Three Years and Fried Potatoes

My brother and his fabulous lady friend recently went on a very strict diet. It might be described as a modified low-carb diet with emphasis on lean proteins, fruits and vegetables. I, personally, would describe it as starvation. Well, the diet did seem to have good results, and, a little envious of the dieters’ determination (they did this thing for 40 days!), I thought perhaps I should try something like that. But then I came to my senses. What, after all, would I be able to post to The Messy Apron if I was eating like that?

Today marks the beginning of the fourth year of this silly little project and I am forced to admit that I’m addicted. I base my grocery list on what I want to post. I get nervous if I haven’t tried a successful new recipe in a few days. The camera is never far from the sunny spot under the window in the living room where I take most of my shots (the kitchen windows don’t let in enough light most of the time.) I’m constantly thinking of what I’m going to write about each ingredient and recipe. This is the way I do things now. The Messy Apron is a lifestyle.

If I’m going to be honest with you, I have to say that this last year or so has not been good for me on a personal level. No matter how sad, lonely, worrisome or frustrating things get, however, I’m not the type to lose my appetite. In fact, I’m not even the type to lose interest in cooking or baking or trying new dishes or writing about them. Like Grandpa Vic always said, you gotta eat something, and I’ve been fortunate enough to always have something to eat, and to have the time, interest, and skill to make that something pretty good.

That doesn’t mean that everything has to be all fancy and trendy all the time. There is a time and place for something as humble (though delicious) as fried potatoes. In fact, there are many times and many places for fried potatoes. Last weekend in my kitchen, is just one of them. I partially cooked some russet potatoes in the microwave (leaving their skins on) the night before, then chopped them up and cooked them in butter in a cast iron pan the next morning. I love scallions with fried potatoes, so I added a finely chopped one, and I happened to have some leftover Easter ham that went in as well. Perfectly delicious, simple happiness without a lot of fuss. You can make these any time for any meal. I just happen to like them alongside an over-easy fried egg and toasted whole wheat bread.

Fried Potatoes with Scallions and Ham may not be part of a restrictive weight-loss diet, but they are part of The Messy Apron diet, which means they are something I made, photographed, and wrote about on these pages. Nothing profound, nothing extraordinary. After three years, I think it’s safe to say that such is how I do things, and I think we can all expect a lot more of the same in The Messy Apron’s year four. Happy birthday, you messy little blog. You’ve been a good friend to this hungry cook!

My newest imaginary friend, which I created in October, is a blog on the books I’m reading, The Distractible Reader. Drop by any time!


Fried Potatoes with Scallions and Ham
You could use any cooked potatoes for this recipe. I recommend cooking them by boiling or in the microwave (see below) with their skins on, then cooling them before cutting them to fry. They seem to hold together best when prepared this way.

You could add other things to these potatoes as well, such as bacon, cheese or bell peppers.

1 – 1 ½ pounds potatoes (or start with cooked potatoes)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ - ¾ teaspoon coarse salt, or to taste
1 scallion, finely chopped
about ½ cup diced, fully cooked ham
a few grinds fresh black pepper

1. (If starting with cooked potatoes, skip this step.) Pierce the skin of the potatoes all over with a sharp knife or fork. Place the potatoes in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high 3 minutes. Rearrange the potatoes in the bowl (Use an oven mitt or towel to handle them. They are very hot.) Microwave about 2 minutes more or until the flesh gives when squeezed. (Again, they are hot so use some protection for your hands.) Allow the potatoes to cool a few hours or overnight.

2. Chop the potatoes into about 1-inch cubes. Melt the butter in a cast iron pan over medium heat. Add the potatoes and salt. Cook the potatoes in the butter over medium heat until they are golden brown, stirring occasionally. (I like to use a spatula to get under them better.) This could take 20-30 minutes.

3. Stir in the scallion and cook until the scallion is well wilted. Stir in the ham and cook about 3 minutes more, or until the ham is heated through. Taste the potatoes for salt and add more if desired. Stir in the pepper.

Makes 3-4 servings.


Other recipes like this one: Grilled Potatoes with Lime-Herb Dipping Sauce, Red Flannel Hash with Spicy Mustard

See the sidebar to the right for a link to all of my favorite recipes from the month of April.

Ham and Cheese, Don't Hold the Onions

It wasn’t until I started writing up this post (or was staring at the computer deciding what to write), that I realized that the Ham and Onion Pie with Rye Crust I made recently is really just a ham and cheese on rye in fancy dress. That is if you consider a load of caramelized onions fancy dress. When it comes to food, I certainly do.

