Thread: Potato savouries

"George M. Middius" wrote in message
news:[email protected]..

Julie Bove wrote:

> Here's what it says:
>
> "My mother used to make these to take along to events as a snack. They
> were
> something like a mixture of mashed potato, chopped bacon and spring onion
> spread on a sheet of pastry, then rolled up, then sliced into bite-sized
> slices and
> the pieces oven-baked."
>
> He said it was spring onion spread.

oy vey....

Let's get back to the issue of communication skills. sqwishy's grammar
was imperfect. Here is the corrected version:

"something like a mixture of mashed potato, chopped bacon, and spring
onion, spread on a sheet of pastry, then rolled up, then sliced into
bite-sized slices and the pieces oven-baked."

sqwishy omitted the essential comma after "spring onion". That's what
threw you.


Steve didn't leave out the comma, the OP DavidW did. No need to attack
Steve for something Julie couldn't parse for herself.

Jill

On Wed, 5 Sep 2012 16:31:24 +0100, "Ophelia" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>
>
>"Janet Bostwick" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]. .
>> On Wed, 5 Sep 2012 15:25:51 +0100, "Ophelia" <[email protected]>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>>"Janet Bostwick" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>>news:[email protected] ...
>>>
>>>> Green onions, the slender ones in the store with the long green tops
>>>> and the white bottoms. They are found in the cooled produce section.
>>>> Also known as scallions.
>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scallion
>>>
>>>Syboes here in Scotland, Scallions in Ireland and spring onions in
>>>England!
>>>--
>> Syboes, reallly. I have never heard that term. Thanks for the info.
>
>Sybies for slang
>
>--
Looking syboes up was fun and educational. It looks like maybe the
origin for the word might have been French. But, the fun part was
finding out what a head scratcher the terminology for green onions is
and what you ask for depends on what country and where in that
country. Syboe might be stretched to include leeks. Shallots in
Australia (depending where you are) might refer to green onions. I
wonder if it all goes back to who emigrated and brought their
terminology with them.
Janet US

On Sep 5, 5:13*am, "Julie Bove" <julieb...@frontier.com> wrote:
> <itsjoannotjo...@webtv.net> wrote in message
>
> news:[email protected]..
> On Sep 5, 3:31 am, "Julie Bove" <julieb...@frontier.com> wrote:
>
> > <itsjoannotjo...@webtv.net> wrote in message
>
> > Shaking my head not believing she actually actually asked that.
>
> > Well I've never heard of it before. Fine... I will look it up. I only see
> > onion marmalade from Ireland. But there are recipes for spring onion dip.
> > Maybe it's a local thing?- Hide quoted text -
>
> Julie, go back and read his statement again. *It's not a 'spring onion
> spread' *it's a mixture of mashed potatoes, bacon, and spring onions
> --- spread on a sheet of pastry.
>
> Well oddly enough when I did a search for "spring onion spread" his post
> came up. *Here's what it says:
>
> "My mother used to make these to take along *to events as a snack. Theywere
> something like a mixture of mashed potato, chopped bacon and spring onion
> spread
> on a sheet of pastry, then rolled up, then sliced into bite-sized slices and
> the
> pieces oven-baked."
>
> He said it was spring onion spread. *Not spring onion, spread on... *Or
> spring onion that has been spread on... *Had he done that it would havebeen
> clear. *The way he wrote it, it sounded sort of like it was some concoction
> like pimento cheese.

Ok - for the lack of a friggin COMMA, you couldn't figure that OUT?

Poll: hopeless or helpless? La Bove HAS to fall into one category or
the other.

