Good morning. Mark Bittman is a freewheeling cook, a minimalist, open to improvisation. His recipes are often set-it-and-forget-it in style. If I were writing his biography, I’d title it “Largely Unattended.”
Kenji López-Alt is the opposite: an exacting, scientifically minded kitchen authority who employs terms like “polysaccharide glue” to explain why, for example, his Parmesan-crusted roasted potatoes (above) are so shockingly crisp and delicious. Kenji’s recipes aren’t difficult, but they do demand attention so that you can achieve outstanding results — in this case, that marvelous, cheesy crunch, like a cross between Italian frico and the crust of a Detroit-style pizza.
Read the recipe a few times before you make it, and then watch him make the dish on our YouTube channel so you’re well acquainted with the process. You’ll see. These are superior potatoes, amazing potatoes, just the dish to accompany a cast-iron steak that, when you’ve come to the end of the cooking process, you should take off the heat and baste in butter, with a healthy sprig of rosemary and a couple of cloves of garlic. Dinner is served.
