Saturday, 9 August 2008

Layered Potato Bake on the BBQ ... And Saucy Eats Recipe Contest

This is exciting!!! I'm a semi-finalist in the contest that SAUCY EATS is holding. If you like my recipe, I would really appreciate you popping over there and voting for me !!

SAUCY EATS is having a wonderful contest, with great prizes ... like $100 Williams Sonoma gift card and a Digital Camera. I've decided to enter this recipe in the contest.

So if you try it and like it, then think about voting for it, when the time comes ... pretty please :-)

Years ago, when I was a Girl Guide in NZ (Girl Scout in the US), we would often make a version of this when we had a cook out.

In those days it usually consisted of layers of potatoes, bacon, onion and cheese, all wrapped up in tin foil (aluminum foil) and thrown on the hot coals of the campfire.

Nowadays I usually make it on the BBQ and add a few more ingredients. If you have a hankering for it on non-BBQ days, you can also make it in the oven.

Use a good cheese as well. Believe me, you'll be glad you did...:-)

Layered Potato Bake

6 potatoes (I use reds or golds, because they tend to come out creamier)
1 onion
1 bell pepper
4 rashers of bacon (slightly cooked) (rasher = kiwispeak for slice)
3 cloves of garlic
1 cup grated cheese
1/2 stick of butter
Salt & Pepper
Large square of aluminum foil (big enough to fold in half)
Cooking spray
Bottle of Shiraz plus wine glass

Bake potatoes in microwave until cooked but still firm. Pour a glass of wine. Told you I added a few more ingredients than those in my GG days!



Cut potatoes into slices that are about 1/8 " thick. Have a sip of wine. Cut onion in half and then into slices the same thickness as the potatoes. You can take another sip of wine here, if you like.

Cut bell pepper and bacon into chunks. Dice up the garlic. Sip the wine.

Liberally spray the foil with the cooking spray, then dot with half the butter. At this point your wine glass should be half empty, so top it up.

Layer half the potatoes over the butter. Then layer on the bacon, onions, bell pepper, garlic and cheese. In between layers, sip the wine.

Season with salt and pepper to taste and then layer on the other half of the potatoes. Dot with remaining butter.



Take a sip of wine to celebrate getting all that accomplished!!

Enclose potato mixture in the foil, so that you have something that resembles a packet.

Put foil packet on grill and then sit back and enjoy the rest of your wine while everything sizzles, melts and browns. I'm going to finish reading my copy of 'Twilight' that I finally unearthed from the box that I accidentally packed it in.



You can also vary this recipe by using other cheeses, mushrooms, chillies and so on ..

I sometimes make it using potatoes, fresh herbs, tomatoes, garlic, onion, Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Goes great with grilled beef and sausages.

Or ... potatoes, Swiss cheese, mushrooms, peppers, garlic and onion. Goes great with chicken and fish, especially grilled shrimp or salmon.

Update - As I mentioned, this dish can be cooked in the oven. If you do, cover the dish with tinfoil, during the first part of the cooking, otherwise it will be dry. The steam created by keeping the potatoes sealed in the tinfoil is what keeps them moist. If I'm cooking them in the oven, I usually just use the tinfoil. Saves on cleanup!!

21 comments:

Debbie said...

That looks delicious! Can you bring it to "the party?" Thanks for playing along with me!!! I really appreciate it.

Suzanne said...

That looks so delicious Karen. I can't wait to make this. I was a girl scout but I don't remember this one.

- Suzanne

Tiffany said...

That looks soooooooooo good! Are you entering that in the SITS Recipe Contest????

You should. That is making me hungry.

Lori said...

Pardon that noise, it's my stomach growling. YUMMY! I've got to stop reading your blog, it keeps tempting me to turn on my oven. And the smoke hasn't cleared from where I burned the cheese toast this morning.

P.S. What's a "rasher" of bacon?

Unknown said...

Debbie - BATW sounds like it is going to be fun. Can't wait to add NZ to your roll :-) And yes, I'll bringit to the party, along with the dip and hePav. just make sure you come out and give me a hand when I pull up, OK!!

Suzanne - This was in NZ as a Girl Guide, so maybe it was a Kiwi thing :-)

Tiffany - Hmmm...will think about entering it. Can we enter more than one?

Lori - LOL !! I burnt cheese toast recently ... forgot about it when Iwas blogging.
Rasher = slice

Mrs4444 said...

I am speechless with desire for these potatoes!! Off to check the pantry!

Mrs4444 said...

For the record, the ingredients have all been prepared and will be on tonight's dinner table! Thanks, again! :)

Ronda's Rants said...

I do veggies like that on the grill but not the cheese...I am looking at this and thinking "How could I forget the cheese?" I am making this tonight!

Heather said...

I'm so hungry and this looks SO good!!

Anne said...

Mmmmmm - looks delicious:-) LOL at the special ingredient - the glass of wine!

Anonymous said...

It was FANTASTIC! Could not have tasted better, and I just used a basic mild cheddar. Thanks again for this great treat! :)

Trooper Thorn said...

Mmm, I know some kids that will enjoy that dish this week. Isn't it amazing how bacon makes everything taste better?

Thanks for your comments on my stinky incident. That goat on the bike must have been some sight.

Jennifer said...

Oh WOW! Does that sound good!! It just so happens I have all those ingredients on hand. Hmmmmm...I might just be trying that later. I think my diet might have to wait one more day!

Thanks for commenting on my blog--I'm so glad you got your girl!!

Putting the FUN in DysFUNctional said...

What a great idea, and it looks delicious. We love to camp so I'm saving this recipe!
Thanks for stopping by my bloggy home!

Rhea said...

Yum! Good luck with the contest!

Shannon said...

Yum! Potatoes are my favorite veggie... I love them baked, fried, mashed, roasted... so I'm always looking for new ways to cook them! Can't wait to try this one.

Jules said...

This looks really yummy. I was sure you were going to say "Pour a little wine on the whole thing to add a bonus flavor, though. :)

Anonymous said...

You are a semi-finalist! Good luck with the voting!

Anonymous said...

What a great post Karen -- food mixed with wine and humor -- it doesn't get any better than that!

I'm going over to vote right now. Good luck.

Sandra

Ronnica said...

That looks SO good. I don't ever BBQ (I know...), but I'll try it in the oven!

Nancy Rosalina said...

Oh, I have to try this one to! I love a potato and I am always looking for new ways to fix them.