On Sep 4, 10:11*pm, "Julie Bove" <julieb...@frontier.com> wrote:
> "DavidW" <n...@email.provided> wrote in message
>
> news:k26jnh$b52$[email protected]..
>
> > My mother used to make these to take along *to events as a snack. They
> > were something like a mixture of mashed potato, chopped bacon and spring
> > onion spread on a sheet of pastry, then rolled up, then sliced into
> > bite-sized slices and the pieces oven-baked.
>
> > I made a test batch, just guessing quantities, but they taste a little
> > bland, and certainly not like my mother's. I wonder if anyone knows of
> > something similar and can suggest where I might be going wrong.
>
> > P.S. I'm using puff pastry, which looks right when they're cooked, but
> > it's possible she used short pastry. I doubt that's the problem, though..
>
> I don't know what spring onion spread is. *Is that something you buy?
> Something you make? *If you bought it then maybe you bought a different
> brand? *Did you season the potatoes enough? *I would think with the bacon in
> there you wouldn't need a lot of salt. *But I always put a lot of pepper in
> my potatoes. *I don't bother with the white pepper. *Black *pepper being
> visible doesn't bother me. *Was there any butter in there? *Cheese? *Those
> are things I would probably add. *Maybe some *sour cream?

Try this: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=What+is+spring+onion+spread%3F

"Janet Bostwick" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
> On Wed, 5 Sep 2012 16:31:24 +0100, "Ophelia" <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>>"Janet Bostwick" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>news:[email protected] ..
>>> On Wed, 5 Sep 2012 15:25:51 +0100, "Ophelia" <[email protected]>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>"Janet Bostwick" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>>>news:[email protected] m...
>>>>
>>>>> Green onions, the slender ones in the store with the long green tops
>>>>> and the white bottoms. They are found in the cooled produce section.
>>>>> Also known as scallions.
>>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scallion
>>>>
>>>>Syboes here in Scotland, Scallions in Ireland and spring onions in
>>>>England!
>>>>--
>>> Syboes, reallly. I have never heard that term. Thanks for the info.
>>
>>Sybies for slang
>>
>>--
> Looking syboes up was fun and educational. It looks like maybe the
> origin for the word might have been French. But, the fun part was
> finding out what a head scratcher the terminology for green onions is
> and what you ask for depends on what country and where in that
> country. Syboe might be stretched to include leeks. Shallots in
> Australia (depending where you are) might refer to green onions. I
> wonder if it all goes back to who emigrated and brought their
> terminology with them.

Scotland and France were, once very close and we have many words which came
from the French
--
--

http://www.shop.helpforheroes.org.uk/

On Sep 5, 9:50*am, Janet Bostwick <nos...@cableone.net> wrote:
> On Wed, 5 Sep 2012 16:31:24 +0100, "Ophelia" <Ophe...@elsinore.me.uk>
> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> >"Janet Bostwick" <nos...@cableone.net> wrote in message
> >news:[email protected]. .
> >> On Wed, 5 Sep 2012 15:25:51 +0100, "Ophelia" <Ophe...@elsinore.me.uk>
> >> wrote:
>
> >>>"Janet Bostwick" <nos...@cableone.net> wrote in message
> >>>news:[email protected] ...
>
> >>>> Green onions, the slender ones in the store with the long green tops
> >>>> and the white bottoms. *They are found in the cooled produce section.
> >>>> Also known as scallions.
> >>>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scallion
>
> >>>Syboes here in Scotland, Scallions in Ireland and spring onions in
> >>>England!
> >>>--
> >> Syboes, reallly. *I have never heard that term. *Thanks for the info.
>
> >Sybies for slang
>
> >--
>
> Looking syboes up was fun and educational. *It looks like maybe the
> origin for the word might have been French. *But, the fun part was
> finding out what a head scratcher the terminology for green onions is
> and what you ask for depends on what country and where in that
> country. *Syboe might be stretched to include leeks. *Shallots in
> Australia (depending where you are) might refer to green onions. *I
> wonder if it all goes back to who emigrated and brought their
> terminology with them.
> Janet US

So I guess my leeks that didn't do too well would be a good sub for
green onions.

On Wednesday, September 5, 2012 5:55:10 AM UTC-4, ViLco wrote:
> [email protected] wrote:
>
>
>
> >>>> I don't know what spring onion spread is.
>
>
>
> >>> Shaking my head not believing she actually actually asked that.
>
>
>
> >> Well I've never heard of it before. Fine... I will look it up. I
>
> >> only see onion marmalade from Ireland. But there are recipes for
>
> >> spring onion dip. Maybe it's a local thing?- Hide quoted text -
>
>
>
> > Julie, go back and read his statement again. It's not a 'spring onion
>
> > spread' it's a mixture of mashed potatoes, bacon, and spring onions
>
> > --- spread on a sheet of pastry.
>
>
>
> LOL!!! I too made the same mistake and was just wondering what this darn
>
> "spring onion spread" was

Yeah, but you're an idiot.

