Presley's Pantry

Idaho, Spring Time: After a tossing and turning night of sleep, I awoke from a dream. The vegetable fairy had decided to plant some russet Idaho potatoes from the fall harvest in a beautiful plentiful garden.  It had rained the night before, so the soil was damp and soft. A group of potatoes poked out of a mound waiting for the gardener to come back and retrieve them since she had taken the time to dig them up early that morning. The gardener’s name was Eugene, she had no room left in her basket of produce that morning when she placed it down in the dirt to dig her potatoes. What she didn’t notice was a few stalks of asparagus that had fallen out and rolled away. When she was done digging she picked up her basket and went inside her house to empty the basket. In that moment one of the stalks of asparagus made quick friends with the potato laying closest to it. They talked about the great possibility of being made into one of Eugene’s famous tarts for dinner that night, and how grand it would be if they ended up on the same one.

As fate would have it…. they did.

Ingredients for Baked Potato Asparagus Tart:

• puff pastry
• 1/2 – cup parmesan cheese
• 1/2 – cup queso quesadilla
• 1/2 – cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 – baked russet Idaho potato
• 1/2 – cup sliced red bell pepper
• 9 – stalks of blanched asparagus
• 1 – teaspoon olive oil (drizzle vegetables w/ olive oil, before placing on tart)
• ground pepper
• chile flakes

Disclosure: I am proud to say this video is sponsored by The Idaho Potato Commission.  The story and recipe is 100% my own.  Thank you Don for being the absolute best!

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Hidden Valley Ranch Remix. The opinions and text are all mine.

This traditional Mexican dish is attached to many fond memories of dinner time with my cousins.  My tia would start her day early making the meat, charring her chiles, chopping onions and tomatoes, and crumbling the cheese.  That was always a sure sign that we were going to have sopes for dinner.  Us kids would run outside all day long and as the day would come to a close we tiredly shuffled inside and formed a line in the bathroom to wash the days’ grime off our hands.  Some of my cousins would start a game of Monopoly, and others would opt for TV.  I always made my way into the kitchen where I would find my tia measuring out her Maseca and mixing it with all the ingredients needed to make sopes.  I stood close by to see if she would let me roll the corn based dough between my hands to form a small ball then pat them into thick fist sized disks, most of the time she would let me.  Then after they had their turn on the comal she would take each disk and pinch the edges to form a mini wall that would keep the ingredients from falling over board, forming the perfect sope.  She would then fill a frying pan with oil and let the oil get piping hot and drop each disk in just until it was perfectly fried on the outside. Then all the fried sopes would sit on a paper lined tray to drain and wait for the rest to be made.  One by one they would be topped with beans and cheese, some with meat and some with chicken.  Everyone had a different request, heck one of my little cousins just wanted Ovaltine on his (yucky).  Then all the cousins would join at the table, some of us sharing chairs and other squishing together to sit on a bench.  None the less we were together, happily eating our sopes as one big family with lots of hungry mouths.

Ingredients for Sopes:

• 4 – cups Maseca
• 1/2- teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 – cups warm water
• vegetable oil

Disclosure: This post is a collaboration with Latina Bloggers Connect and Maseca. All opinions are 100% my own.

I’m always craving a good hearty empanada, something I could sink my teeth into and relish every minute between bites.  I have those moments where I stare into my empanada as I softly devour it, knowing the end is near.  BUT there is always another one waiting for me on the plate until they are all gone.  These potato empanadas unfold a new level of love before me all neatly wrapped in a pie crust dough.  Have them for dinner tonight or take them on your next picnic.  Either way, here is a simple way to make these tasty little gems using left over mashed potatoes.  Watch the video to see how.

Ingredients for Potato Empanadas:

• 1 – box store bought pie crust
• 1/2 – cup of cold left over mashed potatoes (made with Idaho Potatoes, butter, garlic, and onion)
• 1/4 – cup chile strips (I roasted and peeled anaheim chiles)
• 1/4 – cup grated pepper jack cheese
• 1/2 – cup grated cheddar cheese
• egg wash (1 egg and 1 tablespoon of water mixed together)

Disclosure: This video/post is sponsored by the Idaho Potato Commission (which I am very proud the be associated with). The recipe and opinions are my own. Thank you for watching.

Do you live to break cascarones on your favorite people during Easter Sunday? I use to love breaking a confetti filled cascaron on my Grandfather when I was a kid. I could tell he would get so mad but couldn’t say anything because it was part of the tradition. Poor Grandpa. I foresee Confetti Eggs or “Cascarones,” as they’re called in (more…)

 I’ve had my eye on Easter for the last couple of days and am counting down the days for the Easter Bunny to hop through town, so my boy can take photos with his furry friend. In the meantime, I have been decorating my house and building my son’s Easter basket behind closed doors. He was napping when this photo was taken. Click over to Babble where I show how I built this Easter basket and bought EVERYTHING at Target! Happy Easter.

Some people call this super yummy treat “crack candy” as a nickname since you need to reach 285 degrees on a candy thermometer when making the candy portion, which is the soft crack temperature. I just think it is one of the best snack foods around. I decided to make Planters Peanuts the star of this show and they performed so well. Standing ovations are in order! Find the recipe on Babble by clicking here!