Product Description

Potatoes as a main course?

That's right, The Ultimate Potato Book moves the versatile potato to the center of every meal. Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough offer up main course classics such as Shepherd's Pie, Cod Cakes, and Chili Fries, along with some surprising new ideas -- Lasagna (potatoes replace the noodles), Enchiladas, and Twice-Baked Potatoes with bacon, asparagus, and Cheddar.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #283525 in Books
• Published on: 2003-06
• Released on: 2003-06-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

From Publishers Weekly
You can never have too many potato cookbooks. Weinstein and Scarbrough, of Morrow's Ultimate series, distinguish their work from other spud books by emphasizing potatoes as a main-dish ingredient rather than as a side. This can be distracting when what you really want is a side (you have to go to Shepherd's Pie or Bangers and Mash for mashed potatoes), but the results are generally impressive. Recipes are alphabetical and presented without excessive fanfare; a one-word title often suffices. There is something really appealing about being able to look under the letter H and find a basic recipe for Hash. Weinstein and Scarbrough hedge their bets by offering up a multitude of variations, which can take them into some uncharted territory (Prune-Armagnac Potato Coffee Cake, Sake Fondue). Some purists may wonder if Ceviche, Borscht and Shrimp Balls really belong in a potato book. But the more obvious entries-Latkes, Moussaka, Knishes, Potato Skins-are included, along with a few pricelessly eccentric applications ("a cut potato makes a great tool to remove a broken light bulb") There's the usual guide to potatoes and the potato-vs.-yam lecture, as well as a strikingly meticulous list ("yellow and red" vs. "yellow or red") that indexes recipes by potato type used. Witty and user-friendly, this volume is a fine contribution to potato publishing.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author
Bruce Weinstein is the author of The Ultimate Ice Cream Book, The Ultimate Party Drink Book, and The Ultimate Candy Book. A cooking teacher and a food and travel writer, Bruce's work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Bon Appétit , Gourmet, and the Wine Spectator. He lives in New York City.

Customer Reviews

potatoes for dinner!
I bought this book because I owned others in this series (ultimate shrimp, ultimate ice cream)--and I'm not disappointed. All the recipes are for main courses with potatoes, so this is a book for real potato lovers. Great soups, really yummy stews, and some cool new things I've never seen before--potato casseroles that are way great. I love all the international dishes, Japanese, Chinese, Irish, French, German, African. It's so cool to make potatoes from around the world.

spud-tastic
Here's a great set of recipes for every spud-lover in your life. Every recipe is a main course--some fudge a little, like "steak frites," but the authors claim it's not steak frites without the frites. Fair enough. But beyond those, there are a terrific set of international dishes, from Congolese to Japanese, from Chinese to Chilean. Who knew the spud was such an international favorite? And there are plenty of home-spun, American recipes, too. From latkes to hash, here's a book that will make the potato the centerpiece of any plate.