Today my taste has become, let’s face it, a bit more grown up and, well, snobby. I still like my plain baked potatoes now and then, but it’s fancy potato soup and flavorful, diced spuds that catch my attention these days. My husband has actually perfected both this year—pretty much just at my request, during Mother’s Day and other holidays—and now his recipes are the ones I prefer to all of the restaurant versions.
His sweet and spicy potatoes are delicious as they are or as a base for potato soup. It’s essentially a simple recipe that yields super high flavor. To make it, you’ll need:
- About a third of a bag of potatoes
- Brown sugar
- Cayenne Pepper
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder (you can use onions, chopped as finely as you like, instead; we just don’t like their texture)
- Sea salt (regular salt works too)
- Black pepper (He uses large flakes, but you can use whatever you like)
- Sour cream, cheese, or anything else you like to taste
I know this isn’t an exact recipe, but he pretty much just wings it every time and it’s fantastic. First, peel and dice up your potatoes into small, bite-sized pieces. We use about a third of a bag of potatoes for a family of four; alter the amount of potatoes according to the number of people in your household.
Caramelize the brown sugar and potatoes in the skillet until they have nice brown edges. They should also be soft in the center when you cut them open; be sure they’re not still raw. Cooking them takes about fifteen to twenty minutes as long as they are diced small enough. Add in all of the rest of the ingredients and continue tasting it until you have the combination you like; add more brown sugar if you want it sweeter, or more cayenne to make it spicier, etc. Then serve them hot with whatever toppings you like.