Fantasy Dinner, Part 3: UC#3

[ed. note: This is part of our fantasy dinner series]

Folks – Here is nothing exotic but sourced the best ingredients. Have put cost on pricier items below. Serves 6. Total cost $529 plus heart and cholesterol meds.

Sourced and prices from HEB Central Market Houston.

Menu:

USDA Prime Beef Tenderloin just seasoned with salt and crushed peppercorns before roasting in oven – 1.5 lbs ($270))

Sauce for meat (Red wine, demi glace, butter, 1 lb morel mushrooms ($69))

Black Truffle Mashed Potatoes (Yukon gold potatoes, black truffle (0.1 ounce for $129 – won’t use the whole truffle- very potent), heavy cream, European butter)

Creamed Spinach (spinach, cream, butter)

Meat roasted in oven, rest of dishes cooked on stove top. Prep and cooking time <3 hours.

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My apologies – I made a mistake with wimpy portion size on the beef for 6 people (0.25 lbs per person) by only getting 1.5 lbs.

To rectify this error, we can serve 3 people with the appropriate serving size of 0.5 lbs and hold cost to $529.

However, if WLBOTT can afford it, I would propose to increase total cost to $799 and serve 6 people with the appropriate portion size.

UC#3

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Let’s let our AI partners help us visualize this delicious meal:

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Ne plaisante pas avec le marchand d’épinards

Perhaps “portrait” was not the best image style.

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Yukon Golds

Yukon Gold is a large cultivar of potato most distinctly characterized by its thin, smooth, eye-free skin and yellow-tinged flesh. This potato was developed in the 1960s by Garnet (“Gary”) Johnston in Guelph^[1], Ontario, Canada, with the help of Geoff Rowberry at the University of Guelph. The official cross bred strain was made in 1966 and ‘Yukon Gold’ was finally released into the market in 1980.

Yukon Gold is a large cultivar of potato most distinctly characterized by its thin, smooth, eye-free skin and yellow-tinged flesh. This potato was developed in the 1960s by Garnet (“Gary”) Johnston in Guelph^[1], Ontario, Canada, with the help of Geoff Rowberry at the University of Guelph. The official cross bred strain was made in 1966 and ‘Yukon Gold’ was finally released into the market in 1980.

By University of Guelph – History of Yukon Gold Potatoes

In 1959, one of Johnston’s graduate students, a young man originally from Peru, told him of a small, rough, deep-yellow-fleshed potato (Solanum goniocalyx, known as papa amarilla, Spanish for “yellow potato”)[5] that was grown by the many indigenous communities in the Peruvian Andes. In Lima, this cultivar is considered a delicacy for its bright colour and distinct flavour.

In spite of the overwhelming success of this potato for some years, sales in Canada dropped 30% between 2004 and 2014 as other varieties became increasingly popular.

Wikipedia

^[1] Guelph, Ontario is also the birthplace of the jock strap and, “at some 13,000 volumes, it’s safe to say the University of Guelph has the largest cookbook collection in the country.”
– CBC

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Guelph, Ontario

Google street view from the inside of McLaughlin Library, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario. WLBOTT Wonders: how did they get the car inside the library?

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Back to the Potato

WLBOTT Wonders: Do You Plant Potato Pieces With the Eyes^[2] Up or Down?

Inexperienced potato growers often question whether they should plant potato pieces with the eyes up or down. Growing potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) in your home garden is, however, relatively easy. They grow well and produce a delicious crop that also stores well. Instead of planting seeds or seedlings, home gardeners use chunks of seed potatoes that have developed eyes to start the tubers. Proper planting helps your potato crop thrive.

TIP
Plant seed potato pieces with the cut side down and the eyes pointing up.

Basics of Potato Plants
Although some people mistake a potato as a root, it’s actually a tuber or an underground storage stem. More than 100 varieties of the potato exist, but white and red-skinned types are commonly grown in home gardens because of their appealing taste and texture.

Hunker.com

^[2] The Eyes of the Potatoes

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Potato Yields

Maybe not too scientific, but very entertaining. From The Art of Doing Stuff: For People Who Like to Sweat, Swear & Do Stuff

Potato Harvest Size based on variety.

• Red Pontiac came in first with around 1.5 pounds of potato per plant.
• Kennebec came in second with 1.4 pounds of potato per plant.
• Russet potatoes produced just over 1 pound of potatoes per plant.
• Russian Blue potatoes got me just over 1 pound per plant.
• Yukon Golds yielded a sad 0.7 pounds per plant (due to rotting issues)

The Art of Doing Stuff

From our friends at The University of Nebraska – Lincoln

Market Characteristics

Yukon Gold matures in 80 to 95 days after planting, so may be harvested as an early season crop. Tubers are set early and bulk quickly. Summer yields under good conditions range between 300 and 400 cwt/acre and, in the autumn (full season), yields may get over 500 cwt/acre. Specific gravity is usually between 1.080 to 1.085 (about 20-21% dry matter). Sugars are in the medium range and the variety can fry like a russet frier. Tuber shape is ‘cylindrical’ and reported as slightly oval and flattened. Highest market recommendation is for the ‘count-carton’ baking market.

The University of Nebraska – Lincoln

Yukon golds are susceptible to the Rhizoctonia stem canker. Beware the Rhizoctonia stem canker:

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References

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Random Acts of WLBOTTness: The Queen of Cows