One Potato, Two Potato

Before settling in San Francisco, I lived in L.A for over a dozen years on and off. So I know I'm being incredibly unchic when I profess my love for a good carb. One of my closest friends once watched me work my way through the better part of an entire bread basket at some undoubtedly trendy restaurant before remarking, "You must be the only girl in L.A. who eats carbs." To me, cutting out an entire food group would be like trying to paint without the color blue, or write a song with only six notes. I want to learn how to cook everything, and how to make it all fantastically tasty. Except dessert. I just can't make myself go there.

My love of carbs obviously begins with n and ends with oodles, but there's room in my heart for bread, pasta, rice, and yes, potatoes. Potatoes may seem kind of boring and bland at first glance, but with a bit of pixie dust (aka truffle salt or creme fraiche), they turn into something surprisingly luxe.

Truffle-Parsley Breakfast Potatoes

3-4 Yukon Gold potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
Generous pinch of truffle salt
1 tablespoon truffle oil
Fresh ground black pepper

1. Cut potatoes into rough dice, maybe one inch across.

2. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to boiling, then cook the diced potatoes until you can just pierce them with a fork (about 3-4 minutes). Drain and blot dry.

3. Heat olive oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan large enough to hold the potatoes in a single layer. Place potatoes in the pan. Season with a generous pinch of truffle salt and some pepper.

4. Cook potatoes on medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes, turning occasionally, until they are a deep golden brown. Add the parsley and truffle oil and toss well for about 30 seconds. Remove from heat and serve. Serve this with smoked sturgeon on bagels and you'll never go out for brunch again.

Smashed Fingerlings with Creme Fraiche and Chives (inspired by a dish at AOC)
Roughly a dozen fingerling potatoes
1½ tablespoons olive oil
½ cup creme fraiche
Small bunch of chives, chopped
Sea salt to taste
Fresh ground black pepper

1. Fingerlings vary in size, so if any in your batch are unusually large, cut them in half. You want the potatoes to cook fairly evenly.

2. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to boiling. Cook the potatoes until they break in half easily with a fork (about 12-15 minutes). Drain and blot dry.

3. Heat olive oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan large enough to hold the potatoes in a single layer. Place potatoes in pan and roughly smash with a wooden spoon. You do not want to mash them to a pulp, simply break them up into jagged pieces that will soak up all the lovely creme fraiche. Season with a pinch of sea salt.

4. Cook potatoes on medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes, turning occasionally. Remove from heat. Toss with the creme fraiche and chives and serve immediately. You may add lemon zest or horseradish if you wish.