And what was it that President Jacques Chirac said about British food? :0) I believe it isn't just us who were wrongly informed! :o)

"One cannot trust people whose cuisine is so bad"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4649007.stm

>>Wait a minute - England is not known for having delicious food
>
>EXACTLY! You guys, as I've said, still live off the myth, delivered by GIs during austere, rationed WW II that we eat crap and drink our beer warm.
>
>>but every potato dish you have mentioned sounds absolutely scrumptious! I could go home and fix nothing but potato dishes for a week!
>
>Well they beat just plain mashed spuds any day! :-)
>
>>
>>
>>>>>>FWIW, I like mashed potatoes, too. In fact, there's not too much you can do to a potato that I wouldn't like.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Tamar
>>>>>
>>>>>Potatoes marquise, duchess?
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Not sure what those are.
>>>
>>>You whip up into the lightest, fluffiest, daintiest mash. Then in a piping bag and piped into a spiral cone, on a greased baking dish, then (in one of the variants at least) sprinkled with cheeses (or melted cheese painted on), then under the grill till they're brown/crusty/burnt on the outside shell - Yummy!
>>>
>>>>
>>>>>Have you tried them with fennel?
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>I don't think I've ever had fennel. What does it taste like?
>>>
>>>It has a sort of aniseedy taste.
>>>
>>>Then there's Lyonaise:
>>>
>>>raw potato sliced incredibly thin (as thin as you can), then laid in strata with, I think, onion slices, and baked with a cheesy (or bechemail?) sauce. Something similar is the base for Lancashire hotpot, when they go caramelised, sweet and crispy (but not with the Lyonaise-style sauce)