Easy Drop Biscuits

I just can't stress enough to you how much I love breads and such. Yeast breads, quick breads, pastries, it doesn't matter to me; I love them all. Biscuits are no exception. I like 'em when they're light and airy. No hockey pucks for me!

Unfortunately, I'm not a big fan of making traditional biscuits. Which is strange, really, when you consider that normally I like getting out the rolling pin. I suppose it's a matter of association. I typically make biscuits with quick or easy dinners. If I am making an easy soup and want a little something to fill the meal out, I reach for biscuits. As a result, it seems that with those meals I want a biscuit that is no fuss. These drop biscuits certainly fill that niche. Super easy to mix up, you just drop them by spoonfuls onto a greased sheet pan. Pop them in the oven and - voila! - 15 minutes later, you have steaming, fluffy, tasty biscuits.

Easy Drop Biscuits
Yield: 15 medium biscuits

2 cups flour
1 1/2 TBS baking powder
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tarter
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tarter, and salt. Stir to mix. Add the softened butter, mix until forms coarse crumbs. Add the milk. Stir just until mixed. if you over mix the batter, the biscuits will be tough. Place by spoonfuls (about 1/4 cup to make 15 biscuits) onto a greased or parchment covered sheet pan. Bake until puffed and golden, about 15 minutes.

I like them with cheese, myself. But they're plenty good plain (think: sausage & biscuits or with jam). Throw in herbs if you like (1-2 tsp dried herbs is about right). If you want to add shredded cheese, use about 1 cup total. Put 3/4 of it in the dough and the rest gets sprinkled on top.

Pad See Ew

I do a lot of experimenting in the kitchen. I look at recipes all the time, but I rarely cook directly from them. Fortunately, my results are usually, at a minimum, satisfactory. My experiments may not always turn out great, but they rarely are complete flops.

Except for this recipe...

My poor husband. He's such a good sport. He'll eat anything I put in front of him. He'll even "suffer" through my serving him foo-foo food occasionally when all he ever wants is guy food. You know how most guys are, don't you?

I love Pad See Ew. I order it dang near every time I go to a Thai restaurant and I was determined to learn how to make this dish at home. Trying to perfect this dish was the hardest thing I think I've ever done in the kitchen. I have never had so many flops in my life. It actually got to the point that, about a year ago, my husband very quietly and sincerely told me that he wasn't sure he could take eating another plate of homemade Pad See Ew. The poor guy.

But, for some reason, I couldn't give up. It galled me to think that I couldn't get a dish right. I searched high and low for reasons why it might be turning out so poorly. I followed recipes I found online to a T and was still disappointed. I started making it when my husband would go out of town and then throw it away in disgust.

And then one day I decided to start all over from scratch. I went to the local Oriental market and tried some new ingredients and, low and behold, I started making some passable Pad See Ew. A few more minor tweaks, and by golly, it's turned into a darn fine dish. What really changed? I now use fresh rice noodles versus dried, palm sugar instead of brown, and add rice wine and vinegar to balance the sweet.

This recipe does take some specialty ingredients. The picture below shows most of them. It does not show the bottle of rice vinegar, but that is one of the easiest to find after soy sauce. Fresh rice noodles may be the most difficult. You can use dry noodles, but I never got a satisfactory result with them. Maybe you would have better luck. The thick soy sauce is available in some Oriental markets and on Amazon. The small bowl of brown stuff is palm sugar, which has its own distinct flavor, and is also available at Oriental markets.

I love broccoli in my Pad See Ew. I also love these steaming bags a friend recently introduced me to. They're fairly cheap and so convenient, especially when you are steaming something as part of another dish. Pop the broccoli in the bag and 3 minutes later, you have perfectly steamed broccoli.

Fluffy egg is also a requirement in good Pad See Ew. I like my egg to start out a nice bright yellow color, so I cook it in the pan first before I do anything else, remove it to a dish, and then add it back in at the last minute.

Saute the chicken (or any other meat or non-meat combination you choose) until nicely browned. Add the sauce and then the fresh rice noodles. Cut the noodles so that they end up in manageable lengths. Add the broccoli, green onion, and egg. Stir until everything is heated through and coated. Serve and enjoy! Phew! It is so good to have finally figured out this dish... goodness... it only took me three years!



