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| Vincent Van Gogh – Still Life with Potatoes |
Potato fields have long been a favorite subject of artists and cooks. Russian impressionist painters frequently used potato fields in juxtaposition of airplanes, antennas and other modern conveniences as political statement. French Impressionists, Van Gogh in particular, painted landscapes featuring potato fields in an attempt to capture the beauty of everyday life. The lowly root vegetable has played an important part not only in art history but also culinary history. The culinary world has baked, mashed, fried, sautéed, scalloped, gratin, braised, boiled and roasted potatoes in numerous ways and combinations.
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| William Merritt Chase Potato Patch |
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| Jules Bastien-LePage – Potato Gatherer |
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| Vincent Van Gogh – Potato Eaters |
Dorie Greenspan’s Broth Braised Potatoes are deserving of a place of honor at the dinner table the next time you are including potatoes in your meal. The method is simple, and the result is pleasantly surprising. The texture of the potato ends up fork tender and does not dissolve upon touch from the braising. The infusion of fresh herbs (rosemary, bay leave and thyme), and chicken broth into the potatoes creates a lovely flavor. Not too strong or overpowering, but subtle with each bite.
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| So few ingredients for such a flavorful dish |
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| I added a few more herbs in since I had them on hand |
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| And the braising begins |
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| Voila – fork tender potatoes |
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| Broth Braised Potatoes were a perfect side to the filet roast |
The Broth-Braised Potatoes have made two appearances at our table since trying this. We also recently tried the Spice-Glazed Carrots which are made with the same method, with an addition of butter and cardamom. Simply put, both are delicious and simple to make during a hectic work week.
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| Fresh garlic, and colorful carrots with cardamom |
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| I loved the colors of these carrots – shades of watermelon, cantaloupe and pineapple |
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| The carrots still maintained their integrity, and had a nice hint of spice to them |
This was an exciting culinary week for me – so many firsts! I wanted to thank Mary
Lights on Bright No Brakes for including me in her post last week. (Mary has a great sense of humor, and I always enjoy her posts.) The French Friday’s with Dorie is an exceptional group of culinary enthusiasts that inspire us all.
I want to thank Guyla at
Lola’s Kitchen (great blog and beautiful photography, I’m always hungry and after reading) for the Liebster Award – its my first blog award. The cherry on the top was being selected as one of the
January 24X24 participants – 24 meals in 24 hours. If you are interested in my menu and party, check back on Monday as it will be posted no later than 11:59 PM Sunday, January 29th.
I’d like to pass the Liebster Blog award onto Yummy Chunklet, she has been a great member of FFWD, and her posts outside of this group are always entertaining; Patty’s Food her posts and photography have caused drooling in our house, and Cher at The Crazy World of Cher she entertains us all with her dabblings and is a chef who loves a challenge, not to mention she comments on every single FFWD post every week, which is pretty amazing. There are so many more great blogs to list as everyone in the group is multi-faceted, entertaining and great sources of inspiration.
www.frenchfridayswithdorie.com
We love the spicy glazed carrots and have made them several times. I think these potatoes will be the same way! I love all the potato pictures!
Thanks Christy for a brief lesson on how potatoes have been portraited in art! I love that you featured both recipes in the same post. The carrot remains one of my favourite recipes in AMFT. Oh yes, the beef looks perfectly cooked!
What a beautiful post. I really liked the art lesson as well. Your meal looks gorgeous and I’m happy you enjoyed these potatoes. I should have added more herbs to mine!
Lovely, inspired post! Your meal is beautiful & I love your multi-colored carrots!
Congratulations on your award & have a great weekend!
Congratulations on the award. Your dishes look wonderful and so appetizing.
Thanks for passing on the Liebster award to me! I’m honored! And, these delicious looking potatoes have also graced my dinner plate twice since trying them. Great minds think alike!
I love all the potato art you shared! I agree that this simple preparation takes the potato a step above.
I enjoyed reading your history of the potato. I made the fennel instead, but I will be making these soon. Congratulations on your award!
Glad you enjoyed the potatoes! This recipe and the carrots are two of my favorites from AMFT.
I love how you incorporate art into your blog. Fantastic idea! I especially love the inclusion of the Van Gogh pieces. I recently read Leaving Van Gogh and can’t get enough of his work right now.
You deserve a few awards, always love reading your posts, always well written. I confess, this post brought a tear to my eyes. I’m reminded that my life is so crazy in the fast lane that I don’t take the time I should to appreciate and enjoy some of life’s most beautiful treasures. I do have lots of great family time, enjoy my volunteer work, etc, but I’m an artsy person and I’ve let that side of me go, and I miss it. Thanks for helping me think about the simple potato, which really is not so simple, but is important in our world…and in such a beautiful way.
Congratulations on your award and the 24×24, I will check back on Monday to see your menu! Thanks for passing the award to me and for your kind supportive words!
We also enjoyed the flavor of Dorie’s herbed broth braised potatoes and I will make these again. I’m also going to try the carrots, several people mentioned how much they like that recipe.
An altogether wonderful post! Love, love the artwork up front and the reminder of the potato’s place. I too thought the potatoes harkened back to the carrots (that I love so much and have made so often). And can’t wait to find out what you’ve gotten up to with 24×24. Exciting!!
Your filet roast looks delicious. One of my favorite things about this group is how much I learn from everyone. Who would have thought that there would be so many approaches to the same thing!
Love this post with the history of the potato in art.. came here from yummychunklet.
Great idea for a blog post! I love starting out with Van Gogh and ending up with your own still lifes.
What a fab post – I had not realised that there was so much art dedicated to the humble potato.Your poatoes look good, as do your carrots, and they are th perfect accompaniment to your roast.
Loved the “potato art”. It reminded me of the art history classes I took in college 🙂
I did make the white bread for TWD – the kids ate it on grilled cheese sandwiches all week long… (which is a compliment in our house).
Thank you for passing on the award and kind words. Congrats!
After reading everyone’s posts, I’m thinking cutting the potatoes is key. Loving your gorgeous carrots…what a yummy meal!
These potatoes were great with steak weren’t they?! Your potatoes and carrots look wonderful! I will definitely have to try the carrot recipe! It is fascinating about how much art and history devoted to the simple potato. How exciting about the 24X24, can’t wait to see your menu!
Yum! I love asparagus with potatoes. Looks like a wonderful meal!
Your meal with the beef and asparagus looks fabulous! It’s great when something so simple can be so good.