Potato Bars

 Potatoes tend to be the heart of any holiday table, yet they're often ignored for more fancier mains and sides. However you can make them shine at a holiday table.How Set up a potato bar. Yes!~ Baked potatoes can shone just as brightly as any charcuterie or sea-cuterie platter. 

Regular contributor and chef himself, Eric Kim elevates the lowly spud with an article and recipes in yesterday's New York Times Wednesday Food section.Baked potatoess got their due during 1909 when railway dining was truly elegant. Hazen Titus was head of the line  Northern Pacific/s dining car hd learned of a surplus of oversized potatoes. he put them on his menu.They were ordered and put on the menu and became a hit. More than a century later a baked potato is still a big hit. Who doesn't love a split one with a fluffy white flesh along with a huge , melting part of butter.It's also good with other topping like the traditional sour cream, chives cheese and bacon. Chef Kim has spent the last year baking giant spuds, he recommends them to star at at any party.It start s by setting up a bar It appeals to all sorts of cultures. As chef Vishwesh Bhatt wrote in his cookbook "Potaotes are a great equalizer for many cuisines.They can be adopted to many different tastes and cuisines,

What would work in a potato bar? An aglio e olio one appeals to those who love the simple Italian pasta dish. It starts with a baked potato dolloped with a mayo and garlic mixture, Lightly drizzle with  extra virgin olive oil and red pepper if you want some zing. Microplane a cloud of Parmesan over each one for a tasty,flavor. There is also an Indian-ish recipe from Cehf Kim's fellow writer Priya Krishna and her mother . Chiles and chaat masala - a dried powder made from dried mango powder , black salt and dried pomegranate seeds. There's also onions and ginger for more flavor and bite.Green Chiles or Serrano Chiles are used.Mr. Kim celebrates his Korean heritage with his caramelized kimchi potatoes.it stands in for bacon as it;s sauteed with butter. and then browned much in the same way as onions or cabbage is. Sharp cheddar tops it along with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of chives. Sweet potatoes get their due here too They;'re topped with goat cheese whipped ream cheese and hot honey, a mix of regular honey and Chiles.Rosemary and nuts top them off for a different flavor.

A potato bar? Why not. It'sa different and fun way of enjoying this powerhouse staple Try  them with all the different ingredients.

Curry On A Cold Night

This is the time of the Indian festival Holi, the festival where brightly colored powders are gleefully chucked at friends and family. It's also a day of fasting and feasting. You don't have to be Inidan, though to enjoy curry and naan. Indian cooking is the perfect antidote for the blustery March night.

Many home chefs balk at trying the recipes of the Subcontitient. Yet, curry is an easy dish that once tasted will be a family favorite. Try a chicken one that just had chicken strips, diced onions and curry powder. The last can be bought at your local grocery, in the seasonings section. It's just heating the onion first in olive oil and then adding the meat and curry powder. It is a long process, taking about forty-five minutes to fully cook. Another caveat is keeping the burner on a low flame because curry powder burns easily. You can also create a vegan version by subbing the meat with traditional vegetables such as cauliflower and potatoes along with onions and carrots. Turmeric, that health booster is also added for more color and flavor. For a spicier dish, add red pepper flakes. If you like the dish and plan to make it often, then consider creating your own curry powder.It's dried chili blended with the seeds of coriander, fennel and cumin. Dried mace,  white pepper and turmeric round it out. Store in an airtight jar at room temperature. it can be made a week in advance.

Tikka masala is another tasty Indian dish.The chicken is usually roasted in a tandoor oven however a regular one will do. It's a little more involved than a simple curry. You first have to marinate chicken chunks in a mix of yogurt and lemon juice spiced with cinnamon,cumin, cayenne  ginger and black pepper. The chunks should be soaked for a good hour in order for the meat to be perfectly seasoned . They're then threaded on skewers and roasted on a stove top grill.As these are cooking the sauce is made.. Again, it's a blood warming mix of cream, butter and jalapenos blended with tomato sauce, garlic. Cumin and paprika are also added to intensify the color and flavor, A fun weekend meal is a plate of dosa pancakes,These are a blend of plain flour and bicarbonate of soda flavored with mustard seeds. Dosas are like crepes, meant to be filled with all sorts of delicious stuffings.One of the most popular is potato masala. Potatoes are combined with tomatoes and onions  and singed up with turmeric and curry leaves or powder if you can't get the leaves. Cauliflower and shredded cabbage is another tasty combo cooked with chaat masala, a dried spice that also has dried mango in it.

These blustery march nights can be bone chilling. Warm up with tasty Indian dishes that will warm you to your toes. They're tasty and flavorful along with being chock full of good for you spices and ingredients.