no. 128: sage brown butter hasselback potatoes

with BOURSIN CHIVE SOUR CREAM!

Well the bad news is that I did, in fact, tear my ACL, but the good news is that this knee brace makes me look undeniably sporty and cute.

I’m wearing my Bat Mitzvah sweatshirt here, FYI.

Now, I know what you’re all thinking—is that Tashi Duncan, the fictional character from Challengers and once-in-a-lifetime tennis player who’s career was cut short by a devastating knee injury, or is that Sara Tane, some random girl whose caramelized lemon orzo recipe popped up on my Instagram once and now I’m stuck getting these emails?

Well, it is me, the latter. Though I would agree, the resemblance is shocking.

These are actual photos of me from this week, these are not photos of Zendaya portraying Tashi Duncan in the blockbuster film, Challengers

While it may seem like I am in good spirits considering this fresh new injury of mine, please make no mistake, I am…very, very sad. In fact, I shed a gallon-sized tear when I got an email from my tennis team captain earlier this week to sign up for the winter league.

Since I won’t be able to play tennis for the foreseeable future, I will now have to a find a guy who is mediocre at playing tennis and coach him to become a world-renowned and commercially-successful professional athlete, while simultaneously charming him so deeply that he becomes obsessed with me, thus resulting in us getting married, despite the fact that I do not reciprocate his love because I am too enamored by the beautiful game of tennis. I will, also, from time to time, make out with his childhood friend and teammate, who is way hotter (and better at tennis).

Not only has this injury given me great concern for my tennis career, it has also provided me a nice little scare for my actual career. Being a self-employed girl boss cheffy queen is all fun and games until you’re out a crucial ligament, and all of your work hinges on your ability to do a task that is best completed in the upright position.

I’m not exactly sure what the next couple months (or weeks, or days) of my life are going to look like, but I can assure you, I will figure it out. Tashi Duncan, I mean, I…always do.

The irony of it all is that I did go ahead and buy those leather boots I was looking at on Black Friday, and now WHEN WILL I GET TO WEAR THEM? It is worth noting, however, that my knee brace fits BEAUTIFULLY underneath my Gap Barrel Pants. Literally, those pants are my best purchase of 2024, hands down.

I don’t have any product recommendations for you this week because I spent all my money on Black Friday purchases, and the only thing on my holiday wishlist this year is a repaired ACL. Does anyone know where I can get one of those? Kaiser Permanente certainly doesn’t!

Sage Brown Butter Hasselback Potatoes with Boursin Chive Sour Cream

Serves: 4-6

Active time: 20 minutes

Total time: 1 hour

I made these potatoes for my family’s Thanksgiving, and they were so good that I decided to make ‘em again and write up the recipe. The idea for these potatoes was mostly born out of the fact that I didn’t feel like making mashed potatoes, but still wanted an elegant spud-centric dish on the table. I also love Boursin (not sponsored, but certainly open to it) and will use any excuse to work it into whatever I’m cooking.

Hasselbacking is not the most enjoyable knife skill, but it’s a fun little exercise and makes for an extremely visually pleasing and texturally satisfying result. If you’ve never hasselbacked before, it can be helpful to place chopsticks on both sides of whatever you’re cutting to act as a barrier so that your knife doesn’t completely go through your potato. Like any knife skill, make sure your blades are sharp! A dull blade is going to be extremely annoying and potentially unsafe for this.

It’s not a festive dish with some sage brown butter, so I figured we might as well drizzle these crispy ‘taters with a nutty, herb-laden sauce. I think it’s important to wait to grate the garlic into the brown butter right before serving when the butter is gently warmed (if it’s piping hot, the garlic will burn).

Go forth and hasselback that ass up!