By Carla Vigos
Laguna Woods Globe cooking columnist
I have to confess: I love potatoes any way, anytime, anyhow.
Memories of my mother’s smooth mashed potatoes laden with butter and Half & Half are vivid. She would always make more than enough, and she would go around the table with a bowl and dollop more on your plate. Even if you declined, she did it anyway. Italian mothers want to be sure you’ve had enough to eat.
Another version of potatoes she would make were roasted potatoes with butter, olive oil and rosemary. My mother would bake peeled and cut-up russets at a high heat and stir the potatoes every 15 minutes.
That would provide “crunchies,” as we called them. They were the crispy bits of potatoes that would stick to the bottom of the pan that were so flavorful. My mother would scrape these out of the pan, and my brothers and I would divide them equally. They were a much prized delicacy in our house.
Trending right now are smashed potatoes, which happily take me back to the days of those “crunchies.” For questions or comments, email [email protected].
Smashed Potatoes
INGREDIENTS
1.5 pounds of golf ball size Yukon gold or red potatoes
1 tablespoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Additional 1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary or parsley, chopped
Drizzle of more olive oil
Optional Parmesan cheese
Optional sour cream and chopped green onion
DIRECTIONS
Place washed, unpeeled potatoes in a saucepan with 1 tablespoon of salt and water 2 inches above the potatoes. Boil until tender, about 20 minutes. Check for doneness by piercing with a skewer or a knife. Drain and let cool for 10 minutes.
In a small bowl, combine olive oil, butter, garlic powder, salt, pepper and rosemary or parsley.
Drizzle bottom of sheet pan with olive oil, enough to coat. Place cooled potatoes on the sheet and smash with a smooth-bottomed glass or measuring cup to about 1/4 inch. Make sure…
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