I am a woman of many weaknesses, most of them being food related . . . hand me a slice of ice cold, trembling Lemon Meringue Pie, topped with billowing sweet golden meringue, and I am a gonner.
A bag of lightly salted ruffles with a container of onion dip and I'm in! Tempt me with a hot dog in a butter grilled bun, topped with all of my favourite toppings, raw onions, Dijon mustard, sweet pickle relish and I almost faint.
Likewise a square of nut filled good chocolate. I love toasted almonds in milk chocolate as well as filberts, and a square of good dark chocolate can make me go positively weak at the knees.
Don't get me started on the finer points of fudge brownies, studded with toasted walnuts and gilded with a chocolate ganache frosting. Or golden blondies, chewie and flavoured with brown sugar.
I adore ice cold wedges of deep pink watermelon, or fresh pineapple spears, crisp black sweet grapes, crisp wedges of iceberg lettuce, drizzled with a blue cheese dressing and sprinkled with bacon.
Mmmm . . . a thick wedge of a Victoria Sponge cake, filled with vanilla butter cream and jam, or a slice of Coffee & Walnut Cake . . . a fruit studded scone, tall and light, split and filled with clotted cream and strawberry preserves . . .
A perfectly cooked slice of Prime Rib, a medium-rare grilled rib eye steak with garlic butter . . . oh boy. Medium rare beef, nice cuts, cooked properly. You can't beat them!
Then there is the Caesar Salad, with fresh romaine lettuce, torn into pieces, cold and crisp, with buttery garlic croutons on top and bacon bits and flakes of a good Parmesan cheese, all gilded with that lovely rich and creamy garlicky dressing. Add some grilled chicken and I'm in salad heaven . . .
And then there are freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, I like them with raisins and walnuts in them . . . or . . . crisp freshly baked peanut butter cookies, the tops all criss-crossed with a fork . . . crisp oatmeal cookies, studded with sweet sticky raisins.
Give me homemade cookies any day of the week. The first sheet pan of them never ever makes it to the cookie jar. Just saying . . .
Crisp slices of buttery cinnamon toast . . . gilded golden brown and served with hot cups of herbal tea. Ice cold dishes of trembling vanilla speckled Panna Cotta. Scoops of cold vanilla ice cream with strawberry jam spooned over top.
Blueberry Muffins, with sugar crusted tops. Lush, rich and creamy Lemon Posset, eaten in tiny, tiny spoonfuls.
Tender pieces of slow cooked beef brisket, coleslaw and potato salad . . . with crisp buttermilk biscuits and plenty of cold butter . . . or . . . thick slabs of pan fried ham, the fat on the edges crisp and golden brown . . . served with creamy rich scalloped potatoes.
Molasses baked beans and thick slices of hot homemade white bread, slathered with plenty of cold butter. I'll have another slice for dessert please and pass the strawberry preserves. I would be as happy as a pig in muck with just the bread and jam.
Oh I am SUCH a foodie, and there are many, many things that get my taste buds tingling. I could go on with an endless list, and wax poetic about many wonderful foods. I feel so lucky to have been born into a life where I can enjoy such things easily.
If I had to pick one favourite thing however, out of ALL the things that I love to eat, and the one thing I could absolutely NOT live without, it would be the humble potato . . . I would trade all of these other things for that . . .
Boiled in the skins in salty water and then cracked open. Adorned with a dollop of butter melting into the fluff.
Boiled and mashed together with plenty of hot milk and butter, salt and pepper. Mom always grated a bit of raw onion in and I love that to this day.
Skins rubbed in oil and baked in a hot oven, right on the rack so that the air gets all around them, making that lovely skin crisp and golden.
Split open and gilded with a dollop of sour cream, salt, black pepper and minced chives. I could make a meal of just that . . . and nothing else.
And then there are these . . . Garlic & Parmesan Crispy Potatoes. They are slightly spiced and nicely crisp on the edges
Scattered with rich and salty Parmesan cheese, baked until golden brown . . . little bites of moreish crisp potato heaven. You can't eat just one and we are not talking potato chips here. We are talking side dish, although I have been known to eat them as a snack. Need I say more?
Yield: 4
Author: Marie Rayner
Garlic & Parmesan Crispy Potatoes
Crisp and flavourful, these make the perfect side dish for whatever, or even just a snack. They are wonderful dipped in ketchup or sour cream.
ingredients:
4 medium red potatoes, scrubbed, dried and unpeeled
4 TBS light olive oil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper
salt to taste
1/2 tsp parsley flakes
4 TBS freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
instructions:
How to cook Garlic & Parmesan Crispy Potatoes
Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/gas mark 7. Line a large baking tray with baking paper set aside.
Cut the potatoes into 1/4 inch thick rounds, discarding the ends. Place them into a bowl along with the olive oil and all of the herbs and seasonings. Add 2 TBS of the cheese and toss everything together to coat. Spread out on the baking sheet in a single layer.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, flip over and bake for a further 10 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Return to the oven to melt the cheese.
Serve hot.
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We enjoyed these today with some wings and ribs from Costco and an Oriental salad. I couldn't eat the wings as they were too spicy for me . . . the ribs were likewise. (I don't like really spicy food.) I polished off my potatoes and salad however. Both were very, very good. Yes, I am incorrigible.
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Please stop, Marie, lol. You make me want to make everything you so succulently describe. I might have made these for dinner if I hadn't already had the scalloped potatoes in the oven. But I'll definitely make them another day. I'm off to look at your Kitchen Wisdom writings. I just noticed them on your menu. Hugs, Elaine
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If you are a Baking Enthusiast and a fan of British Baking you are going to love this new book I wrote. From fluffy Victoria sponges to sausage rolls, the flavors of British baking are some of the most famous in the world. Learn how to create classic British treats at home with the fresh, from-scratch, delicious recipes in The Best of British Baking. Its all here in this delicious book! To find out more just click on the photo of the book above!
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This is a book I wrote several years ago, published by Passageway Press. I am incredibly proud of this accomplishment. It is now out of print, but you can still find used copies for sale here and there. If you have a copy of it, hang onto it because they are very rare.
Welcome, I'm Marie
Canadian lover of all things British. I cook every day and like to share it with you!
A third of my life was spent living in the UK. I learned to love the people, the country and the cuisine. I have always been an Anglophile. You will find plenty of traditional British recipes here in my English Kitchen. There are lots of North American recipes also, but then again, I am a Canadian by birth. I like to think of my page as a happy mix of both. If you are looking for something and cannot find it, don't be afraid to ask! I am always happy to help and point you in the right direction, even if it exists on another page, or in one of my many cookbooks.
We're kindred spirits. My mouth watered as I read through this post. Thanks for sharing the recipe for the potatoes. Have a happy new year.
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome! Happy New Year! xoxo
DeletePlease stop, Marie, lol. You make me want to make everything you so succulently describe. I might have made these for dinner if I hadn't already had the scalloped potatoes in the oven. But I'll definitely make them another day. I'm off to look at your Kitchen Wisdom writings. I just noticed them on your menu. Hugs, Elaine
ReplyDeleteLOL Elaine! I do like to go on at times Elaine! Happy New Year! Hope you enjoyed my kitchen wisdom! xoxo
DeleteHi Marie, these look to die for. I can never get them crispy enough so I'll try this!
ReplyDeleteI tried to print the recipe but when I hit print it went straight to the photo and no recipe, just so you know!
These turn out lovely and crisp Jeanie! I fixed the link for the recipe! You should be able to print it out now! Happy New Year! xoxo
Delete