Blue Cayenne

“Found a little patched-up inn in the village of Bulson. Proprietor had nothing but potatoes; but what a feast he laid before me. Served them in five different courses-potato soup, potato fricassee, potatoes creamed, potato salad and finished with potato pie. It may be because I had not eaten for 36 hours, but that meal seems about the best I ever had.“

General Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964)

Ahh. Potatoes.  

Do you share recipes?

Years ago, I remember a school party where a friend of a friend brought an inspired potato salad. It was amazingly creamy and flavorful. I ate it. I fell all over myself praising it. I asked for the recipe. Nothing. I nudged my friend who brought the friend who brought the potato salad. Still nothing.

Whenever I’m asked for a recipe, I always think of the potato salad incident. Why wouldn’t I share? It is, I think a compliment to have someone ask for a recipe.

In that spirit of sharing, here is a potato salad recipe that I like a lot. It is creamy but it gets its creaminess from goat cheese rather than mayonnaise or sour cream.

Do you have a favorite potato salad recipe? Send it to me. I would love to try yet another potato recipe.

Truth be told, this Irish girl can’t ever get too many potato recipes.

Recipe: Potato Salad with Goat Cheese

Dressing
1 T. sherry vinegar
1 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
1 t. Dijon mustard
1 medium garlic clove (minced)
1/3 C. extra virgin olive oil

For The Salad
2 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2-4 T. finely chopped red onion (rinsed with cold water and drained)
2 T. chopped flat-leaf parsley
4 ounces soft goat cheese

Garnish: Hard boiled eggs, chopped tomato, black olives and paprika.

Directions:
To make the dressing, whisk the lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper and garlic together. Whisk in the olive oil. Taste. Set aside.

Scrub the potatoes and cut into 3/4 inch dice. Steam potatoes until tender but not mushy. This will take 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and toss while hot in a bowl with salt and pepper to taste along with the onions, parsley, goat cheese and dressing. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Garnish with quartered hard boiled eggs, chopped tomato, whole black olives and paprika.

“Coraline opened the box of chocolates. The dog looked at them longingly. ‘Would you like one?’ she asked the little dog. ‘Yes, please,’ whispered the dog. ‘Only not toffee ones. They make me drool.’ ‘I thought chocolates weren’t very good for dogs,’ she said, remembering something Miss Forcible had once told her. ‘Maybe where you come from,’ whispered the little dog. ‘Here, it’s all we eat.’ “

I’m not sure why I am leading this post with a quote from Neil Gaiman except that he is one of my favorite writers.  His imagination knows no bounds. He has a quirky sense of humor and a gentle way with words. It figures, I guess, that he would create an image of a fantasy world (albeit a creepy one in Coraline) where chocolate, the forbidden indulgence–at least for the little dog, morphs into an endless pleasure.

If, like me, you savor your quiet moments with a good bar of chocolate, this chocolate mousse is a stunner.

It is only fair that I give you a warning, though. This mousse may make you drool.

Recipe: Dark Chocolate Mousse

(This is my adaptation of a recipe from Sur La Table’s “Four Desserts Every Cook Should Know” cooking class in Costa Mesa. Gigi Pascual was our inspired and inspiring teacher.)

2 C. heavy whipping cream (divided)
4 large egg yolks
3 T. granulated sugar
1/8 t. fine sea salt
1 t. vanilla extract
7 oz. bittersweet chocolate (chopped)
Chocolate curls for decoration and whipped cream to top the mousse

Directions:

Heat 3/4 cup cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat until it comes to a simmer. Remove from heat.

Whisk four large egg yolks in a medium bowl with sugar and salt. Then, slowly whisk the warm cream into the yolk mixture . Put this mixture back in the saucepan and turn heat to medium-low. Stir the mixture constantly until it coats the back of a spoon. This should happen when the mixture registers 160 degrees F. which should take about five minutes. Pour the custard mixture through a fine sieve into a large bowl. Add the vanilla. Set aside.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water. Stir the chocolate mixture constantly while it melts. Remove the melted chocolate from the heat and, using a whisk, mix the egg custard into the chocolate. The mixture should be smooth. Set aside to cool.

Put the remaining 1 1/4 C. cream into a bowl and whip until soft peaks form. This should take about 3 minutes. One-third of the whipped cream at a time, fold the whipped cream into the chocolate custard until it almost completely combined. Do not overmix; you want to keep some air in the cream. Your mousse is ready when the cream is thoroughly incorporated, the mousse is smooth and the color of the mousse is even.

Spoon the mousse into serving bowls and chill (covered) until the mousse is set. This will take about 2 hours. Let the mixture stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes before you serve it to your guests.

Top with whipped cream, chocolate curls and a cherry.

I ask you. What can you believe in if you can’t believe in the superior goodness of iron-rich spinach?

This is an interesting piece from The Guardian about the influence lobbyists and the government have had in (mis)shaping our beliefs about nutrition. Makes you wonder what nutrition beliefs are next to be debunked. If it’s potatoes, this Irish girl will weep.

The article includes a great old video about Popeye, heroism, bullies and gloppy cans of spinach.I hope you’ll watch it. It’s fun.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/jun/07/take-it-with-a-pinch-of-salt-the-food-marketing-myths-weve-swallowed-whole