Smashed Potatoes

I had seen a post about smashed potatoes a few weeks ago on one of the many food blogs I frequent. I went back last night to try and find the post, and after a half hour of searching came up empty handed. So I decided to wing it and make up my own recipe with the help of what little I remember from the post I can no longer find.

I wanted crispy and crunchy potatoes with a creamy center. So here what I did:

Smashed Potatoes

12 small russet potatoes

olive Oil

crushed garlic

salt & pepper

heavy mallet

I bought a bag of russets and pulled out only the smallest of the bunch. That left me with 12, which was more than enough. I boiled them for about 15 minutes or just until I could insert a knife into the potato. Don't let them overcook and get mushy.

I placed them on a cotton towel and gently pressed on them, hoping the slight pressure would delicately smoosh them to perfection. That did not happen. Those spuds weren't giving. So I got out my mallet, called John, handed him the mallet and told him to get whacking. They were still placed between 2 towels. Don't skip that step or you will have mashed potatoes all over your kitchen. He had to pound them with a moderate amount of pressure to get them to moosh they way I wanted them, but that method worked out pretty well. Here's what they looked like post mooshed.

I placed them on a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and sprinkled them with some good olive oil. Put a good amount on. You don't want them swimming in oil, but you want to coat them well. I added some crushed garlic, and salt & pepper and baked them in a pre-heated 450 degree oven for about a half hour, or until they look good and crispy.

They were golden brown and nice and crunchy. Everyone loved them and went back for seconds. To me that's a true sign of some good eats.

We also grilled up some teriyaki and ginger chicken, filet mignon (Thanks Ken, friends with expensive meat, always a perk!!), some delicious portabella's and Japanese eggplant. After that big lunch we all went into the living room and watched a video for the cruise that we will all be taking next August! Can you imagine the posts I'll have when I get back from that trip??