I cook them rather differently. The large ones I peel, split them down the side and then halve them again, so that each potato is quartered. If I put them straight into a roasting dish the tend to come out underdone, so what I do is put them into a sausepan of cold water with a teaspoon of salt, and bring it up to the boil. The second it reaches the boil take it off the gas, use a collander to drain the water and put them straight into a hot pyrex oven dish. Drizzle - not saturate, them with cooking oil, and put them onto the lower shelf of the oven, below whatever you're cooking. About half-an-hour before your main meal is ready, transfer them to the upper shelf, turning them as necessary. You'll find everything turns out dunky dory. With parsnips, after peeling them, split them into quarters and do the same as you would potatoes, although they need rather more salt, and once they're ready, put into a seperate dish and coat with butter and a little pepper.
That's how I've always done it, anyway. I'm no Cordon Bleu, but give me any joint of meat, or a duck, chicken or whatever, and I'll turn out stuff having people doing an "Oliver" on me, wanting more. TRY it my way. I'll try it your way. It's the only way we learn.
I know he had his faults, but a reporter once asked Chairman Mao the source of his great knowledge. He replied: "Because every third man I meet is a teacher." The reporter just laughed, because he didn't understand - every third person you meet knows something you don't, and vice versa.
I always used to watch *bleep* Craddock and her totally henpecked husband Johnny, although I think he played up to it a bit. She may have come over all smarmy, but give me her any day of the week to Gordon "Effing" Ramsay. I ask you - what kind of an example does he set the younger generation?!! I'll kid ye not: if I spoke to anybody at school like that, I'd get a size 9 cauliflower ear within two days!
