I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like potatoes only to be caught gobbling French fries or mashed potatoes with gleeful abandon. And I totally understand the attraction: they’re very satisfying wee things, properly stodgy and filling when done well.
And potatoes are healthy. Spuds are full of Vitamins C and B6, potassium, calcium, and magnesium and, unless you deep-fry them or slather them with butter or sour cream or some other fatty dressing, they are virtually fat-free. Moreover, if you dig what nutrition guru Katherine Des Maisons preaches about in her book Potatoes Not Prozac, eating potatoes helps elevate the level of serotonin in one’s brain, thereby staving off mild cases of depression.
Which is why the name of one of the newer side dishes at Kenny Rogers Roasters is quite appropriate: happy potato.
Happy Potatoes are new potatoes boiled with their skins on (always a nice, healthy, and tasty thing to do) and are tossed with grated carrots and sesame seeds in a sweet yet peppery sauce inspired by Chinese kung pao dishes. They are quite toothsome, not too sweet with a bit of a red-peppery edge that keeps them from being your usual garden variety spuds.
These are perfect with KRR’s Sesame Joy roast chicken (which is basted in pretty much the same sauce the spuds were tossed in), but would not likewise be out of place with KRR’s spin on Salisbury steak (as shown above) or the grilled sausage. You could also order these with a sandwich in lieu of fries or mash and you would be quite happy with your choice.
Midge in the Kitchen 