Gruyere Stuffed Purple Potato Dumplings with a Walnut Parsley Pesto

Recently I was invited to submit an original recipe to the Idaho Potato Commission as part of their "February is Potato Lovers Month" campaign.  I happily accepted; after all, this challenge involved two things that are close to my heart: potatoes and money. Not only would I (full disclosure) be paid for my time and trouble in creating the recipe, my dish would be featured (along with those of other participants) on the Idaho Potato homepage for the whole month of February. As an added bonus, prize money was up for grabs, as the commission would choose several winners, including best dish, most original recipe, and best photo.

Well guess what kids? I am very proud to announce that the image at the top of this post won in the "Best Photo" category! Many thanks to the Idaho Potato Commission for this award.

The Opulent Open-Face: Seared Bison Skirt Steak Bites, Potatoes Dauphinoise & Bordelaise Sauce - The Classic Diner Open-Faced Roast Beef Sandwich Reimagined for the 5 Star Cooking with Wine Makeover

For this month's Five Star Makeover challenge - hosted as ever by the lovely and talented Natasha of 5 Star Foodie and Lazaro of Lazaro Cooks! - we were tasked with creating a gourmet dish incorporating wine.  I don't know about you, but wine is an essential component of all of my cooking ... if you catch my drift. But the difference here is that the vino had to actually go into the dish, and not just down the hatch.

My initial stumbling block was this: Dishes and recipes that have wine as an ingredient tend to already be on the fancy side, so how was I to do a gourmet makeover on something that's already gourmet? But then, as Poppa Trix and I were tucking into a humble dinner of roast beef and discussing my dilemma, I (or rather we) had the "a ha!" moment.

Polish Prażonka: A Bon Voyage Post

It's that time of year again - Poppa Trix and I are about to embark on an adventure! Last year, you may recall, we ate our way through Vienna, with a brief detour in Budapest. This year we'll be traveling to  Prague and Krakow, with a short stop in Vienna to see Mother-in-Law-Trix (and to satisfy our craving for heuriger food  and tiny sandwiches ).

For my bon voyage post, I've made a version of a traditional Polish dish, prażonka, which I read about in the course of my trip research, in Old Polish Traditions in the Kitchen and at the Table. In many instances, the book doesn't really give amounts, but rather gives a bit of the dish's history and general guidance as far as ingredients and methodology.