hasselback potatoes

Around the third or so day of being sick you get that restless feeling of wanting to do the things you normally do, and I wanted to get back in the kitchen. But not, because I didn't really feel like it. What I did instead was flit between tennis, knitting, and browsing blogs until I came across a picture of hasselback potatoes.

What? I guess it's named after a restaurant in Stockholm in the 1700s where it was first invented, and basically you slice almost all the way through a potato, fan it out, drizzle with oil and seasonings and roast.

But I found a tip from a Friend to Knit with's Flikr stream about placing the potatoes on a wooden spoon so that when you slice, you won't go all the way. I love tips like that!

The possibilities for these things are endless and are great for inventive minds. Sprinkle some cheese, different herb combinations, garlic slivers between a few slices, whatever. I kept it simple with a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of kosher salt and pepper, and a shake of oregano.

The roasted potato develops a crispy skin with creamy innards and is an altogether nice spud. Why not just make them normally, one might ask? Why not just spend a few extra seconds to make something pretty, I say to that. Like many things that have a bazillion different methods that come out not entirely unlike each other, it's nice to have the option. Especially for a special dinner or just to perk up everyday meals.

Many people rag about being sick, so I will list a few things I enjoy and look forward to when I have the pleasure of feeling under the weather:

• Dry toast ~ I don't know why I like this, but the combination of crispy outtards to fluffy innards just makes me feel better and can be eaten with tea, soup, and anything else. You can also taste the bread better since it's unadorned, and if you want cheesy toast just sprinkle some shredded cheese or slices and broil until melty and bubbly.


• Soup ~ It just tastes so much better when you're sick. And yes, homemade soup with freshly pressed garlic is great, but canned chicken noodle soup is simply classic. I've found that the soup comes with bigger chunks of chicken than I remember it having back in the day, and the store brand tasted just as good as Campbell's without the annoying kid commercials.


• Medicine ~ I'm talking about the grape flavored cough syrup, heck yes!

That's all I can think of for now, though I'll add that I haven't had a single drop of coffee in my cup since Wednesday. No, haven't craved it, and I still don't, and I didn't get jittery, but now I have the pleasure of looking forward to the brew that's good to the last drop with some cookies!

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hasselback potatoes

ingredients ~
Smallish potatoes, however many
Olive oil
Coarse salt
Pepper
Herbs, fresh or dried
Anything else

directions ~

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with foil.


2. Scrub the potatoes under cold water and pat dry. Place the potatoes on the bowl side of a wooden spoon and slice, more on the thin side than thick. Place on baking sheet, fan out, then drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, herbs, or any other topping you'd like.


3. Roast for 40 minutes; reduce temperature to 350° F and cook for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and eat.

potato gnocchi

One of my favorite ways to use potatoes is turning it into pillowy mounds of gnocchi. I don't really care for mashed potatoes, although mine are excellent (does it make any sense that I can make well what I don't care for?).

The first step is to boil the whole russet potatoes in their jackets. What you have to get past is the humanizing of an edible, akin to the oysters in The Walrus and the Carpenter. All I know is that if I saw something tasty wearing shoes, jackets, whatever, I'd feel a little like a cannibal if I did eat it, which is why I am opposed to tuxedoed strawberries.
Anyway, after the boiling you peel the potatoes immediately after removing from the pan, then rice it. And I swear gnocchi was invented by the Italian mafia since this has to be a form of torture, even if you are wearing gloves or holding the potato by a clean cotton towel.

Once the riced potatoes have cooled, you make a well and dump in some of the flour, the salt and pepper, a bit of freshly grated nutmeg (just enough to enhance the potato flavor), and a beaten egg. Gather the flour into the egg and draw in the potato a little at a time, ending up with a large mound of emulsified dough that you've kneaded until all ingredients are thoroughly distributed, but not enough to make it overly glutenized.

My fake nonna, Lidia Bastianich, says that the correct texture of finished dough should resemble cookie dough with little holes strewn about, and I say it should pretty much be soft to the touch, but not sticky. This woman knows what's up.

Slice each half into half to make fourths, then keep the rest covered while you roll out one piece on a lightly floured surface. Slice the log up into evenly-sized "pillows", some recipe say 1", some less, I like making smaller gnocchi because the shape comes out better.

Take a piece and roll it down the tines of a fork, pressing down with your thumb, to create ridges on one side and an indent, which I like to refer to as a sauce catcher, on the other side.

If you aren't cooking these up immediately, place gnocchi in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with wax paper and dusted lightly with flour and freeze until solid.

While I didn't use her recipe this time, Lidia Bastianich's recipe is my referral guide as she offers precise instructions for turning out excellent gnocchi, so take a look and read through her recipe, method, and tips here.

P.S. I know all recipes say cook for 2-3 minutes, but as I have a paranoia of disintegrating gnocchi I cook them just until they rise to the surface and I'm quite certain it's not 2-3 minutes, I don't know. You may or may not want to listen to me.