About Roasted Potato Wedges with Herb Butter

You say potato, and I also say potato, and I'm not sure why I bring this up other than to point out how ridiculous this notion is, that there are actual human beings walking around saying "PoTAHto this," and "PoTAHto that." Damned dirty lie that is, which I suppose is why Alien Ant Farm has yet record one of their absurd faux-punk covers of whatever that stupid song is. I would look it up, but I'm lazy.

ANYWAY, not only do we both say potato, I'm willing to bet that farm I don't have that we both LOVE potatoes, and so while I'm busy formulating a kick-ass jalapeno popper recipe for Jake (Greader friends will know him as the guy who hates tomatoes and JOY), I thought I'd share what is probably my best potato recipe.

Well, it's the potato recipe I made for dinner last night anyway.

For two servings you'll need:

• 2 large russet (baking) potatoes, scrubbed clean
• A couple glugs of extra virgin olive oil
• A large pinch of kosher salt
• Another large pinch of freshly ground black pepper

• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, sage, rosemary, or thyme (or any other non-Simon-and-Garfunkel-approved herb)

First off, put a rack in the lower third of your oven and preheat that bad boy (or girl, whatever) to 450F.

Line the bottom of a half sheet pan (or jelly roll pan or cookie sheet or whatever) with either parchment paper or non-stick aluminum foil, because it doesn't matter how much you grease that baby up, russet potatoes are starchy. And starch is sticky. You see where I'm going here. (Heh.)

Cut each potato lengthwise into 8 wedges and toss with salt, pepper, and olive oil in a large bowl.



Once everything is well coated, arrange the potato wedges flat sides down, making sure you don't overcrowd the pan because if you overcrowd the pan your potatoes will steam instead of roast and steam = mush while roast = crunch and CRUNCH IS GOOD.



Now cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and steam in the oven for 10 minutes. Um, yeah. Just go with me on this one.



After your wedges have steamed for 10 minutes, remove the foil and roast them for 10 minutes more. (The initial steam softened up your potatoes and made them all light and fluffy on the inside. NOW we're crunchifying the outsides. See? I (sorta) know what I'm doing.)

Flip them over and roast for another 10 minutes.

MEANWHILE, you're gonna want to make your herb butter, because what the hell else are you going to do when you're not removing foil and flipping potato wedges? Besides drinking I mean. ANYWAY, do you guys know savory? I can't say that I've ever seen any in a grocery store, but if there is any way you can grow some in your garden or on your deck or balcony or even on a window sill somewhere, you should probably go ahead and do that. SAVORY IS DELICIOUS.

So here I have some savory and parsley:



And you're gonna want to mince your herbs up finely, and then throw them in a small pan with the butter, and melt all that together over low heat.



And just keep that on low heat until your potatoes are ready, and when they're ready, dump them a bowl and drizzle the herb butter over them.



Give them a toss to coat and serve, maybe with a little pollo a la brasa?



That's what I did, anyway. But what do I know; I say potato.

About Bagels

The best bagels in DC now come out of my kitchen, and it's all thanks to Jo Goldenberg via Melinda Lee. Seriously, this recipe was so easy (and messy) that I'm currently pricing stand-up mixers and bigger kitchens, just so I can make these more often.

Then again, I always did want to buffen up my spindly little arms.



The first proof:



The half proof, which should really be called the second proof since, sequentially, it occurs second, but I'm not really a baker so WHAT THE HELL DO I KNOW:



The water bath:



Topped:



And baked:



You guys should totally make these this weekend and tell me how it goes. (So it goes.)