Red Skin Potato

Make a double batch because you’re sure to want leftovers—this makes a great lunch the next day.

I love mashed potatoes as much as the next person, but most recipes take a long time—and a lot of elbow grease—to make. So I smash the unpeeled, cooked potatoes with a fork to save time, and I add olive oil and Parmesan cheese to make them rich and velvety. And that’s it!

I like to mix different types of potatoes for this, my all-time favorite roasted potato recipe. The only extra time it takes is at the market, for the cashier to price a different item. Use whichever varieties you find or prefer, and serve this as a side to nearly any meat or fish dish. And it’s just as easy for a crowd as it is for two people.

Top oven fries with the works—tender beef, broccoli, brown gravy, and a bit of blue cheese. You can use leftover roast beef, such as part of the extra Tuscan Braised Beef (page 172), or buy the lowest-fat, lowest-sodium cooked beef you can find.

Here’s a warm version of the popular French salade niçoise. Très bien!

One kind of roasted potato is good, and two kinds are doubly delicious. This recipe is twice as good in another way, too: You get roasted potatoes for today and a start on German or Mexican Potato Salad (pages 80, 81) for later.

Make this creamy potato salad wild or mild, depending on your family’s preference. Starting with already-cooked Roasted Red and White Potatoes (page 278) cuts your time in the kitchen to almost nothing!

Making potato salad is a great way to use leftover Roasted Red and White Potatoes (page 278). This version uses caraway seeds and hot mustard for a German slant.

After The Biggest Loser Season 6 finale, I went to dinner at a steakhouse with some of the contestants and Alison Sweeney’s husband, Dave. We were all, of course, trying to order healthy, but it was definitely a challenge. I wound up getting a grilled chicken breast with salsa and “potato smashers.” I was expecting lumpy mashed potatoes. Instead, I was served something similar to this yummy potato . . . only it was doused in more butter than all of us combined had probably eaten in years. But it was so simple, and even tastier with just a small amount of light butter, that I knew I had to include it here.

I love using tiny potatoes and baby carrots, which makes this recipe insanely easy. That said, sometimes tiny potatoes cost a minor fortune. If that’s the case, save money by using larger boiling potatoes. You’ll have to spend time cutting them into cubes, but it might make sense. You don’t have to use the nonstick foil here if you have a really good nonstick roasting pan, but it makes cleanup almost nonexistent, so I swear by it.

Gina: Green beans and new potatoes, simmered with some type of pork fat, are a classic Southern combination. This dish is one we both grew up on, and when we cook it at home, the smoky aroma of these simmering vegetables instantly transports us to our mothers’ kitchens. There are few flavors more satisfying to any Southerner than the taste of tender new potatoes and green beans that have absorbed the salty, porky goodness of a smoked ham hock.

Gina: Wow, life sure has a way of kicking you in the stomach when you least expect it. Ladies, I am sure you will understand what I’m talking about. You know that person who’s been in your life all along and you’ve never really seen him? That’s how it was with Pat and me. His mom and my mom went to school together, his brothers and my sisters were classmates, and, yes, you guessed it, we went to the same high school. . . . Sometimes the best things in life are right in front of you (if you keep your eyes open). That’s how I feel about my mom’s potato salad. She always made it for us when we were kids, but I didn’t truly appreciate it until I moved away. What is it they say about absence and the heart? That’s when I knew I had to master this recipe on my own. The first time I prepared it for Pat, he recognized that this was one apple that hadn’t fallen far from the tree. This potato salad remains a standout at all of our big family gatherings. Even if Mom can’t make it to an event, her potato salad will always be there! I think the creamy red potatoes, sweet-pickle relish, and sharp yellow mustard give this salad a distinct flavor and an appetizing color. Pat loves the richness that the big chunks of hard-boiled egg provide (and the way a little sugar brings out the flavors of the other ingredients).

Pat: My brothers and I have always been good eaters. As you can imagine, this meant a lot of work for our momma—feeding five hungry boys was no easy task. We all played football, and would come home after practice absolutely ravenous, ready to eat everything in the house. Lucky for us, she specialized in hearty dishes like spaghetti, lasagna, pot roast—and this rich stew. Packed with vegetables, tender beef, and a savory broth, it managed to satisfy my brothers and me . . . at least for a few hours. When the first fall chill sets in, I find myself drawn back to Momma’s cooking, so this stew remains a Neely staple (these days, however, we make it with more red wine). It’s a great weekend recipe, when you’ve planned a day of projects around the house, because it requires only a bit of up-front work—then you get to enjoy the intoxicating smell of the stew as it simmers. Although I live in a home with three girls, don’t be fooled: They hold their own when it comes to projects and this stew (they can polish off plenty of both). As Gina says, “Everyone has an inner pig that needs to be set free once in a while.”

For this dish I prefer luganega, a thin (about 1/2-inch-wide) pork sausage seasoned only with salt and pepper and without fennel or other seeds. If that is unavailable, use the wider (about 1-inch-thick) sweet pork sausages, preferably made without aromatic seeds of any kind. Cut the smaller luganega into 1-inch lengths, and the wider sausages into 1/2-inch lengths. When I cook a whole chicken, or any chicken on the bone, I always salt it three times: in its raw state, when I first begin to cook it, and as it finishes cooking. It seems that the first two saltings are absorbed and somewhat dissipated, especially if you add more ingredients as the chicken cooks. The last salting should be to balance the whole act. Each time you salt, it should be done judiciously, to avoid oversalting and ruining the dish.

Here’s a hipster menu for urbanites or just hep hicks from the sticks like me.

This is a gut bustingly delicious twist on steak and bakers.

I know, I know, you’re exhausted. Well, let me tell you, this stew is easy to make, is good for you, and has a big satisfying flavor. You’ll be slurping away in front of the TV before you know it . . . and then you can go to bed, early, like your mom always said you should.