SPUDS

Or taters, or taties, or whatever you want to call them, let's face it: WE ALL LOVE POTATOES. When we went through the anti carb phase while there were folks like me who said they'd have to kill me to get my linguine, and others who were putting sourdough into bunkers, the REAL point of contention was potatoes. After all, hadn't we all been told they were good for us, with all the vitamins and minerals? Hadn't we read articles like the one about the lady who lived for fifty years on potatoes milk and an occasional orange (Ok, I read that in the National Enquirer, but as Judy Tenuta says "IT COULD HAPPEN!!!!)" But ultimately, if it's good for you, and it isn't going to taste good, you ain't gonna eat it.

Potatoes taste good. They're inexpensive. They open themselves up to a multitude of ways to cook. Whereas amongst my circle, when someone says "versatile" we wink and nudge each other, potatoes are, indeed, versatile.

So, ok. Tell me the last five ways you cooked them: baked, baked, baked, baked and baked. Or boiled, boiled, boiled, boiled and boiled. You get the picture.

FOLKS GET OUT OF YOUR RUT!!!! I'm writing today to get you to try some new ways to make potatoes. Yes, no question, mashed potatoes are one of the true comfort foods. Fran Lebowitz wrote "remember, everyone likes french fries," and how many of us want to trade our steak with someone else if we can get their baked potateos. But try something new. I want to give you two, tried and true recipes which are so easy to do, you'll thank me. Yeah, you will. And you'll impress your friends who love your mashed potatoes, but..

The first, is the classic French soup, vichissoyse. I'm spelling that wrong, so send the Academie to get me. I'm told that this is the first soup that French women learn to make, because it's so easy. And also, because if you have a kitchen garden, you have the ingredients. That's because French respect leeks, the most undervalued vegetable in the pantheon of veggies (beets are up there, and we'll get to that). Make this soup, and you'll look at leeks in a new way.

What you need are butter (maybe half a stick), two leeks, a pound of potatoes, water, salt, and maybe some "add ins." Slice the leeks down their middle and wash them, to get all the dirt out. Then, cut off the top of the leeks - the dark green stuff that looks inedible (it is). I always say I'm going to use it for soup. I never do. Then, slice those half leeks into little half moons. Slice them thin. You'll be amazed how many you get. Then get to work on your potatoes. Peel them, and cut them into chunks. No surgical technique here, just small pieces. Now, you're ready to cook.

Put the butter in a large pot and turn the heat to low to melt it. When it melts, add the leeks. You'll hear a slight "hiss." Add some salt to that and let them cook until they begin to wilt down and you begin to hear a diminished sound. Now, add your potatoes. Toss them with the leeks and the butter to coat them, and cook them for, oh, about two minutes. Now, cover them, with a quart of water. DONT USE STOCK HERE. Bring this to a boil, then lower the heat, and let 'em cook away until the potatoes are nice and soft. That takes about thirty minutes. Taste this, and correct seasonings.

Now, you have to make a decision. Personally, I like to eat this soup just as it is here. Some people will add a cup of milk, or a cup or two of cream, which is ethereal, but begins to move it out of the simple. Whether you add more liquid or not, you CAN push this through a food mill (I wouldn't use a blender. Makes it too gummy), and get a smoother soup, but I really very much like the chunky, homespun feel of this. You can also add carrots when the soup is cooking, and get a beautiful pale orange soup, or watercress for a green one (there's a French word for that variation, but I forget what it is), or just about anything you want. You can eat it hot (the way I prefer it), cold (my friend Steve ADORES it that way), or room temperature. It's so filling , it COULD be dinner.

So, too, could the next dish, which I am stealing shamelessly from the late, great Laurie Colwin. If she were still around I'd be asking her about each of these blogs. Laurie would be the first one to deny comparision with MFK Fisher, but in my mind, she was up there.

Laurie loved easy, comfort food, and if it made a mess, well, you cooked it so you don't have to clean. Here's one of those recipes.

Preheat your oven to 400, and put a buttered baking dish on top of a baking sheet. Put this aside. Peel about two pounds of potatoes, and slice them thin. Put them in a pot, and cover them with milk. If you have some other left over veggies, you can add them, but do it the basic way first. Add salt. Bring this to a boil, at medium heat. When it happens, dump the whole thing into your butttered dish, and dot it with more butter, and a bunch of grated cheese, if you want. Bake this, until the dish is bubbly, and the potatoes have browned. it takes about thirty minutes. Some people now put this under the broiler, but I don't bother. Let it cool because when this comes out of the oven, it's so hot it will damage you badly.

You can serve this with a nice simple grilled piece of meat or fish, or some meatloaf. But for me, I could sit there with a big spoon, and just eat it with a grin on my face.

Laurie, I miss you. I hope people go back and look for your books now. Ciao bella