How to Cook a Potato

A simple baked potato is probably the easiest of all potato dishes. See How to Bake a Potato to see how easy it is.

Making Homemade French Fries isn't necessarily the simplest of tasks, but the results are pretty darn spectacular – wonderfully crispy on the outside with a delicately fluffy inside.

It's true - you can Grill Potatoes. Cut them, brush them with oil, and set them on a hot grill until they are cooked all the way through.

Sure, you could just boil potatoes and mash them, but for perfectly fluffy and smooth mashed potatoes use these Easy Tips for Perfectly Mashed Potatoes.

I love potato chips so much I can't keep them in the house. Seriously. I just eat them all up. Once in awhile, though, I indulge and make Homemade Potato Chips – they are easier than you probably think they are.

These Italian dumplings can be horribly gummy and heavy, but not if you follow this recipe, which yields light and tender pillows of potato, perfect with pesto, a light tomato sauce, or just butter and cheese. Check out this recipe for Potato Gnocchi.

Gratins are a classic French way of serving potatoes. The potatoes are scrubbed clean or peeled, thinly sliced, and layered into a baking dish. Layering in some herbs, chopped ham, or other vegetables, adding some broth or cream, and then topping the whole thing with grated cheese before setting it in an oven until the potatoes are tender and the cheesy crust is brown and bubbling is the method in a nutshell. For details see this recipe for Potato Gratin or, even better, Potato Artichoke Gratin.

By the way, do you know what else is a great potato gratin? Classic Potatoes Au Gratin, that's what.

What's the key to the perfect potato salad? Like so many foods, potato salad benefits greatly from being fresh. If you ca make it and serve it without needing to chill it in between, you'll be rewarded with the best potato salad you've ever tasted. Try this Classic Potato Salad made with vinegar and a bit of mayonnaise or mix things up a little bit and give this Grilled Potato Salad a whirl.

Potatoes add body and smoothness to puréed soups, and some heft to chunkier soups. My favorite way to use potatoes in a soup is this simple Potato Leek Soup, although this Potato and Brussels Sprouts Soup runs a close second.

Large chunks of potatoes tossed with a bit of oil and salt and popped into a hot oven become brown and crusty on the outside while magically turning fluffy and tender on the inside. Want more direction? Check out this recipe for Roasted Potatoes.

The twice baked potato is baked, mashed, stuffed, and baked again. It is, in my humble opinion, the best of all potato dishes. See how to make it yourself with this Twice Baked Potato Recipe.