We have survived the first snowstorm of the season! Hurrah! And with the end of January approaching this weekend, it seems that we should be in the clear and maybe contemplating our spring wardrobes. Silly me, what was I thinking? It is still cold, and we still need good hot, peasant food to get us through the winter months.
The reality, I am afraid, is that February, although it is the shortest month and is packed with some festive and colorful events (Mardi Gras, the Super Bowl™, Valentine’s Day, Washington’s Birthday, Chinese New Year, and Linus Pauling’s birthday), it tends to drag its icy, leaden feet inexorably from one long cold dark night to another.
Pollyanna note: Just the other day I noticed that the sun is setting a wee bit later every day, which is an important dog wrangling detail in my life. Luke the wonder dog and I head out for our last afternoon stroll around 5, so we can watch the sun set over the river. Luke never misses it. Now it is still light when we scamper down the stairs at about 5:10. In December we were used to switching on the lights before leaving at about 4:45. Hooray!
Every culture has delicious and hardy traditional potato dishes which ward away the gloom of the gelid polar evenings. The Brits enjoy bangers and mash, shepherd’s pie, Cornish pasties, bubble and squeak, not to mention the exquisite chipped potato. The best British chips come from chippies – shops devoted to the fine art of deep frying chipped potatoes. I could wax poetical here about the sheer glory of a perfectly crisp, furnace-hot chip, dusted with salt, steaming in its paper nest, but I must not rhapsodize in the middle of a thoughtful piece of food journalism. Hot chips (and fries) are perfection. I actually sent some fries back at a restaurant the other night. Some people are wine snobs; give me an indifferent glass of plonk anytime, but be sure the fries are right out of the grease, please.
Baked potatoes are easily the workhorse potato dish that crosses all the international borders. Use Idaho, Yukon Gold, Russet potatoes, Red Ruby or even sweet potatoes for your meal. Some people fill double-baked potatoes with sauerkraut: https://www.all-creatures.org/recipes/potato-stuf-sauer.html
Calcium seekers fill their baked potatoes with blue cheese and chicken: https://www.iofbonehealth.org/recipes/blue-cheese-and-chicken-stuffed-baked-potatoes
The Potato Hut in Dubai will serve you baked potatoes stuffed with fajita, steak, tuna and mayo, BBQ, or veggie delight. They are also looking for fanchisees. I would suggest an English-speaking proofreader for their website, though. https://www.potatohut.com/order/
I don’t want to make any more runs to the grocery store on skittery, icy roads than I have to. Prudently, we have a pile of potatoes and a fridgeful of topping ingredients in case of snow, or ennui. Some evenings when Luke and I stumble back in the house we can barely think about dinner prep. We want to have a glass of that reviving plonk, and warm up under the down throw and return to Bill Bryson walking his way back to Little Dribbling. So here are some things to keep on hand, to minimize your travel time and to maximize your reading time: bacon, chives, sour cream, crème fraiche, smoked salmon, ranch dressing, fried onions, pulled pork, cole slaw, Burrata, prosciutto, crab salad, Cheddar cheese, and sprouts.
Also veggies: tomatoes, peppers, onions, avocados, and salsa! Leftovers! What a concept. Use up the leftover chili, taco meat, beef stew and chicken pot pie! Use it up! Make it do! (Thanks, BA for the fancy ideas: https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/cooking-tips/slideshow/top-baked-potato)
A plain baked potato, topped with good butter and fresh pepper can be a divine way to warm up, so don’t stress if you don’t have all the trendy ingredients. If you want to get fancy, you can. Or you can just root around in the fridge for some ideas, while also checking your sell by dates. Keep it warm and nutritious, because that’s what baked potatoes are.
More ideas: https://www.theyummylife.com/baked_potato_bar
“The real things haven’t changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong.” ― Laura Ingalls Wilder
Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article
We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff.