Recipe Maverick

Chili-Cheese Skillet Fries

October 4, 2009


What is there to say about this, except "Yum!"? I'm thrilled that this recipe turned out successfully, because I wasn't at all sure that it would. The usual method of making french fries (No, I will NOT call them freedom fries) is to deep-fry pieces of potato. I didn't want to make mine that way because it uses so much oil, and leaves you with a pot full of nasty, potato-ey oil when you're done that you have to get rid of somehow. I wanted my fries to have the soft interior and crisp exterior of deep-fried fries, but without the deep frying.

These skillet fries are not quite like traditional french fries, but they make a more than acceptable substitute and, paired with chili, can be a full meal.

Ingredients:
1 russet potato
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 can of chili, any brand
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 green onion, sliced into thin rounds
*serves 2

Bake the potato the day before you intend to make the fries in a 400 degree oven for one hour. Chill the baked potato in the fridge overnight.

Remove the potato from the fridge and gently scrape the peel off. Cut the potato in half widthwise, and again lengthwise. Cut the sections into the shape of french fries, making them as thick or as skinny as you like.

Heat the oil in a small skillet. In two batches, fry the potato slices in the oil, turning them frequently, until all four sides are golden and crisp. Put them on a paper towel to soak up excess oil as you remove them from the skillet. Sprinkle salt over the fries (I used kosher salt on mine to add more texture) .

In a small saucepan, heat the chili until it is bubbling. Serve the chili over the fries, sprinkle the cheese over the chili, and garnish with the green onion.




 

Banana Bread

October 3, 2009

The smell of baking bananas filled the air...my housemates sniffed it appreciatively while I took the banana bread out of the oven to test it for doneness. I stuck in the knife, only to have it come out dirty again. What was going on? Why was my banana bread taking so ridiculously long to bake? The recipe I was using said 20 minutes, and it had been 25!

But wait! There's the problem! The recipe I was using was for Banana Nut Muffins...and of course muffins don't take as long to bake as a loaf ...
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Chocolate Peanut Butter Apples

September 30, 2009



The weather finally cooled down today to the point where eating chocolate no longer seemed like a ludicrous proposition, and I took full advantage of that fact with this new recipe. It's just about as easy as it gets; I made it in just an hour between classes, and I think I could probably have made it faster if I wasn't making it up as I went along.
      Apples with peanut butter are a popular, healthy snack that I eat quite often. Peanut butter and chocolate put together make another powerf...

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Beef Stir-Fry

September 28, 2009


    I have a little confession to make about this recipe: I was so hungry when I started making it that I didn't bother to marinate the beef. As a result, although it still tasted great, the beef could've been more tender. You don't have to learn the hard (or shall I say slightly tougher and less moist) way like I did: marinate the beef. You won't regret it. Just putting the beef and the marinade in the fridge a few hours before cooking, as I failed to do, will suffice.

Stir frying is a quick...
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Garlic Rice

September 28, 2009


Rice makes a great accompaniment to many meals. It works well as a side dish for meats, seafood, and vegetables and is perfect for soaking up tasty sauces. However, the same old rice day after day can quickly become boring. This garlic rice recipe is a delicious variation that I use to make rice more exciting. I learned how to make it from a high school friend who had grown up in Peru, who told me that they had made it daily in Lima when she lived there.

Ingredients:
1 cup long grain white rice...
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Welcome to my blog! I'm Emma, a recent college graduate with a BA in French. I am passionate about cooking and writing, among other things. Come share in my love of food!

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