I guess folks in Sweden like to play with their food. One example is something they call Hasselback Potatoes. They are a cross between baked potatoes and curly fries and, when combined with our own special sauce, they become a fun way to get your daily dose of vitamin MaryJane.

This recipe comes in two parts - one is to make the potatoes themselves and the other is to make the sauce. The two part approach is vital to getting a buzz worthy meal here. You are going to cook the potatoes at a temperature that would burn off all the good stuff from your dope so the sauce is the high point of the recipe.

First, crank your oven up to 450 degrees. (If you are doing this on a Swedish stove use 220 degrees. It's a metric system thing.) Grab a nice russet potato for each person you expect to feed. My friend Frank always cooks a couple of extra ones in case someone drops by for dinner. He is Danish and will explain in detail why Danes are more likely to have friends than Swedes are. He's strange like that.

Put a potato on your cutting board and make vertical slices that go most of the way through the spud. Make the slices about an eighth of an inch apart. That's about half the width of a healthy joint. If you do it right, the potato will stay together, but it will be a little floppy. Rub some butter down between the slices and put the potato on a cookie sheet. Do all the potatoes the same way.

Now it's time to season the spuds. This is where you make the dish your own. Some people like a simple treatment of olive oil, salt and pepper, but you can add garlic, cayenne pepper, seasoned salt or any flavoring you like that can handle the heat of the oven. You can even leave them plain, but what is the fun of that? Put your seasoned potatoes in the oven, set the timer for 40 minutes and get to work on the sauce.

For the sauce, grate some cheese. Use your favorite melting cheese here. If you want to stick with the Scandinavian theme, you can use Havarti, but cheddar works fine too. You can even use American cheese if you want to feel like a kid again. Mix in a bit of sour cream, a bit of softened Buerre Pot and some chives. The amounts to use depend on how many potatoes you are making and what you like. When the potatoes come out of the oven, plop a scoop of the sauce on top and let it melt into the slices.

One of these spuds is all you need for a snack, or you can serve it with a steak or a piece of fish and add a pile of veg to make it into a real meal. Enjoy!