On Wed, 5 Sep 2012 10:40:27 -0700 (PDT), merryb <[email protected]>
wrote:
snip
>
>So I guess my leeks that didn't do too well would be a good sub for
>green onions.

Oh, heck yes. I'd give it a try. are the tops still tender?
Janet US

"Kalmia" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

On Sep 5, 5:13 am, "Julie Bove" <julieb...@frontier.com> wrote:
> <itsjoannotjo...@webtv.net> wrote in message
>
> news:[email protected]..
> On Sep 5, 3:31 am, "Julie Bove" <julieb...@frontier.com> wrote:
>
> > <itsjoannotjo...@webtv.net> wrote in message
>
> > Shaking my head not believing she actually actually asked that.
>
> > Well I've never heard of it before. Fine... I will look it up. I only
> > see
> > onion marmalade from Ireland. But there are recipes for spring onion
> > dip.
> > Maybe it's a local thing?- Hide quoted text -
>
> Julie, go back and read his statement again. It's not a 'spring onion
> spread' it's a mixture of mashed potatoes, bacon, and spring onions
> --- spread on a sheet of pastry.
>
> Well oddly enough when I did a search for "spring onion spread" his post
> came up. Here's what it says:
>
> "My mother used to make these to take along to events as a snack. They
> were
> something like a mixture of mashed potato, chopped bacon and spring onion
> spread
> on a sheet of pastry, then rolled up, then sliced into bite-sized slices
> and
> the
> pieces oven-baked."
>
> He said it was spring onion spread. Not spring onion, spread on... Or
> spring onion that has been spread on... Had he done that it would have
> been
> clear. The way he wrote it, it sounded sort of like it was some
> concoction
> like pimento cheese.

Ok - for the lack of a friggin COMMA, you couldn't figure that OUT?

Poll: hopeless or helpless? La Bove HAS to fall into one category or
the other.


I don't know why you're surprised. She apparently can't parse a sentence
and figure out the missing comma.

Jill

On Sep 5, 12:16 am, "DavidW" <n...@email.provided> wrote:
> My mother used to make these to take along to events as a snack. They were
> something like a mixture of mashed potato, chopped bacon and spring onion spread
> on a sheet of pastry, then rolled up, then sliced into bite-sized slices and the
> pieces oven-baked.
>
> I made a test batch, just guessing quantities, but they taste a little bland,
> and certainly not like my mother's. I wonder if anyone knows of something
> similar and can suggest where I might be going wrong.
>
> P.S. I'm using puff pastry, which looks right when they're cooked, but it's
> possible she used short pastry. I doubt that's the problem, though.

Cheese. Will add fat and some toasted-cheese-flavor goodness.

http://www.countdown.co.nz/media/496..._pinwheels.pdf

(Personally, I'd use more spring onions (scallions) and/or perhaps
some chives. And plenty of salt and pepper.)

--
Silvar Beitel
very occasional poster

"Many's the nights I've dreamed of cheese. Toasted. Mostly."

On Sep 5, 11:04*am, Janet Bostwick <nos...@cableone.net> wrote:
> On Wed, 5 Sep 2012 10:40:27 -0700 (PDT), merryb <msg...@juno.com>
> wrote:
> snip
>
>
>
> >So I guess my leeks that didn't do too well would be a good sub for
> >green onions.
>
> Oh, heck yes. *I'd give it a try. *are the tops still tender?
> Janet US

A bit dried out, but about the same size. I'm sure if they were
trimmed nicely, they'd work okay. Guess I'll find out!

jmcquown wrote:

> "something like a mixture of mashed potato, chopped bacon, and spring
> onion, spread on a sheet of pastry, then rolled up, then sliced into
> bite-sized slices and the pieces oven-baked."
>
> sqwishy omitted the essential comma after "spring onion". That's what
> threw you.
>
>
> Steve didn't leave out the comma, the OP DavidW did. No need to attack
> Steve for something Julie couldn't parse for herself.

