Our friend Peter is a fantastic cook. He has been preparing some of the most mouth-watering food as far back as I've known him. In undergrad, Pete always seemed to be able to make the most amazing meals in the smallest and dingiest of college-rental kitchens. Effortlessly. I'd always envied him for that. Pete and his lovely wife Erin live in Los Angeles so, unfortunately, we haven't been able to see him, or eat his great cooking, as often as we would like. Luckily, Pete was recently in town and we were invited to a weekend cabin retreat, hosted by his in-laws. As we pulled into the driveway, the smell of grilled salmon and citrus wafted into our car. As usual, Pete had prepared an incredibly delicious, yet appropriately simple meal. A hearty, green spinach salad with a bittery-sweet vinaigrette, lemony-grilled salmon and some seriously golden and buttery hasselback potatoes. Erin mixed up some of her famously stiff and refreshing margeritas, and we all sat down to a beautiful, cozy cabin dinner. Warm, filling and flavorful, followed by lively discussion and cold beer around the campfire. Thanks Peter, for yet another great meal.
Pete's Hasselback Potatoes
Serves 12
12 russet potatoes, scrubbed clean
3-5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 Tbsp olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
sour cream (optional)
fresh herbs, chopped (optional)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Peel the top half of the potatoes, lengthwise. Lay 2 wooden spoons of the same size on a cutting board, parallel to each other. Using the spoon handles to prevent cutting completely through the potato, place a potato in between the handles and make closely-spaced sliced across the length of the potato (peeled side up). Insert garlic slices between various slits in each potato.
Place potatoes, slit side up, on a baking sheet. Mix the melted butter with the olive oil in a small bowl and brush the mixture over the tops and sides of the potatoes. Sprinkle potatoes generously with salt and pepper.
Bake until tops are crispy and the potatoes are cooked through, approximately 1 hour. Serve warm with sour cream and fresh herbs, if using.
 |
| Erin's famous margaritas. Salty and cold. |
 |
| Fresh spinach, thinly sliced red onion and a slightly sweet vinaigrette. |
 |
| Smokey and moist with crispy skin. Salmon hot off the grill. |
 |
| Miss-matched cabin dishes. Comforting and kitschy. |
 |
| The chef. |
Anne,
ReplyDeleteThis is a great blog! I'm totally following this! Pete potatoes were off the chain good!
Tommy