Soy Glazed Hasselback Potatoes - Cooking for Two

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Hasselback potatoes were part of my childhood. They were served from the German and Swedish kitchens of our neighbors to tart up simple roasts of meat and chicken. They impressed the uninformed and lent a festive air to an otherwise ordinary meal. For years I used a recipe from "The Cooking of Scandinavia" in which peeled and carefully sliced potatoes were doused with butter, then roasted and finished with a sprinkling of crumbs and cheese. Lovely stuff, that! Now that many have become few, I use a version of the potatoes that is perfect for just the two of us. In keeping with our love of all things Asian, we've added soy sauce and a tad of sesame oil to the basting sauce and come up what Bob calls Confused Potatoes. Any tricks? Slicing the potatoes confounds some. You'll need a spoon with a deep, curved bowl that will stop you from completely slicing through the potatoes. A skewer can also be used, but be careful not to stab yourself. Place a peeled potato in the spoon; starting and ending 1/2-inch from the ends, slice down the potato at 1/8-inch intervals being careful not to slice it completely through. If you do slice through, continue smiling - God created toothpicks for a reason. If you're preparing the potatoes well before roasting, place them in a bowl of water to prevent discoloration. They should, of course, be drained and patted dry before roasting. By the way, the potatoes take their name from the Hasselbacken, the restaurant in which they were first served.

Soy Glazed Hasselback Potatoes

Ingredients:
2 (8-oz.) baking potatoes
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
Sea salt

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a pan large enough to hold potatoes without crowding with oil or nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
2) One at a time, peel and slice potatoes. To slice, cradle potato in a spoon. Beginning and ending 1/2-inch from ends, slice potato at 1/8-inch intervals. Do not slice completely through the potato.
3) Combine butter, oil and tamari in a small bowl. Brush potatoes with half of mixture. Bake in center of oven for 30 minutes. Brush remaining mixture over potatoes and continue to bake until potatoes are golden and can be pierced with a knife, about 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with sea salt. Transfer to plates.
Yield: 2 potatoes.