T he Thanksgiving issues of the food magazines are starting to hit the stands! I’ve got Food & Wine on my desk right now. Lots of it is the same old stuff, but here’s something that caught my eye: Roaming TV omnivore Anthony Bourdain’s recipe for mashed potatoes “Kind of Robuchon-Style.”
Yes, this name sounds familiar for a reason. Joël Robuchon has an
eponymous Michelin-three-star restaurant
at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. I ate there a few years ago (IN THE BAR and it was still $600 for two of us!) and as soon as I saw this recipe I had a Proustian flashback to one of the many courses from the tasting menu that night. It was mashed potatoes and … something …
I said: Siri, show me pictures I’ve taken in Las Vegas, Nevada (have you done this yet?!) and up popped a half dozen pictures I snapped at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon. I found this snap of the plate. It was the foie gras-stuffed quail with mashed potatoes. That tells you how good the potatoes were if I forgot they were a side for foie gras. Anyway, will you look at this gorgeous mounded tablespoon of glistening pommes de terres? It tasted like the kitchen had put a fluffy white cloud through a ricer with a pound of butter and seasoned it with unicorn tears.
Bourdain calls for Yukon Golds, butter and cream. He admits this isn't exactly Robuchon's recipe, but I can't believe that's all there is to it. I suspect there's some kind of micro-ricer involved. How else could you get potatoes the texture of Bob Ross's fluffy clouds?
I often mention food-related events in The Fork, but you can find all kinds of cool stuff to do in Santa Fe with the SFR calendar. Submit your event by clicking the "+ Add Event" button on the top right.
Here's a good one I found in our calendar: A lecture on "The Evolution of the New Mexico Diet: Before and After Colonization" by ethnobotanist and archaeologist Richard I Ford on Oct. 31. It's part of the Mother Earth, Father Sky series being held Monday nights now through December at the Hotel Santa Fe. Tickets cost $12 at the door.
If you missed the cover story I did on the burgeoning Native American food movement, check out "Eat Like Grandma" before you go to the lecture.
Loyal Hound! That's another place in Santa Fe where you can find chicken pot pie. I asked for your recommendations last week and two people responded immediately with Loyal Hound's Chicken Shortcake ($14). It's a green chile chicken filling with a Tucumcari cheddar buttermilk biscuit. Forker Albo Fossa says chef Renee Fox's creation is delicious and "the recipe is just right."
What news do you want to see in this newsletter? We want to hear from you! Let us know! Email thefork@sfreporter.com
