There is something about potato leek soup that is humbling. It’s cold outside and you pour yourself a cup. You slurp it down while wearing fingerless gloves. Maybe you’re in a barn. It is dusk. Dark clouds are rolling in. It is all very Dickensian.
Humor me.
That might be the potato leek soup that is composed of three ingredients– leeks, potatoes, and water.

But this is the potato leek soup that is made on a Sunday afternoon, at the close of a full weekend. You may be miles away from a barn, but it is still humbling… and satisfying to boot. There  are more than three ingredients in this recipe, but not too many more. In fact, the soup comes together in under an hour, always a welcome direction when you’re busy.
So let’s get down to the “plus” business. Well, there’s stock used instead of water. This adds another dimension of flavor. [...]

I love potatoes. Who doesn’t? Even a bad french fry, when the potato has behaved like a sponge and soaked up a bit more oil than intended, is good. And who did not live off of the classic baked potato when they were in college? With some broccoli tossed on, and a sprinkling of cheddar cheese, an entire, homey meal, made for a king– or a college student. Boiled, steamed, hash-browned, or sauteed, I am an equal-opportunity queen of the starches.
The potato is like the little black dress of the culinary world. However you decide to dress it, it is infinitely adaptable. So when it is dreary out, cold and gloomy, when you wake up each morning, put on your glasses, and gaze out the window toward the barren, bud-less trees, hoping that maybe tomorrow, you will see a burgeoning bit of greenery, [...]

Awhile back I bought this book. At the time, it just seemed like the right thing to do. I was at The Strand, which in my opinion, does not have 18 miles of books. It seems to me they might have 1 mile of books, and what makes up the other 17 miles are repeats and remainders. But 1 mile of books is still a hefty sum. So Brian and I went to the bookstore and split up accordingly– he goes to philosophy and music, and I go to cooking and fiction. So I’m browsing, and I pick up The Big Book of Casseroles.
I thought to myself, as I thumbed through the recipes, I’m American, I should know a thing or two about casseroles. I have a Pyrex pan, an oven. I like rice; I’ve been known to eat elbow macaroni. [...]

For all you bourgies who have holidays parties that you are attending, or throwing yourself, I thought I would do a few posts on easy and tasty party foods to have. If you are tired of those mini cubes of cheese, and if you see one more deli meat platter you just might scream, try something simple and delicious instead.
Mini Jacketed Potatoes are adorable, perfectly diminutive lined up in an op art fashion. I don’t know why everything is more desirable shrunken into bite sizes, but it is surely the case with this hors d’oeuvres. Served at room temperature this snack offers the perfect bite of buttery starch. Jacketed potatoes are super easy to make, and require simply a few embellishments to make this appetizer into your basic bourgie fare.
I use an assortment of small, new potatoes for this dish, Yukon Golds, White Creamers, and Reds. I find the [...]