Home Fry Debate of 1998

Me and my Texas crew used to argue about a variety of important topics--like how to make homefries. I used to boil, then cool, cut, and fry my potatoes. Others (like my friend Mateo) chose the "high impact" method, where the raw potatoes and onions were thrown into a hot skillet, then cooked with a lid on to steam them. The high impact method had the advantage that you could skip a step (boiling the potatoes), and the disadvantage that you had to stand at the stove and monitor the situation. Brief lapses in attention would lead to burned homefries that stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Here's how I roll these days: the potatoes and onions (and in this case, whole cloves of garlic) are chopped and coated with olive oil, salt, and pepper. I then heat up the skillet on the stovetop...


Then pop the whole pan into the oven for 25 to 35 minutes. The potatoes come out great every time, and you don't have to hover over the stove while they cook.