Pad See Ew
Yield: 2 generous servings

2 TBS palm sugar
1 TBS thick soy sauce
1 TBS rice wine
3 TBS soy sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
1/4 tsp black ground pepper

3 eggs, beaten lightly
1 TBS + 1 tsp vegetable oil, divided
1 1/2 cups chopped chicken
2 cups broccoli, cut into small florets
1/3 cup diced green onion tops
16 oz fresh rice noodles

Mix the sauce ingredients together (palm sugar through pepper). Set aside. Add 1 tsp of the oil to a hot skillet and cook the scrambled eggs. Remove and set aside. Steam the broccoli until it is just tender.

Add the remaining oil to the skillet. Add the chicken and saute until almost cooked through and browned. Add the sauce to the skillet and stir to combine. Immediately add the noodles and stir. Then add the green onions and broccoli. Stir until everything is heated through and well mixed. Serve immediately.

Stuffed Mushrooms

These mushrooms are one of the first recipes I ever developed, and they received rave reviews. Perhaps that initial success was one of the things that contributed to my continued dabbling in the culinary arts. Anyway, that was a long time ago, but I've been making them ever since. While they are a little more labor intensive than a lot of the dishes I do, they're certainly not difficult. They involve making a simple filling and then baking for 30 minutes.

Stuffed Mushrooms
Yield: 10-12 mushrooms

10-12 large mushrooms with the stems removed

2 TBS butter
10-12 mushroom stems, chopped
1/2 cup minced onions
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp minced fresh sage (or 1 tsp dried)
1 tsp minced fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp dried)
1 1/2 cup diced, packed spinach
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 tsp salt or to taste

1 TBS melted butter
1/8 cup white wine
1/8 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium skillet, over medium-high heat, melt the butter and add the onions, garlic, and mushroom stems. Saute until softened and lightly browned. Add the spinach and saute for another minute or two. Add the wine to deglaze the pan. Stir to loosen up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the cream, cheese, and bread crumbs. Stir gently to mix. Be careful not to stir too much once the bread crumbs are added as the stuffing can become pasty. Place the mushroom caps in a baking vessel. I like to use a cast iron skillet, but any heavy baking dish will do. Fill the caps with the stuffing. Do not pack down too tightly. Sprinkle the tops with Parmesan cheese. Mix the last three ingredients together and pour in the bottom of the baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Handy Dandy Pancetta

You know the old adage about how everything tastes better with bacon? It's true, you know. And there are so many bacon choices out there! There's regular old bacon, thick cut bacon, and apple wood smoked bacon. Oooo, let's not forget about Italian bacon. Pancetta is so wonderfully different from American bacon. Because Pancetta isn't smoked but cured with spices such as nutmeg or fennel, it has a very different flavor profile. Besides the obvious differences in taste, I like that it cooks up so much more quickly (and with less mess) than traditional bacon.

I also like that it is easy to package into quick-use slices. I ask the deli to slice them fairly thickly (they use setting 5 at my deli, about 3/8 to 1/4 of an inch). When I get home, I use patty paper (small squares of wax paper) in between each slice and then freeze in a zip top bag. Once frozen, I can easily remove one or more slices and cook immediately and quickly into any dish that needs a little bacon punch. I particularly like using Pancetta for bacon bits on salads.

Once you remove the slice(s) from the freezer, you can dice up and add the pieces to the pan still frozen. They cook up very quickly over medium heat. Yuuuummmm... bacon.

Gumbo

There are certain dishes that I think a lot of people shy away from for a week night meal because they think they take a long time to make. Take chili for instance; I can have a pot of chili on the table in less than one hour from the time I start. Gumbo is another great example. It also can be ready in less than an hour.

What I like about gumbo is that you can easily make it your own. I've tried it lots of ways. With okra, without. With fish, with chicken. Without fish, without chicken. I guess you get the idea. What I'm posting today is my favorite version of this dish. I like it best with shrimp and sausage (usually kielbasa since I have it on hand). However, if you use kielbasa, I strongly recommend that you slice, boil, and drain the kielbasa before adding it to the gumbo to reduce its fattiness. There's nothing less appealing than a bunch of fat floating on top of an otherwise perfect gumbo.

