American Favorites

Food is a fundamental part of all cultures.    Potatoes are very prominent in the native culture of Texas.  Look for potatoes fried--oh that's right--That's French Fries.  The perfect French Fry is easy to define: Crisp and richly browned on the outside, and soft and custardy on the inside.  It should never be limp or have excess grease.

One of the factors that causes French Fries to be limp and greasy is excess starch.  To prevent that, allow the sliced potatoes that you intend to fry to sit in cold water for a few minutes; then rinse them in cold water until the water runs clear and you see no more evidence of the starch.  Chill them for 30 minutes or over night.

Fill you fryer with at least three inches or more of crease.  Fry the cold, drained potatoes until they are limp and begin to brown.  Take them from the grease with a skimmer and drain on paper towels for 30 minutes overnight.  When you are ready to serve them, return them to the hot grease and allow to cook until they are brown and crisp.  Serve immediately.

Until I learned to cook French Fries like this I thought you couldn't prepare them in advance, but using this technique, you can.  This is real cooking, so if you don't want to go to this much trouble, you can bake your potatoes.

To bake potatoes in the conventional oven, choose Russet or other baking potatoes.  Rub washed potatoes in butter and wrap in foil.  Cook them in the oven for 1 hour at 400 degrees.

To bake them in the microwave, rub them in the butter and wrap them in 1 or 2 paper towels.  Bake for 5 or 6 minutes.  Pierce with a skewer to test for doneness.  Serve with butter, sour cream, bacon bits, chopped chives or cream cheese.
Enjoy the potatoes, and they are American, too.

What Should I Cook?

It's easy to get in a rut with cooking.  Food may become boring or  dull unless you do something to refresh you taste and your attitude about eating.  I don't often really want to spend the whole day in the kitchen.  I remember doing it, but I'm trying to overcome that tendency now.


Now if you want to make eating an adventure again without going out, you can try new combinations or jazz up old one.  


Spaghetti with Italian Sausage is one favorite I haven't used in a while.  Usually spaghetti is usually served with meat sauce or meat balls.  Try slicing sweet or spicy sausage and adding it to your sauce. You can saute the sausage for a few minutes before you add the sauce, canned is fine, and the cooked spaghetti.  Or you can add the sausage and sauce to the spaghetti at the table.  If you light a candle you have romance.


Tomato soup is a favorite, but you don't have to eat it unchanged from the can.  Add a sprinkle of dried or fresh Basil, a spoonful of sour cream or a sprinkle of grated cheese.  Try a new kind of crackers, too.  There is a splendid variety with cheese or black pepper topping, whole wheat, or bran.


Tomatoes are good with your scrambled eggs.  Get the grape tomatoes and add a few whole or sliced to pep up breakfast.


If you have leftovers in the fridge, don't waste them.  Put all your leftover veggies in a pan and add a few pieces of chopped ham, left over roast, or chicken from last night's Chinese food, and let it simmer for a few minutes.  It will be unique.  Call it anything you like.  You probably can't repeat it because you won't have that same selection of leftovers again.  It may be the Soup of the Year.  On the other hand, if you don't like it, it was all leftovers anyway.  You don't have to feel bad about throwing it out.

Pineapple--Better than Candy

Fresh pineapple is better than candy.  I love it, and it is healthful, too. It is sweet and juicy, and it will make take the edge off the afternoon so you can control your hunger till suppertime.


Buy fresh pineapple.  If it is already cleaned, you can put sections in a plastic bag or container to take with you. If you buy a whole pineapple do not panic.  It is easier to clean and prepare than you might think.  


Remove the top and bottom so that both are flat.  Stand the pineapple up on the end and remove the outside by slicing straight down from top to bottom.  Turn the pineapple around and continue to remove the peel until you have completely cleaned it.  There may be brown spot where the outside was dimpled.  You will notice that these dimples run in a straight diagonal lines.  If you want to remove them, lay the pineapple down and make a shallow cut on each side of each line and take it out.


Stand the pineapple on the end and cut it in half from top to bottom.  Then cut the halves again so that you have four quarters.  If you remove the narrow part of the triangular wedge, you have removed most of the core.  Slice the spears in bite size pieces.  Enjoy!!!
If you want to see a demonstration, click here.