Favorite kind: Russets. They’re perfect for mashing and make the best baked potatoes, too. And after that, let me count the ways!
ALL of these recipes start with 4 medium sized, skin-on russet potatoes, scrubbed and black spots and blemishes removed.
Crispy oven baked spears
- Cut potatoes lengthwise into spears
- Soak 10 minutes in hot tap water; rinse and pat dry
- Toss with olive oil and season with plenty of salt (I like Lawry’s Seasoning Salt which has plenty of paprika in it) and pepper
- Place on a cookie sheet in an oven preheated to 400-degree oven
- Turn after 25 minutes and cook for 25 minutes more until brown and crusty
I serve with ketchup
Potatoes “Anna”
- Slice the potatoes thin (I use a mandolin – easy to use but also easy to cut yourself so be careful)
- Immerse slices for 1-2 minutes in boiling water; drain; pat dry
- Grease the bottom of a baking dish or pan that can go in the oven – a cast-iron skillet is ideal
- Overlap the potatoes (like shingles) in layers going around; paint each layer with melted butter and season with salt and pepper
- Bake in a 450-degree oven for about an hour – you want it to be crusty brown on top, not burned or pallid
Potato pancakes (lacy and crisp, not just for Hanukah)
- Grate the potatoes
- Dump the grated potatoes into a clean linen dish towel; over the sink, wring out as much liquid as you can
- Mix the wrung-out potatoes with 2 eggs and a handful of flour
- Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan until a bit of potato sizzles when it hits the oil
- Ladle tablespoon-size pancakes into the hot oil; flatten and cook until golden brown and crisp on both sides
- Drain on paper towel and put them on a cookie rack in a warm oven until ready to serve
- Serve with salt and your choice of apple sauce or sour cream.
Mushroom potatoes
These are scalloped potatoes doused in (undiluted) Campbells mushroom soup. Could not be more delicious.
- Warm the contents of an undiluted can of mushroom soup so it’s spreadable
- Slice potatoes 1/4” thin
- Grease the bottom of a baking dish or pan that can go in the oven – a cast-iron skillet is ideal
- Put a layer of potatoes on the bottom; paint them with some mushroom soup
- REPEAT until you run out of potatoes and…
- Dump the remaining soup over the top and spread it around
- Dot the top with butter
- Bake in a 375-degree oven covered for an hour, then uncovered for another 20 minutes until it gets a crusty (my favorite part)
What’s your favorite kind of potatoes and favorite way to cook them? Someone just told me about caramelized pan roasted potatoes... anyone know how to make that? Or the secret to getting baked potatoes to come out with a crisp skin and fluffy interior?