Oh, sorry. I'll take your word for it.

On Wed, 5 Sep 2012 11:53:55 -0700 (PDT), merryb <[email protected]>
wrote:

> On Sep 5, 11:04*am, Janet Bostwick <nos...@cableone.net> wrote:
> > On Wed, 5 Sep 2012 10:40:27 -0700 (PDT), merryb <msg...@juno.com>
> > wrote:
> > snip
> >
> >
> >
> > >So I guess my leeks that didn't do too well would be a good sub for
> > >green onions.
> >
> > Oh, heck yes. *I'd give it a try. *are the tops still tender?
> > Janet US
>
> A bit dried out, but about the same size. I'm sure if they were
> trimmed nicely, they'd work okay. Guess I'll find out!

I'd test it first - snip some off and chew.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

jmcquown wrote:
> "George M. Middius" wrote in message
> news:[email protected]..
>
> oy vey....
>
> Let's get back to the issue of communication skills. sqwishy's grammar
> was imperfect. Here is the corrected version:
>
> "something like a mixture of mashed potato, chopped bacon, and spring
> onion, spread on a sheet of pastry, then rolled up, then sliced into
> bite-sized slices and the pieces oven-baked."
>
> sqwishy omitted the essential comma after "spring onion". That's what
> threw you.
>
>
> Steve didn't leave out the comma, the OP DavidW did.

Yes, but normally a comma would not be the correct grammar there. In this case
it would have resolved the ambiguity between 'spread' the verb (as intended) and
'spread' the noun (which I didn't notice at the time of writing). If not for the
ambiguity you would not have a comma there. E.g., "..crushed garlic and chopped
onion fried in olive oil" does not call for a comma after "onion".

Julie Bove wrote:
> <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]..
> On Sep 5, 3:31 am, "Julie Bove" <julieb...@frontier.com> wrote:
>>
>> <itsjoannotjo...@webtv.net> wrote in message
>>
>>
>> Shaking my head not believing she actually actually asked that.
>>
>> Well I've never heard of it before. Fine... I will look it up. I
>> only see onion marmalade from Ireland. But there are recipes for
>> spring onion dip. Maybe it's a local thing?- Hide quoted text -
>>
>>
> Julie, go back and read his statement again. It's not a 'spring onion
> spread' it's a mixture of mashed potatoes, bacon, and spring onions
> --- spread on a sheet of pastry.
>
> Well oddly enough when I did a search for "spring onion spread" his
> post came up. Here's what it says:
>
> "My mother used to make these to take along to events as a snack.
> They were something like a mixture of mashed potato, chopped bacon
> and spring onion spread
> on a sheet of pastry, then rolled up, then sliced into bite-sized
> slices and the
> pieces oven-baked."
>
> He said it was spring onion spread. Not spring onion, spread on... Or spring
> onion that has been spread on... Had he done that it would
> have been clear. The way he wrote it, it sounded sort of like it was
> some concoction like pimento cheese.

I agree there's an ambiguity there: 'spread' the verb (my usage) and 'spread'
the noun (your interpretation), but in the noun case it didn't say how all those
ingredients would be "on" the pastry, as well as specifying the mysterious
"spring onion spread". Together these would normally prompt a re-reading to see
if it could be understood a different way. Anyway, I apologize for the lack of
clarity.

Janet Bostwick wrote:
> On Wed, 5 Sep 2012 16:31:24 +0100, "Ophelia" <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>>
>> Sybies for slang
>>
>> --
> Looking syboes up was fun and educational. It looks like maybe the
> origin for the word might have been French. But, the fun part was
> finding out what a head scratcher the terminology for green onions is
> and what you ask for depends on what country and where in that
> country. Syboe might be stretched to include leeks. Shallots in
> Australia (depending where you are) might refer to green onions. I

Interesting that you mention that. On Masterchef Australia this year (or the All
Stars series) there was a brief disagreement between the judges, who are also
chefs, as to what a shallot is.

