Meat and Per-taters

Pot roast. We'd seen something about on television recently, or perhaps it just came up in conversation one day. Whatever the reason, DucCat became entranced with the thought of making ourHIS own pot roast. After looking over a few recipes, he coddled together his own adaptation, and left the roast to while away the hours in the oven.

Frankly, I was a bit suspicious, as pot roast was a since-childhood hated food. However, when I came into the house at the end of the day, the scent that greeted me was full of juicy, slow-cooked love. I followed that demi-glace train right into the kitchen, and stole a little French bread dip. Heavenly.

Consider me converted... now, I just wish that he had written down the recipe!



A few days later, with the temperatures racing back up towards the seventies, it was time for the flipside: steak and potatoes.

While DucCat wrestled with charcoal, fire, and thick slabs of meat, I began boiling the potatoes for a recipe discovered in a recent issue of Food & Wine. The method is one that was supposed to assure a very crunchy exterior, while maintaining the soft interior from boiling. Once they'd cooled, I chopped them into wedges, drizzled rather generously with olive oil and salt, and set them in a hot oven.

That gave me just enough time to make a wild mushroom sauce for the steak. Just as DucCat came in with a platterful of perfectly grilled steaks, the sauce was done, and the potatoes were coming out of the oven. Don't you just love an evening that ends in perfect harmony?

The original recipe calls for a romesco sauce to be served on the potatoes, but I wanted to keep it simple.

Crunchy Potato Wedges

4 pounds medium Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed
salt
¾ cup evoo

Preheat oven to 425.
In a large heavy pot, cover potatoes with water, and bring to a boil. Add a large pinch of salt and cook over moderately high heat until just tender when pierced with a knife, about 25 minutes.
Drain, and let cool slightly. Peel potatoes, and cut into wedges.
Transfer the potatoes to 2 large rimmed baking sheets. Drizzle with ¼ cup plus 2 Tablespoons olive oil, turning to coat. Season with salt and pepper.
Roast the potatoes for 40 minutes, until the potatoes are browned and crisp.

Food & Wine February 2006