Weekend Herb Blogging: French Quarter Potatoes

It's interesting how viruses have their own "personality".  My husband brought this one home from work last week. He was just coming down with it, and although I tried to give him a wide berth after that announcement, (I hate being sick) I caught it, of course.  They name hurricanes, so I named my virus Clyde.  I've been checking with other people in different parts of the country, and they seem to have Clyde too.  In fact, my cousin Kathy, who lives in Mississippi, has exactly the same symptoms as me.  Here they are:  No fever, slightly stuffy nose, headache, sore throat, fatigue, and chest congestion.  And my taste buds have vanished.  I can't taste or enjoy food, with the exception of soup.    

I've been making soup for the last few days, but decided to make something different that would be easy and tasty. This recipe for French Quarter potatoes has lots of herbs, spices, garlic, cayenne pepper, and andouille sausage in it.  My husband said it was very good.  Unfortunately, I couldn't taste anything in it, not even the four Turkish bay leaves from Penzeys. If my taste buds hadn't decamped for parts unknown, I would have been able to appreciate their woodsy taste.  So, I dedicate this dish to my memory of bay leaves.  And it is Weekend Herb Blogging created by the lovely Kalyn .  She's still cleaning up from the anniversary party, I think.  This weekend hosting duties are being handled by the divine Ruth at Once Upon A Feast.  If you go to her site you'll find bloggers much more lucid than me.  I host next week, so I hope Clyde has left my premises.

There are several herbs in this recipe, but bay leaf has a prominant role.  Here in Davis, bay laurel trees are very common.  However, when I cook with bay leaves, I use Penzeys sweet bay leaves, laurus nobilis, which come from Turkey.  A different variety than the laurel bay here, they have a much better taste and lend a subtle flavor to any cooked dish. This recipe also calls for Creole mustard, which is hard to find outside of Louisiana. It's a nippy mustard and adds a wonderful taste to food. If you can't find it, use some Dijon mustard, with a dab of horseradish thrown in. I know that sounds like heresy to Creole mustard lovers--but so be it. 

I had some nice soups in the last few days. I wanted chicken noodle soup, but didn't have several crucial ingredients, including chicken  So, I made soup with what was available in my pantry.  For some reason, I had a lot of split peas.  First, I made yellow split pea soup--mostly on autopilot.

A few days later I made green split pea soup. 

Today, I washed and styled my hair (a big accomplishment) and had a very nice goulash soup, with spatzle, at Konditorei Bakery.  My goal is to go shopping tomorrow and get a chicken and make soup! 

If anyone sees my taste buds, tell them to come home. 

French Quarter Potatoes  (Williams Sonoma)

2 Tablespoons Creole mustard
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoons ground Allspice
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 lib (625 g) small red or white potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4 bay leaves
freshly ground black pepper
6 large cloves garlic
1 1/2 cups chopped red onions
1 1/2 cups chopped green bell pepper
4 andouille sausage links. quartered lengthwise and then cut crosswise into 1/2 inch chunks
2 green onions, pale and green parts, chopped

In a small bowl, combine the mustard Worcestershire sauce, cayenne, and allspice.  Set aside

Heat olive oil in a heavy nonstick skillet and cook the potatoes, bay leaves and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper over medium heat for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Cover the pan as they cook.  When potatoes are tender, add the garlic, onions, and bell pepper and raise the heat to high and cook for about 6 minutes, stirring frequently. Then add the sausage and stir until heated through. Stir in the mustard mixture, then serve.

Comments

[Kalyn]

I've had a bunch of students with the same virus. Being sick is just awful, and I hope your taste buds will come home soon. The soups look great. I love to make soup and so far haven't made any yet this fall.

[Kalyn]

Duh, forgot to say, of course the potatoes and sausage look great too. Penzeys rocks.

[kristi]

Yum. These look yummy. And I hope you kick Clyde to the curb soon!

[Kate]

Your soups look delicious and I hope they helped toss ol' Clyde out on his patooty.

Although I normally love sharing most anything with my spouse, I draw the line at sharing germs.....dunno...not fun I guess. Unfortunately, they are at their most vile and far reaching (the germs, not the spouse) before anyone even knows they are there, so giving them a wide arc once they are sick is many times too late. Well, we did vow in sickness and in health right?

[Jeff]

Potatoes and sausage!! NICE!!!

[coffeepot]

Wow if you can't taste those potatoes you must be about gone! I love the sound and pics of them so ,while I didn't grow reds this year ,I could use whites.

Hope you feel better..all that great soup should help.

[Ivonne]

It all looks sooooooooooo good!

[Julie]

You're cooking some pretty amazing things for a woman suffering from a virus. I hope Clyde leaves the building and your tastebuds come home. Feel better!

[sher]

Kalyn,

Ah, yes. Soup is helping me. But, my taste buds are still dead!

Kristi,

Thanks--give Ella a kiss for me.

Kate,

I thought my husband and I had an agreement not to bring home viruses!!! Well, he breached the agreement.

Jeff,

Thanks. Sausage is pretty easy--and reliable.

Coffeepot,

Thank you! It is something when you can't taste Creole mustard and cayenne!

Ivonne,

Thank you!!!!

Julie,

I'm cooking on autopilot. It's odd. I sort of dump stuff in a pot and walk away. Then little elves come into the kitchen and cook it. It's tat or I'm having blackouts!

[Ruth]

I hope Clyde leaves you soon so you can enjoy all of these tasty dishes.

Check back Monday for WHB roundup - hopefully by then Clyde will just be a bad memory.

[Cyndi]

So sorry you've been feeling bad - it's that time of year here, too. I've been lucky. (Knock on wood.) I saw that wonderful picture of the potatoes and sausage, and thought, "That's a perfect way to use the other half of a kielbasa I have in the freezer." Yeah, I know it's not andouille, but I don't care for "cajun" flavor. I'll let you know how it turns out!

[Lisa]

Man, the potato dish and the soups look so very tasty! I adore split pea soups. Hope you lose that nasty virus ASAP.

[Mae]

Hi Sher, sorry to hear you're not well. It's only a matter of time, i'm sure til i get the annoying cold/flu. Glad to hear though, that you haven't lost your sense of humour! lol.

There's nothing more comforting than a hot bowl of soup when you're feeling all bunged up.

[Burcu]

Hi Sher,
when you left a message on my blog, I was busy looking at your potatoes (and possibly drooling) and thinking what a great breakfast treat with fried eggs on top or on the side. That's funny!

[Liz]

I made this today and loved it! Thank you!