Corduroy Orange

I’m glad to say that Sunday dinner went swimmingly. The ham was both beautiful and delicious; the deviled eggs were easy (even if using a spoon does work, I still say that a pastry bag is easier) and delicious—I included capers in the yolk mix, and thought they were a nice touch. The marinated roasted portabello mushrooms were slightly overdone, but not offensively so. The maple tiramisu was divine, if I do say so myself. Really, the only problem was the mashed potatoes, and even then, it was only a problem of presentation.

I had planned on mashing a pot each of irish and sweet potatoes, putting each type in a small pastry bag, both bags in a larger bag, and piping out twisty-cone style mixed potatoes. Then, because there was a limit of how many pots and burners I have to work with, and because Julia Child recommends baking potatoes and then mashing them, I decided to give that a shot. But, really, you should only try one new thing at a time.

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For an at home potato bar how would you suggest keeping the potatoes warm? It seems like I am alway plagued by room temp mashed potatoes when ever I try to do something like this.

The easiest way to keep your spuds warm at home is to boil a pan of water and then set your potatoes atop of it.  It won’t preserve their heat forever, but it should work long enough for service, especially if you keep the potatoes covered when you’re not actively scooping them.

My sister-in-law got married not too long ago, and her reception featured a prime example of sophisticated simplicity: a mashed potato bar.

Almost everyone loves mashed potatoes. I mean, really, what’s not to love? But people never seem to quite agree about what’s the best thing to mix with them: the possibilities are limited only by your range of culinary creativity. Julia’s mashed potato bar featured (and I hope I can remember all of the offerings; I’m sure I’ll be corrected if I leave anything out) irish potatoes with your choice of gravy, orange cheddar cheese, chives, corn, and butter. A healthy selection of classics, to be sure, and it was quite tasty.

Julia already knows, so I’m sure she won’t be offended by my mentioning it here, that I have some ideas for expanding the potato bar to an even wider selection of possible inclusions. I list them here for you, free of charge, but it would be nice of you to invite me to the next occasion where you have one. I love mashed potato bars!
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jesse - I’d love to hear any thoughts you have about the miracle health benefits of raw (unpasturized) milk. apparently it can cure eczema, asthma, and even hep c. I can’t get it in NJ (until I cultivate some black market raw milk farmers) so might be planning a raw milk pit stop on my next trip to albany and/or pgh.

(http://www.realmilk.com/where.html)

Kari–

All of my propoganda on raw milk comes from the same source as yours does, the folks at the Weston A. Price Foundation, who sponsor the Real Milk campaign. I gathered up some of their literature and attended a lecture they organized about the benefits of raw milk at the Pittsburgh “Farm to Table” conference on Saturday.

The organization is dedicated to propogating the beliefs of Weston A. Price, who, in the 1930s, “traveled to isolated parts of the globe to study the health of populations untouched by western civilization” and decided, based on his observations, that these civilizations enjoyed better health (namely dental) than most westerners and that their diet was the reason behind this situation.

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Yesterday I went to the Pittsburgh Farm to Table conference and met a lot of great farmers who are doing some really cool stuff, and I’m sure I’ll be writing more about that in the next couple of days.  For now, I want to look at an area that doesn’t often get much mention in conversations about food, and that’s the accoutrements with which our food is served.

How often do you clean up from a meal by simply throwing everything away? Cup, plate, flatware, napkin(s), all away in the trash? How about partway–cup and napkin? Napkin and plate? Napkin? How much do you throw away in a week?

It’s an emerging trend that people carry their own cups with them so they can avoid wasting fifteen-odd foam or paper cups in a week, and I think that’s great. I wish everyone carried a cup everywhere with them, and if you’re not already doing it, I recommend you start.

But I don’t think that people should stop there. It’s incredible how many paper napkins a person can go through in a week, and just as incredible how few you can go through if you carry a cloth napkin everyhwere you go.

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