Recipe: Morene Bodner's Smashed Potatoes plus My Quick Steak Marinade

On a recent trip to NYC my friend Rebecca and I decided to cook dinner in her small NYC apartment kitchen. Downside? No dishwasher! Nonetheless- we checked her fridge for ingredients, went to the nearby Amish Market for a few extras and the menu was set.


Rebecca would make her mom's delish twice cooked potatoes and I would make my signature marinated steak plus my roasted cauliflower too. All three recipes are incredibly simple and very yummy. Big shout out to Reb's mom for the rad potato recipe which includes boiling the potatoes, smashing them on a sheet, dousing them with olive oil then baking them to a crunch. Score!!


Morene Bodner's Smashed Potatoes
(Serves 2)

6 Medium Potatoes (I've made this recipe with both fingerling and Russet potatoes and it was great each time)
6 tablespoons olive oil


Preheat oven to 400°F. Boil potatoes until tender. Remove from pot and place on baking sheet. Using fork, press potatoes onto baking sheet until they break open. Repeat for all potatoes. Pour olive oil atop potatoes and place in oven. Bake potatoes until edges are crisp and brown brown, about 45 minutes. Using spatula, place potatoes in bowl and serve.


My Go-To Steak Marinade

This marinade works for any cut of steak, though in this recipe we used skirt steak.

3 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teasonn brown sugar
3 cloves freshly minced garlic
salt/pepper

1 teaspoon minced ginger (optional)
1 scallion, chopped (optional)

Place steak in shallow bowl and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Add olive oil, soy sauce, brown sugar and garlic. Mix. Let steak sit in fridge (covered) about 30 minutes (if you have less time, 15 minutes will do) then flip steak oven to cover other side in soy mixture. Preheat oven to 350°F. Using cast iron skillet, cook steak about 3 minutes per side then transfer to oven and continue cooking until steak reaches desired doneness, about 5-6 minutes for medium rare. Remove from oven, transfer to cutting board and let sit about 5 minutes. Slices and serve.