Healthy American Girls

Volcano potatoes are easy to make
Monday, October 8, 2007

Vegetarian recipes from recently released cookbooks:

"Molly's Cooking Studio" by American Girl, LLC (American Girl Publishing, 2007)

Everyone's favorite wartime gal is here to share a handful of '40s recipes. Because the book was written for kids, it is easy to understand, and hard-to-handle meats don't dominate the menu. In fact, meat and other items, like butter and sugar, were more uncommon during World War II. "Molly ate less of those foods because they were rationed," the book explains. "We eat less of them today because we know we'll be healthier!"

-- Evelyn Shih

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Volcano potatoes

6 large potatoes
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
½ cup milk
2 egg yolks
Shortening or cooking spray
6 tablespoons grated cheddar cheese
Dash of paprika
Peel the potatoes and cut each potato into 4 pieces. Put potatoes into a saucepan. Add enough cold water to cover them. Turn the heat on high, and bring the water to a boil.

Turn down the heat until the water simmers. Put the lid on the saucepan and cook the potatoes for 20 minutes. Then, insert a fork into a potato piece. If it goes in easily, the potatoes are done.

Place a colander in the sink and pour the hot pan of potatoes into it. Put the potatoes back into the saucepan. Use the electric mixer to beat the potatoes until they are smooth. Add the butter, salt, pepper, milk and egg yolks. Beat the potatoes with an electric mixer until they are light and fluffy.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use paper towels to grease a baking dish with shortening, or coat the dish with cooking spray. Spoon 6 mounds of mashed potatoes, each about 3 inches high, into the baking dish. Use a rubber spatula to shape the potatoes into volcanoes. Use a spoon to make a crater in the top of each volcano. Fill each volcano with a tablespoon of grated cheese. Sprinkle paprika on top.

Bake the volcano potatoes until the cheese melts and browns slightly. Remove the potatoes from the oven. Use a metal spatula to loosen the potatoes carefully from the bottom of the baking dish. Lift them directly onto dinner plates.

Servings: 6.

Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.