Meet Me at the Table

I live in Idaho.  So, I’m a “meat and potatoes” kind-of girl.    However, I was born and raised for my first 10 years in San Luis Obispo, CA.  The Central Coast is famous for its Santa Maria-style Bar-B-Q.  That means tri-tip spice-rubbed and slow cooked on the grill over a flame or big meaty beef ribs spice-rubbed and grilled over an open hickory flame.  I’ll eat any kid of meat, steak, chicken, pork, etc…  But, to this day, grilled tri-tip and ribs are my favorite; and my family still buys and stashes (okay, hoards) the special Rib Round-Up rub made by a local deli in San Luis Obispo.

But let’s talk potatoes!  After all, I live in Idaho…  My mom and dad like to tell the story about when they were newly-married and going to graduate school in Eastern Idaho…  One of their friends was a potato farmer's son and his dad grew potatoes for McDonalds (you know which McDonlads I’m talking about… hamburger and French fries giant).  My mom and dad describe one potato that he brought home one day as the biggest potato they have ever seen.  It was so big that it fed 4, young, newly-married couples a full meal from just that one potato.  That’s a full meal for 8 people!   This MUST be where “king fries” come from!

I may live on the opposite side of the state from where they grow the potatoes, but we know how to fix ‘em and eat ‘em here!  In fact, my Grandma Hiatt makes the BEST mashed potatoes in the world!  And in the true spirit of tradition, she has taught me and my siblings how to make them too.   So, not only am I a potato connoisseur, I am a master-potato chef too!  Come for dinner sometime, you’ll see….  I just hope you are not lactose-intolerant because MY mashed potatoes have cream cheese in them.  That’s just one of my super, special, secret ingredients…