Exploring..

One of my favorite things to do is try new ingredients. When I first read a recipe and stumble upon an unfamiliar word, my first reaction to to feel uncultured and uneducated. I hate that feeling.

Tackling a new ingredient is so fantastic! I love checking it off of my list.

The ingredient that I tried this week was crème fraiche. I had to actually order it from the grocery store! It's not a popular item, clearly. Lesson learned: become BFF with the deli lady. (I'll try to take a stalkery photo of her next time I'm making a special request)

The recipe that I was attempting was Roasted Red Potatoes with Bacon-Chive Crème Fraiche from Gourmet Game Night.



I love this cookbook.
I love it because it's full of great recipes, but it's also special to me because it was a gift from great friends.

Shockingly, I also found an electronic copy of this book in Google Books. You can link to it here.

Back to the ingredient!
I had to wait two days for the extra special crème fraiche to arrive. I eventually got a call from my new BFF (deli lady). My ingredient was in!






My initial reaction was that this ingredient seemed very similar to mascarpone cheese (but more sour), and it was softer and creamier than cream cheese.


You can either squint to see this recipe (right) go directly to this link.









Photo evidence of the results:

Roasting the halved baby red potatoes.. Do NOT judge me for my the condition of my cookie sheets. Trolls must sneak into my apartment at night to destroy my cooking tools.


This is the delicious mixture of chives, bacon, and crème fraiche. I went a little crazy with the chives. After combining these ingredients, just toss a spoonful of it on the flat side of a potato half.









Here I plated the Roasted Red Potatoes with Bacon-Chive Crème Fraiche with some yellow beans from my boss' garden.