Seasoned Potato Cubes

The book launches in four weeks. The galley reviews are starting to come in. A blogger in Birmingham — a food writer named Cheryl who covers Southern cooking — posted a preview review that called the book "the kind of cookbook that makes you call your mother. And if your mother is gone, it makes you set a place for her anyway." I read it at the kitchen table at 6 AM and could not move for five minutes because someone I've never met understood the book perfectly. The setting of the place. The empty chair. The full plate. Someone read Mama's recipes and understood that the food is not the point. The love is the point. The food is just how the love arrives.

Katherine wants me to do a twelve-city book tour. Twelve cities. Mostly Southern. Mostly churches and community centers because "that's where your people are." She's right. My people are in church kitchens and community centers and the kitchens of women who cook without measuring spoons and the dining rooms of families who set a plate for the dead. My people are everywhere that food meets love. That's a big territory.

At school, Jordan is doing better — his family got into transitional housing last week. An apartment. Not permanent but not a car. He came to my office and said, "We have a kitchen." The way he said "kitchen" — like it was the most beautiful word in the English language — confirmed everything I've ever believed about what a kitchen means. A kitchen means home. A kitchen means safety. A kitchen means: you can stay. You can cook. You can eat at a table instead of in a parking lot. Jordan has a kitchen. The boy who was brave in a car now has a kitchen. The world shifted one degree toward right.

Made a practice run of the cornbread for the book launch — will I make it in front of people? Can I measure and talk simultaneously? Turns out: yes. I made cornbread while narrating every step to Zoe, Derek, and Curtis (the practice audience) and it was natural. It was what I've always done. Cook and talk. Talk and cook. The stove and the story. The recipe and the narrative. They're the same thing. They've always been the same thing.

The cornbread was the star of the practice run, but the seasoned potato cubes were what kept Zoe, Derek, and Curtis at the table—the humble, no-fuss side dish I threw together while I was busy proving to myself that I could measure and speak at the same time. There’s something about a simple, honest potato that asks nothing of you, which is exactly what I needed that afternoon: a recipe that let the conversation breathe. If the cornbread was the sermon, these potatoes were the steady hum underneath it—the kind of food that holds a kitchen together while something bigger is being figured out.

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 lbs Yukon Gold or russet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven. Heat oven to 425°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease it.
Parboil the potatoes. Place the cubed potatoes in a pot of salted cold water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for 5 minutes—just until the edges begin to soften but the centers are still firm. Drain well and let steam dry for 2 minutes.
Season generously. In a large bowl, toss the parboiled potato cubes with olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, thyme, salt, black pepper, and cayenne if using. Make sure every cube is coated.
Spread and roast. Spread the potatoes in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet, making sure they aren’t crowded—space helps them crisp. Roast for 22–25 minutes, flipping once halfway through, until golden and caramelized at the edges.
Taste and finish. Remove from the oven, taste for salt, and adjust. Transfer to a serving dish and scatter fresh parsley over the top. Serve hot.

Nutrition (per serving)

Seasoned Potato Cubes — What I Made While I Practiced Talking