First of all you are going to want to choose a pan that's the right size for the potatoes. I mostly use a 9x9 glass pan for the potatoes and peel and chop the perfect amount of potatoes that will fit into it. Once you've determined that, remove the potatoes and heat the baking dish in a 400 degree oven while you brown the potatoes.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into about 2 inch thick cylinders. Cut off the rounded ends and try to keep all the potato pieces the same size

Heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat in a cast iron skillet or non stick saute pan. Add the sliced garlic and sprigs of thyme. Cook for just a minute or so to soften the garlic, then remove it from the pan along with the thyme. Set the garlic and thyme aside for later.

Season the potatoes on both sides with sat and pepper and brown both ends of the potatoes until golden, about 3-4 minutes or so per side over medium to medium high heat. While you are doing this heat the chicken stock to boiling.

Remove the browned potatoes from the cast iron pan and fit them into the heated baking dish from the oven. Tuck the garlic slices and thyme sprigs used to flavour the oil and butter between the potatoes. Pour on the hot chicken stock just until the potatoes are half submerged. Dot the top of each potato with a little bit of butter, then return the pan to the oven for about a half hour or until the potatoes are fork tender. Serve immediately.