Twice-cooked Rosemary Garlic Potatoes

This is a dish that can really compliment any meat, from poultry to steaks, but I think I like it best when served with pork tenderloin...though I didn't see anyone complaining when I served it last year at Thanksgiving with Gabe the turkey. Just saying.

To start, you need to boil the potatoes (as if you were making potato salad) with the skins on. I tend to use red, but in the photo below I used a new and red mixture and it was still good. Meanwhile, while your water is coming to a boil, you want to take an entire head of garlic (two if you're serving a larger group) and divide it into cloves, then place it in a ramekin, pour olive oil generously and coat as generously - if not more so - with sea salt. Roast the garlic for about 10 minutes at 325 degrees, being careful to stir the cloves around and making sure the garlic NEVER burns. Once done, remove it from the oven and set it aside.

And back to the potatoes! Once they are fork-tender and the skin is just starting to flake off, remove them from heat and drain into a colander. After they have cooled a little, you want to mash/smash the potatoes until they are in chunks. This means doing it by hand with an actual potato masher or a fork if you're really tough - a mixer does not enter into this equation at all! Once you have them smashed up, mix them in a large bowl along with a little olive oil, some fresh rosemary sprigs broken up (I tend to use quite a lot), those pre-roasted garlic cloves and a spoonful or two of sour cream. Once the ingredient are all fairly blended, spoon into a pyrex dish or any oven safe cookware (sans lid). Then you want to bake them uncovered at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. I will stir them around at least once, but not more than that since I want the top to get crusty. The time can vary a little, depending upon whether you've had the stove on already, etc. So 40 minutes is the minimum whereas if I am starting with a  cold oven, its taken me closer to an hour.

They're just THAT good.

Again, serve them with what you like - they are a side dish that can go the distance!

- Melissa