We have all eaten a potato or two. We know that potatoes are versatile and pretty inexpensive. As great as a multi recipe cookbook can be, having one that focuses purely on one major subject matter, like the potato, can have it's advantages. When you buy an over abundance of one particular item. In my case a 10 pound bag of potatoes. One such cookbook as The Noble Spud by Judy Wells and Rick Johnson, 1985; first edition, pp.[8] 160, Penguin had me knighting every potato left, right and centre. I am about two thirds done that bag of potatoes with a curried potato salad and a potato strudel to go. This week this cookbook has been the cookbook of choice.
In this book we get a history of the potato... who would have thought throughout it's early history it received such a hot and cold reception. Further into the introduction one can learn about the different varieties. North America has 4 different types of potatoes and the U.K. has mainly 4 different types of potatoes too. Vital Statistics, Nutrition, Storage, Methods of Cooking and Freeze supply helpful hints on how to maximize the potato. There are full page colour photographs every so often. Other chapters include: Soups and Salads, Main Courses, Side Dishes, Snacks and Others. The Index and Kitchen Metrics at the the back of the book provide a quick reference to kitchen know how. There are classic potato recipes and some to upgrade your taste of the potato circa 1985. Well this is 2012 and the humble potato no matter how you slice it is still going strong.
Here is the Irish Apple Potato Pie recipe I made from the cookbook. The pie had a very unique texture and tasted alright. I followed the recipe to the letter and found that there were somethings about it I would change. I had to free form the top and bottom potato bits due to that fact that the potatoes were sticky making it hard to roll out like dough. Next time, I would place the potatoes in a pie plate to form "a pie shape" rather then let it stand alone on a baking tray as suggested. I found it hard to cut into pie pieces and had to resort to using a spoon to dish out the pie. Making it seem more like a pudding or crumble. - JW