Potaytoes Potahtoes

My mom was 100% Irish and knew potatoes inside out. She made potatoes at nearly every meal, and seldom made the same potato dish twice in a week. And I hated potatoes a lot! There were only two kinds of potatoes I'd eat: potato chips and french fries! Like every other little kid. When I started cooking for the family at age 15, I took us off a diet of potatoes and taught us about other starches. It went okay for a while, then I started missing potatoes. Weird, huh?

Potatoes are one of the most versatile foods, and certainly the one where it's easiest to impress people. From something as simply boiling them with a little salt, to mashing and adding eggs and cream and piping them onto a hot cooking sheet, potatoes can be as simple or as complex as you choose. I usually choose simple, but even that offers close to a thousand choices.

In this post, I'm going to offer two of my favorite recipes for cooking potatoes. Before I do that, I'm going to talk about a few varieties of potatoes. Nearly everyone is familiar with the russet. It's a huge brown potatoe, usually from Idaho although that's been changing. It's got a distinctive starchy potato flavor and is usually baked or french fried. It has a lot going for it due to its size. It make a heckuva lot of french fries and potato chips. Also, as a "loaded baked potato", it can hold a TON of toppings. Then there are the "new" potatoes, the small, barely formed babies. They tend to be very tender and tasty. Usually these come in a red or white skinned variety. A white skinned potato usually looks light brown. New potatoes have a very thin skin that is barely there, but the overall taste tends to be sweeter. The red skinned potatoe can be interchangeable with every other variety due to its medium texture and flavor. Redskins are used quite often in "dirty" mashed potatoes since the red skin can be very easily seen. One of my favorite potatoes is the Yukon Gold. It's a medium size and typicaly very round. It's name comes from the color of the inside of the potato which is a pale yellow or gold. It has a very sweet and very creamy texture to it. It can be mashed quite easily and needs very little extra moisture added. I usually just add butter. The final variety I've used is called the Peruvian Purple. It actually is purple, though sometimes looks black. The only way I've used these little guys is steamed, and they looked an awful lot like dog poop. They tasted okay, but I'm not certain what the average home cook would use them for except the shock factor.

Two things to note before going any further: Potatoes continue to grow even when they're above ground. Sunlight can turn the skin green, and can also start the "eyes" growing. Cut these parts out of the potato before cooking. They contain a chemical that some people are sensitive to and can make some people ill. When in doubt, cut it out!

My two favorite recipes for potatoes are oven fried and twice fried. Fried potatoes have a wonderful crispiness to their skins and softness to their inside. And they go great with ketchup!

Oven Fried -
Preheat the oven to 425. Take your favorite potatoe (I usually use red skinned) and cut them into chunks of the same size so they all cook consistently. Put them into a bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, pepper, and various herbs if you want them. Spread the potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 25-35 minutes stirring every 5 minutes. The potatoes should brown and crispy and have a wonderful flavor from the oil salt and herbs. Serve immediately.

Twice Fried -
Slice your favorite potatoes lengthwise into french fry size. Heat a pot of vegetable oil to about 350 or 375. I typically use canola oil since it heats better. Add the potatoes a few at a time and try not to overfill the pot. Fry the potatoes for about five minutes until the outside is starting to turn opaque and white. Remove from the oil onto a baking sheet that's been lined with paper towels. Let the potatoes cool down completely. Reheat the oil, and fry the potatoes again in small batches trying not to overcrowd the pot. Once the potatoes are browned and floating they are done. Remove to either a bowl or a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Season to taste and serve hot.

The first recipe uses significantly less oil than the second, but both are delicious.

On a completely different note:
I'm looking for a top-of-the-line professional grade cooking knife brand. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'd rather not have wooden handles; I want to be able to hone them by hand; and the only one that should be serrated should be the bread knife. Any and all suggestions will be welcome.

Enjoy!