I actually first heard about these when I was listening to The Splendid Table podcast on my way to pick up D for Thanksgiving. Frances Lam was interviewing Amy Thielen about her new cookbook, Company: The Radically Casual Art of Cooking for Others.
On the Page
Before listening to the podcast, I had never heard of Amy Thielen. If you are also unfamiliar, she is a two-time James Beard award-winning writer and chef. Her other books include The New Midwestern Table and Give a Girl a Knife. She was born and raised in norther Minnesota and went to culinary school and cooked professionally in New York before returning to her home state.
What resonated with me about her interview: she was talking about entertaining and feeding people as a love language, but keeping it simple enough that you, as host and cook, get to enjoy your guests. Love it! She's my new culinary hero.
The book is divided into party menus based on the number of guests. 'Saturday Night' is for parties of six to eight while 'Holiday' is for tables of eight to twelve and 'Casual Walkabouts' are set up as buffets for fifteen to twenty, or more. She also shares notes on cleaning up and how to keep you pantry stocked in 'Food Bunker Basics.' She is obviously as practical as she is talented.
In addition to the accessible recipes, the photos are gorgeous and inspiring. And her recipes run the gamut from sweet to savory. I am looking forward to trying her Cast-Iron Garlic Shrimp with Chorizo and Green Olives and her Apricot Snickerdoodles.
But the recipe that really grabbed me during the podcast: Fun House Potatoes. I mean, c'mon. How can you not be intrigued by the name?!? And, after I got the cookbook, I have made them three times already! They have gone beautifully in the morning alongside eggs benedict and also in the evening beside mozzarella-stuffed meatballs. This is slighted adapted from Thielen's process, I opt to use melted butter for the second baking and I have added red pepper chile flakes for a little bit more heat.
Ingredients
serves 4
1 pound potatoes, scrubbed and dried
salt and pepper
6 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 garlic clove, peeled and pressed
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
pinch red pepper chile flakes
1 sweet onion, peeled and sliced
Procedure
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prep the potatoes by cutting them in half lengthwise. Slice a cross-hatch pattern into each potato, taking care not to cut all the way through the skin. Place the potatoes, cut-side up, in a baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
In a small mixing bowl, mix together the butter, garlic, paprika, smoked paprika, and red pepper chile flakes. Divide the butter mixture in half. Use one half, spooning the butter on top of the potatoes and pressing it firmly into the cuts. Cover the baking dish with foil and roast for 30 to 40 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven and uncover. Raise the temperature of the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Melt the remaining butter. Place the onion slices on top of the potatoes, drizzle with melted butter and return the dish to the oven. Roast, uncovered, until the edges are darkened and crispy and the onions are softened and translucent, approximately 25 minutes.
Sprinkle with more salt and pepper and serve hot.
I am adding this to the January 2024 #FoodieReads link-up.