French Cooking

The first real French thing I've ever made is Potage Parmentier, which is potato and leek soup. The Julie and Julia Project inspired me. I was not disappointed. In fact, my expectations were low to begin with because of the mere three ingredients the soup called for. How can just potatoes, leeks and cream be so amazing? The best fucking potato soup I've ever had and I would challenge anyone to disagree. It's simplicity, it's slow cooked richness, the cream topped it off for sure. I've been hooked on French cooking ever since.

The problem is how much time it takes to prepare most French meals. The French certainly know how to cook, but it almost seems like they have nothing better to do, so why not just stay in the kitchen? That's not easy with a two year old in the house. Sweet baby that she is, she's into being held and fed and paid attention to.

On occasion, though, I try. I made French potato salad with arugula, roquefort and walnuts this weekend. Unlike my midwestern mom's potato salad, it was not swimming in mayonaise. It didn't even have mayo at all. And it was served warm and ohmygod it was delicious. Not a dish to reheat so much, best immediately after it's prepared, but I'm still enjoying it the next day. I'm not a very picky eater, though. At all. It shows.

Anyway, here's the recipe. I have a subscription to Cook's Illustrated, I hope they don't mind terribly my sharing this with the internet. One of the things I love most about America's Test Kitchen is how the steps are so very specific, you really can't go wrong if you follow the instructions. They lay it all out and although the details sometimes seem a little ridiculous, I've learned from experience that I do not know better and mostly am just being lazy when trying to cut corners. For instance, this recipe requires that you take a garlic clove, skewer it, dunk it in the boiling potato water for 45 seconds, remove it and immediately put it under cold running water to stop the cooking process, then set it aside. For one garlic clove. That's strange to me and seems a bit over the top but I did it and the potato salad was perfect. I tend to enjoy those particular type of instructions. It just seems substantial and more...authentic. And we all know white people love authenticity.

French Potato Salad with Arugula, Roquefort and Walnuts

2	pounds small red potatoes (about 2-inch diameter), unpeeled, scrubbed, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
2	tablespoons table salt
1	medium clove garlic , peeled and threaded on skewer
1 1/2	tablespoons champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
2	teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4	cup olive oil
1/2	teaspoon ground black pepper
1	small shallot , minced (about 2 tablespoons)
1/2	cup walnuts , toasted and coarsely chopped
4	ounces Roquefort cheese , crumbled
1	bunch arugula , washed, dried, and torn into bite-sized pieces (about 2 1/2 cups)

1. Place potatoes, 6 cups cold tap water, and salt in large saucepan; bring to boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium. Lower skewered garlic into simmering water and partially blanch, about 45 seconds. Immediately run garlic under cold tap water to stop cooking; remove garlic from skewer and set aside. Continue to simmer potatoes, uncovered, until tender but still firm (thin-bladed paring knife can be slipped into and out of center of potato slice with no resistance), about 5 minutes. Drain potatoes, reserving 1/4 cup cooking water. Arrange hot potatoes close together in single layer on rimmed baking sheet.

2. Press garlic through garlic press or mince by hand. Whisk garlic, reserved potato cooking water, vinegar, mustard, oil, and pepper in small bowl until combined. Drizzle dressing evenly over warm potatoes; let stand 10 minutes.

3. Toss shallot, walnuts, arugula, and Roquefort cheese in small bowl. Transfer potatoes to large serving bowl; add shallot/walnuts/arugula/Roquefort mixture and mix gently with rubber spatula to combine. Serve immediately.