Zesty and Delicious...Potatoes?

Having oodles of wonderful Idaho-grown potatoes at my disposal I decided to get a bit creative and try out a new potato recipe or two. Not that I don't love all the traditional (and abundant) uses for potatoes, but I just wanted to really test their limits...So, here is one recipe that I found particularly interesting and figured I might as well share. I mean really, who could possibly RESIST the call of Idaho potatoes...don't you hear them? They say..."eat me....eeeeeeat me" see, they like it. So you should like them, it is only fair. If you would like the verdict from this highly unusual recipe please see the end of this post.

*Note: If you do not happen to have true Idaho potatoes handy I am sure that in light of the circumstances it can be forgiven to use some other regionally grown potatoes.

Orange Potato Meringue Pie (from the cookbook "Tasty Taters Potato Cookbook"

1 c. unseasoned mashed potatoes (I made mine from scratch, which works great I would
just recommend spending a bit more time to make sure you mash them well, chunks
taste a little funny in pie, that's all I'm saying)
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp allspice
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
2 Tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate
2 egg yolks (save the whites)
1 whole egg
1 Tbsp grated orange rind
1 unbaked pie shell

Mix all those ingredients together until smooth and pour into your pie shell. Pop it in the oven for about 30-35 minutes or until it is set and then put your meringue (see below) on it and bake for another 20 min or until it is nice and browned.

Meringue: beat together the two egg whites, 1/4 tsp cream of tartar and 6 Tbsp sugar until stiff peaks form. *note when beating egg whites it is best to use a metal bowl and to not dip your fingers in it, oils make it much more difficult to get those stiff peaks.

Verdict: This was an alright pie. I guess it wasn't really the best fit for me because AFTER I made the pie I remember that I'm not really a pie person to start with, and in addition, I've never really been a meringue person...but this was just too interesting to resist. My biggest problem was how sweet it was, I think if you cut back on the sugar that you use it would be a LOT better. So, this was a very sweet pie and mine had potato chunks in it, which made for some interesting textures but didn't really taste bad. The flavors themselves were pretty good. I do have to say though that the best part was the pie crust, which I made from scratch and was super proud of. Turned out super flaky and delicious. mmmm... but feel free to play with this some. I think it might taste good with some nuts in it as well, but maybe I'm just weird.

Up next...
Some form of potato cookies!
-Cayenne