We were watching mindless Christmas Food stuff on the Food Channel the other day and Paula Deen had this guy on who made these potatoes that sounded intriguing…  He boiled ’em, flouerd ’em, and baked ’em.  As I said – intriguing.

Chicken with a spicy cranberry and mango sauce was the main event…  I floured the chicken with a combination of chipotle powder, garlic, flour, salt and pepper.  Fried in a bit of olive oil…

Sauce was leftover cranberry sauce with mango chunks and chili paste (sambal olek.)

The potatoes…

I was kinda looking for a different potato recipe for a brunch in a week or so with some friends.  I thought I’d try it out.

Hasselback  Roasted Potatoes

  • 2 pounds potatoes, medium sized (your choice of type)
  • Salt
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/3 cup canola, vegetable or grapeseed oil
  • 1/4 cup very finely parsley leaves

Peel the potatoes and rinse to remove any traces of dirt. Cut into the potatoes into uniform pieces. (This will help in cooking time if they are all similar.) Take a sharp knife and beginning on 1 end, cut about 2/3 through the potato. Repeat the same incision from 1 end of the potato to the other, spacing the cuts uniformly. (The idea is to create the look of a fan, which is why you don’t cut all the way through the potato.)

Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Add a pinch of salt and cook until just tender. (Do not overcook. The potatoes should remain a little hard, as they will continue to cook during roasting.)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Drain the potatoes and place them on absorbent toweling to remove excess water. Mix the flour and salt and pepper, to taste, in a bowl and carefully toss with the already blanched potatoes. Place the floured potatoes onto a baking sheet and drizzle with oil. Bake until golden brown, approximately 30 to 40 minutes.

To finish, scoop the potatoes with a slotted spoon onto absorbent paper toweling and to drain any excess oil. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with the parsley.

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Okay…  the potatoes weren’t that great.  They were okay, but…

I suppose they have some potential, but I’m not going to fool with them for my brunch.  I have plenty of potato ideas – I was just looking for something new…