Speaking of potatoes...

I did make the Crisp Roast Potatoes ($$$) out of Cook's Illustrated when I was back home in Baltimore, as I said I would. However, I didn't take any pictures and I kind of screwed it up... of course, you might reasonably ask how one can screw up a recipe with two ingredients and three steps, but I take it as a further demonstration of my mad cooking skillz. In truth, they turned out fine, but I had too many potato slices for the cookie sheet, and instead of using a second cookie sheet or whatever... which would have been the sensible thing, and thus obviously not for me... I just tried to squeeze them onto one sheet, resulting in some double layered potatoes which just didn't brown at all. So I ended up plucking off potatoes as they finished, sending the rest back in as space opened up on the sheet... less than ideal if I was trying to make them as a side dish on a schedule, but since I was just making them to try out the recipe, it worked well from a snacking perspective.

I'm going to try them again soon... maybe this weekend... but this time I'll place the potatoes on the cookie sheet as I cut them, to ensure I don't end up with too many. Further, I didn't really notice the "damaged exterior cells" thing creating extra crispness, so I'll try mixing a little more vigorously.

I'm also considering doing the first few steps (parboiling and vigorous mixing with oil and salt), but finishing on the stove top in a skillet... since I'd really really like some good roasted potatoes that don't take an hour to make. Maybe I'll try that with the "Pommes de Terre Boulangère" recipe from the Times.