I made these to go with some ribs we made for Spurs-watching party we had last weekend.  (Go Spurs Go!)  I was really trying to perfect my rib recipe, but alas, they were dry, (either because I overcrowded the pan I roasted them in, or I had company over…not sure which).  Anyway, we had these potatoes too, and, well, I didn’t find them perfect either. But, they were GOOD, without a doubt.

 

I used small red potatoes, and those, for me, never have the satisfying crunch and roasted, fluffy texture that Yukon Golds or russets have.  But, can you buy small russets or Yukon Golds?  Maybe you could make this work with larger potatoes by cutting them in half?  Also, I should have salted the water more aggressively, seasoned the potatoes more aggressively, and used more herbs.  But these are easy fixes.

 

I’m still searching for my next awesome potato recipe, since I’ve already made my favorite for everyone I know, and the second favorite for almost everyone I know.  These have the potential, so I’ll be making them again soon!

Thought I would post this one because it’s one that we’ve made multiple times, usually when Matt is grilling steaks.  They are so good.  The recipe comes from one of my very favorite cooking blogs, Smitten Kitchen.  If you don’t read this website, please start immediately.  I’ve made a few different recipes from her site, and I’ve never been disappointed.  About this recipe, I have used red potatoes, but more often I’ve used Russets and just cut them into wedges.  Also, I thought this recipe had red wine in it, and I’ve made them with red wine before, and I told Matt tonight that we needed to open a bottle to make the potatoes.  Then I looked and it doesn’t actually call for it.  Not sure what this says about me, but go ahead and add a splash anyway, and enjoy the rest of the bottle! 🙂

Mustard-Roasted Potatoes

From Smitten Kitchen

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1/2 cup whole grain Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick or 1/2 ounce) butter, melted
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
3 pounds 1- to 1 1/2-inch-diameter mixed unpeeled red-skinned and white-skinned potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch-wide wedges

Position 1 rack in top third of oven and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 425°F. Spray 2 large rimmed baking sheets with nonstick spray. Whisk mustard, olive oil, butter, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, lemon peel, and salt in large bowl to blend. Add potatoes; sprinkle generously with freshly ground black pepper and toss to coat. Divide potatoes between prepared baking sheets, leaving any excess mustard mixture behind in bowl. Spread potatoes in single layer. Roast potatoes 20 minutes. Reverse baking sheets and roast until potatoes are crusty outside and tender inside, turning occasionally, about 25 minutes longer.

Transfer potatoes to serving bowl.

Do ahead: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand on baking sheets at room temperature. Rewarm potatoes in 425°F oven 10 minutes.

Betsy just requested this one… 

I love this potato salad, especially living in California, because we can get such fresh veggies.  I’m not a huge fan of mayo/mustard potato salad, so this kind of mixes it up.  It’s beautiful on the plate too! I can’t access the Roasted Potato recipe part, so we always just guess how many potatoes to use (we use 2lbs of Yukon Gold potatoes, spread them on a roasting pan with olive oil and S&P, roast at 450 degrees until soft), or you can just use the recipe for Roasted Potatoes posted below by Betsy.  I love the flavor of roasted Yukon Golds and the roasted corn. Yum!

Roasted Potato Salad

recipe courtesy Finecooking.com

1 ear fresh corn, in the husk
1/4 cup plus 1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups red, yellow, or orange cherry tomatoes (or a combination), halved
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 small red onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
2 small cloves garlic, finely chopped
2lbs roasted Yukon Gold or Red Potatoes
3 Tbs. red-wine vinegar

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 450°F. Remove the husk and put the corn on a small baking sheet. Drizzle 1 tsp. of the oil onto the corn and rub it over all the kernels. Sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper. Roast, turning the cob occasionally, until the corn kernels are light brown in a few spots, about 20 minutes. Let the corn cool. Cut the kernels from the cob.

I made these last weekend, and they really are the perfect roasted potatoes.  There’s nothing fancy about them, (this is more a technique than anything else), and I’m sure you can add a thousand different things to them to suit your tastes.  But these came out crunchy and delicious!

Perfect Roasted Potatoes

From Chocolate and Zucchini

– 2 1/2 pound potatoes (waxy or floury — both types will work equally well)
– 2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
– kosher salt

Serves 4 generously.

Preheat the oven to 410°F.

If your potatoes are smooth-skinned, scrub them well and peel them in alternative stripes so that strips of skin remain. If, on the other hand, the skin of your potatoes is rugged and grainy, peel it off completely (no need to scrub) then rinse the potatoes well in cold water.

Cut the potatoes into even chunks, about the size of a bite. Place them in a saucepan large enough to accommodate them, cover with cold water, and add a teaspoon coarse salt. Set over high heat, cover, bring to a low boil, then lower the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes.

As soon as the water boils, pour the fat into a rimmed baking sheet, and place the sheet in the oven, so the fat and baking sheet will heat up.

After the 5 minutes of boiling, drain the potatoes — they will not be cooked at that point — and return them to the saucepan. Place a lid on the saucepan. Holding the lid firmly shut with both hands (the saucepan will be hot, so wear oven mitts or use dish towels), shake the saucepan vigorously for a few seconds, until the surface of the potato chunks is fuzzy; this will help the formation of a crust.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven, pour the potatoes onto the sheet, sprinkle with sea salt, and stir well to coat with the fat.

Return to the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, flipping the potatoes halfway through, until cooked through (when you insert the tip of a knife in one of the pieces, it should meet no resistance), crusty, and golden.

Serve immediately.