Book ~ "300 Best Potato Recipes: A Complete Cook's Guide" (2011) Kathleen Sloan-McIntosh

From RobertRose.ca ~ The humble potato is a culinary powerhouse - it inspires adventurous and tantalizing fare.

A desert island vegetable if ever there was one, the potato appeals to all of us, whether it’s served as a traditional comfort dish or used to create something new and exotic. It’s versatile, nutritious, inexpensive and unfailingly delicious - and what other food can make all those claims?

Tempting possibilities are offered up in this widely varied assortment of recipes, a collection that runs the gamut from instructing on the classics - the perfect mashed, baked, roasted and fried potatoes - to introducing innovative, colorful and creative modern dishes.

Appetizers and snacks, soups and salads, side dishes, main courses, hearty vegetarian main dishes, baked goods and desserts are all represented here. Also included is a complete history of the potato, as well as a comprehensive chapter that tells you everything you need to know about hundreds of potato varieties.

And for the growing number of home vegetable gardeners, there’s even a chapter devoted to cultivating and growing your own potatoes, as well as fundamental information on storing potatoes.

I love love love potatoes ... especially red potatoes!

So how could I resist a cookbook of recipes of potatoes??!!

The book begins with an introduction of the author and her family's love of potatoes.   Then comes the history of potatoes ... did you know that as early as 750BC, the Incas were cultivating this new food source?  There is also a lesson about buying and cooking potatoes and growing your own.   There are 400 to 500 varieties of potatoes in active production around the world and there are 20 pages describing them (what kind, where available, uses, etc.)!

And then comes the best part ... the recipes!

• Top twenty classics
• A bowl of soup
• Salads
• Appetizers
• Snacks, small plates & light meals
• Sensational spuds on the side
• Main courses with meat, poultry, fish & seafood
• Vegetarian mains to satisfy
• Breads, biscuits, scones, griddle cakes & more
• Desserts & confections

With each recipe (which look easy to follow), there is a description, the amount of servings and tips.  What's missing, though, is the nutritional content ... it would be nice to know the calories, fibre, etc.

Here are some sample recipes ...

As I try the recipes, I'll be sure to blog about them.

I received a copy of this book at no charge in exchange for my honest review.