Sherry and Sage Spuds

When the weather starts to turn, there is nothing that will warm you to the core like a plate of hot potatoes. These wee tubers braised in sherry will certainly heat your chest cavity and the heady fried sage mayo will surely stick to your ribs.
Hard day at the rat race? This stuff will put you down like a bong rip through apple cider.
If you have a dutch oven, now’s the time to use it. If not, any large pot will do, but remember: the thinner the bottom of the vessel the more you have to watch your potatoes to avoid burning.

Sherry Roasted Pee-Wees

1 lbs. pee-wee potatoes
8 cloves of garlic
2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbs. sherry vinegar
1 cup cheap sherry, divided in half
2 hefty pinches of sea salt
1. Heat your vessel on medium heat while you peel your garlic.
2. Slice the butts off of each clove of garlic, and scrub your potatoes with cold water.
3. Toss the potatoes and garlic into the now warm pot and cover.
4. After five minutes add the olive oil and sherry vinegar, then cover. Keep a watchful eye on these little guys as they roast: stir the pot every four or five minutes or so, but do it quickly so you don’t loose all the steam-heat the potatoes are producing.
5. When the potatoes are just starting to soften, after around 15 minutes, add 1/2 cup of sherry and reduce (to original level), then add the second half cup and re-reduce. Turn heat off, but keep ’em warm. Serve on a slather of fried sage mayo.

Fried Sage Mayo

3 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
12 leaves of fresh sage
1/2 cup Veganaise
1 Tbs. Freshly ground Pepper
1. Heat the olive oil in a small pan on medium high heat while you thinly slice eight of the sage leaves.
2. Throw the sliced sage and the four remaining whole leaves into the hot oil and let sizzle for about three minutes. Deposit the fried sage sections, and any excess oil, into a bowl to chill. Reserve the whole leaves for garnishing.
3. After the oil has cooled, about five minutes, add the veganaise and black pepper to the fried sage and whip to combine.
Beverage: Unibroue’s Le Fin Du Monde
Soundtrack: Brian Eno’s “The Big Ship”