Here’s How You Make Heavenly Potatoes, No Doubt About It

For dinner tonight — and often — I make something new and something old.  Important — make something old taste like something new!

I had some leftover roast chicken.  And fresh lettuce.  You all know how to make FABULOUS dressing, right?  Don’t ever buy dressing.  It’s right in your cupboard and better than anything you could ever buy!  But I digress.  More on that another time.

So I had this chicken, lettuce and yellow squash and part of a red pepper, green pepper and the end of a small head of purple cabbage.   What’s the number one rule for cooking a great meal?  Cook with color!!!

Everything tastes good when it’s colorful and a work of art on your plate. Anybody can do it, you just make SURE what goes on the plate includes at least three colors! Be an artist with food.  Your eyes, tummy and inner happiness meter will thank you.

White potatoes on a white plate?  With white chicken. Nope.

Not Ever.

So something old is the fabulous roast chicken from yesterday.  And you go from there with what???  Color!!!

So now for the potatoes.

Use a Deep Baking Dish.

Oven 350 degrees.

Note:  Use a mandolin to slice the potatoes and onions.

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Heavenly Thin-Sliced Potatoes Baked with Broth, Cream, Garlic,  Goat Cheese and Parsley

About 2-3/4 cups of fresh or frozen chicken broth — made from scratch if possible.  Nothing beats it.  If you don’t have homemade, use your favorite purchased broth.

About 8 or 9 medium organic red skinned potatoes, scrubbed and sliced with a mandolin (very thin sliced).  Enough for the deep baking dish you’re using. Do not peel.  Potato nutrition lives in the skin.

About a cup of thin- sliced red onions, give or take.

Celery leaves — cut up the tops of 2 or 3 stalks of celery, just the leafy tops. Save the rest for another use.

Garlic, your choice — 2 or 3 cloves to taste.

About 1/3 cup Chevre Goat Cheese

About 1/2 c. grated Asiago cheese

About 1/3 c. (generous) fresh parsley chopped (could also use chard or spinach)

About 1/3 cup heavy cream

About 1 tsp. Fresh Thyme if you have it.  Otherwise, a pinch of dried.

Salt and pepper to taste.  Or let each person add to taste at the table.

DIRECTIONS: Heat the broth in a pan large enough to hold all the potatoes.   Add the onions, celery leaves, garlic, thin-sliced potatoes and parsley and let them sweat in the broth.  Just get everything heated up.

Add the cream.  Set aside.

Lavishly butter a deep, round baking dish.  Dip or pour half the potato mixture into the baking dish.  Crumble half the goat cheese and Asiago over this half of the potato mixture.  Pour in the remaining potato mixture.  Add the rest of the goat cheese and Asiago.  The final level of liquid and potatoes in the baking dish should allow for bubbling as it bakes.

Bake an hour and 15 min to an hour an a half.  The top will be brown and beautiful.  The mixture makes its own gravy.

Totally heavenly.  Serve with contrasting clean tastes (crisp and colorful salad and vegetables.  This goes well with rich and  creamy potatoes.

And for dessert?  Something simple and fresh.  Mangoes, Kiwi and Blueberries with a Squeeze of Lime.  Bon Appetit!