dear FN & heston's roasted potatoes

Before I start, I just want to say that British cooking shows on channel 4 are absolutely, hands down, 100% better than the crap we have here on FoodNetwork. Not only are you captivated by the amazing food while your stomach aches in hunger, you actually learn something! You actually learn something about food - where it comes from, how it gets there, why it's prepared a certain way and why ingredients work the way they do.

If it wasn't bad enough that I awoke to Rachael Ray yesterday morning, the first thing I saw when I turned on the TV today is Sunny Anderson - another hellspawn of the network, smiling as she presents a plate of mess that can only be considered pseudofood. On the schedule was a "Yaki-Mandu" that was inspired from her time in South Korea.

Now, if you know anything about Korean history - which a lot of people don't - you'll know that old school Koreans and Japanese don't get along. Now I have nothing against the Japanese, actually - I like them a lot! I even took Japanese 1 my freshman year of college. Long story short, it has to do w/ the invasion and enslavement that Koreans were under by the Japanese in the past. So putting a Japanese word and Korean word together and presenting it as Korean food was the first fault. The second? Yaki means grilled not deep-fried Sunny. It doesn't involve a dutch oven with oil at 350 degrees F to deep fry the dumpling. And lastly:

Quote Sunny Anderson:

"Hoisin is like a Korean version of BBQ sauce."

Way to properly educate America about Asian food guys. With that, I'll stop for today about how much I hate the fake FoodNetwork "chefs". Alton, Giada, Duff, Iron Chefs and Tyler (even though you sold out to AppleBee's), I salut you for keeping alive what little is left of good, food TV.

I was watching Heston Blumenthal's In Search of Perfection the other day and saw his crazy method of achieving the ultimate roast potatoes. It took freaking forever but in the end, I'd say it was worth it. Now, I wouldn't do this everyday - it's definitely reserved for a Sunday lunch - but the results are spectacular. The inside is soft and tender but the outside is crispy and infused with garlic and rosemary. Adding the garlic and rosemary the last 10 minutes of cooking doesn't allow the garlic to overpower the potatoes and really helps bring out that fresh earthy flavor of the rosemary.
Roast Potatoes
Adapted from Heston Blumenthal's In Search of Perfection, Serves 4 as a Side

Ingredients:
- 6 russet potatoes, cut into eigths (Heston uses maris pipers but the russet is the closest I can find)
- 1 sprig of rosemary
- 3 cloves of garlic

1) Peel the potatoes and reserve the potato skins. That's right, don't throw them away. Cut the potatoes into quarters or eigths to preference
2) Add all the potato skins to a cheesecloth and tie together. Bring a salted pot of water along with the potato skins to a boil. We're essentially creating a potato stock.
3) While the water is coming to a boil, run the potatoes under cold water for about 2 minutes to wash away some of the starch.
4) Add the potatoes and boil for 20 - 25 minutes until tender. It's important that they're still somewhat firm. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
5) Drain the potatoes and let it steam by itself a little bit in the colander.
6) Add olive oil to a hot roasting pan and coat the potatoes all over in oil. Season with salt and pepper and once the potatoes have been covered in oil and seasoned, place in the oven for about an hour.
7) In the last 10 minutes of cooking, add in 3 whole cloves of garlic and a sprig of fresh rosemary.
8) Serve warm with a Sunday roast or as a side dish.