I always find cooking workshops more fun when I am with fellow moms. I can feel their excitement the same as mine while thinking of learning something new to offer to their families. Last October 25, I got to be with at least a dozen moms who were eager to learn about U.S. Potatoes and the different ways of preparing them. I was also personally thrilled to attend that event when I learned that two prominent moms would be there – Chef Rosebud Benitez Velasco, celebrity mom-chef, and the very chic mommy blogger Michelle Aventajado of Momma ‘N Manila.
The workshop started with an introduction of U.S. Potatoes to the attendees by RejiRetugal, Country Rep for Potatoes USA here in the Philippines. It took only a few minutes but was packed with information about U.S. Potatoes which was quite amazing!
Thanks to Potatoes USA, U.S. potatoes are now available in the Philippines in three forms: fresh potatoes, frozen potatoes, and dehydrated potatoes.
Fresh U.S. table stock potatoes are the pick of the crop, carefully sized and graded based on standards of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). There are over 100 different varieties of US potatoes, but they fit into seven different categories: russet, red, white, yellow, blue/purple, fingerling and petite. They differ in size, color, texture, and flavor for a large range of applications.
Frozen U.S. potatoes are premium potatoes quick-frozen in a state-of-the-art process that locks in flavor and nutrients. Every processor must meet the stringent requirements of the USDA and U.S. Food and Drug Administration. With the U.S. being the only country in the world with mandatory USDA grading standards for frozen potatoes, the quality of the final frozen product is assured. This means that all the flavors, as well as vitamin C, potassium, iron, vitamin B6 and fiber, have all been locked into frozen US potatoes.
U.S. dehydrated potatoes, my favorite of them all, are perhaps the most compactly packaged of the lot. U.S.dehy can be quickly reconstituted into the best and fastest-made mashed potatoes ever, or as an ingredient in a wide array of dishes. You can use it for soups, stews, and sauces, or to add texture and make bread and cakes fluffy. U.S.dehy has a great number of food applications ranging from pizza crust to native kakanin.
After filling us up with remarkable information about U.S. Potatoes, everyone headed to the MICAH (Magsaysay Center for Hospitality and Culinary Arts Inc.) kitchen for the hands-on cooking. Chef Rosebud was already there and eager to show us three U.S. Potatoes recipes.
Chef Rosebud’s cooking demo included recipes for: U.S. Potato Crusted Salmon with Truffle Potato Sauce and Fruit Salsa, U.S. Potato Pudding and U.S. Mashed Potato Truffle.
With all the ingredients and cooking tools prepared, it only took Chef Rosebud a few minutes to finish all three dishes! But what fascinated me was how she showed how easy it is to use frozen and dehy potatoes!
U.S. Potato Crusted Salmon with Truffle Potato Sauce and Fruit Salsa
U.S. Potato Pudding
The second recipe we learned was US Potato Pudding.
Recipe for US Potato Pudding
Ingredients
12 pieces U.S. Frozen Hash Browns
6 pieces Eggs
1 cup Coconut Milk
1 tablespoon Butter
½ cup Milk
1 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
½ teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
Sauce
1 piece Mango Flesh cubed
12 pieces Strawberries cubed
½ cup Coconut Milk
Procedure
1. Pre-heat your oven to 350F.
2. Add butter to a pan and melt it over low heat. Fry the hashbrowns until a bit crispy on the outside. Place in an oven-proof bowl. Set aside.
3. Combine milk, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, salt and cinnamon in a bowl. Mix thoroughly to combine ingredients. Pour this mixture over the hashbrowns and allow it to be absorbed.
4. Baked the potato pudding for 30-45 minutes or until the top is springy.
5. Mix all ingredients for the topping. Serve with Potato Pudding.
U.S. Potato Truffle
The last recipe demo was the U.S. Potato Truffle and it was the recipe assigned to me and my partner @mrsenerodiaries. We had so much fun using US Potato dehydrated flakes and the recipe was so yummy!
I must say, cooking can really be a lot easier when using U.S. potato products! With frozen and dehy, we can make delicious mashed potatoes and a hundred more dishes practically in minutes. It saves us not only time but also gas and labor! In fact, a lot of restaurants here and abroad apply this technique already and it makes a lot of sense.
I really do wish that there will be a lot more cooking workshops for moms and mommy bloggers so more families can get to enjoy nutritious food with U.S. Potatoes as ingredients.
So make sure to grab U.S. potatoes on your next grocery run! You’re not only buying quality food, but also a nutritious all-around superfood.
U.S. potatoes are available in supermarkets and groceries nationwide.For more information on U.S. potatoes, visit the Potato Goodness website or like and follow Potatoes USA-Philippines on Facebook.