So the special thing about gumbo is the roux. A roux is simply a mixture of flour and fat. Unlike flour and water, flour and fat are good friends and like to mix it up together. Put the two together in a hot pan and watch magic happen. That dull, lifeless, white paste will turn into a sassy brunette. Don't turn the heat too high and don't walk away. You'll rue the day you walk away from your roux (sorry... I just couldn't resist!). Keep it moving and watch the heat. You want it to turn a lovely copper color, not burn.

After your roux has turned this wonderful shade, add the vegetables. Saute, stirring regularly, over medium heat for about five minutes. Slowly add the hot chicken stock, stirring while you do so. Throw in the seasonings, sausage, bay, and tomato paste. Cook for 20 minutes. Right before serving, add the peeled and cleaned shrimp. They cook in less than 3 minutes. Don't forget to remove the bay leaves before serving. Serve over rice.



Gumbo
Yield: 3-4 servings

1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
3 cups hot chicken stock
1 TBS Cajun seasoning
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp paprika
1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
2 TBS tomato paste
salt to taste
1 lb sliced, boiled, and drained kielbasa
1 lb peeled and cleaned shrimp

In a medium sized dutch oven or stock pot, mix the flour and oil over medium to medium-high heat. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture turns a copper color. Adjust heat as necessary.

Add the vegetables to the roux and cook, stirring periodically, about five minutes. Add the chicken stock slowly, stirring all the while. Add the remaining ingredients except for the shrimp. Stir to mix and simmer for twenty minutes. Add the shrimp and cook until they are pink and cooked through, about three minutes. Serve over rice.

Madeleines

It is so nice to be home. Don't get me wrong, I love going back home to Washington to visit. I love seeing my family, I love seeing my mountains, and I normally love the weather. I have to say, though, yesterday, I was never so happy to sleep in an air conditioned house. Which was good because the summer in Florida ain't no slouch either.

One of the first things I had to do today, after going to the grocery store of course, was to find something to make that involved the oven. These little Madeleine cakes fit the bill. They're easy to make, absolutely divine, and they don't make so many that I'm in trouble if I eat them all by myself. (Which is a really good thing, since here we are 55 minutes after they came out of the oven and I have already eaten almost more than half of the little devils). They sure are good! You just can't turn up your nose at little sponge cakes!

Don't those look good!?! They are so light and spongy and the flavor so delicate. And, please, pretend that the photo hasn't been rotated to the vertical when it shouldn't be. If I messed with it any longer, there were going to be small parts of my laptop flying every where. Sometimes, you just have to concede that your computer can outwit you...

Anyway. So these little cakes are traditionally made in a special shell shape. My pan makes twelve cakes. The recipe I use fits one pan perfectly. If you have more than one pan, you could easily double or triple this recipe to make a large batch. My pan is non-stick, but don't let that fool you. I learned the hard way: with Madeleines, butter it anyway!

While there are all kinds of flavorings you can use for these little things, my favorite is lemon. It just takes a little bit of zest to give these cakes a delightful citrus zing.

Simply sift your cake flour, cornstarch, and salt together into a small bowl. Then stir in your lemon zest. Adding the zest to the flour mixture helps to more evenly distribute the zest. Don't forget to preheat your oven to 375 degrees F as you get started. You want to put the cakes into the oven as soon as they're mixed so that they don't deflate too much.

Beat the eggs and sugar together on medium-high speed until they become thick and pale and leave a ribbon across the surface when drizzled from the beater.

Fold in the flour mixture in a couple of batches. Then add the cooled, melted butter. Stir gently so that the eggs deflate as little as possible. Today, I almost forgot to add the butter. We were in middle of a crazy thunderstorm and in between periodic checks online with the National Weather Service, a call from my husband saying a tornado had been sighted in town, and a rush to get them in and out of the oven before a potential power failure, I darn near forgot! Fortunately, I remembered before I had filled up too much of the pan! Fill up the molds all the way. They will puff slightly on baking but will not overflow the molds.

They bake for only ten minutes. They should have a nice golden rim around the edges. This indicates that when you pull them out of the pan, the molded side (shell side) will be nice and golden too.

Let the cakes cool for just a few minutes before using the point of a sharp knife to lift them out of the molds to place on a cooling rack, flat sides down. Handheld perfection!


