help !!!on potatoes!!!

[youla]

out of all the foods available I have never been a potato fan.....I have a potato notebook full of tired ideas ,I need more, noone can believe I dont like potatoes but there it is on the line ,I have to produce 3 different potato dishes a night one for a ;a carte . one for buffet, and one for in room dining....but this must be the only food I can find no passion for !! pleases help me update.

 

[layjo]

I'm a potato fan. Tell us what types of potato preparations you usually do for the place you work. Maybe we can help you conger up something new. What types of potatoes do you usually use?- (Russets, Yukons, Sweet Potatoes, Red Bliss?) And, what kind of food does your foodservice establishment serve.- (style?) I think maybe sombody can help you with these questions answered. Oh, one more thing, what's the weather like in your area.- (in order to appropriate the lightness or haertiness of the dish

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[youla]

At the moment it is autumn in melbourne , australia but it is still warm 23 - 30 degrees, we usually make gratin, rosti, hasselback, melbourne potatoes, garlic mash,
parisienne,boulangere, janssons,and a hot potato saladalso if I have time I make a potato terrine.. to name a few....we work with chats, desiree, sweet potato, kipfler, nicola,congo,and sebago but it is not a problem to get in other varieties.....Layjo thanks for your answer and any suggestions would be appreciated, I just feel the same dishes are being turned out monotonously!

 

[chefjohnpaul]

A copy of Le Repatoire de' la Cuisine will list more recipes for potatoes than you can shake a stick at, my suggestion though is to get your imagination going. Potatoes are a fairly neutral starch that lend themselves to all kinds of flavorings and preparations.
I mean how many different things can you do with rice, or flour even? So incorporate some of these ideas. You can do gnocci or dumplings, au'gratin with gorganzola and roasted peppers. I like to take potatoes prepared for hash browns, toss them with butter and parmesan, season, then put some in a non-stick pan a few spears of blanched asparagus on top, cover with more potatoes and put in a hot oven. Five minutes later take pan out of oven and flip cake, it will be golden crispy with the butter and cheese and have nice roasted asparagus sticking out of it like arrows out of a heart!

 

[youla]

thanks Johnpaul, well yes I do let my imagination run and experiment heaps I have to!!..thanks for the ideas and the book, which I will try to get hold of..