How to Make Hasselback Tater Tots

Hotel Hasselbacken in Stockholm

In our  darkened kitchen with my sharpened knife,

I make thin slices in each little potato.

Concentration is required not to cut through,

which would ruin the effect.

The husband facing the television set,

alone in the even darker living room,

will not appreciate my culinary effort.

He will not think of Hasselback Tater Tots

as an amuse bouche, nor will he want to hear

of the chefs at Hotel Hasselbacken in Sweden

who created a clever take on the baked potato.

He won’t be diverted by this petite version

and the allusion to the tater tot,

or my saying, “You know, Idaho soul food.”

I am delusional to try for a smile.

He’s watching the Final Four, his mind elsewhere,

basketballs morphing into cancer cells, 

while I cut slits into tiny potatoes,

trying not to think of the absurdity.