Celebrate Spuds With 27 Tasty Ways to Cook Potatoes

Potatoes are the epitome of comfort food -- soft, hearty, and filling. Delicious on their own with minimal spicing and able to take on nearly any flavor without losing their identity, potatoes are a culinary wonder. They're also highly productive and dirt-cheap, making them a staple of many cuisines. There are endless ways to prepare them, from baking or boiling to mixing them into cake batter. Potatoes provide critical vitamins and minerals along with a satisfying array of flavors and textures. Celebrate the humble spud year-round with these easy and inexpensive recipes.

Potatoes and fried food claim legions of fans on their own, and even more so when merged into french fries. Making fries is not difficult, but it is a process. Food Network personality Ree Drummond offers a how-to video along with a recipe. In addition to potatoes, oil, and salt, a thermometer and a heavy pot for boiling and frying are necessary components. Substitute paper grocery bags for paper towels when draining the potatoes. Paper bags help fries stay crisper after their final fry. Serve with a variety of sauces or condiments, from ubiquitous ketchup to exotic chutney.

Seasoned with little more than milk, butter, salt, and pepper, mashed potatoes are a comfort food most Americans come to love from an early age. Starchy potatoes such as russet are the best for mashing into a light and fluffy texture. Master the basic preparation laid out by Food Network chef Nigella Lawson and then add a signature or seasonal touch to this otherwise bland dish. Favorite mix-ins include scallions, bacon, and cheddar cheese. The only limit is the cook's imagination.

One of the best things about this irresistible party food is its adaptability. A recipe by Food Network host Ellie Krieger features broccoli and avocado cream rather than the more typical bacon and sour cream. Don't feel limited by the given ingredients -- add in favorite seasonal vegetables or whatever is in the refrigerator. Anything from kale and onions to shredded chicken is guaranteed deliciousness when loaded into a potato skin and topped with cheese.

A three-ingredient recipe from Martha Stewart is a fun way to turn an everyday, mindless snack into a special homemade treat. While it may be tempting to skip the step of soaking the potatoes in water, don't. This helps achieve the right texture and color in the end. A mandoline makes for thin, easy, and even slicing, although hand slicing with care also does the job.

Essentially a thick frittata with potato rounds, this very simple, traditional egg dish appears in Spanish cafes alongside glasses of wine throughout the day. The mild flavors are sweet and earthy and often complemented with paprika and aioli. One of the most important steps in making this dish, with a recipe on About.com, is to cut the potatoes evenly so they cook at the same rate, ensuring that each bite is perfectly soft but not mushy.

Pizza aficionados might be aghast at the thought of debasing dough with potato, but culinary star Lidia Bastianich does just that in her recipe for potato pizza. The result is a crust that's easy to handle before baking and delivers all the richness and flavor of a regular pizza.

Potatoes lend a rich, creamy texture and lightly sweet, earthy flavor to an indulgent soup by The Veggie Queen. Baking or Yukon gold potatoes and leeks are the basis of this standard. It's a go-to recipe when you'd rather raid the pantry than spring for expensive takeout. Hit a home run by preparing the soup in a pressure cooker: cheap, healthy, simple, and fast.

Go the Southern dessert route with a classic sweet potato pie. Two large sweet potatoes and a few other cheap household staples, such as eggs and sugar, are enough for a pie that easily serves eight. Today has Patti LaBelle's recipe.