I have always been a fan of the potato—baked, mashed, au gratin, fried—yep, I love ’em all. The most fun way to make great potatoes is to smash them. I start with baby potatoes (red bliss, new potatoes, fingerlings, or whatever you like) in very salty boiling water for twelve minutes until they are fork tender. While they are cooking, I preheat the oven to 400°F and slide my baking sheet in to preheat too.
Aunt Ferne’s Mug
When the spuds come out of the water, I place them in a paper lined bowl and give them a little pat to dry them. Then I tip the whole crowd onto the hot baking sheet that I’ve removed from the oven. (Be careful, the sheet is hot!) Next I take a heavy coffee mug (my favorite one from my late Aunt Ferne works best) and align each potato under the bottom rim and press firmly, squashing the nugget into the sheet. I carefully repeat until the potatoes are roughed up.
I douse the suckers with good olive oil (I like Olive Ranch or Olio Santo) and sprinkle liberally with flake salt (because pulverizing each crystal makes me feel like I have superhuman strength), pepper, and finely chopped rosemary.
The sheet goes back into the oven for 20 minutes until all the potatoes are crispy and browned. When they are done, I top them with a blanket of extra sharp cheddar, a ribbon of Daisy light sour cream from the squeezable tube, and some fresh parsley. The results are just smashing.
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