A Family Meal for Fall

Sometimes simple family meals are just as delicious and elegant and those with guests. Until yesterday, California was showing no signs of autumn and was hotter than anything. I am sick of the heat but a warm night and grilling is never a bad thing.

On the menu:

Grilled marinated chicken and asparagus with hollandaise sauce.*
*Really the hollandaise came out just perfectly but just as I was finishing to warm it, we had a 4-year old
melt down over clothes and it was on the stove too long and curdled. Darn it! It still tasted very nice.

Mixed green salad with slices of pear, walnuts and gorgonzola cheese
tossed in a light balsamic and lemon vinaigrette.

Fried Pancake of Grated Potatoes
(Pommes Paillasson)

I was searching around for a recipe for potato pancakes after reading Mireille Guiliano's book, French Women Don't Get Fat. What exactly was a potato pancake? And what is the difference between a potato pancake and a latke? Well I still don't know the answer to that one. Maybe there is no difference. Maybe one is just associated with Jewish tradition and then other countries have different names for it. Can you give me the answer?

At any rate, I did find a few different recipes for this fried potato patty. The one I chose was from Epicurious (Gourment Magazine- March 2001). It had a lot of positive comments and seemed very straightforward, simple and versatile. I followed the recipe just as it was except I probably did only about 1/2 the recipe. (I guestimated the quantities).

The potatoes WERE very good indeed. Crispy and tasty and similar to some hash browns. But take note, they need to be eaten right away. After they sat a while it got a little soggier and less crispy. I think they would be well paired with breakfast, eggs, soup, meatier fish, steak and more.