Supper Club
I’m starting a new column today, called Supper Club, which is a peek at the dishes, the music, the customs, and the languages spoken, in other parts of the world. Each month, I’m going to bring you a new country, that you can travel to, without leaving home, sharing their tradations.
So much about travel, for a lot of people, is based on the food we taste, when visiting a new place. Encouraging children to also try the local food is an important part of it. Think of this feature as a small primer to the bigger world out there. With the holidays approaching, I’ve partnered with Whole Foods, to kick off this series, with dishes that hit close to home, to talk about some of our own traditions, at Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving has always been, for me, a special time to think up new recipes, create a strong menu and really share my love of cooking with my family. One dish that I love to serve each year, that is so simple, but still tasty enough to make the Thanksgiving menu cut is, Sautéed Potatoes and Leeks. I tend to make a lot of variations on traditional dishes at Thanksgiving, rarely serving the same menu twice. We usually listen to jazz while we eat and talk about the meal I just prepared. My mom likes to know what I did special, to each dish, how I cooked everything, what seasonings I used… and I love to tell her.
What are some of your favorite holiday traditions and dishes that you love? Do you listen to music while you eat? If so, what do you play? If you have special traditions, unique to your country, I’d love to hear about them in the comments.
***Don’t forget to keep reading… there’s a great link at the bottom of this post!!
Sautéed Potatoes and Leeks with Parmesan:
- Roasted Garlic (store bought is fine, if you don’t have time to roast your own)
- 1 tsp Olive Oil
- 4 slices of Bacon (optional)
- 1 lbs of Fingerling Potatoes, (half of the pound cut in quarters and in half cut in halves)
- 3 stalks of leeks, cut lengthwise after trimming and discarding the dark greens.
- 2 shallots, minced
- 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
Let’s get started!
If you do decide to use bacon, cook it first, then set aside to drain while you are cooking the rest of the dish.
Sauté the potatoes in the olive oil (or some of the bacon fat, if you went that route), over medium heat, for about 10 mins, stirring often. Add a dash of salt and pepper at this point.
After about five minutes, add the roasted garlic and shallots.
Once the potatoes can be pierced with a fork pretty easily, add the leeks.
Turn down the heat just a little at this point, and let the leeks caramelize and soften as they cook. You can put the lid on for a few minutes, if you would like, just to give it a little steam and let the potatoes get softer on the inside, while crispy on the outside. The shallots should be getting sort of dark and a little burnt now, just to give it a little smoky, crunchy flavor.
Once the potatoes are where you like them, remove from the heat and add the cheese (and bacon). Stir together well, add a little more salt and pepper to your taste and transfer to a serving dish.
Enjoy!
****As an added bonus for my readers, Whole Foods is giving one reader and a friend a chance to win groceries for a year! Just click here for all the details and to enter. Good luck!!
Thank you to Whole Foods for sponsoring this series. I look forward to sharing a new series of traditions in each Supper Club.
