Three ways to eat leftover salt potatoes

That is, if you are fortunate to have any leftover salt potatoes. Salt potatoes are so insanely delicious that it is wicked easy to get carried away and eat the entire batch.

What are salt potatoes, you may ask? As a native Midwesterner and a fan of all things potato, I thought I knew every way to prepare and consume potatoes. Until I came home to Syracuse, I had never heard of salt potatoes and was puzzled by the salt potato "kits" that I saw for sale in Wegmans (the greatest grocery in the world - just ask Alec Baldwin's mom). Simply put, you boil whole unpeeled small potatoes in heavily salted water, then drain. Serve hot, warm or cold; if you serve hot, smash them and let butter melt over them. For a better explanation and directions, read Foodie With Family's entry on the subject.

Last week I made salt potatoes for dinner (along with sloppy joes) and we did, indeed, have leftovers. Here are the three ways I have enjoyed the leftovers:

1) Cold from the fridge. What a fast, easy snack! Pop open the container, then pop a potato (or a small bite) into your mouth. Chew, sigh, repeat.

2) For lunch one day, I made Crash-Hot Potatoes. How I came upon this delicious recipe was rather convoluted: I first read about them in the aforementioned Foodie With Family blog, who referenced them in the salt potato post. She got the recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks blog, who got the recipe from Australian food writer Jill Dupleix. Thank you, all three of you, because they were delicious.

3) When my mother was visiting a few weeks ago, she cut up leftover salt potatoes into a small pan and quick fried them in butter. I took her method one step further this morning and pan fried the potatoes in bacon fat, added shallots and cremini mushrooms, then topped it with an over-easy egg. A poached egg would also be delicious, but since the pan was already hot it was easier to fry the egg.

So there you have it - salt potatoes and the leftovers we love. If you decide to make salt potatoes, now you have a few ideas regarding the leftovers.