Come dine with...

Do you know that TV show Come Dine With Me? There are versions the world over with (slightly) different titles (Jogo de Panelas; Cookware's Game - Smaken Verschillen; Tastes Differ - Bez servítky; Without a napkin - Klokka åtte hos meg; Eight O'clock At My Place - Das Perfekte Dinner; The Perfect Dinner - Un Dîner Presque Parfait; An Almost Perfect Dinner) but the format is the same: a group of people, that don't know each other, 'fight it out' to be the best dinner party host.
I love watching it; clashing personalities, finding common grounds, things go wrong, things go right. It's everything a normal dinner party is for most of us but with the added pressure of TV cameras in your face and being scored by people that know nothing about you.

There is usually a mix of 'alpha-male', (slightly) ditzy woman, comedian, over-confident, alternative, vegetarian, oddball, downright strange, over-competitive, 'foodie', wine buff. The participants are from all walks of life and all have different views on life. The show does not discriminate so a vegetarian can find themselves at the dinner table with a beef-eater, a proper 'macho-man' can find himself surrounded by people that are LGBT, 'Labour' sits at the table with 'Conservative', different cultures are often together at the same table.

It is this combination of people, their often (very) different views, and very different characteristics that I find most fascinating. And it is good to see that people, by the end of their 'journey', can find acceptance and even common grounds. What I find most amusing though is the confidence that some people show. No matter how misguided, misplaced or misjudged this might be. Hilarious is the moment where the most confident person (the one that has been stating all week that they are the best, are top of the leaderboard and that no one can touch - you know the one; the one we all love to hate) finds out that out of five contestants they have come fifth...

At least once a week the, what seems to be, obligatory Potato Dauphinoise is being prepared. Thin slices of potato, cooked in cream with garlic. Brilliant when one of the guests is a health fanatic, same-old-same-old when everybody drinks cream in their coffee... I was utterly surprised when I saw someone do Hasselback potatoes. Large potatoes sliced nearly all the way through, baked in the oven with some butter, grated cheese and breadcrumbs. A dish named after a restaurant in Stockholm, called Hasselbacken, where the dish was served first.

Potatoes lend themselves very well to all kinds of dishes; from boiled (served with gravy) to mash, from Hasselback to Dauphinoise, from potato salad to fries. My favourite way (of the moment) to prepare potatoes is by cooking them in the oven in stock, Boulangère Potatoes. The name comes from the French word for baker. After bakers had baked the bread for the day, locals would use the cooling ovens to cook their potatoes. Give them a try, it is an easy recipe and perfect for a dinner party.

Boulangère Potatoes

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Ingredients:

• 1 large potato per person
• 500 millilitre (veal or lamb) stock
• 1 or 2 onions (optional)
• salt and pepper to season
• 20 gram butter

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC
2. Clean the potatoes, I leave the skin on, and slice thinly (a mandolin is ideal but be careful as the blade is incredibly sharp and accidents are easy)
3. Use some of the butter to grease an ovenproof dish and layer the potatoes
• If you are using onions:
• halve the onions and slice them thinly
• caramelise them in a heavy based frying pan in a little butter until golden brown
• add some of the onions on top of each layer of potato
4. Pour in the stock, I use a stock cube as a quick and easy cheat but you can make your own stock if you want to
5. Cover the potatoes with tinfoil and place in the centre of the oven to bake for 1 to 1½ hours
6. Take the foil off the dish and dot the remaining butter on top and place back into the oven for 10 minutes to crisp the top

Dishes don't come much easier than that!

As they say in France

Bon Appetit