A Love of Potatoes

I have to confess, I LOVE potatoes.  For a long time I really didn't think much about them.  I occasionally ate a baked potato and at Thanksgiving always made baked sweet potatoes, but that was about it.  Then, in my Gourmet Today cookbook, I found a recipe for olive oil glazed potatoes.  They were amazing!  After that I started cooking potatoes once a week at least.  Roasted potatoes, baked potatoes, homemade french fries...the BF's potato hash...  It's not just the potatoes that are fabulous; the combination of spices, potatoes and dipping sauces are what make potato dishes fabulous.

The roasted potatoes are my favorite and I have been trying to perfect them for some time.  Finally, with a little help from Tyler Florence (for cooking temp and time) I think I have my recipe down.  You can use any combination of spices that you want, but this is what I did tonight:

Cut one potato in half lengthwise, then cut each half into quarters.  You should have 8 pieces.  Put some (a few tablespoons) of olive oil on a plate or in a large bowl and toss the potatoes in it.  On a plate, mix 1 tsp garlic salt, 1 tsp chili powder and 1/8 tsp cayenne (or more if you like things spicy).  Mix the spices well, then lightly dip each side of each potato wedge in the mixture.  Rub it on so that it gets all over.  Line a toaster oven pan (or regular oven pan if you don't have a toaster oven) with aluminum foil and place the wedges so that they are sitting up on the pan.  Bake at 400 degrees for at least 30 minutes.  Check them every 10 or so, especially if you are cooking them in a regular oven.  Don't take them out until you see the outsides of the potatoes start to get brown and a little bubbly.

I like to dip mine in homemade ranch dressing...but use whatever you like!  They are fabulous!

And if you haven't checked it out yet, be sure to visit A Farmer in the Dell--a blog of life on Ralph Waldo Emerson's Farm