The Seven Days of Christmas - Day Three

To accompany your main dish, typically you offer a side dish like a vegetable or salad, and a starch upon which to rest and nestle your thick and juicy pork loin slice or succulent lamb shank.

To decide between pasta, rice or potatoes for a dinner, for me, the choice is easy. One of the easiest things to do is to bake potatoes. One potato per person--that's easy to determine--and they bake at 450F for one hour. They will also sit quietly and patiently in the oven for about 30 minutes. How nice!

Ready for the oven

But how can you elevate the basic and humble baked potato without turning your kitchen into a potato bar with cheese and bacon and such? I treat the potatoes as if they are a lovely roast. Here's what I do.

1. Select baking potatoes that are about the same size. This way they will all be ready at the same time.
2. Scrub and wash the potatoes. Set them aside on a kitchen towel.
3. Preheat the oven to 450F and move one rack to the center.
4. Depending on the number of potatoes, buy or harvest from your garden enough fresh rosemary to mix with coarse sea salt for the rub. I like a one-to-one ratio. If you use one tablespoon of salt, use one tablespoon of chopped fresh rosemary.
5. Using a sharp knife, cut a diagonal pattern on top and bottom of each potato, then put them in a large bowl or platter or baking dish.
6. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle generously with the salt and rosemary mixture. Massage into the potatoes.
7. Put a cooling rack on a baking sheet and place the potatoes on the rack. Make sure there's room for the air to circulate around each potato, and use two baking sheets if you need to.
8. One hour later, the best potato you've ever had.

What's the correct way to serve baked potatoes? Cut lengthwise into the top of each potato and push the potato from both ends. This fluffs up the potato. You won't need salt and pepper, but you will need a generous amount of good butter for each serving, so make sure that you have enough butter for your guests.