Mar 17, 2026

Think bigger. Stay curious. Keep showing up. - Creamy Garlic Roasted Baby Potatoes

Few athletes have stretched the limits of their sport quite like Michael Phelps. Over the course of four Olympic Games, he didn’t just win races. He reset the standard for what sustained excellence looks like, finishing his career with 23 Olympic gold medals, more than any athlete in history. What made Phelps compelling was not just the talent in the water, but the mindset behind it. He trained with unusual focus, set goals that sounded unrealistic at the time, and stayed committed to the long process required to reach them. His career is a reminder that progress often begins with the willingness to think a little bigger about what might actually be possible.

The Warm Up

Curiosity reframes challenge. It turns fear into interest and pressure into possibility. When you approach hard things with curiosity, you stop demanding certainty and start inviting learning.

Instead of asking how this will end, ask what this will reveal. About your limits. Your habits. Your capacity to adapt. Curiosity keeps you engaged when outcomes are unclear.

Lean into the unknown. Let the experience unfold. Growth accelerates when you stay open long enough to learn instead of rushing to control the result.

Show up! Put in the work! Regroup! Put in the work! Don't quit! Believe in yourself! Develop your skills! Process > outcome! Be okay with uncomfortable! Compete!

The Journey

Meal Time

Friday night we had a few good friends over for dinner, and I decided to try something new with a bag of baby Dutch yellow potatoes. I didn’t think much of it at the time.

Potatoes are potatoes, right?

Well… not these.

They roast cut side down until the bottoms get golden and crisp, then they finish in a garlicky cream sauce that somehow manages to be both simple and ridiculously good. By the time they hit the table, the pan smelled like garlic, butter, and heaven.

We all took a few. Then a few more.

At one point there were only three or four potatoes left in the pan and you could feel the tension around the table. Everyone clearly wanted them, but nobody wanted to be the one who took the last one. You know the moment.

For the record, 1½ pounds was probably enough for about five adults… but just barely.

These are the kind of potatoes that make people hover near the pan, and the kind that get requested again before the plates are even cleared.

Creamy Garlic Roasted Baby Potatoes

A simple side dish with crispy roasted potatoes and a rich garlic cream sauce perfect for dipping.

Ingredients

1½ lbs baby Dutch yellow potatoes
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Garlic Cream Sauce

1¼ cups heavy cream
3 tbsp olive oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp salt
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional but recommended)
Optional: 1 tsp Dijon mustard or a squeeze of lemon juice

Instructions

1. Roast the potatoes

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Trim the rounded ends of the potatoes so they have flat sides.
Place them flat side down in a baking dish with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Roast 25 minutes until the bottoms are golden and crispy.

2. Make the sauce

In a bowl whisk together:

heavy cream
olive oil
garlic
Parmesan
salt

3. Bake with the sauce

Reserve ⅓ cup of the sauce for dipping later.

Pour the remaining sauce around and partially over the potatoes.

Return to the oven and bake 15–20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the sauce thickens.

4. Make the dipping sauce

Warm the reserved sauce in a small pan or microwave.

For extra flavor add:

1 tablespoon butter
a spoonful of the pan sauce

Serve the potatoes hot with the dipping sauce.

Tip

Roasting the potatoes cut-side down first creates a crisp bottom while the cream sauce finishes cooking them. Baby potatoes hold their shape well and develop a creamy texture when cooked this way.

This is What I Heard

Whenever I travel, one of the first things I look at is not just the hotel, but the training options. Is there a halfway decent weight room? Is there a park nearby where I can get in a few miles? Maybe a trail system within a short drive? Anyone who has been involved in endurance sports for a while knows the drill. You end up planning parts of your trip around where you can move your body for an hour.

Most of us feel like we are making a big effort just to keep the routine going while we are on the road.

Then you watch something like this.

These astronauts are living aboard the International Space Station, orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes, and they still have a training routine. Up there they have a treadmill, a sort of stationary bike, and a resistance system that replaces traditional weights. Without regular exercise their muscles and bones would deteriorate quickly in zero gravity, so working out is simply part of the job. It is a pretty good reminder that wherever you find yourself, the routine can travel with you. Sometimes the setting changes, but the commitment to show up does not.

Back to The Journey