Spicy Garlicky Potato Wedges

Spicy Garlicky Potato Wedges

I really wanted to make a new baked potato recipe the other night, but the only one I saw interesting involved new potatoes with the skins on. But alas, I only had Russet potatoes in the house. But I thought what the heck, a potato is a potato, right? So I made wedgies out of the potatoes instead. And with my never-ending love of garlic, I just had to add that into the mix. And then I thought a little spicy kick would be nice, so in went the cayenne. Since I didn’t have the potato skins all around the potatoes, I figured I needed some kind of coating on it besides the olive oil. I came across another potato recipe that used cornstarch. I thought “What the heck, I’ll try that!” Besides, I knew cornstarch can be used for a variety of purposes besides thickening your egg drop soup. Heck, just the other day my feet were sticking to the bottoms of my dress sandals and went looking for baby powder. Since I couldn’t find any, I used cornstarch instead! I can be very resourceful.

We ate these yummy potatoes with some grilled T-Bone steak and salad. Oh my, what a great meal.

Spicy Garlicky Potato Wedges

3 to 4 medium Russet potatoes, cut into wedges
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
5 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb Blend
Lots and lots of black pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or less or none if you don’t like spicy)
Grated Parmesan cheese

Baking Potato Wedges

Boil the potatoes for about 30 minutes. Drain and let cool until you can handle them. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cut the potatoes into thick wedges. In a large bowl, add the olive oil and garlic. Now in another bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients well. One at a time, add each wedge gently in the oil and garlic and roll around to coat, Make sure you press in some of the garlic into the potato. Lay each wedge in a single layer on an oil-sprayed foil-covered baking sheet. Using your fingers, sprinkle the cornstarch mixture onto each wedge, turning and sprinkling more to coat and rubbing in a bit. This can get a bit messy at this point. Just for good measure, I used some spray olive oil to coat lightly one last time. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until golden-browned. Delightfully crispy outside, and nice and fluffy on the inside. At the last minute I sprinkled on a bit of grated real Parmesan cheese after I took them out of the oven. That’s optional but it’s a nice addition. They were a little on the spicy side, but some sour cream on the side helped mellow it out.

p.s. I snuck a bit of sea salt onto the top of the potatoes before putting in the oven. I mean really, these just called out for some salt. I do try to cook salt-free for hubby, but what the heck. Every once in a while he even eats fast food… 😉