Hey there everyone! Time for another month of Blogger C.L.U.E. C’mon…. you remember. I am part of a secret society (does that sound mysterious and all Freemason-ish or what?) on facebook, where a group of food bloggers swap blogs each month and make a recipe related to a certain theme from one of the other group members. This month the theme was potatoes. Makes sense, right? March, St. Patricks Day, the Irish… all leads one to the humble spud, that root vegetable that has been responsible for saving lives many times in the hardscrabble pasts of many different countries. They had little else, but they had potatoes to eat.
It’s funny; we here in the states or most of the Westernized world actually, think of potatoes as looking just a few different way; Russet, baby, red, white and that’s about it. Some of us who are more into food know of a handful more types that are newer (at least to this part of the world) and enjoy using them, but did you know that, worldwide, there are more than 4000 different types of potatoes?! FOUR THOUSAND!
This month the blog I got assigned to was that of the lovely Christy, herself being the owner of the blog Confessions Of A Culinary Diva . Christy has so many delicious dishes, like this Cantonese Lobster With Coconut Ginger Rice or these utterly delicious sounding Blueberry Dutch Baby Pancakes . I have both of those totally bookmarked, but you know what? I don’t think Christy is a big fan of potatoes, lol. I had a heck of a time finding a potato recipe. She had, I believe, two. This, of course, is probably one reason Christy is so lovely…. unlike me, she stays away from the carbs :-p I, on the other hand, love my potatoes. But you know what Christy DOES love, same as I do? Downton Abbey. And one of the recipes she had for potatoes was for one called Daisys Noisette Potatoes. They were part of what she called “A Very Downton Dinner”, which I thought was so cool.
These are delicious! Little balls of potatoes (go buy a melon baller if you don’t have one) that are lightly sauteed in clarified butter (I admit to not worrying about the clarified part), then finished off in a hot oven to give them that final crispiness. When I joined BLOGGER C.L.U.E., one of the things that I was told was that we were supposed to keep the recipes pretty much as we found them and not turn them into something totally different. I did that with two small exceptions. I added some onion and garlic to these and sprinkled them with Fine Herbes. As much as I love potatoes, I am a huge flavor person. I’ve never been much on just salt and pepper and while I can completely see that being the case back in the day in England, I also like to think of Daisy trying to liven up her cooking a little by adding some flavor to plain potatoes
You know the drill…
Daisys Noisette Potatoes
- 6 russet potatoes , scrubbed free of all dirt
- 1/4 cup clarified butter (again, I didn’t do that part. I did however, add a touch of oil to the butter to increase the smoke point)
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced onion (my addition; feel free to omit)
- 1 clove of garlic, minced (my addition; feel free to omit)
- 1 teaspoon Fine Herbes (an herb blend you can get at any large grocery store) (my addition; feel free to omit)
- salt and pepper to taste
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Use a melon baller to scoop out balls of potatoes. Put them in a bowl of cold water as you work, so they don’t turn brown while you’re scooping out the rest.
- Heat the butter in a large ovenproof pan. Add the potatoes, garlic and onion (don’t crowd, just do two batches if you need to) and cook for five minutes, stirring often.
- Transfer the pan to the 375 degree oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until they are golden brown and tender, stirring often. Season with salt, pepper and fine herbes.
Make sure you go check out the other bloggers posts from this months Blogger Clue! These ladies are some amazing cooks!
- Bacon Wrapped Potatoes w/ Sriracha Sauce by Debra from Eliot’s Eats
- Bacon-wrapped Smashed Redskin Puffs by Stacy from Food Lust People Love
- Balsamic Roasted Fingerling Potatoes by Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Basil Lime Gin Gimlet by Christy from Confessions of a Culinary Diva
- Cheddar Scallion Potato Buns by Lora from Cake Duchess
- Chicken Pot Pie by Heather from girlichef
- Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup by Kim from Liv Life
- Chocolate, Coconut, Butterscotch and Oatmeal Cake Cookies by Lisa from Authentic Suburban Gourmet
- Daisy’s Noisette Potatoes by Janet from Cupcakes to Caviar
- Honey Dijon Roasted Potato Salad by Ramona from Curry and Comfort
- Irish Brown Bread by Kathy from Bakeaway with Me
- Irish Old Fashioned Cocktail by Christy from Confessions of a Culinary Diva
- Okie Peasant Potato Soup by Christiane from Taking on Magazines
- Potato and Celery Root Puree by Lea Ann from Cooking on the Ranch
- Potato and White Bean Soup with Sage by Kathy from A Spoonful of Thyme
- Potato Rolls by Kelli from Kelli’s Kitchen
- Potatoes O’Brien by Azmina from Lawyer Loves Lunch
- Slow Cooker Beef and Guinness Pie by Anna from annaDishes
- Smoked Salmon Chowder by Jean from Lemons and Anchovies
- Tchertma (Zucchini and Eggs) by Kate from Kate’s Kitchen
- Thin Crispy French Fries by Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
I have a potato loving family and these babies will be on our menu soon!!! That top photo sold me instantly!!!
So much starch this month…..so much goodness! 🙂
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These sound absolutely delicious to me but I have to admit I am more likely just to chop my potatoes into chunks than to use the melon baller.
Ooohh wee this look great! I have never tried fine herbs but I’m going to have to try them – going to look today at the store!
ohhhhhh these potatoes look so so soooo delicious!! My stomach is growwwwling
I’ve actually had potatoes like this at a fancy schmancy restaurant and I remember feeling sorry for the poor sod who had to melon ball enough potatoes to feed the crowd that night! You make it sound so easy though that perhaps my sympathy was misplaced. Yours look delicious, Janet!
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Perfect side dish! I have not heard of scooping out “potato balls”…they are a beautiful golden brown!
So glad you enjoyed these! Sous Chef loves them. I’m chuckling because I’m kind of a potato addict and didn’t realize I don’t post potato recipes. Guess I better remedy that. 10 more months to Downton Abbey!
Those potatoes look so good! I smiled when you said Christy had two potato recipes–I think it’s the same in my blog. We love them but we seem to go for rice and pasta more often. Will have to change that after seeing all the potato recipes this month! 🙂
My mouth started watering as soon as I saw the photo…
These sound AMAZING! I just wish I had a bowl of them in front of me right now. Great choice!
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I can dive into that bowl right now and eat my way out. 🙂 Looks delicious! I really enjoyed having you as my assignment this month! You have a great collection of recipes! 🙂
Oh man, this post brings back memories of culinary school for me. We had to master noisette potatoes – no flat edges, only round or they weren’t included. It was in our exam (classic technique). I think I’ve only made them once since…and it’s been well over a decade. You’ve made me want them again though, I just love their simple beauty.
Oh, my friend, those look amazing. I love crispy potatoes and know I’d finish off the whole batch myself. Your additions are perfect too…just the way I’d like them.
My husband LOVES potatoes made this way, and I have to admit that I don’t make them all that often. I’m so happy you posted this recipe, I’m going to surprise him!
These would be a huge hit in my family…they look scrumptious!
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