# Potatoes O'Brien

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potatoes-obrien/575907>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [March 24, 2011, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potatoes-obrien/575907 "2011-03-24T23:50:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potatoes-obrien/575907/1 "2011-03-24T23:50:38Z")

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Potatoes are stereotypically Irish, I guess. But since they probably originated in Boston, which has a large Irish population, I suppose that’s where the name comes from.

Anyway, **More Food You Haven’t Eaten Since You Were A Kid**.

I used to love these when I was a kid. They were a special treat, as opposed to cold cereal or hashbrowns. They were always out of a bag, from the frozen foods section. Maybe I should make some one day. I mean, diced potatoes, diced green bell pepper, diced red bell pepper, and minced onions. Why not?

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**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\
**Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potatoes-obrien/575907/2 "2011-03-24T23:58:29Z")

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I would dice the potatoes and simmer them for about 10 minutes first, because the peppers and onions would burn before the raw taters were done. It would smell divine, like the State Fair!

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potatoes-obrien/575907/3 "2011-03-24T23:59:53Z")

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Yep. I often nuke diced potatoes before I fry them with vegetables.

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**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potatoes-obrien/575907/4 "2011-03-25T01:17:01Z")

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Or you know, you can crisp up the potatoes first and add the aromatics, the last few minutes of cooking time.