Too Many Baked Potatoes?

During this virus pandemic, I forgot about a 10-pound bag of red potatoes I bought and stored under the sink.  By the time I remembered them, mold had struck, and there was a puddle of ick at the bottom of the storage basket. 

Some of the potatoes were goners, but others were only partly affected.  These are the ones that I performed surgery on.  Bad parts went directly to the garbage disposal, while edible portions went into the sink for further cleaning.  Nine potatoes survived.  I stuck skewers through them and baked them in a 400-degree oven for an hour, not knowing what I would do when they were ready to eat.  When they cooled off, I put them in the fridge and waited for inspiration.

This happened yesterday.  Today inspiration came in the form of a telephone call from my lifelong friend Lynne, who used to work in a test kitchen.  Lynne knows everything there is to know about food.  When I explained my problem and asked her how I should use up the baked potatoes, she had a ready answer—“Fry them.”  She told me she used to bake extra potatoes so she could cut them into cubes and make home-fries.  “They cook really quickly,” she told me.

She was right.

Mom’s Home-Fries – serves 2

2 medium baked potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch cubes

1 tablespoon olive oil + more if needed

Salt

Black pepper

Begin heating a cast iron or heavy-duty frying pan over high heat.  Add the oil and continue heating until it is very hot.  Flick a small amount of water into the pan, and if it sizzles the pan is ready.

Gently transfer the cut potatoes into the pan and let fry for about 1 minute.  Turn the potatoes over with a spatula and cook for another minute.  Continue the process until the potatoes are golden brown and have begun to get crispy--less than 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat and serve at once with salt and black pepper.

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