Garlic-Roasted Potato Skins (Page 570)

RECIPE #796

• Date: Saturday, July 19, 2008 -- 8pm
• Location: Hartsville, SC
• Kitchen: My Parents' House
• Dining Companions: Matty, Teri, and Terry
• Recipe Rating: B
  

My love of all thing potato doesn't come out of nowhere -- this is definitely a trait passed down from my mother. So when I was visiting my parents in South Carolina a few weeks ago, I made these potato skins, one of the few potato recipes in The Book that I hadn't made yet. The method of this recipe is quite simple. I baked several potatoes until tender and meanwhile roasted a head of garlic. Once the potatoes were baked I cut them into wedges and scooped out all but the outside 1/4 inch of potato. The insides of the potatoes are meant to be reserved for another use (I made mashed potatoes out of the rejected potato innards -- yum!). I then topped the potato skins with a mixture of butter, the roasted garlic, and salt. Finally, they went back into the oven to become brown, crispy, and delicious. My mom and Matty were both quite taken with this recipe. My dad and I were not as impressed. The potato skins were texturally just right -- they came out very crispy along the edges but still with some tender potato on them. I usually think cheddar cheese and bacon when I think potato skins, but the roasted garlic was a nice alternative. It let the potato flavor shine through yet gave the dish some boldness. My one complaint, which is a complaint I practically never have with Book recipes, is that it was too salty. These skins were extremely, extremely salty. I like salt. A lot. So for me to say they were too salty says something. I even went back and checked the recipe after tasting one to make sure I had added the amount of salt that the recipe indicated. I had. If I made these potato skins again I would definitely cut the salt in half.

Here is the recipe.

It is easy to forget, if you haven't done it in a while, how painful moving is. My special gentleman and I are moving out of his apartment on Monday though, so I have once again been reminded of the pain of packing. You would think, "You're not moving until Monday morning? You have TONS of time." I would even agree with you. BUT, he is leaving tomorrow morning for his brother's bachelor party in Montreal and not returning until Sunday night. I am staying here for the weekend, and I am happy to help out in a crisis -- so I would just pack whatever we don't get to today while he is gone. But unfortunately this is not a simple throw-everything-in-boxes type move. In fact, it is a rather complicated move. My special gentleman will spend the next year living partly in Indiana in my furnished apartment and partly in Boston in a friend's furnished apartment. So all of his furniture, dishes, etc... are going to go into storage in Michigan, where he will be living starting a year from now. But, everything he needs for the next year (some of his clothes, his math stuff, etc...), plus the pantry items we are taking with us, and the things here that are mine all need to go to Indiana. A few things can't be packed now because he needs them for the bachelor party this weekend. And some stuff, of course, should get thrown/given away. It would be impossible for me to make all these determinations by myself. So we need to pack while he is still here. The apartment is covered in separate "Indiana," "Michigan," and "Charity" piles (plus some others -- like the "Rachel" pile for food that we can't take with us but don't want to throw away), and carefully labeled boxes. I am taking a brief break, sitting in bed amongst four different piles of clothing waiting to be packed! I will be happy when this move is over...