Potato crisps

Actually, I'm not really sure what to call these--they're sort of a work in progress. I think of them as potato crisps, although I know that makes them sound like fried chips, which they are not. If you can think of a better name for them after reading this, let me know. These are totally awesome. I made them to go with the pork cutlets and green salad from the other day and I wish I had made about a billion more of them. But like I said, they were sort of an experiment, so I only made a pan's worth for trial purposes. You'll need small, itty-bitty round new potatoes for this. The little teeny red kind would work really well, I suspect. My problem was that my potatoes were a little bit too oblong, so they didn't squish right.

Get as many potatoes as you think your guests will eat. Then get a few more, because these are awesome and will get gobbled up. I had 12 on my baking sheet and about 5 people over for dinner--but like I said, smaller, rounder potatoes would work better for this anyway and you could probably fit more of those on a baking sheet. Get a big pot full of salted water and bring it to a boil. Cook your potatoes whole until they are tender when pressed down on, but are nowhere near falling apart. You'll be cooking them more in the oven and you don't want them to crumble when you smush them, as you'll see. Meanwhile, melt together 2 tablespoons olive oil with 3 tablespoons butter and set aside until your potatoes are ready. When they're softish (mine took about 20 minutes, but the time varies with size), lay them on a baking sheet and lightly press down with the tines of a fork until the potatoes squish and break open under the pressure, but hold their roundish shape. This is why it's important not to over cook them and maybe also to try and get small potatoes that are round in shape. Mine were small but odd-shaped which I think lead to breakage. If they do break, don't fret, just shape them back together as best you can. Through the power of butter, they'll still taste amazing. Anyway, however you can, get your potatoes squished and laid out evenly on a baking sheet.Brush them with the melted olive oil-butter mixture and sprinkle them liberally with salt, pepper, minced parsley and fresh minced chives. Set them to bake in an oven at 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. You'll know they are done when they're golden brown on top and completely irresistible looking.Aren't they cute? They still look like potatoes, except they're delicious.