Cooking with Potatoes

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

The average Canadian eats 242 pounds of potatoes per year, usually
baked, boiled, or mashed. Imagine being able to serve up Mexican Potato
Salad, Potato Fritters with Garlic Sauce, Thai Potato Crab Cakes,
Paprika Chips, Spicy Indian Potatoes with Spinach, Potato and Sausage
Panfry, Potato and Three Cheese Souffle, Potato and Ham Pie, Potato and
Nutmeg Scones, or Fruity Potato Cake. This cookbook offers 120 recipes
guaranteed to elevate any humble tater to a place of honor on the dinner
table.

The recipes are divided into five sections: “Soups and Salads,”
“Snacks and Light Meals,” “Side Dishes,” “Main Meals,” and
“Pies and Bakes.” Each recipe is given two pages. On the left-hand
page is an ingredients list boxed in an easy-to-read sidebar followed by
the recipe steps laid out in several simple sentences. Each recipe is
supported by at least three full-color photographs showing any new or
challenging cooking technique. On the right-hand page is a gorgeous
full-page photo of how the finished dish should look.

The recipes are easy to make, but the biggest challenge may be figuring
out where to get the specific kind of potato required in a given recipe.
(How many consumers know which potatoes fit into the “mealy,”
“floury,” or “waxy” categories?) Most of the recipes require a
certain kind of potato and, although the author does provide examples,
it may be difficult to track down a King Edward, Pink Fir Apple, or
Pentland Squire when most grocers stock only Yukon Gold and generic
baking potatoes. Fortunately, most recipes will turn out well regardless
of what kind of spud the cook has on hand.