...I realized we hadn't done an Ad Hoc dish in a while & since I was planning on making potatoes with the Cherry & Almond Glazed Ham I figured I pick a potato dish from the book. The final choice was mainly based on what recipe I had all the ingredients for.
Let's just start out by saying do not even look at this dish it you are trying to watch what you eat...butter, deep frying & rendered bacon fat!
First you slow cook onions in a lot of butter making them creamy & tender. The cheesecloth packet there contains bay, thyme, peppercorns & crushed garlic.
Then you deep fry diced potatoes until the are tender & golden brown.
Then you slow cook bacon cut into lardons letting it render its fat. The deep fried potatoes then go into the rendered bacon to fry up until crisp. Stir in the onions & bacon & eat. Really good but forget your diet for the day for this treat.
I have a little complaint about how the recipes are written in Ad Hoc. I find that often the order the directions are given isn't set up very well for the home cook. For example this recipe has you deep fry the potatoes for 8 minutes then has you render the bacon for 30 minutes. If you haven't read the recipe carefully (um, I would never do that, no never) then you find yourself having to wait for the bacon with the potatoes already done. When I write a recipe I like to list the things that are going to take a while to cook first so people can plan ahead & get those time consuming parts started first. I've been caught by this with a couple of the recipes in Ad Hoc so far. Now I just know to make sure to read everything carefully first & set up my own order of cooking.
Then you deep fry diced potatoes until the are tender & golden brown.
Then you slow cook bacon cut into lardons letting it render its fat. The deep fried potatoes then go into the rendered bacon to fry up until crisp. Stir in the onions & bacon & eat. Really good but forget your diet for the day for this treat.
I have a little complaint about how the recipes are written in Ad Hoc. I find that often the order the directions are given isn't set up very well for the home cook. For example this recipe has you deep fry the potatoes for 8 minutes then has you render the bacon for 30 minutes. If you haven't read the recipe carefully (um, I would never do that, no never) then you find yourself having to wait for the bacon with the potatoes already done. When I write a recipe I like to list the things that are going to take a while to cook first so people can plan ahead & get those time consuming parts started first. I've been caught by this with a couple of the recipes in Ad Hoc so far. Now I just know to make sure to read everything carefully first & set up my own order of cooking.
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© 2007-2010 Kathy Lewinski
© 2007-2010 Kathy Lewinski
I never read recipes through first - should do really - so I think it would throw me too
ReplyDeletehow can we transport this to me, now?
ReplyDeleteGood tip for the book. Did that cheesecloth packet do a good job of infusing the onions with herb flavor? I would think it works more for a liquid-based recipe.
ReplyDeleteRose - I thought the same thing as you & would probably just skip it if I made this again. Maybe if I had done the full recipe (I didn't need enough for 6) The butter would have covered it more.
ReplyDeleteI love that chefs that are so well known, like Keller, often write recipes for dishes that are SO BAD FOR YOU. But they're so delicious, so we make them anyways! haha
ReplyDeleteNothing wrong with a little fat in your diet! As you said, some fats are good in moderation =)
And fried potatoes are just good for the soul, in my humble opinion.
Thanks for letting me know, Kat! I wondered if the butter was what would pull the flavor out too.
ReplyDeletepotato hash fried in bacon fat--YES. i love the idea of melted onions too--that's something i really must try, and soon!
ReplyDeleteOh that looks so appetizing! Love it!
ReplyDeleteOh yeah this is a definite forget your diet recipe. Deep fried potatoes in bacon grease- while not exactly light, I bet it was big on flavor.
ReplyDeleteomg bacon fat! unhealthy but definitely one of my guilty pleasures! haha , this just got me craving for bacon again!
ReplyDeleteOh gosh, I'm horrible at reading recipes so I probably wouldn't do so well. There always seems to be something I miss on my first read through. This looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteOH...I was hoping you'd have an Ad Hoc recipe to share.
ReplyDeleteThis looks amazing and so easy to make too!
Love teh Ad Hoc recipe idea!!! This looks well worth the calories!
ReplyDeleteI never read a recipe before cooking (I'm stubborn this drives Andy nuts!) So I'm glad you pointed this out. I've been wanting to cook some things from Ad Hoc. Those potatoes look so good, my mouth is watering!
ReplyDeleteThis dish looks fabulous. I totally agree with you about the sequence of the recipes. It should tell you that while something else is on the stove, you should be working on ... You should e-mail the publisher. I'm sure that they will find this feedback valuable, and will appreciate you for it.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to "cheat" every once in awhile!
ReplyDeleteI could live on this hash alone! I do read through recipes first, imagining myself making it. This is how I gauge whether or not I'll try it. Some recipes are so convoluted, I get tired just reading it, much less going through the entire process! 8-)
ReplyDelete