A Foodie Friday Playdate!

Aaahhhhh....Foodie Friday.....our favorite day of the week!

Come join us and our favorite hostess Michael Lee as we all get our foodie fix for the week!

This has been a very hectic two weeks- truly chaotic. So I decided it was time for a play date. Now, when I said this my husband got THAT look on his face- you know the look- a BIG grin....

Sorry, honey- not THAT kind of play date!

When you're a food blogger AND have Italian blood in your veins, your toys look like this

Sexy, right? 

And to really put a smile on your face, you throw in some of this

And then you (AND your poor deprived hubby) swoon when you bite into this

 and these

and these

 

And if you don't really care so much if they look really pretty, you let them crisp for an extra minute or two till they look like this

and you swoon some more. 

And the ones that actually make it out of the kitchen get stacked on a platter and brought to your favorite chair where you're browsing all the Foodie Friday blogs....

Enjoy!

This is my version of a recipe I've used for some years. Chef Charlie Palmer served his original version in his New York restaurants, Aureole and Periyali as a side dish for seared venison. The original was made with paper thin slices of whole potato- those need to be done with a mandolin that has a VERY thin setting or a slicing machine set almost to "shave". If you don't have a slicer or mandolin, do them this way- they are great served on an appetizer platter, as a side for grilled meats, or as a snack on a "play day" :)

Pattie's Appetizer Herb Potato Maximes

adapted from a Charles Palmer recipe

2 sticks of butter, clarified (important- you want nothing clouding the image of the herbs)

Fresh herbs- I used thin chives cut into 1 1/2- 2 inch lengths, tarragon leaves, oregano, and the very tips of some curly parsley. You can also use chervil, sage, basil, etc..

2 fairly large potatoes- try to get evenly shaped ovals with no blemishes

salt

Have the herbs, washed, dried and trimmed- ready to use before you begin. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and brush a rimmed cookie sheet with some clarified butter. Peel the potatoes, trim to a neat oval if necessary, wash and dry well. Using a vegetable peeler, shave off long, paper thin slices, trying to keep them evenly sized- you need 2 slices for each. You need to work fairly quickly here to avoid the potatoes darkening. Lay half the potato slices on the baking sheet (not touching). Arrange leaves, pieces of herbs, and chives on potato slices as desired, leaving a narrow border. Lay a second slice on top, and press down, smoothing out to edges. Brush again lightly with clarified butter, sprinkle with salt and bake for 10 minutes till just lightly golden. Remove from oven, slide a thin spatula under each one and flip over onto a rack to drain- the best designs are generally seen from the "bottom side. The aroma will be amazing right now! Serve at room temperature. If desired, you can leave them in the oven an extra minute or two to crisp- they won't look quite as nice (a little browner) but oh so good!

As Always,

Buon Cibo, Buon Amici,

Pattie and Allie