See Girl Cook

The glories of potatoes

Sweet potatoes, to be more specific.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Yukon Golds in their many delicious fattening forms, but I’ve had an odd craving for sweet potatoes lately.  A baked sweet potato is lovely and time-consuming (45 minutes of waiting for a single potato to bake - not good if you’ve put off eating for several hours already), but today I decided to try something new: sweet potato hash.  I’m sure someone out there has already done a great version of it, but mine was delicious, cheap, and simple.

I heated a generous amount of olive oil in a big saucepan on medium-high while I peeled and chopped one small sweet potato into roughly 1-inch cubes (when I say “roughly”, I mean it, folks).  I tossed the potato into the pan, where it sizzled appealingly, and let it sit and brown while I hunted for other ingredients.  I had half a yellow onion in my refrigerator, so I chopped most of that (I’m a fiend for onions) and threw it in as well.  I stirred it all, so the potatoes would brown on other sides, and ignored it for a few minutes.  Finally, I sprinkled on cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and salt, stirred again, and let it cook a bit more.  When the potatoes were appropriately browned and toothsome, I scooped the mix out onto a plate and added a dollop of salted butter.  Delicious, filling, cheap, and easy to increase or decrease portion sizes.  I’ll make it again.  And again…and again.

When the going gets tough, the tough…stop cooking?

Not entirely.  But I don’t think it’s a coincidence that, as work has gotten crazy, I’ve splurged and bought peanut butter and premade bread.  I don’t eat them together - the bread is for toast with eggs in the morning, and the peanut butter is for licking off a spoon as I write - but they’re making things much easier.

Other lifesaving recipes include pasta with broccoli.  Pan-roast three heads of broccoli and cook half a box of pasta.  Combine.  Add a large chunk of butter.  Good for three meals - no one cares which ones (yes, even Saturday breakfast).  Yum, iron.

Cinnamon Buns, Take 2

Oh, dear.  Not one of my shining moments.  I decided to make cinnamon buns from a real recipe (as opposed to sweetened pizza dough with cinnamon and sugar).  I whipped out my trusty copy of Baking Illustrated, found the recipe for Quick Cinnamon Rolls (i.e. non-yeasted, so you don’t have to wait for them to rise), and went to it.  The filling looked delicious, butter and brown sugar and cinnamon:

I must’ve done something wrong mixing the dough, though, because it was sticky beyond belief.  Granted, I used a plastic spatula instead of a bench scraper to roll the filled buns, but the dough tore and stuck and spilled filling everywhere.  I baked it up anyway, of course, but they were very ugly.

The spilled filling turned into a very dark caramel substance in the oven; it was tasty in an unexpected way, and made me wish I’d been making candy in the first place.

I still ate them all for several breakfasts.  I’ll try them again when I have a marble slab and bench scraper to work with.

Good Morning, Pancakes

Is there anything better than making pancakes on Saturday morning?  Well, maybe having someone bring you coffee so that you’re actually awake when you make said pancakes…but still, I think it’s an excellent way to start the weekend.

I used Mark Bittman’s Everyday Pancakes recipe with a few changes.  If you’re using a nonstick pan, I recommend a slight spritz of cooking spray or a very small amount of oil - once it’s hot, use a paper towel (or a dishtowel, if you scrimp by not purchasing paper towels) to wipe it evenly around the pan.  I found that half the recipe was totally sufficient for one person.  I also added a bit of vanilla, and kept the burner lowish to avoid scorched pancakes.

If you don’t want to buy syrup or jam, place some banana slices in the pancake batter just after pouring it (other fresh fruit would also be great, if you can find it for relatively cheap).  They’re pretty good with nothing but butter, too.

Frozen Peas = Magic

Is there any vegetable besides the humble pea that tastes amazing after it’s been frozen?  Frozen peas, in fact, are usually better than fresh peas.  Of course they’re good after a few minutes in boiling water, but I wanted more for my peas.

I melted a few tablespoons of butter in a skillet and sauteed some minced garlic while the peas boiled for just a minute or two.  Then I drained the peas and poured them into the pan after the garlic became quite fragrant.  After a brief saute, I had garlicky, buttery peas to liven up my dinner.

Plus, peas are cheap, even when they come from the frozen foods section.  Definitely worth keeping a big bag in your freezer.

Miniature Soft Pretzels

As soon as I saw Smitten Kitchen’s recipe, I bookmarked it.  I’m a bit of a soft pretzel fiend, in that they are one of my many fatal food weaknesses (I’ll buy them whenever I see them).  The idea of making my own was very tempting, despite the fact that the recipe called for 6 whole cups of flour.

My pretzels puffed up quickly as I formed them, and perhaps should’ve been rolled a bit thinner: 

As you can see, my pretzel-shaping technique was a bit off.  Still, I dutifully boiled them in water + baking soda + sugar, brushed them with egg wash, and sprinkled them with salt.  Twelve minutes in the oven, and they were gorgeous.

They don’t taste quite as amazing as they look - as I said, I should’ve rolled them thinner, and I’ve realized that I’m used to the mall pretzels that have been brushed with melted butter before you eat them.  Still, they were delicious warm, and once they cooled, I sliced two in half and made grilled cheese pretzel sandwiches for dinner.

New posting schedule

I’ll be following a Monday-Wednesday-Friday posting schedule from now on, which will enable me to write longer, more detailed posts instead of just slapping up a photo and a recipe link.

Do not drink and fry

Who knew?  My favorite drunk food is the kind of thing I make myself.  Back when I lived in Grinnell, Iowa, my weekend nights often ended with a group of us scorching our fingers on freshly-made pancakes full of molten chocolate chips or burning our tongues on gooey grilled cheese sandwiches.

I don’t recommend cooking if you’re truly drunk…but if you’re just a little tipsy, there’s nothing like some hot, greasy food.  Just keep your smoke alarm batteries fresh and your clothes on.

That sounds like a cooking show sign-off.  When does the new season of Next Food Network Star begin?  I think I’ve found my angle.

Food rut

I’m in a bit of a food rut lately.  It’s not that I’m not cooking (in other words, I am cooking), but I’m not making anything new.  I’ve been cycling through fried plantains, homemade bread, fried rice, granola…and they’re delicious - but I need something new and exciting to make.  Something that will be dazzling in a photograph, and doesn’t require a food processor or electric mixer.

Suggestions?

Sometimes, cooking for yourself means making high-quality meals with fresh local ingredients.  And sometimes, it means frying up thick-sliced bacon for a late-night snack and washing it down with a healthy slug of wine.  No one’s judging.