Show 99, November 29, 2014: Corporate Chef Ida Rodriguez, Melissa’s Produce

Chef Ida Rodriquez of Melissas World Variety ProduceMelissa’s Produce adds another useful and informative cookbook to the company’s growing series, each devoted to one fresh ingredient. Newly published is DYPs – The Perfect Everyday Potato Cookbook. The Dutch Yellow Potato (DYP) is the perfect cooking potato with its creamy texture, buttery flavor and year-round availability.

Since the DYP is available twelve months of the year, the consistency of this year-round supply is what this cookbook celebrates. There are 154 recipes (including desserts,) grouped according to the four seasons of the year, incorporating the fresh harvests of the day to enhance, support and combine with the DYP.

The Dutch Yellow Potato is grown exclusively for Melissa’s by their grower-partner in the Magic Valley region of Southern Idaho. DYPs remain dense and moist when cooked. The variety also cooks a lot quicker than other kinds of potatoes. The naturally small and uniform size of the Dutch Yellow is another characteristic that makes the variety a useful culinary tool.

Co-author and Melissa’s Corporate Chef, Ida Rodriguez, joins us. She just returned from a trip to Spain and was surprised to observe how prominent potatoes are in the Spanish diet. There are even a couple of Spanish-inspired recipes (Papas Bravas) in the DYPs book.