other cooking

[pat]

I come back from a vacation (holiday) and there are many emergencies that need immediate attention.

Poor you! To come back from holiday to a single emergency would be bad enough, and thankfully not something that most people experience, but to come back to many, as you did, would be an absolute nightmare. I hope you've recovered from them all.

[birdy]

Sounds delicious!  I'd be glad t do the dishes too in return for such a yummy meal.

[a non-amos]

Pat, don't feel too bad for me.  If there were no problems, there would be no need for engineers.  I would be unemployed.

The caramelized coating was a happy coincidence.  I only figured out the chemistry after it happened.

Fried potatoes with onions and green peppers are always a winner, but this time we only had Vidalia onions.  They have less onion flavor, more sweetness, so they are not normally my favorite pick with fried potatoes.  This time I was a little heavy on the onions (knowing these onions are not strongly flavored), and they contributed sugars to the dish.  Sugars with a few proteins from the bacon, add heat, and the rest is history.  Mrs. A thought I did this on purpose.

Regarding the "foodie" place, I must admit the food was very good there, too.

[bobbi]

One of the breakfast dishes included the herbal potatoes in question.  Fry them with some veggies that are high in sugar content, in bacon grease that has some proteins, and you have a nice layer of caramel on the outside.  On the inside you have some tender flakey potatoes infused with herbal flavors.  Yum.

Similar to the classic Boxing day British dish - Bubble and Squeak. There are many variations of this dish, but the essential base = left over potatoes and other veg, usually sweetish root and bulb varieties, and a frying pan with some form of grease in it.
We enjoy doing what Gordon Ramsay suggests: mash the potatoes and veg together, shape into patties and lightly flour before frying them. We don't fry them, but rather squirt them lightly with rice bran oil from a spray bottle and then bake in a moderate oven for 8 mins on each side. You can bake portobello mushrooms stuffed/topped with some garlic, cheese  and crumbs and halved tomatoes topped with a little chopped fresh basil simultaneously. Meat in some form (bacon etc.) or adding a fried egg is an optional extra, but I personally love the simple symmetry of three different but similarly shaped and sized round items on the plate.

[a non-amos]

Sounds yummy!

[a non-amos]

By the way, there is a story behind this . . .

Several years ago I had a business trip to the UK (no, they don't let me out very often).  We were shepherded to a very old pub (which was quickly filled with foreign engineers, go figure).

I wanted to eat something I could not get back in the states, and I had more adventure in my spirit than knowledge in my head.  I was curious.  I asked if they had bubble and squeak.  I had no idea what this was, but it sounded interesting.

They were offended that I ordered this.  I did not mean to offend.  Maybe some bangers and mash instead?  With real HP sauce?

This was not on the menu.  My coworkers dove into the menu, trying to determine what a banger was and why it would be served with some undefined substance known as mash.  They thought HP was a poorly veiled reference to horse power.

The waiter and I were in tune.  The food was good.

[a non-amos]

Earlier in this chain I mentioned that I did a decent curry sauce.  I have been working on it since then, tweaking a bit here and there.

This year's presents included small tubs of curry for a few friends.  One of my friends has used this sauce to cook for a visitor from India.  That went well.

In my kitchen, this is a go-to staple (when we have the sauce).  This is kitchen magic.  Slice up some meat or go vegetarian, stir fry and/or steam, throw some sauce on it, and enjoy really good food in only a few minutes of time.  This is faster than a TV dinner (less time fasting, less time until feasting).

If you want to get fancy (why not!), serve over jasmine rice with a handful of slivered almonds and a handful of raisins thrown in.  Throw them in after the rice is cooked; the raisins can soak up some of the moisture the rice needs to cook properly.

At work we are scheduled to have an international food cook-off (just for fun).  Wish me luck.  If this doesn't work well enough, I have some alternate ideas up my sleeve for next year.

- A

    

[birdy]

How did the cook-off go?

[a non-amos]

I hasn't happened yet.