Potatoes

Preparation

1. Baked, Cold

   Step 1

   Baked potatoes can be reheated without overcooking by dipping them in cold water, then putting them into a 350°F oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Baked, exploding

   Step 2

   This time, duck! If you’re not concerned about their appearance, serve the exploded potatoes. If you are concerned, turn them into mashed potatoes. Next time, cut a slice in the potato, or puncture it to let the steam escape, thereby preventing explosions.

3. Baked, fast method

   Step 3

   Parboiling for 5 minutes before baking, or sticking one of those potato nails (or any big aluminum nail) through the potato will cut the baking time by about 20 minutes. Of course, some people consider the 5-minute baked potato sufficient reason for owning a microwave oven. But keep in mind that using a microwave won’t yield the nice thick browned skin that some of us consider the reason to eat a baked potato.

4. Boiled, bland

   Step 4

   Add a pinch of rosemary or a bay leaf to the cooking liquid. Or top the potatoes with sour cream to which you have added a pinch of marjoram.

5. Boiled, Disintegrating

   Step 5

   If you were boiling the potatoes for a picnic potato salad, add extra crunchy bits like celery, chopped green onions, and dill pickle. Combine everything and add it to the potatoes. Toss lightly and then spoon into a bowl or mold and tamp it down. Chill. Turn it out and decorate with parsley. A triumph from a disaster.

6. Boiled, old and stale

   Step 6

   Add a slice of lemon to the cooking water. It tends to prevent discoloring and helps bring out what flavor remains.

7. Mashed, bland or too much

   Step 7

   There comes a time in everyone’s life, often at an early age, when he or she just can’t stomach another spoonful of mashed potatoes. If you have just made a large batch when this phenomenon suddenly strikes your family, try adding some nutmeg to the potatoes, forming them into patties, and frying them in butter. Not bad at all. Consider adding some cooked cabbage or kale as the Irish do and call it colcannon.

8. Mashed, won’t fluff

   Step 8

   Add a pinch or two of baking powder to the potatoes and keep on fluffing.

9. Not enough

   Step 9

   Now why don’t you have those mashed potato flakes, as we suggested in the introduction? But enough of that. If you haven’t started cooking the potatoes you do have, slice them thin and make scalloped potatoes or potatoes Anna (they’re richer, so people will eat less; see a cookbook for details).