Old Friend

Each one that made it in landed on the hot butter with a satisfying hiss. After I had covered the bottom of the pan with a layer or three of potato peelings, I sprinkled a little sea salt on top. Then I continued peeling again, lightly salting each new layer of the potatoes. After the potato had been reduced to layers of salted “peels,” I covered the pan and picked up the day’s crossword, enjoying the light sizzling sound in the background. After about ten minutes, I wiggled a spatula under the potato and saw that it had browned to an even, earthy gold. Using the spatula to loosen the loaf of potato, I gave it one good flip to get the other side browned.

Finally, I flipped my potato cake onto a plate—the hot, crispy side facing up, and scattered a quick sprinkle of salt and pepper on top. I opted for tonkatsu sauce instead of ketchup on the side. But I couldn’t resist trying the first bite of my potato creation without any sauce. That first bite brought out the best of russet potatoes; combining the earthy, crispy taste of golden fried potato with the creamy, rich comfort of scalloped potato. In the end, I ate most of it without any sauce, and felt triumphant that I had invented another way to prepare potato. In retrospect, I can see that I was just the bumbling vessel through which my skillet and peeler conspired to do in the potato.

Now, as I hold this skillet, its years of hard work are readily apparent. The handle has a slight wobble where the bolt no longer clamps tight. The outside is a combination of burnt carbon, copper-colored caramelized oils, and fire-polished steel. Liquids pool to the near right side, since the pan has a distinct warp from years of rapid temperature fluctuations. And, of course, the pan stopped being nonstick a long time ago. So the skillet will be retired; but not to Good Will, or the recycling bin. Instead, we’ve set it aside for its last journey to our country house—where one can never have enough cooking tools that know how to handle the leisurely pace of a late, weekend morning snack.


Illustration by Retsu Takahashi.