Culinary Inspired Menus Using Convenience Products Staying True To Taste

Provided by Basic American Foods

With the world for a palate, today's consumers embrace authentic flavors, sophisticated trends, and the finest ingredients.

Staying true to taste is the driving force for fine-dining chefs, who balance the art of flavor with the art of running an efficient kitchen. As chefs increasingly use quality convenience products, one of the most popular and versatile menu items--potatoes--are finding new applications.

Jeffrey Dunham of the Grove Grill in Memphis created a signature Apple, Goat Cheese and Potato Cake, using Golden Grill Russet™ Premium Hashbrown Potatoes from Basic American Foods. The product starts 'dry,' like rice or pasta; and is easily refreshed with water. Dunham's recipe turns a classic potato pancake into a signature dish, with unique mix-ins like goat cheese and scallions. The simple 5-step recipe can be prepared ahead and then made to order. With great menu appeal, Apple Goat Cheese and Potato Cake can be featured as an appetizer, or an enticing side dish to a center-of-the-plate item.

"Jeff's recipe marries upscale flavors with the homestyle taste of potato shreds, in a simple convenient recipe," says Chef Keith Darling, Corporate Executive Chef at Basic American Foods. "It shows how a white table cloth operation can put a priority on taste and operational ease at the same time."

Jonathan Bennett of Moxie, the Restaurant, and RED, the Steakhouse in Beachwood, Ohio developed an upscale recipe using convenience dry potatoes, and it is now a signature snack and bar item on his menus. Instead of adding liquid to the hashbrowns, his recipe takes advantage of the product's dry format.

"I put them straight out of the box into a fryer for 10 to 15 seconds, and seasoned them with curry and chili powder," Bennett says. He also notes that the dry product would "make an ideal salad topping."

The priority on taste and convenience is also shared by upscale corporate operations. SAS, a computer software company in North Carolina, uses potato convenience products in many alternative applications.

"I think people are a bit more demanding and knowledgeable, and are asking for a lot of healthy, low-calorie and low-fat dishes," comments Julie Stewart, Manager of Food Service at SAS.

At the company's Skylight Café, Foodservice Supervisor Alan Zimmerman developed a signature recipe for Potato and Herb Crusted Chicken, using Golden Grill Russet™ Premium Hashbrown Potatoes. With shreds and spices as a coating on the chicken, the dish takes on a unique flavor and adds visual appeal. Zimmerman developed the recipe in response to specific customer tastes.

"We have a broad range of customers who are very health conscious," he says. "Each day we try to do one heart healthy entrée."

As Chef Darling points out, convenience potato products lend themselves to many fine dining applications. His recipe for Cumin Scented Mashed Potatoes is one, pairing glazed chicken with gently infused Nature's Own® Potato Pearls® Premium Mashed Potatoes.

During workshops that Chef Darling conducted with ACF chefs, participants provided many inspirations for fine dining recipes using convenience potato products. Some suggestions focused on the use of mashed potatoes or hashbrowns as a 'mix-in' side dish, when combined with vegetables, spices, and or other proteins. Another concept paired sides and entrees into a one-dish meal, with seafood, poultry or meat placed on top of flavored hashbrowns or mashed potatoes.

"Staying true to taste is a chef's first priority," says Chef Darling. "When you have that in a convenience product, you can be creative and develop exciting, quick dishes that are prep-proof n the back of the house."

Basic American Foods offers a family of premium potato products under the brands: Nature's Own® Potato Pearls® Premium Mashed Potatoes; Golden Grill Russet™ Premium Hashbrown Potatoes; Potato Pearls®, Golden Grill®, Redi-Shred®, and Classic Casserole® potatoes; Quick-Start® Chili; and Santiago® Refried Beans. For free, full-color brochures featuring recipes, presentation ideas, and marketing/safety tips, or for a free sample, call (800) 722-2084, or visit baf.com. To earn points towards valuable merchandise, to motivate employees and boost sales when you purchase select Basic American Foods products, visit FoodserviceRewards.com.

Apple, Goat Cheese and Potato Cake 
Recipe by Jeffrey Dunham

Haystacks
Recipe by Jonathan Bennett

Potato and Herb Crusted Chicken
Recipe by Julie Stewart and Alan Zimmerman

Cumin Scented Mashed Potatoes
Recipe by Keith Darling

'Mix-In' Concepts From ACF Chefs

For Mashed Potatoes (cumin mashed and photo at top with label)

• Horseradish and sour cream
• Pesto Mashed
• Basil and garlic
• Bacon, blue cheese and corn
• Asiago cheese, bacon and green onions, prepared in a skillet
• Smoked Gouda cheese, spinach and onion
• Artichoke and garlic

• Sauerkraut, caraway sees and tarragon
• Caramelized onion, sausage and garlic
• Apple and onion
• Dill, cider vinegar and crab; infuse vinegar with dill
• Mix shreds with mashed; shape into a nest and grill with flavored oil; garnish with sour cream and chives

• Chicken breast - flavor hashbrowns with one or more of these items:
  - Sundried tomatoes
  - Rosemary
  - Bacon
  - Pistachios
  - Crushed garlic, chives or caramelized onions
• Medallion of veal - flavor hashbrowns with:
  - Artichoke
  - Pepperoni or Italian sausage
  - Gorgonzola cheese
• Fresh ahi tuna - use a choice of these hashbrown mix-ins:
  - Smoked salmon
  - Wasabi
  - Chives
• Lamb chops - flavor hashbrowns with:
  - Blue cheese
  - Artichokes
  - Caramelized onions
• Halibut - feature a pistachio/hashbrown crust