 When I feel stuck in my cooking, it's time to turn back to comfort food, and there's nothing more comforting than potatoes. (I credit a Wendy's baked potato with breaking me out of a cooking rut a couple years ago: true story.) Just think of what you want to eat most right now and lean into it. I bet that, for most of you, potatoes could fit in that sentence. French fries, golden from the fryer; a crackling baked potato topped with chili; a pot of creamy potato soup.
Right now I'm eyeing a potato recipe we ran back in December: this golden, cheesy free-form galette by Amelia, of potatoes layered with duck fat and Gruyere cheese. It looks fancy but tastes like everything you want right now: "The edges are crisp like potato chips, and the center is rich and cheesy." I mean, yes.
I asked some other team members what they're craving for comfort in the Potato Realms right now.
"Shepherd's pie is really high on the list. It is like eating a hug — tender beef and vegetables under a blanket of potatoes that you can eat from a bowl with a spoon. Plus even the picky eater in my family eats it." - Meghan Splawn
Christine Gallary says, "I love hash browns because it's such a comforting way to start a morning, but they have to be absolutely perfect: golden-brown and crispy on top, soft and fluffy on the inside, and well-seasoned. It's actually pretty hard to find done well, so I treasure every bite when I come across a diner that does this well."
"Mashed potatoes were my all-time favorite food when I was a kid. I think deep down they still are my favorite food, but I don't want to be an adult whose answer to "What's your favorite food?" is mashed potatoes…" - Jesse Szewczyk
Carey Polis says, "Tonight I'm making roast chicken and potatoes — I mean, what's better than potatoes roasting in chicken drippings!"
And potatoes seem to connect sometimes to even more than our comfort food cravings. Lisa Freedman shared this memory: "I love potatoes in all and every form. BUT when I think of the most comforting way to eat potatoes, it's gotta be chips. As in Ruffles ... with a giant bowl of sour cream mixed with Lipton Onion Soup Mix. My fondest memories from growing up featuring me and my dad around the kitchen table eating just this from one very specific blue bowl. We'd eat it after school, on Saturday afternoons, in the middle of the night ... all. the. time. My dad passed away suddenly at the beginning of the pandemic and so this snack means even more to me now. Chips for the win. Always. And especially if there's dip."
Nina Elder also shared potatoes with memory: "I'm an only child, so when I was growing up holiday celebrations were often a group of three (me and my parents). When I married Matt, who has TONS of aunts and uncles and cousins on both sides of his family, I got the big, crazy extended family holiday gatherings I longed for as a kid. And those gatherings came with tons of food. Of all the things on the table, my favorite was the GIANT aluminum pan full of cheesy potatoes. Rich and creamy and cooked until the potatoes are soft but not too soft, it's pretty much a perfect dish. A few years after Matt and I were married, his grandmother Grace passed away, but the family made a cookbook of her recipes and that's the one I make most often. I most recently made it for Christmas dinner. I was just me, Matt, and Gus, a small gathering, like the ones I had growing up. But having the cheesy potatoes on the table reminded me of the big gatherings of the past and gave me hope that those can happen again soon."
Potatoes yesterday, today, and forever. If you're stuck for inspiration this long weekend may I suggest potatoes; we're all marveling at this TikTok potato masterpiece, but even a simple but perfect baked potato (this method is so good) is so nourishing and comforting.
Yours in mashed and in fried,  FOLLOW FAITH
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Sunday, January 17, 2021
When in doubt, go back to potatoes (specifically, cheesy potatoes in duck fat)
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