Paper Palate

I am a very visual person. I love to have recipes with photographs … it makes the recipe that much more tempting and desirable. Often times, I will be flipping through a magazine and will fall in love with a photo of a recipe, only to take a look at the recipe and realize that I really don’t care for some of the ingredients in the dish. This does not happen very often, as I am not a very picky eater, but when it does, sometimes I am still lured in just enough by the photo to throw out my picky qualms about an ingredient and to try the recipe anyway.

This happened recently when I was flipping through the June/July 2008 issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray. A photograph for an appetizer called “Sky Blue Potatoes” caught my eye, and I immediately was intrigued. Then, I took a look at the ingredients and noticed that the “Blue” in the recipe title actually came from the fact that blue cheese is one of the prominent ingredients. I have never been a fan of blue cheese. I have always wanted to be, but each and every time I try it, it just does nothing for my tastebuds. I was still being tempted by the photo, so I decided to make this appetizer anyway.

This appetizer was not a huge amount of work, but to do all of that work only to discover that you still do not like blue cheese is a little disappointing.  I don’t know what I was expecting my tastebuds to do … did I really think they were going to make a big whopping change, just like that? Actually, yes … yes I did. I just thought that I’d make the recipe, take my first bite, and suddenly be in love with blue cheese! It didn’t happen, folks. In case you are wondering, I still am not a blue cheese fan.

This appetizer got a thumbs-up from the blue cheese lovers who tried it. If you are of the blue-cheese-loving group, you’ll love this appetizer. If you are not, I’ve done the work for you and can tell you … blue cheese still tastes like blue cheese no matter how tempting the photograph!

Sky Blue Potatoes, from Everyday with Rachael Ray, June/July 2008