Since spring seems to be dragging its heels, determined to arrive late this year, I’ve been hitting some season-independent recipes. For this one, I began with a clipping from Cooking Light magazine, but by the time I got done making notes and revisions it was just as messy as my apron. I kept the basic procedure and the Jarlsberg cheese, but I stirred the cheese into the onions rather than layering it into the pie (fancy dress.) I slipped a Rye Pie Crust under the filling, replaced the store-bought stuffing mix with homemade rye bread cubes and the Canadian bacon with ham, and cooked the caramelized onions in chicken broth. I also adjusted the seasonings to include caraway seeds.

So there’s a crust with rye on the bottom and a rye crumb topping with ham and Jarlsberg cheese in the middle. There’s even Dijon mustard. If this was a sandwich, it would be just fine. If, however, the person serving me this sandwich asked if I wanted it with onions, of course I’d have to say yes. Caramelized onions, please. Sweet and jammy caramelized onions.

This recipe is significantly more involved than a ham and cheese sandwich, but I like to spend time in the kitchen, making a big mess, and I hope you do too. The blind baked crust, which I described in the previous post and the caramelized onions take the most effort. There aren’t any tricky juggling maneuvers to manage, however, so you can give each part of the pie your full attention. In fact, you won’t even have to pay that much attention to the onions. Just cook them over medium low heat with some added chicken broth (not technically standard procedure for caramelized onions, but quite delicious in this pie), stirring occasionally and adding more broth to keep them from scorching or getting stuck to the pan.

Once the onions are done and have cooled a bit, just stir in the ham and cheese, plus some seasoning and mustard, plop it into the baked rye crust, top it with the bread cube topping, which is kind of like a Thanksgiving stuffing, and bake it. The end product is a rich and savory golden brown pie that takes the ham and cheese sandwich into the formal dining room. The flavors complement each other in such an earthy satisfying way, you won’t mind that spring refuses to arrive. (Disclaimer: yes you will mind. Just let the author savor her delusions along with her pie.)

Ham and Onion Tart with Rye Crust
Based on a recipe in Cooking Light magazine

1 recipe Rye Pie Crust (or other single crust pastry) rolled out and fitted into a 9-inch pie pan

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, divided
4 cups thinly-sliced yellow onion
½ teaspoon coarse (kosher or sea) salt, divided
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth, divided
2 tablespoons butter
1 ½ cups rye bread in ½ -inch cubes
1 teaspoon chopped fresh or crumbled dried sage leaves
½ teaspoon pepper, divided
1 teaspoon caraway seeds, coarsely crushed with the flat of a knife or mortar and pestle
½ cup diced fully-cooked ham
1 cup (about 4 ounces) shredded Jarlsberg cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Line the pie crust with aluminum foil and fill with your choice of pie weights (ceramic or metal weights, dry beans, etc.) Bake at 400F for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 375 F.

2. Remove the foil and pie weights from the crust. Brush the crust with 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard. Bake for 5-8 minutes at 375 F or until the crust becomes lightly browned and dry rather than raw and doughy. Set aside on a wire cooling rack.

3. While baking the crust, prepare the caramelized onions. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the onions and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook the onions about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The onions should be beginning to brown.

4. Add ½ cup chicken broth. Continue to cook the onions about 25 minutes more. Add about ½ cup more of the remaining broth a little at a time as the mixture gets dry and sticky. When the onions are done, they should be very brown and soft, almost jammy. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Stir the onion mixture occasionally to facilitate cooling.

5. Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bread cubes and cook until just beginning to turn brown and toasted, about 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

6. Add the remaining ½ cup broth, and the sage, ¼ teaspoon pepper and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook until the broth is nearly absorbed, stirring gently to avoid breaking up the bread cubes too much. Remove from the heat and set aside.

7. When the onions have cooled slightly (they should at least no longer be steaming), stir into them the remaining 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, remaining ¼ teaspoon pepper, caraway seeds and ham. Stir in the Jarlsberg cheese.

8. Transfer the onion mixture to the baked pie shell, spreading evenly. Top the onion mixture with the bread cube mixture, spreading evenly.

9. Bake the pie at 375 F for 25 minutes. The bread cube topping should be browned. Remove from the oven and cool 10 minutes on a wire rack before slicing and serving.

Makes about 6 servings. Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator, but the crisp texture of the crust will not be maintained upon reheating in the microwave.

Other recipes like this one: Corn and Green Onion Tart with Bacon, Chard Tart with Feta Cheese and Olives, Winter Vegetable Galettes with Cheddar, Mustard and Caramelized Onions

One year ago: Rhubarb Sour Cream Muffins