A few years ago my sister and her husband invited me to a Spanish restaurant in New Jersey for dinner. I really don’t like leaving the city, but they promised me it was well worth it.

I got my Visa, filled the car with gas and punched in the address into Paula, my GPS navigation device. All I kept thinking was Paula, don’t fail me now!  All the food seemed pretty typical, but I had these amazing roasted potatoes that I couldn’t get enough of. I asked the waiter what was in them and the only thing he would tell me was garlic.  I asked another waiter and he said Mayonnaise. Hmmmm, my fellow Umbres at this lovely establishment didn’t think I could guess it was a Spanish version of aioli.

Because of global warming, the horrible economy and my total fear of going below 59^th street, I’ve been pressed to come up with my own version.

1 pound small Potatoes (white or red)

3 tablespoons Olive Oil

1 1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoons ground Black Pepper

4 cloves of Garlic finely chopped

4 tablespoons Mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the potatoes in half or quarters into a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt and the pepper. Mix and put on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake the potatoes for 40 minutes flipping twice during baking. Make sure they turn a nice golden brown. Take out of the oven and allow to cool.

In a bowl combine 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the chopped garlic, mayonnaise, lemon juice and Dijon mustard. Mix and pour over the cooled potatoes.

Serves 3-4 as a side dish.