Page 56 of Sex On A Plate

FOIL POTATOES

DIFFICULTY: Slice. Heat. Eat.

TIME: 40 minutes

What you’ll need from the cupboard: A cookie sheet and a sharp knife. A large mixing bowl. A serving platter. A spatula with a sharp edge.

What you’ll need from the pantry: A head of garlic. 2 sticks of salted butter. Salt. Pepper. 2-3 large potatoes. 1-1/2 cups of grated cheddar cheese.

* * *

The first time I ate these, I was on a construction site. We were building a new prison at the time and I was managing about 100 men, several of which were traveling welders. I was 25 years old.

One day at about 10 am, I drove from my office to the jobsite. In the distance, I could see that one of the welding trucks was on fire. I drove to it, only to find what appeared to be two barbeque grilles welded to the bed of the truck in question. The smoke was bellowing out from under one of the lids.

I gestured toward the barbeque grilles. “What the fuck is this?”

A man was in an eight-foot-deep ditch beside the truck, welding a piece of pipe. A ponytail dangled to the middle of his back. He removed his welding hood and looked up.

He squinted at the sun that was rising above my shoulders. “Foil taters, Boss.”

I realized most of the men brought their lunches. The jobsite was twenty minutes from any restaurant, making going out for lunch nearly impossible for the men working on site. Eating at 10 am wasn’t acceptable, though.

10 am was time to work, not time to eat.

I glanced the grille and then at him. “You’re cooking potatoes at 10 in the morning?” I asked, trying to be the hardened boss that I’d not quite yet become. “A little early for lunch, isn’t it?”

“They’re not potatoes,” he said in a sarcastic tone. “They’re foil taters.”

I had no idea who he was. Many of the men had been hired through the jobsite superintendent (my father) and had only been working onsite for a matter of days. He was one of the few I had yet to meet.

“At 10 in the morning?” I asked.

He pulled off his welding cap and gave me a look. “I ain’t eatin’ the fuckers ‘till lunch, Boss.” He glanced at his half-finished weld. “If you don’t mind, I’m gonna get back to work. I’ll partake of the taters at dinner time if that’s alright with you.”

I tried not to smile at his smart mouth. “Sounds good to me,” I replied with a nod. “Enjoy them.”

At about 11:30, I drove to the only restaurant within driving distance and picked up a hamburger I’d ordered over the phone. Upon returning to my onsite office, I found a foil package next to my notepad. Beside it, there was a handwritten note.

Mister Scott’s Taters —>

I laughed to myself and opened the package. Steaming hot goodness stared back at me. I ate them with my fingers, enjoying each slice immensely.

I later got the recipe from Jackie.

He became one of my best workers and stayed with me for nearly ten years. When he departed, he left with me many fond memories and a plethora of recipes.

*tips hat*

“Thanks, Jackie.”

Okay. Here we go.

Preheat oven to 450.

Lay out two equal pieces of foil approximately 18” long, side by side. Spray the upward face of each piece with Pam cooking spray.

Wash each of the potatoes. Slice no thicker than 1/4” thick. Cut slices in half. Cut a few of them in quarters.