 |
| Vincent Van Gogh - Still Life with Potatoes |
Potato fields have long been a favorite subject of artists
and cooks. Russian impressionist
painters frequently used potato fields in juxtaposition of airplanes, antennas
and other modern conveniences as political statement. French Impressionists, Van Gogh in particular,
painted landscapes featuring potato fields in an attempt to capture the beauty
of everyday life. The lowly root
vegetable has played an important part not only in art history but also
culinary history. The culinary world has
baked, mashed, fried, sautéed, scalloped, gratin, braised, boiled and roasted
potatoes in numerous ways and combinations.
 |
| William Merritt Chase Potato Patch |
 |
| Jules Bastien-LePage - Potato Gatherer |
 |
| Vincent Van Gogh - Potato Eaters |
Dorie Greenspan’s Broth Braised Potatoes are deserving of a
place of honor at the dinner table the next time you are including potatoes in
your meal. The method is simple, and the
result is pleasantly surprising. The
texture of the potato ends up fork tender and does not dissolve upon touch from
the braising. The infusion of fresh herbs
(rosemary, bay leave and thyme), and chicken broth into the potatoes creates a
lovely flavor. Not too strong or
overpowering, but subtle with each bite.
 |
| So few ingredients for such a flavorful dish |
 |
| I added a few more herbs in since I had them on hand |
 |
| And the braising begins |
 |
| Voila - fork tender potatoes |
 |
| Broth Braised Potatoes were a perfect side to the filet roast |
The Broth-Braised Potatoes have made two appearances at our
table since trying this. We also
recently tried the Spice-Glazed Carrots which are made with the same method,
with an addition of butter and cardamom.
Simply put, both are delicious and simple to make during a hectic work
week.
 |
| Fresh garlic, and colorful carrots with cardamom |
 |
| I loved the colors of these carrots - shades of watermelon, cantaloupe and pineapple |
 |
| The carrots still maintained their integrity, and had a nice hint of spice to them |
This was an exciting culinary week for me - so many firsts! I wanted to thank Mary
Lights on Bright No Brakes for including me in her post last week. (Mary has a great sense of humor, and I always enjoy her posts.) The French Friday's with Dorie is an exceptional group of culinary enthusiasts that inspire us all.
I want to thank Guyla at
Lola's Kitchen (great blog and beautiful photography, I'm always hungry and after reading) for the Liebster Award - its my first blog award. The cherry on the top was being selected as one of the
January 24X24 participants - 24 meals in 24 hours. If you are interested in my menu and party, check back on Monday as it will be posted no later than 11:59 PM Sunday, January 29th.
I'd like to pass the Liebster Blog award onto
Yummy Chunklet, she has been a great member of FFWD, and her posts outside of this group are always entertaining;
Patty's Food her posts and photography have caused drooling in our house, and Cher at
The Crazy World of Cher she entertains us all with her dabblings and is a chef who loves a challenge, not to mention she comments on every single FFWD post every week, which is pretty amazing. There are so many more great blogs to list as everyone in the group is multi-faceted, entertaining and great sources of inspiration.
www.frenchfridayswithdorie.com
