One potato, two potato, three potato, four… recipes and cooking tricks

WE LOVE POTATOES IN PRETTY MUCH EVERY FORM. If you do too, here are four recipes that each share little potatoey cooking secrets.

Syracuse Salt Potatoes

These salty gems, a traditional favorite in upstate New York, keep it simple. Boil some potatoes in very salty water, drain them, and melt some butter. You can chop a little parsley if you like, but it’s not required. When you drain them, the remaining heat in the potatoes will create the handsome salty crust you see above. You’ll find the embarrassingly easy recipe here.

Quick Skillet Potatoes with Herbs

Microwaving your cut-up potatoes before sautéing them, instead of parboiling them, gets your cooked potatoes to the table faster—and it uses one less pot. You’ll find the quick recipe, some herb suggestions and a link to Mark Bittman’s story about using your microwave to cook fresh foods, not just reheat them right here.

Half-baked Potatoes

Make baked potatoes weeknight quick. Once again, the microwave greatly speeds the cooking, getting your potatoes on the table in half an hour or so. And brushing them with olive oil, then sprinkling them with coarse salt before baking gives them a crispy, delicious skin. Find the recipe here.

Baked Potato Soup

Know what’s missing from many baked potato soup recipes? Baked potatoes! Not so here—a mix of baked and simmered potatoes gives this soup a satisfying texture and real baked potato flavor. You blend some of the soup, but not all, to create a creamy, chunky, satisfying meal. And it’s even better a day or two after you cook it. Get the recipe here.