumbling while frying.

Frozen Cranberry and Orange Relish

What I love about cooking are all the various recipes there are out there for me to try! I've been in chilly Minnesota these past few days and I've already learned so much about the regional cooking here. One recipe that I tried and really enjoyed was this cranberry relish made from frozen cranberries. Yes, you read correctly: frozen cranberries. What I love about this recipe is that it only contains three ingredients and there is NO COOKING! My father-in-law, Jim Blaha, showed me how to make the relish in a food grinder but if you don't have one available, a food processor will work just as well.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (12-ounce) package Ocean Spray® Cranberries, rinsed and drained then frozen
• 1 unpeeled orange, cut into eighths and seeded
• 3/4 to 1 cup sugar

Directions: Place half of the frozen cranberries and half the orange slices in food grinder or food processor. Process until mixture is evenly chopped.

Transfer to a bowl. Repeat with remaining cranberries and orange slices. Stir in sugar. Store in refrigerator overnight. Makes about 3 cups.

Awesome Cranberry Sauce

Have you ever wondered why we have cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving? In 1621 the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast which is now known as the first Thanksgiving. It wasn't until 1863 that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the first national Thanksgiving holiday. There are a lot of stories out there about how we began using cranberry sauce as a condiment for turkey and, unfortunately there are too many unconfirmed stories. One thing for sure is that at the "first" Thanksgiving staples such as pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, corn and mashed potatoes were not served. All of those side dishes are modern additions. Nevertheless, cranberry sauce is a very important dish we need to have during Thanksgiving. The tartness of the cranberry brings out the flavor in the turkey. And I bet you didn't know that cranberries contain a natural preservative called benzoic acid that allows the berries to stay fresh for a relatively long time.

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For the first time ever our family will not be together this year for Thanksgiving. My husband and I will be in Minnesota; my brother and his wife in Denver; my sister and her husband in Hawaii and my mom and step-dad will be on a Mexican Riviera cruise. So last night we had our Thanksgiving dinner at my mom's house and I was in charge of the cranberry sauce. I found the recipe on AllRecipes.com. I only ommited the nuts (some family members are allergic) but the sauce came out spectacular. This sauce will definitely be a part of our family Thanksgiving from now on.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 (12 ounce) package fresh cranberries
• 1 orange, peeled and pureed
• 1 apple - peeled, cored and diced
• 1 pear - peeled, cored and diced
• 1 cup chopped dried apricots
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

DIRECTIONS: In a medium saucepan, boil water and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to simmer, and stir in cranberries, pureed orange, apple, pear, dried fruit, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries burst.

Remove from heat, and let cool to room temperature then store in the refrigerator. Cooked cranberries can last up to a month in a covered container in the refrigerator and if cooked with alcohol, can last for many months in the refrigerator.