Friday, August 27, 2010

Five and Dime Fridays -- Most Delicious Potatoes in the World!

It's FIVE & DIME FRIDAY and before we get to what we're gonna cook up we have to:

1. Ask a question
and
2. Tell a story

So, the question is "DO YOU KNOW ABOUT GROUPONS?" They are FANTASTIC! Go to groupon.com and sign up. It's free and they give you an offer every day of things you can save on -- food, spas, events, etc.

I have many excellent Groupon stories but the best one is the $80 worth of food we got for $40 at YAMASHIRO's in the Hollywood Hills, next to the Magic Castle. If you don't live in LA and have been a tourist here you may have heard of Yamashiro's because it's a great spot for tourists, just above Graumann's Chinese, next door to the Magic Castle, with a view of the Capitol Records building, and nestled in a lovely hill setting. The building has a great history, and the kitchen has a fairly new chef...and that's why we bought the Groupon because my wonderful friend and author, Franz Metcalf, said he was great.

The meal was nothing short of brilliant. One of the most spectacular dishes was Smashed Potatoes with Preserved Lemon which was served with my perfectly grilled salmon and white asparagus. I love potatoes and felt like I had tried everything but holy moly these were good. So, I googled recipes and found the link to a great meal by Suzanne Goin of Lucques. We made it and it truly was a wonderful meal.

I recommend following her recipe to a T, but here's anothe Lazy version of the Smashed Potatoes:

FIVE & DIME FRIDAY -- Lemony Potatoes!
  1. Red New Potatoes -- 1 to 1 1/2 pounds
  2. Preserved Lemon -- 1 lemon
  3. Olive Oil - 1 or 2 tablespoons
  4. Butter - 2 or 3 tablespoons
  5. Salt & Pepper

Steam or boil up the potatoes. Smash them up a little. You can use a masher if you want, but you don't really need it. Just squish 'em up a bit. Chop up the Preserved Lemon and throw it in the potatoes. Then add olive oil, butter and salt & pepper to your taste. You don't need a ton of oil and butter to make this work. This can be a very low fat recipe if you choose to make it that way!

There's nothing to it! Zesty fresh potatoes in no time!

Buon appetito!


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