Potato Fest 2006

Rebecca has had Potato Fest all this month. As usual, I am sneaking in just under the wire with my recipe and tips!

Our family loves potatoes. The kids (and husband) like nothing better than mashed potatoes and would probably eat them every single night for supper. Unfortunately for them, they don't get to do that!

My husband is a master potato masher. He calls them "smashed" potatoes. They are smooth and creamy and very good. I didn't realize just how good they are until I had mashed potatoes elsewhere; they were dry and had lumps in them. His are very smooth. A special treat around here is to put ranch dressing in as he mashes the potatoes.

A tip for mashed potatoes for a large crowd? Buy a drywall mud mixer attachment and put it on the end of a drill. Turn the drill on and in less than a minute a large pot of potatoes will be mixed. It takes the fear out of doing mashed potatoes for a large group!

On to a recipe:

My family also loves fries. I have done oven fries for years and we always enjoy them. On Sunday, I served them with gravy and roast beef and that was quite popular - they don't usually get gravy with their fries!

I know this is a common recipe but in case someone hasn't seen it before, here you go.

Slice potatoes into wedges. You can peel them or not, depending on your preference. Toss them with some oil (a tablespoon or two). Oil the pan (I keep some older cookie sheets on hand for potatoes, fish fries, tuna melts, etc so that I don't wreck my newer pans) so the fries don't stick. Bake at 425 for about 10-15 minutes. Turn the wedges over and bake for another 10 minutes or so, until the outside is crispy and the inside is soft. Serve with ketchup, gravy, salt & vinegar or anything else you desire!

This is a fast Friday night supper or can be used at any time. The camp I work at in the summer always has one meal during the week with potato wedges and they are popular with the campers.