All things being equal, how do you like your potato?

Baked? Mashed? Scalloped? Twice-baked? Something else?

I find nothing more delicious than perfectly flavored mashed potatoes. All other things being equal, I generally prefer them mashed. And with certain meals (fried chicken or steak) I find mashed potatoes to be a near necessity.

Jeff

Man, another tough question. I like potatoes just about any way they can be cooked. I love them mashed, baked, au gratin, fried, and roasted. I guess I'd have to say that good french fries might just edge out the mashed and au gratin variants, but it's a very tough call.

On my plate.

But seriously, depends on what they're being served with.

Steak and baked. Roast beef and mashed. Ham and escalloped. Burger and fries (or home fires, mmm), eggs and fried, spaghetti and - oh wait...

I find nothing more delicious than perfectly flavored mashed potatoes.

But the question is what makes it 'perfectly flavored' for you? Butter? Olive oil? Cream? Milk? Salt? Pepper?

Roasted would probably be my favorite for at home, because of the fun crunch and the way it sops up other juices on the plate.

For those same reasons, french fries are always fun when done reasonably well. But I don't make them at home so that's strictly a dining out thing.

[David M. Bueker]

Mashed or roasted in duck fat.

Roasted in duck fat.

I find nothing more delicious than perfectly flavored mashed potatoes.

But the question is what makes it 'perfectly flavored' for you? Butter? Olive oil? Cream? Milk? Salt? Pepper?

That's a good question. I wish I had a good answer. My guess is that in most cases it is primarily the butter that is the focal component for me. Definitely some salt as well but it doesn't need to be overpowering. When it comes to the greatest examples I've had in restaurants, I've never thought to ask how they prepared them. I just savor and enjoy.

I also love fresh rolls glazed in butter on the outside, where I don't need to add any butter with a knife. For me, a "perfect" roll is one that tastes of butter without the need to physically add any.

Jeff

My guess is that in most cases it is primarily the butter that is the focal component for me. Definitely some salt as well but it doesn't need to be overpowering. When it comes to the greatest examples I've had in restaurants, I've never thought to ask how they prepared them. I just savor and enjoy.

Yes, I think most restaurants lean very heavily on the butter when preparing mashed potatoes. And that's certainly the way I learned to make them. Until a Spanish friend laughed at me for being too influenced by Northern Europe as he suggested I try olive oil. These days I don't really make mashed potatoes so the fat-of-choice debate doesn't matter.

Would you duck fat roasted potatoes folks use that in mashed potatoes as well?

[David M. Bueker]

No - mashed potatoes require butter.

Nope - so many better things to do with duck fat!

(For mashed potatoes, there's always the black truffle butter that D'Artagnan sells...)

Baked, mashed, fried, oven-fried, au-gratin, escalloped, roasted with chops or meat loaf - I don't really have a favorite.

About the only way I don't really like 'em is boiled.

About the only way I don't really like 'em is boiled.

My wife loves boiled potatoes but I fail to get excited about them, even the really high-quality examples. I usually reach for some sort of condiment in that case.

[Robin Garr]

Pretty much any way, as others have said, but I'm going to throw in a variation that I don't think has been mentioned yet: Potato pancakes/latkes/hash browns, in each case made with coarsely grated potato and onion. I like potatoes any way, but those crispy goodies are the one form that will bring me back eagerly for more and more.

Love potatoes any way. Favorite is Yukon Gold, baked, with olive oil on the skin, and lightly salted. A bit of Worcestershire drizzled over the top, sometimes a tad of butter.
Now, Japanese sweet potatoes, must be rubbed in organic coconut oil, a little salt and baked to perfection. Then split, mashed a bit and eaten.....nothing else required.

Then there are roasted potatoes with red and orange bell peppers, onion and lots of garlic....or

top pick, julienned and fried. But oh, so calorie laden and contraindicated for the training triathlete (except in limited amounts) so I don't often eat fries these days.

All, except potato salad that people put pickles or hot peppers in.

Baked, then stuffed with cheese and bacon then baked again. Needless to say, I have not had one of these twice-baked spuds in years which is why I'm still alive.

1) Roasted alongside meat, dark and crusty crisp on outside.
2) Chipped, double fried.. (i.e. chunky not those tiny thin frenched fries) and made from fresh potato. Not frozen chips and not frozen oven bake.
3) Sauteed, especially a la Lyonnaise, i.e. with onions
4) Boiled whole, very small.
5) Wedges that have been baked first then fried

Sorry but I loathe mash and double especially loathe when made slimy with the addition of butter cream or anything. Jacket potato is marginally less worse that mash. Less said about potato salad the better.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

* squished baby potatoes http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/village/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=39854&p=328968&hilit=squished+baby#p328968
* braised fingerlings http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/village/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=23597&p=202323&hilit=braised+fingerling#p202015
* roasted in olive oil with garlic cloves and rosemary
* roasted in duck fat
* Arowhon Pines' potato, leek and onion gratin http://www.myspeakerscorner.com/forum/index.phtml?fn=2&tid=25452&mid=212074
* gratin Savoyard (from Julia Child's Art of French Cooking) - scalloped potatoes with cheese cooked with beef broth instead of milk
* baked with butter, salt and pepper (eat out the filling, then eat the crunchy skin with more butter salt & pepper)

More or less in order. I've probably forgotten several (like a good French-style potato salad)

What Peter May said.

[Jenise]

Hard as it is to pass up a beautifully made mashed potato that's been lavished with good butter, my #1 potato is the hashed brown. And I don't mean what lazy restaurants call 'hashed browns' which is just chunks of potatoes pan fried or oven roasted from raw--those are generally awful. I mean the real deal, and these steps MUST be followed: whole potato steamed or boiled till half done, skin removed, flesh grated and then the pile moved into a hot pan and flattened down to about 3/4" thick with the back of a spatula and cooked with enough oil to brown the potatoes on both sides after turning once. The delicate crunch of the crusty surface of the potatoes cooked this way has no equal. It's part baked potato and part french fry along with something better that neither has.

And second place for me would be potato salad, but not just any, my own version heavy with celery, chopped jalapenos and dill like the one I served with Sunday's lobster lunch.

How do I like potatoes? Yes!

About the only way I don't really like 'em is boiled.

My wife loves boiled potatoes but I fail to get excited about them, even the really high-quality examples. I usually reach for some sort of condiment in that case.

Things to do with boiled potatoes:
--split them and top with a mix of yoghurt, chives and horseradish, or yoghurt and minced Moroccan-style preserved lemons.

--peel and quarter them. Mix a can of tuna in olive oil with minced shallots, mustard, sherry vinegar, lemon juice, chopped parsley or lovage, and salt. (Doesn't really work with tuna packed in water.) Toss the potatoes in it.

--peel and chop them coarsely. In a non-stick fry pan, heat some duck fat or olive oil and butter, with a generous amount of chopped fresh rosemary or thyme. Add some lardons or finely chopped carnitas or chopped shitake mushrooms. Add the potatoes on top in a single layer. Brown on that side, then flip and brown the other, salting and peppering to taste.