Janet Bostwick wrote:
> On Wed, 5 Sep 2012 14:14:17 +1000, "DavidW" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> My mother used to make these to take along to events as a snack.
>> They were something like a mixture of mashed potato, chopped bacon
>> and spring onion spread on a sheet of pastry, then rolled up, then
>> sliced into bite-sized slices and the pieces oven-baked.
>>
>> I made a test batch, just guessing quantities, but they taste a
>> little bland, and certainly not like my mother's. I wonder if anyone
>> knows of something similar and can suggest where I might be going
>> wrong.
>>
>> P.S. I'm using puff pastry, which looks right when they're cooked,
>> but it's possible she used short pastry. I doubt that's the problem,
>> though.
>>
> Did you use the whole onion and not just the green tops?

Only the green tops, but I wasn't sure.

> I would be
> sure to use the whole onion. Also, let the potato mixture sit for a
> bit to develop the flavors before you bake them.

Good idea.

> You might try adding
> some garlic to the mixture, either powdered garlic or minced fresh
> garlic. Sounds good. Thanks for the idea.

They are absolutely delicious when done right.

BTW, they took much longer to bake than I expected. Being bite-sized discs
(misshapen - don't expect them to remain round), I thought they'd only need 5
minutes, but I needed about 20 minutes at 210 C on baking paper (turning once)
before they darkened to look like my mother's used to. They were not burnt, in
case anyone thinks that's where I went wrong.

Pico Rico wrote:
> "DavidW" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:k26jnh$b52$[email protected]..
>> My mother used to make these to take along to events as a snack.
>> They were something like a mixture of mashed potato, chopped bacon
>> and spring onion spread on a sheet of pastry, then rolled up, then
>> sliced into bite-sized slices and the pieces oven-baked.
>>
>> I made a test batch, just guessing quantities, but they taste a
>> little bland, and certainly not like my mother's. I wonder if anyone
>> knows of something similar and can suggest where I might be going
>> wrong. P.S. I'm using puff pastry, which looks right when they're cooked,
>> but it's possible she used short pastry. I doubt that's the problem,
>> though.
>
> you can't go home again. they probably taste just like your mom's.

No, they definitely don't. One of them - just a single one - tasted just like my
mother's used to. The memory came back with that one, which makes me think I've
got the ingredients about right. I can't imagine with such a simple recipe why
one would be different from the others. Maybe it's just not enough bacon, or not
the right part of the bacon, except in that one.

"DavidW" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:k28i91$9rv$[email protected]..
> Julie Bove wrote:
>> <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]..
>> On Sep 5, 3:31 am, "Julie Bove" <julieb...@frontier.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> <itsjoannotjo...@webtv.net> wrote in message
>>>
>>>
>>> Shaking my head not believing she actually actually asked that.
>>>
>>> Well I've never heard of it before. Fine... I will look it up. I
>>> only see onion marmalade from Ireland. But there are recipes for
>>> spring onion dip. Maybe it's a local thing?- Hide quoted text -
>>>
>>>
>> Julie, go back and read his statement again. It's not a 'spring onion
>> spread' it's a mixture of mashed potatoes, bacon, and spring onions
>> --- spread on a sheet of pastry.
>>
>> Well oddly enough when I did a search for "spring onion spread" his
>> post came up. Here's what it says:
>>
>> "My mother used to make these to take along to events as a snack.
>> They were something like a mixture of mashed potato, chopped bacon
>> and spring onion spread
>> on a sheet of pastry, then rolled up, then sliced into bite-sized
>> slices and the
>> pieces oven-baked."
>>
>> He said it was spring onion spread. Not spring onion, spread on... Or
>> spring onion that has been spread on... Had he done that it would
>> have been clear. The way he wrote it, it sounded sort of like it was
>> some concoction like pimento cheese.
>
> I agree there's an ambiguity there: 'spread' the verb (my usage) and
> 'spread' the noun (your interpretation), but in the noun case it didn't
> say how all those ingredients would be "on" the pastry, as well as
> specifying the mysterious "spring onion spread". Together these would
> normally prompt a re-reading to see if it could be understood a different
> way. Anyway, I apologize for the lack of clarity.

No prob.