you say potato?

ok...so i am cheating...but just a bit. and i have a really good reason. you see it is white (or colorful “white”…but not sweet) potatoes week at summer fest. each week of the fest i post a new recipe and tell you the story of how the dish came to be. this week i contemplated buying some potatoes and experimenting with a few ideas i have in the back of my mind....then real life intervened. a good friend asked me to make the desserts for her wedding (gulp!). she is from the south and planned a very southern menu...fried chicken, collard greens, grits, succotash...served with champagne and excellent wine. they did not want a traditional wedding cake...instead pies, crisps, cobblers and homemade vanilla ice cream were requested. now...i am so, so, so not a trained caterer...so making enough baked goods for 100 + people...not to mention the homemade ice cream... took a bit of logistical planning. the wedding was this past sunday...i went to the commercial kitchen at 6:00 am that day...prepared and baked everything!..delivered the 8 pies, 2 cobblers and 2 crisps (the ice cream was made earlier in the week)...showered, changed and then attended the festivities that evening!

pie photo courtesy julie dalrymple
potato photo courtesy suat eman
can i just say that two days later i am still exhausted?? i have an even greater respect for chefs, cooks and caterers...wow...you guys do that every day? so...enough with the wedding story...i will blog about the event...and share the recipes later (peach pie with pecan crisp topping anyone?) for now, i just must be honest and say i did not have the energy to create a new potato recipe...

happily, i have a number of favorite potato recipes from the past few years of blogging and i am "repurposing" three of my favorites. but first, i want to talk a bit about the nutritional aspects of potatoes. i have so many friends who...in the interest of health...are foregoing "anything white". no white sugar, flour, potatoes...etc. i totally get the first two...but potatoes? really? here are some potato facts from the washington state potato commission's website:

THE HEALTHFUL POTATO
Misinformation and misconceptions regarding the nutritional value of the potato abound. In fact, an average (~5.3 oz) potato with the skin contains:

45% of the daily value for vitamin C
620 mg potassium, comparable to bananas, spinach and broccoli
trace amounts of thiamin, riboflavin, folate, magnesium, phosphorous, iron and zinc

all for only 110 calories and no fat.
And potatoes with the skin on are an excellent source of fiber. In fact, with 2 grams of fiber per serving, a potato equals or exceeds that of many "whole" grain products-whole grain bread, whole wheat pasta and many cereals

Despite the popular notion, the majority of nutrients are not found in the skin, but in the potato itself. Nonetheless, leaving the skin on the potatoes retains all the nutrients, the fiber in the skin and makes potatoes easier to prepare.
how great is that? i love potatoes. i roast them all the time. diced, roasted with onions, evoo and sea salt, then topped with a poached egg...perfection. or check out my baked potatoes for dinner? post ...loaded with a delicious roasted vegetable mixture of broccoli, garlic, leeks and cremini mushrooms, tossed with e.v.o.o and seasonings... add a small salad and dinner is served.

i am a "potato skin" person...even in my mashed potatoes or, as i refer to them, smashed potatoes ...with e.v.o.o instead of butter and seasoned with a delicious roasted garlic puree...yum.
this is the perfect time of year to serve our napa farmhouse potato salad chock full of red skinned potatoes, fresh peas, green onion, red onion and kalamata olives tossed in a honey mustard vinaigrette.

see what i mean...potaotes are delicious, nutritious, inexpensive and incredibly versatile....what are your favorite ways to prepare them? and...that roasted potato/poached egg combo sounds like the perfect, easy dinner for tonight....off to the kitchen...

want to win a free cookbook? remember when i told you that i had a recipe published in a new cookbook thinkfood, recipes for brain fitness? i was thrilled to receive a couple of copies in the mail. i am featured on page 47!! i have decided to give away a copy...my first ever contest. all you need to do to enter is leave a comment on one of my september 2010 blog posts. tell me in the comments that you would like to be entered in the drawing. i will announce the winner during the first week of october...so be sure to check us out to see if you win.
now it is your turn to participate in summer fest. simply leave your potato tip or recipe or favorite links in the comments below, and then go visit the collaborators listed on the blog away to garden and do the same.

the cross-blog event idea works best when you leave your recipe or favorite links (whether to your own blog or someone else’s) at all the host blogs. yes, copy and paste them everywhere! that way, they are likely to be seen by the widest audience. everyone benefits, and some pretty great dialog starts simmering.

always...much thanks to margaret roach and deb puchalla for coordinating summer fest 2010. as always...its been a blast... one more thing...next week begins fall fest. same idea...new logo...

best and happy cooking!
diane

diane padoven
founder/president
napa farmhouse 1885™
"live a green life of style™ "
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