Hasselback Potatoes

I got a lot of comments on these potatoes that I served on Christmas so I thought I better post the recipe. I made them once before for our Bratney Christmas party but never posted the recipe for some reason. Bruce and I went back to Boise last month for the Boise Bratney Companies Christmas party and one of the wives mentioned these potatoes that I served years ago. So, you can see, they really make an impression on people.  I hosted that Christmas party 4 years in a row and people still talk about it. I really looked forward to doing that each year, it was really special. There is nothing like relaxing and enjoying other's company in the comforts of one's home and I loved hosting. Now, I'm hosting my family instead so I still get to do it but I could tell when we went back for this year's party, that they missed it. After I got home and started planning our Christmas dinner menu, I decided to make these potatoes again. Just for fun, I planned the menu so the food was Christmas colors so I used red potatoes and sprinkled some chopped chives on top right before serving. My brother brought first course which was a squash soup - so delicious...

and second course was the caprese salad that I recently posted.

It was fun serving everyone as they sat in the dinning room, taking the individual plates out like a restaurant.  I used two tables side-by-side again since there were 15 people this year and this fit better in the dinning room than one long table. 

It was very comfortable for everyone and worked well. 

And, as the tradition continues, each place setting had a little bag of almond roca with your name on it so each person knew where to sit.

(They were easily removed and set aside as the meal began and food started coming out)

The rest of the menu was the mustard crusted beef tenderloin,  brussel sprouts with mustard sauce that go really well with the meat recipe, our traditional red raspberry gelatin salad and the Hasselback potatoes. I cheat on the rolls and use the Rhodes frozen dough that taste just like homemade and everybody loves them.  I brush them with melted butter and sprinkle a few sesame seeds on top (or poppy seeds) to make them look even more homemade.  My mom used this dough for rolls and whenever I do, someone always asks me "Are these homemade?"  I always hate to tell them the truth. I rather they think that I worked for hours in the kitchen mixing the dough, waiting for it to raise, etc. I like making bead but not when I have so much other stuff to prepare for a holiday meal.  And really, rolls are such a minor part of the meal, unlike desert...

that my sister brought which was a gingerbread theme.  It included Lebkuchen cookies that are a traditional German gingerbread cookie that her family loves and gingerbread cake (with lots of whipped cream, of course!)

Dessert really hit the spot to end a perfect Christmas dinner.  But of course, we couldn't end there.  The next day, my niece and her family drove up from Portland so I offered to host another get-together.  This time we baked Costco frozen lasagna, my sister brought salad, and my nephew brought garlic bread for a perfect, simple meal. (You can see my plate is mostly salad, at this point...)

This night was about enjoying the company, not so much the food, so we had it buffet style which also works out well, similar to our "mini Thanksgiving".

For dessert, I put out all the Christmas cookies which we still had plenty of

and my niece also brought some that her family makes.

I was still making my Holiday Moscow Mules

 and my sister-in-law made her speciality drinks, dirty martinis.

I had never had one before and got a good education on martini drinks this night.

This dinner was equally as fun as Christmas dinner with just a few more people.

The lasagna actually hit the spot after a rich, meaty meal the night before.  No one complained... simple meals and simple touches to food can go a long way without a lot of effort to make a memorable evening.  That's my belief and what I always strive for, to make for an experience that people will remember.   The food is my part that challenges me to accomplish this.  It's a challenge I love to face and a challenge others love to test.  What could be a better match?  

To make Hasselback potatoes, cut slits in the potatoes, leaving the bottom intact.  Cut the slits, stopping just before you cut through so the slices stay connected at the bottom of the potato.  You can rest the potato in a large serving spoon and use that as a guide for when to stop slicing - slice straight down and when your knife hits the edge of the spoon, stop slicing.

1.  Heat oven to 425 degrees.

2.  Arrange the potatoes in a baking dish or cookie sheet with sides.  

3.  Drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4. Bake for 30 minutes. At this point, the layers will start to separate. Remove from the oven and again, drizzle with melted butter. you can nudge the layers apart if they're still sticking together. Make sure some of the butter drips down into the space between the slices.

5.  Bake for another 30 to 40 minutes, until the potatoes are crispy on the edges and easily pieced in the middle with a fork. 

When done, they will be crispy on the outside and soft on the inside which makes them so delicious.  They must be served straight from the oven while the edges are the crispiest. 

Some recipes include sprinkling the potatoes with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese which is also another version you can try. This is a Swedish recipe and can be considered the Swedish version of a baked potato.  A restaurant in Stockholm started this recipe where they were first served.