Inspired by greatness - by Steve

So, where to begin. I suppose a little background would be a good plan. I am third generation food service. My grandfather ran the local pool hall, and my grandmother ran the kitchen that served it. My mother has been in food service all over the state of Maine, and I am proud to say that I’ve followed in her footsteps, at least to an extent. I love cooking, and I love even more taking something simple and basic and seeing how far I can push its boundaries. That being said, here we go.

This is my first entry on Two Aspiring Foodies. No reason to get all kinds of crazy with it. I was reading a good friends’ blog the other day, and he posts weekly a recipe he has recently made. I owe this first post to my friend, the Aspiring Luddite.

He posted a recipe for Boxtie, a basic, straightforward Irish potato pancake. Now, before I continue, I’m going to be honest and admit that I like very much to take basic recipes and screw with them mercilessly. Often it works out, at times it blows up in my face dramatically. Had I not seen Aspiring Luddite’s post, I wouldn’t have made this homage to his Boxtie tonight.

Between Jody and myself, we discussed the Boxtie and what I could do to it. I immediately thought scallions and bacon. (Over time you’ll see how my brain works in this direction repeatedly.) She suggested onion and, though they are similar, onion and scallion are different profiles, so that went in. In doing my shopping for the ingredients I didn’t have in the house I saw chives as well, so those came along for the ride. Her last suggestion was the best, though. Adding spinach to the mix was what put these Boxties over the top. At the last minute, I decided to fry the Boxties in the leftover bacon grease instead of butter, and I can say everyone was happy with the result.

Boxties, Part Deux

4 large white potatoes, peeled

½ pound bacon, chopped

½ medium onion, diced

6 scallions, chopped

1 bunch chives, chopped

2 handfuls of leaf spinach, sliced fine

1 cup + 1 tbsp of heavy cream

1 cup flour

2 tbsp black pepper

2tbsp garlic powder

2 tbsp salt

1tbsp onion powder

2 tbsp butter (unsalted)

Render bacon over medium heat until crispy, set aside. Take pan off heat and set aside, leaving grease in pan. Cube two potatoes and boil until soft, mash with butter and about a fifth of the cream. Season lightly with salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder, set aside. Shred remaining two potatoes, combine with mashed, scallions, bacon, onion, chives and spinach. Add flour, remaining seasonings, and the remaining cream, stirring thoroughly until a thick batter is the result. Return pan and grease to medium high heat, spooning batter into pan in desired size. Flatten pancakes to a uniform thin state, brown on both sides.