Madeleines
Yield: 12 standard size Madeleines
adapted from Patisserie of France by H. Walden, 1988

2 eggs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
6 TBS cake flour
2 TBS cornstarch
pinch of table salt
1/2 tsp lemon zest
4 TBS unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter the Madeleine pan (even if it is non-stick) with butter. If you do not have a Madeleine pan, you can use a mini-cupcake pan.

Beat eggs and sugar together at medium-high speed until thick and pale, about 4-5 minutes. A ribbon should form on the surface when the beater is lifted. Sift together the cake flour, cornstarch, and salt. Add the lemon zest to the flour mixture and stir thoroughly. Fold the flour mixture into the eggs in two or three batches, being careful not to deflate the batter. Lastly, gently stir in the melted and cooled butter.

Spoon the batter into the Madeleine molds, filling them completely. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes. Cool slightly before removing from pan onto cooling rack.

Smoked Salmon

Having grown up in the Pacific Northwest, salmon is an important part of my food psyche. Most of the year I have to be satisfied with farm-raised Atlantic salmon, but when I come back home to visit, I like to treat myself to the real McCoy. Look at the color of this guy! So dark, deep orangy-red. Farm raised salmon has to be fed a colorant to end up with dark flesh like that. Those poor farm-raised guys just don't get to eat the krill and similar critters that produce that lovely color.

My favorite preparation for salmon is to smoke it on a grill. This is as close to the traditional Pacific Northwest style of smoked salmon you can get at home. I love it so much this way that I had to teach the caterer how to make it so she could serve it at my wedding. This is a very quick, easy, and delicious way to enjoy salmon.

The first step is to brine the salmon filets. Fill a large bowl or pot with cool water and mix in salt. A ratio of about 5 cups water to 1/3-1/2 cup salt is what you should shoot for. Mix the water until the salt is mostly dissolved. Add the salmon filets and let soak for about 45 minutes. Brining helps to ensure that you end up with a nice, moist end result.

At the same time, begin soaking a handful of alder wood chips in water. Wood chips for smoking are usually available in the same place you find briquettes. While you can use other wood types, I very much prefer the flavor of alder wood. It is important to soak the wood chips so that they end up smoking instead of outright burning.

Begin heating your briquettes so that they are ready about the time your fish is done brining. When they have gotten nice and hot, gray, and ashy, push them to one side of the grill. This type of grilling requires the use of indirect heat. The coals should be piled on one side of the grill so that the fish can cook on the other side. Sprinkle some of the drained wood chips on top of the coals. While the amount depends on how much fish you are grilling, what you see here is a set up for the filets of one whole salmon. Please note in the following pictures that we smoked only half of the fish at a time because the grill had a fairly small surface area.

Drain and pat dry the salmon. Place skin side down on a foil sheet. Drizzle a little olive oil on top and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a little rosemary. Roll up the edges of the foil so that the juices do not fall into the fire and cause flare-ups.

Close the lid and dampen down the fire as much as you can without completely killing the fire. If you notice that there is not very much smoke, throw on a few more wood chips. Because the heat is all on one side of the grill in this method, it is not a bad plan to rotate the foil halfway through to ensure even cooking.

The salmon does not take very long to cook, usually between 15-25 minutes depending on the size and thickness. Start checking early to be sure that you do not overcook it. There are a couple of ways to test for doneness. The first test is the squish test. Use a fork and poke the thickest part of the filet. If it is fairly firm to the touch it is done. If it is not done, it will still be squishy. Another method is to prick it. If the juices run clear instead of opaque, it is done. The last, and most invasive, way is to pull the flakes apart in the thickest area and check to see if the flesh is opaque. I usually use a combination of all of these tests to determine when to pull it off of the grill.

So, what is that white stuff, you might ask? My understanding is that it is a protein called albumin that salmon can have a fair amount of. It is completely edible. However, if it grosses you out, you do have a couple of options to attempt to mitigate its formation. Supposedly, brining the fish can help, but - as you can see with the fish above - we brined and still saw a lot of albumin come out. The other factor I have seen mentioned is temperature. Also, I've read that the stuff doesn't develop unless temperatures are above 122 degrees F. Obviously, you want to cook your fish above that temperature (recommendations are to cook fish to 145 degrees F). I think, though, the idea here is higher cooking temperatures will lead to more albumin formation... just another reason to make sure you're using indirect heat to smoke your fish!

