Am I the only one who’s ever made a recipe, and you know while you’re doing it that you’re doing it wrong? That was this recipe for me… Though I’m not calling it a “recipe blooper” per se, just a case of chef error. As in, my error.
Allow me to explain.
The recipe for these is actually pretty simple. Slice, steam, coat, bake, serve. I mean, who can’t do that? Apparently me. First, I over-steamed the potatoes (and the recipe calls for really long steam, to begin with) because I forgot to set the kitchen timer. That’s ok, and it just means the potatoes won’t be pretty, not that they’re inedible. Then, while I was making the herb coating for the potatoes, I saw it required one tablespoon of salt. I knew when I looked at it that it seemed like a lot of salt for only 2.5 pounds of potatoes. I said to myself, “Self, there’s no way this requires 1 full tablespoon of salt. No way.” So what did I do? I threw in most of a tablespoon of salt anyway. Why? I can’t even really say.
Then, to top it all off, the recipe called for me to put the potatoes in a bowl and stir them in the marinade. Again, when I saw that, I thought, “wouldn’t it be easier if I just put it on the sheet pan and drizzled the coating on, then mixed it?” Yet, for some reason, I slammed it all in the smallest bowl possible and attempted to stir it… With a small spoon. Again, I have no clue why. I knew when I did it that it was dumb, yet I gave it a shot anyway.
Yes, I did think better of it, and I poured the mixture onto the pan to finish tossing it, but the
the damage was done. I slightly mashed some of my overly salted, overly steamed potatoes. My big silver lining was that I looked at the photos of the potatoes I got at Tusker House, and I saw that the potatoes as served there when I went were also a little mushed… So at the very least, some poor sous chef that day tried to make sense of the same recipe I tried and made the same stupid mistakes. It’s nice to feel like some hapless person at the Disney kitchens is prone to the same mistakes I am.
Despite what’s clearly chef-error in these potatoes (I blame the recipe a little, but a whole tablespoon of salt? I knew better), I have to say they were still super good. Yes, they were a bit salty, yes, they were a bit mushed… But with less salt, less mush, more crunch, I have to say the flavor is almost the same. For obsessed with finding Disney potato recipes, and many people are, this is a definite must-add to the recipe collection. And it smells amazing while it’s baking! Even with the salt issue, my mouth did the “oh my goodness, these are Tusker House potatoes” dance… And a good Disney food memory is one of the best things in the world.
I truly can’t wait to take another stab at these because, despite my issues, these are fast, easy, and one of those wonderful side dishes that dress up for nicer main dishes and dress down for the more hearty mea
Ingredients
- 1 pack of dry garlic and herb soup mix
- 2 tablespoons of minced garlic, sautéed
- 8 small red potatoes for roasting, cleaned and cut into wedges
- 1 tablespoon of canola oil
- 16 ounces of broccoli
- 1 cup of cubed ham, cooked
Instructions
- Open your Garlic Shaker®. Toss an entire head of garlic into it. Close the lids. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Open a lid. Pour out the peeled garlic cloves.
- In a large skillet, cook the potatoes in oil over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Add the broccoli, ham, garlic, and dry soup mix.
- Reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid and cook for about 20 – 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
- Transfer into a serving dish and serve while warm.
- Number of Servings: 4 servings of garlic roasted red potatoes with ham.
The recipe does not sound anything like the one described or pictured???