On Christmas night, I had the immense pleasure of preparing dinner with my family (my mother and brother in the trenches with me, my father saving our asses all night by standing at the sink in full-on dishwashing mode). In planning the meal, my mom's good idea was to go with some relatively simple dishes that wouldn't exhaust us, seeing as though we would finish cooking the Christmas brunch only several hours prior to dinner preparation (smart, Mama, smart!). I did feel dedicated to trying something new, though, which is how we ended up using this recipe for potatoes Anna.
I had scratched down the details on a piece of paper over the Thanksgiving weekend, and I planned on being thrilled out of my mind if it was actually as simple as it seemed. The dish is, honestly, even easier than I imagined, and, more importantly, it's crazy good. My mom's first comment was "how is this so creamy?!," which is the most crucial thing about this dish that appears so, well, crispy. The inside is, indeed, feathery yet creamy, elegant but comforting. The outside is crunchy and brazen, like the best homemade potato chips. This is the whole point, of course -- for the potatoes to surprise their audience by showing off all their abilities and talents in this one very rustic dish.
As long as you have the patience to slice the potatoes very thinly, and as long as you are steady and precise with the inversion at the end, everything will go swimmingly for you. Even if you don't get the inversion exactly right (I certainly did not, as you'll see from the picture!), it will still taste good, and that is the most important part. It is the perfect accompaniment to a meat-based meal (we paired it with beef tenderloin and prosciutto-wrapped green bean bundles), and a very nice way to impress even your fussiest guests. The thing about potatoes Anna is that, well, it makes potatoes sexy again (assuming, of course, that potatoes ever were sexy).
If you're curious about details, I'll tell you that potatoes Anna was born in 19th century Victorian France during the time of Napoleon III, and was named after one of the grandes cocottes of the time. I love this, because cocotte nowadays means both prostitute and casserole dish, thereby making it the perfect name. In my mind, however, I have made an addendum to the description. I refer to it not only as a grande cocotte of the culinary world, but also the ultimate grande coquette (flirt). Sexy, yet modest. Seductive, yet honest. Anna, I must say: you are a lovely girl. You can come over to my house any time -- I'll have the potatoes ready for you.
Potatoes Anna
5-8 large Yukon Gold potatoes (approx. 1 per person)
2 T butter, melted
olive oil (flavored olive oil works really well for this -- I used a combination of regular extra virgin olive oil and garlic olive oil -- just make sure you use good oils, because you will really taste them in this dish!)
1 or 2 t. kosher salt
ground pepper
fresh rosemary or thyme
Preheat oven to 450.
Generously apply cooking spray to entire interior of a 10" or 12" cast iron skillet (size depends on how many potatoes you are using -- you can also alter this recipe to any other size of skillet).
Using the sharpest knife you have, slice potatoes as thinly as you can without cutting all your fingers off. If you have a mandoline, you can use this, but I went about it the old fashioned way. Aim for at least 1/8" thicknesses, thinner if you can. Reject the end pieces, and don't be too sad if your slices aren't all perfect. As long as they are very thin, it doesn't matter if they aren't all identical. You'll want to reserve the most perfect slices for the bottom layer (as this will, upon inversion, become the top).
Drizzle the melted butter into the skillet on top of the spray oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the butter. Place potato slices into the prepared skillet, overlapping slightly and continuing into the middle. Drizzle olive oil and then sprinkle salt, pepper, and herbs on top. Repeat until potatoes are gone, but aim for at least four layers.
Cook potatoes on med-high heat for 6 minutes. Resist all urges to poke, prod, or inspect them! They will be fine without you.
Cover with foil and put in the oven on the bottom rack. Cook for 20 minutes.
Remove foil and cook another 20 minutes on the middle rack. Again, try not to touch them or worry about them!
Remove skillet from oven and let it rest five minutes or so. Slide a knife around the edges. Carefully and quickly invert onto a large plate. If your inversion isn't perfect, try not to be too sad! They will still be delicious. If it looks a little too dark, just reduce the initial stovetop time to 4 or 5 minutes. (My dad loves things burnt and crispy, so I erred on the dark side for him, but feel free to adjust cooking times to suit your guests' preferences.) Slice into wedges and serve.
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