Crispy, buttery potatoes

All the work here is in slicing potatoes thinly -- an excellent exercise in knife skills, and a delightfully buttery side dish. Or, use a mandolin for more precise slices.

Crispy, buttery potatoes

• 2 T butter
• 2 T olive oil
• 4-6 yukon gold potatoes, enough to fill your casserole dish
• Salt, pepper
• Thyme (dried or fresh)
• 4-6 cloves of garlic

Preheat oven to 400. Slice potatoes into 1/4-inch-thick slices, keeping in order (this allows the most attractive presentation).

Melt butter. Add butter and oil to a 9-inch casserole dish. Arrange potatoes in dish. (I arranged them end-to-end in a circle around the dish, then put the smallest potatoes in the center.) Stuff garlic cloves into gaps between potatoes.

Bake for about 45 minutes. Sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper, spoon some of the butter and oil over the top of potatoes, and bake for another half hour or so -- as long as the potatoes are cooked through, but don't burn, the timing is not particularly precise.