Po-tay-to -v- Po-tat-o ..who cares? they is yummy.

I once said here that I could happily live on bread for the rest of my life. That was a bit of an absolute statement and should be qualified by saying, that along with the bread would have to be real Irish butter and all the French cheeses. ALL OF THEM. 
I have a bit of a thing for carbs really. Which doesn't sit well with weight loss or general fitness. I could seriously eat toast till I started to turn into crumbs and potatoes..oh man..I love potatoes. 
There is one upside to living in the country and coming from a self sufficient farming family, and that is, that since forever, we've grown our own vegetables. And, being Irish, that of course includes potatoes. My fathers particular favourites are Kerrs Pink, and when they grown well there is nothing more glorious. Steamed in their skins and decorated with blobs of smooth, creamy butter, it's the Kerrygold ad brought to life. But no one will be brining the horses to France..Someone probably has them turned into burgers already.

Apart from the unadulterated beauty of the natural simple potato, one of my favourite comfort foods (and pre-hangover, post club, attempts at after soakage) is curry cheese chips. 

Back in the day, at lunch on a Friday afternoon, me and my friends would head off down the avenue from our school (yes, it had an avenue, it was the former country residence of Lord Lucan - him of nanny killing fame) to the near video/shop shop to get our serving of curry cheese. Thats the school there..

 Gavin's shop was the bomb. Their chips will long and squigy..which is what you need for curry cheese chips out of a Styrofoam box. They give a good big serving, steaming hot, for, if my memory serves me right 3.50..it was sheer and utter gluttony. Perfect Friday food when you had to return to a draughty classroom for Irish and double history.  Eating them on the mall of a Friday, watching the lads play football during the summer or trying not to get pneumonia on a winters day is one of the most vivid memories I have of secondary school. I can still taste the packet curry..

Anyway, sometimes it's nice to revisit these stodge feasts. Hell, who doesn't like potatoes drenched in sauce and cheese?? (if you don't stop reading and get off my blog- we won't get along).

Last I week I wrote about the meatballs I made for a friends party, this is the potato recipe that went along with it. Ideally, you would eat these in fatman pants, under a blanket, on a couch, in front of a fire watching some trashy Bruce Willis movie (you may as well go all cheesy)

It's a simple recipe but includes all that is good about food. Potatoes. Spice. Cheese (eek cheese!), Ranch and BACON. and unless you've never chopped a potato, you can't go wrong!

You will need:
2 tbsp corn flour
2 tsp hot chilli powder
1tsp chilli flakes
1tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
pinch of salt
1 lb of potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp worchestshire sauce
1 tbsp grill seasoning ( I used an American Steakhouse mix I got in Aldi)
grated cheese - to your liking
6 rashers cooked and chopped up

1. Mix together all the spices, corn flour and one table spoon of oil.
2. Chop the potatoes in wedges
3. In a large bowl, toss the potatoes in the spice mix

4. Line a baking tray with grease proof paper
5. Put the wedges on the tray and drizzle with the remaning oil
6. Preheat an oven to gas 7 and cook for 40 mins to an hour. 
7. Cook off the bacon and chop up.
8. Remove the potoates from the oven, add the bacon and cheese and return to the oven till the cheese has melted as is bubbling.

(the above pic is borrowed from google as I forgot to take a pic of the finished product - but you get the idea :) )

Home-made ranch dressing:
250 mls sour cream (or creme fraiche)
125ml buttermilk
I garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tbsp worchestshire sauce
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
pinch cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
handleful chopped parsely leafs
1tsp feshly chopped chives.

Mix everything together, season and chill before serving with the spicy, cheesy potatoes.