Garlic Studded Potatoes

Sunday was my very first Mother's Day. I don't think I ever realized how amazing mommy-hood would be, and how much I would love being a Mom. It is so crazy how much life changes after you become a parent. You have certain expectations, fears, and ideas about what it will look like, and what your child will be like, and once you become a parent it all changes. Some fears are now silly to you, and others more real. Those expectations change, not because you have lowered them, but because you realize that your child is unique, and just because you EXPECTED them to sleep through the night by now, does not mean they will. To me, being a mom has been the greatest experience I could ever imagine. It is so funny how the smallest things can make your heart melt.

Yesterday Emory blew me a kiss, and it made my heart so full of joy it was unreal! Everyday Emory is a reminder to me of how good God is to me and Toby. He has blessed us with so much, and I felt so special on Sunday ( I mean a whole day dedicated to us mom's, who wouldn't love that!). Since we had church in the morning, we decided to do a Mother's day dinner instead of a brunch. I wanted to make something special, but not too heavy, and these garlic studded potatoes were simply amazing. All of the ingredients are fresh and simple, but together create a beautiful and delicious side dish. You take some small red potatoes, and make a dozen or so slices along the length of the potato, without slicing completely through, creating a potato, that when cooked fans out and makes for a fun presentation. 

You can stud the potatoes with anything you like, we love garlic, and since you cut the garlic in razor thin slices, the garlic become more of a soft taste as oppose to having a spicy bite. I wanted to keeps our nice and fresh (for some reason I have been obsessed with using lemon's in my cooking and baking lately, because I love the way that it really makes things fresh), so I grated some fresh parmesan, and lemon zest on the potatoes as soon as they came out of the oven. 

Garlic Studded Potatoes

If lemon and chives is not your thing, you can stud the potatoes in anything you like. Fresh thyme and rosemary would be really good, and you can also add some crushed red pepper flakes into the garlic mixture to add some spice. You can use any small (non-starchy) potato for this, just keep in mind, the larger the potato, the starchier it gets.

Serves 4-6

8-10 smallish red or purple potatoes

6 large cloves of garlic, sliced into razor thin rounds

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

A couple pinches of salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper

2-3 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan

zest of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped or snipped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash and dry the potatoes, and cut each potato into very thin crosswise slices (refer to picture) only cutting 80 percent of the way through, making sure to keep the potatoes intact. 

Toss the garlic, olive oil, and a couple of pinches of salt in a small bowl. Tuck one garlic slice into each slice of potato, and rub any remaining olive oil over the outside of the potatoes. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet, or place in a baking dish, and sprinkle with salt. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes, the uncover and bake for another 20 minutes, or until fork tender and golden color. 

As soon as potatoes come out of oven, sprinkle with parmesan, chives and lemon zest!