This dish is wonderful served right away, but it is also fabulous served cold. Therefore, when I prepare this dish, I always try to make more than I need so that I can have left overs!If you want a couple other great ideas of what to do with leftover smoked salmon, try my smoked salmon ravioli or smoked salmon on cucumber appetizers.

Berry Freezer Jam

There are certain types of fruits that just don't taste the same when they are cooked. I love strawberries but am not a fan of cooked strawberry jam. In fact, I think most berries are much better before they are subjected to heat. Have you ever noticed how both raspberries and strawberries change color when you cook them? Change color and flavor.

Fortunately, there is a wonderful alternative. Freezer jam is a great way to preserve fresh berries to enjoy year round in their just-picked perfection. I have made strawberry freezer jam for years. Two years ago was the first time that I tried making raspberry freezer jam. Wow! That stuff is phenomenal. Unfortunately, since I've moved to Florida, raspberries are a bit hard to come by.

This week I'm up in Seattle visiting my family. This morning, I went to the Issaquah Farmers' Market, and what did I find? Beautiful, fresh, sweet raspberries. I'm not sure how I'm going to get these jars home, but I'll figure it out! I also noticed that the blackberries, which grow rampant everywhere here, are ripening much earlier than usual due to the recent heat. I decided I would make some of each.

For most applications, I prefer liquid pectin. I think that it is more forgiving and leads to a more consistent product. Every container of pectin comes with a recipe sheet inside. I simply followed the recipe for red raspberry or blackberry. I needed about 2 pints of berries for each batch.

Because berries are so dadgum seedy, I like to process them through a food mill. This is my mom's Foley food mill. She's had it forever. You can see that, even though it is stainless steel, years of berry mashing have given it a purple patina. Any type of food mill will work. While I normally like a little more mashed fruit pieces in my jams, I think the trade-off for less seeds is worth it. I still typically get a good set doing it this way. Many food mills will not remove every seed but removes enough that you don't end up with a mouthful of seeds when you eat the finished product.

Mix the sugar and the fruit puree in a bowl. Stir to mix and let sit, stirring occasionally, for about twenty minutes.

Mix the liquid pectin and lemon juice and add to the sugar-puree mixture. Stir continuously for 3-5 minutes, until the sugar is basically completely dissolved. To test whether it is done, dip in a spoon and taste. If it is mostly smooth, you're good to go. Not every single sugar crystal will be dissolved. Pour jam into clean containers. You can use jars or plastic freezer containers; just be sure that you don't fill the container all the way to the top. Be sure to leave enough room for the jam to expand upon freezing.

Place lids on containers and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours. If jam is set, place containers in the freezer. If the jam still seems a little loose, place containers in the refrigerator until set, up to three days, before freezing. When ready to use jam, thaw in the refrigerator before using. Jam lasts in the freezer at least one year. I have successfully kept them for over a year and a half without any problems. Jam can be used immediately after making without a trip to the freezer, if desired.

Berry Freezer Jam
Yield: 5 cups
from the Certo pectin recipe sheet

2 cups of raspberry or blackberry puree (requires about 2 pints of whole fruit)
4 cups sugar
2 TBS fresh lemon juice
1 pouch liquid pectin

Crush berries, running through food mill if desired to remove some of the seeds. Mix puree and sugar together in a bowl. Stir to mix and then stir periodically over a period of twenty minutes to help sugar dissolve.

Mix the lemon juice and pectin together and add to fruit mixture. Stir continuously for 3-5 minutes, until sugar is almost completely dissolved (a few sugar crystals may remain).

Pour or scoop jam into clean containers (freezer containers or canning jars), leaving at least a half-inch of head space at the top to allow for expansion upon freezing. Close containers and let sit on the counter for 24 hours. If jam has set in this time frame, place them in the freezer until ready to use. If they have not yet set, place in the refrigerator for up to three days to give them more time to set. After three days, place the containers in the freezer.

