Thursday, March 31, 2011

Red Potatoes with Cheddar

Color. I love color. Don't you? A color can describe your life on any particular day. Some days you're a red, some days blue, some days black as a moonless night.

I just went to a writers and fans conference, called Left Coast Crime. It was set in colorful Santa Fe, New Mexico. I'd never been to the area. It was 7,000 plus elevation. The air was thin. The sky crystal blue.The colors of the adobe buildings oranges and reds and dusky browns with splashes of turquoise. We were hit with wind the first day that nearly blew me over.

Though most of a conference is spent indoors at seminars and meals, I took the time to wander the town. It is filled with artisans, churches and museums. It was first lived in by Pueblo Indians and then conquered by the Spanish, but in the 20th century, it became a haven for artists. Georgia O'Keefe, Gorman, and so many more. They embraced the colors and the ways of the Pueblo Indians.

Today, though the town feels like it caters to tourists (and therefore there's lots of stuff for sale at prices that can vary through the day), there were still a few places that felt untouched, holy, and essential.

[This staircase is in the Loretto Chapel and has a miraculous history to it. Click this link if you want to know more.]

Inspired by the colors and flavors of the week, I made a simple dish that will go well with anything you serve. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Red potatoes with cheddar has a zest that makes this side dish stand out from the crowd.

[Note: you can't see the bacon because I put it on the potatoes first and then covered with the mound of cheddar and sprinkled with paprika. After all, cheddar is my main focus.]


RED POTATOES WITH CHEDDAR

Ingredients:

1 red potato, diced

2 slices bacon

½ yellow onion, chopped fine

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon white pepper

2 tablespoons bacon grease

2 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1 tablespoon paprika

Directions:

In sauté pan, cook bacon, five minutes on medium high. Flip and cook another five minutes. Drain bacon on paper towels. Reserve grease.

Dice onion and potatoes. (Do not remove the skin of the potato). Saute on LOW in the reserved bacon grease for ten minutes. Season with salt and white pepper. Cook another fifteen minutes on medium low.

Divide into two portions. Top with bacon and shredded cheddar cheese. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and paprika.

[**You can also set paper towels on a plate, lay out the bacon in strips on top, cover with another piece of paper towel, and bake in your microwave. I start with 2 minutes on high, check, and cook another minute at a time until done to your taste. But if you do this, you will need to use 3-4 tablespoons of oil in the recipe to saute.]

Enjoy!


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By the way, as I approach the launch of LOST AND FONDUE I'm going to do a blog tour. I'll be offering a number of different "prizes" for those who comment on the tour. Check out my event calendar to get in on the contests. The first is April 11.

Also, a SNEAK PREVIEW of LOST AND FONDUE is up on my website. Click here to read.

If you'd like to know more about A Cheese Shop Mystery series and want to download a few other recipes from me (on recipe cards), click on this link to my website: Avery Aames. I've posted recipes in the "morsels" section. There's lots of other fun stuff, as well.

And last but not least, sign up for the mailing list to get in on the next contest...I'll be having a big launch contest for May 3.

Say cheese!


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So what color is your life today and why?

12 comments:

  1. Huzzah! I love red potatoes AND I have all of your recipe's ingredients in the house, which means I'll be making this *today*. Thank you, Avery! And thanks also for the *colorful* trip to Santa Fe. What color is my life today? Ice blue. Believe it or not the NYC area is under a "winter weather" advisory--and I thought that crazy groundhog predicted an early spring.

    Can you send some of that yellow, Santa Fe sun our way? :)

    ~ Cleo
    Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

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  2. Santa Fe looks like an amazing place! Today is dreary and rainy and, like Cleo, I needed that yellow sun! These potatoes look amazing...thanks so much for sharing. :)

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  3. I'm making this dish. Thanks for sharing. I've never been to Sante Fe but it looks like a fun town.

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  4. Cleo and Elizabeth, sending you some golden sunshine.

    Dru, Santa Fe was definitely different. A fun place to walk, though the elevation did take its toll on many at the conference. And boy, did we drink a lot of water! All day, all night. Water!

    ~Avery AveryAames.com

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  5. Potatoes, bacon and cheese, all in one dish? It doesn't get any better than that! Now I'm hungry.

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  6. Sheila, this kind of dish is very good for healing bones (or so I've been told). Good healing today.

    ~Avery

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  7. Sounds delicious, Avery! I'm tempted to pour eggs over it. It would make an amazing frittata or a fabulous breakfast side dish, too.

    ~ Krista

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  8. I guess I am green with envy about your Santa Fe trip, Avery. Like Cleo, I have all these ingredients including a new batch of tiny red potatoes.

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  9. MJ - green with envy. Cute! Isn't it fun to have ingredients in the fridge so you can try something right away? I made Cleo's salad (with the maple syrup vinaigrette - I used real balsamic vinegar) and it was fabulous!!!!

    Krista - eggs over it. Hmmm. I like. I just saw a frittata recipe in the latest Williams and Sonoma made with potatoes and was going to cook that up for Easter.

    Avery

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  10. Avery - potatoes, bacon, and cheese: three major food groups, well done. Still grinning with fond memories of our time in Santa Fe. There's a sandwich back there I'd like to see again :)

    My color today is Dodger Blue. It's opening day of the baseball season.

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  11. Rochelle, opening day of baseball season. I forgot to honor that.

    And yes, i'm going to try to copy that sandwich you mentioned, but of course, I'll add cheese. I'll let you know the result.

    ~Avery

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  12. Thanks for all the recipes--everything looks delish & the books too!
    Sherry

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