2008- International Year of the Potato!
It’s the latest, it’s the greatest!
Mashed Potato, ya, ya, ya
A’Mashed potato started long time ago,
With a guy named Sloppy Joe
You’ll find this dance that’s so cool to do,
C’mon baby gonna teach it to you…..
-Mashed Potato Time, Sheldon & Land, #1 in 1962
To do The Mashed Potato, you have to look right. Guys- wear ties please. Skinny. With tight pegged pants and a light colored sports jacket. Ladies- you need pointed toed flats from Thom McAn, a straight skirt, plaid is nice with a Peter Pan collared blouse, and hair teased up into a bubble flip! I recommend Aqua Net for the “that hair ain’t gonna move for a year” look! Wow, look at you- Dick Clark would pick you to be on Bandstand looking like that!
Recently, there was a nice article in the US News and World Report, online version, about the value of potatoes in a hungry world. I never doubted it! You can live on them. Ask anybody with Irish ancestors! Plus, they grow in places where the soil is lousy and full of rocks…like Maryland.
March’s arrival makes me think about what’s going in the garden this year. Lately I’ve been thinking that most of us spend the summer growing “hobby vegetables”. These are things available at the store, but home grown is so much better of course. Tomatoes and peppers..yum! But we still buy “staples”: the things that keep you alive: wheat, legumes, potatoes. This year,I’m going to make an effort to plant more of nature’s most perfect food!
In honor of the Spud, try my mother’s homefry “recipe” (it’s more technique that recipe, but worth some kitchen experiments) I recommend a large, heavy skillet with a cover. If you have a cast iron skillet, use that and borrow a cover that fits from your other cookware.
A colander full of potatoes- 7 or 8 medium. I prefer Yukon Gold lately
One large, sweet onion. Vidalia or Maui is just perfect!
1/4 c. good light oil- Wesson, etc.
Peel and wash the potatoes. Then dice. You can try for that perfect “OreIda” look, but a bit bigger than that is fine. Then finely dice the onion and put everything back in your colander and toss together a bit. Don’t rewash your potatoes, you’re just stirring in the onions.
Heat your skillet (carefully) on medium heat for 3/4 minutes. Then add your oil. Hot pan + cold oil = food doesn’t stick so bad! Then immediately add your potatoes/onions to the skillet. Cover and cook on med-low heat about 15 minutes. We have an electric range, and I start out with the skillet on #2, kind of low. After 15 minutes, toss your taters and check for tenderness- they’re probably going to need another ten minutes. When they’re tender, they’re done. But if you want your potatoes crispier and a little more brown, uncover the skillet, turn the heat up to medium high and cook by stir frying until you like the color! Don’t season them until they’re done cooking. I’ve use Zatarain’s Creole Seasoning a lot lately. 
It’s a good mix of spices, but not raging hot. I’m going to plug their website because every product of theirs I’ve tried has been excellent: www.zatarains.com. They might have this at your market. You can also season your potatoes with salt and pepper, or Old Bay for a “Boardwalk Fries” kind of taste, or salt and garlic (very French!) A little bit of sour cream on top is nice too!
Enjoy your taters!
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