This recipe is very simple and made a good accompaniment to a more complex, saucy main dish I had made that same evening. The mild seasonings bring out the earthy flavor of the potatoes rather than cover it up. The potatoes are first boiled with their skins on – or as R. Blondeau puts it – they are cooked “en robe de chambre”, or in their dressing gown. The skins then peel off easily, and there is much less waste than if peeling raw potatoes.
POMMES DE TERRE AU LAIT OU A LA CREME
Potatoes With Milk Or Cream
{My grandmother, Claudia Meraud, was born in Nice, France. She immigrated to the US after meeting my grandfather while he was stationed there as a US soldier in WW II. We spent several summers together, just the two of us, living with her sister in Nice. She passed along to me an old French cookbook titled title is La Cuisine: Guide Practique De La Ménagère by R. Blondeau, Chef de Cuisine. It originally belonged to my great-grandmother, Lucie Thomas, who was a native of St. Marie-aux-Mines in Alsace.
This cookbook was published in the 1930’s, and was written as a practical guide for a household cook before the days of the fridge and the food processor. The recipes are delicious, practical, and (of course) packed with good traditional nutrition.
I am creating translated versions of these antique recipes, re-written for the modern cook, and tested with home-grown and seasonal food.}
Toadstools And Fairy Rings 