Scandinavian Spuds

Plum Pudding Murder

## Ingredients

* 12 baking potatoes, about 4 inches long and 2 inches wide
* 2 Tablespoons softened butter ***(¼ stick, 1 ounce)***
* 8 Tablespoons melted salted butter ***(1 stick, 4 ounces, ¼ pound)***
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 Tablespoons dried crumbled basil ***(I used Spice Island sweet basil)***
* 1 teaspoon paprika
* 4 Tablespoons bread crumbs ***(I used the flavored kind)***
* 8 Tablespoons cold salted butter ***(1 stick, 4 ounces, ¼ pound)***

## Directions

* Choose a bowl large enough to hold all the potatoes and fill it with cold water. Add a teaspoon of salt and a squirt of lemon juice in the water. Set it on your counter and...
* Peel a potato, rinse it off, and find a wooden spoon or serving spoon that will cradle the peeled potato almost halfway up its sides. Put the spoon on the bunched up towel on the counter so it won't roll from side to side, and nestle the potato inside. Turn the spoon sideways so that the long side of the potato faces you. Start about half-inch from the end and slice straight down in quarter-inch intervals, stopping a half-inch from the other end of the potato. The bowl of the spoon will stop your knife from cutting through the potato all the way so that it's only partially sliced. Drop the partially sliced potato in the cold water so that it won't discolor and start in on the next one.

**Hannah's Note: The peeling and slicing of the potatoes can be done several hours in advance as long as you store them in cold, salted water in the refrigerator.**

**If you do slice all the way through a potato, don't worry. Just bump the two pieces tightly together in your baking pan when the time comes and no one will be the wiser.**

* One hour and tend minutes before you want to serve your potatoes, preheat your oven to 425°F, rack in the middle position.
* Once your oven comes up to temperature, the potatoes will take about one hour from start to finish.
* Choose a baking pan that will hold all of your potatoes in a single layer. If you don't have one that large, use two smaller ones.
* Use the 2 Tablespoons of softened butter to coat the inside of your baking pan. ***(If you have a pretty one that can be carried to the table, by all means use it!)***
* Take the potatoes out of the water and pat them dry with paper towels. Place them in the buttered pan, cut side up in a single layer.
* Drizzle the melted butter over the tops of the potatoes and sprinkle on the salt.
* Sprinkle the Scandinavian Spuds with sweet basil and paprika.
* DO NOT sprinkle on the bread crumbs yet.
* Place your pan in a 425°F oven, UNCOVERED, and set your timer for 30 minutes.
* When the time is up, take your pan out of the oven and sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top of your potatoes ***(the slices will have spread out a bit so some will go between the slices).***
* Melt the cold stick of butter. Drizzle it over the top of the breadcrumbs.
* Slip your pan back into the oven, uncovered, for and additional 25 minutes.
* Test your potatoes to make sure they're done by spearing one gently with a fork. If it shows no resistance, take the pan out of the oven and let the potatoes cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Yield: 12 potatoes.

***You can cut this recipe in half, of course. Or you can double if you've invited Mike to your Christmas Eve dinner. He's been known to eat three on occasion.***