When ready to use, simply let jam thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

Gorgonzola & Sun Dried Tomato Crackers

If you like cheesy crackers, then you will love these little guys. They have a nice cheesy flavor and the sun dried tomato rounds it out. I developed this recipe for Uncovering Food's July Mystery Ingredient Challenge. While I don't have the recipe quite as vetted as I usually like before posting, I am on a time crunch and out of town to boot. I am visiting my mom in Seattle, which usually is a chance for a week of unbridled cooking and eating. Unfortunately, it is hot in Seattle right now. Like record breaking hot. And not just like "hottest temperature recorded on this day" hot, but like "hottest temperature recorded in Seattle ever" hot. Not the best conditions for playing around in a kitchen with the oven on.

Nonetheless, I think the recipe is good enough for an initial post. I will make any necessary tweaks when I get back home. I ate quite a few the evening I made them and enjoyed them thoroughly. The only two issues I am not 100% happy with is the salt level and the best baking temperature and time. I started at 425 degrees and initially undercooked them as they did not get crispy. When I cooked them longer, they got too browned too quickly at 425. I think that baking them at 400 would alleviate this problem and allow them to stay in the oven long enough to get nice and crispy without over browning.

The recipe starts out just like making a pie crust. Place the flour, salt, and thyme in a food processor. Whir to mix briefly.

Add the Gorgonzola and butter and process briefly to make a coarse meal. Dump in the milk and process, pulsing, until it just comes together into a ball. Dump the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and mold into a disk. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

You can either make these all at once, or freeze some or most of the dough to make small amounts of crackers whenever you want them. I made one-quarter of the dough and froze the rest for later. Roll the dough out fairly thin, as thin as you can and still have the dough maintain its integrity. Use plenty of flour to keep the dough from sticking to the counter. Cut into small, one inch squares. I used a fluted ravioli cutter to make them pretty.

Transfer the crackers to a parchment lined baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Using a toothpick, cake tester, or fork, prick the top of the cracker. Brush with egg wash (one egg yolk and a tablespoon of water). Sprinkle with a little kosher salt or crushed sea salt, if desired. I like the little salty edge, so I used sea salt from a grinder.

Bake crackers until they are nicely, deeply golden. If you under cook them, they do not crisp up very well when they cool. Expect them to be in the oven at least 15 minutes. Look how flaky they turned out! Delicious!


Gorgonzola & Sun Dried Tomato Crackers
Yield: about 80 1"-crackers

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp fresh thyme, minced
2/3 cups crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
1/2 cup cold butter cut into small cubes
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup oil packed sun dried tomatoes (press to drain off excess oil)

Combine flour, salt, and thyme in a food processor. Process briefly to mix. Add the cheese and butter. Process until just resembles coarse meal with pea sized chunks. Add the milk and process just until the dough starts to form a ball. Dump onto a piece of plastic wrap, form a disk and chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out however much of the dough you want to use at the current time. One quarter of the dough makes about 20 crackers. Cut into one-inch squares and transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with kosher or sea salt. Bake at 400 degrees until nicely browned, about 15-20 minutes. Remove and cool on a rack until completely cooled.

Fried Potatoes and Hamburger

This here is my husband's favorite meal. Every time I ask for his input on what he wants for dinner (or breakfast or lunch, for the matter), his reply is always, "fried potatoes and hamburger." Always. In fact, if I try and serve it with side dishes, he gets upset because then he has less room to fill up on his favorite meal. It's a guy fest, what can I tell you?

Fried Potatoes and Hamburger
Yield: serves 2-4

1 TBS vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced
1 lb hamburger
2 TBS minced garlic
2 TBS vegetable oil
5 medium potatoes
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
dash pepper
shredded cheddar, for topping (optional)

Wash the potatoes and prick with a toothpick or cake tester. Microwave on high until they are almost tender through. Let cool until they can be handled. Rub off the peel and cut into small pieces.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions once the skillet is hot. Saute for 3-5 minutes, until the onions have browned slightly and are translucent.

Add the ground meat and begin to brown. After the meat has browned slightly, push the meat and onions to the side of the pan and add the remaining oil and let heat. When oil is hot, add the potatoes and garlic. Stir to evenly coat and reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring infrequently, until potatoes are nicely browned, about 15-20 minutes.

Serve with shredded cheddar cheese, if desired.