Baked French Fries

Fridays have become Carnival Food Night for me over the past few weeks.  I must make my apartment neighbors envious once I turn the overhead fan on, and the smell of french fries wafts from my studio window into their homes. 

Alas, I am not skilled enough in the culinary arts to make my own corn dogs, but I do not hesitate to allow my dear friend, Trader Joe, to do that for me (TJ's soy corn dogs are better than the meaty equivalent in my opinion)

Ketchup, which is made from a vegetable (or fruit, I suppose) creates a balanced meal.  Snicker, snicker.  Well, don't feel too bad--the fries ARE baked, but they're not any less tasty because of it.

Baked French Fries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Ingredients:

1 large baking potato, scrubbed clean of dirt (unless you like earthiness, than by all means...)

1 TB vegetable oil or olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste, Lawry's seasoning salt is nice too, or garlic salt if you're a proud single lady like me

Cut potato into thin slices like so,

Cut slices into thin strips,

Place fries-to-be in  a large mixing bowl, pour oil over, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, yumminess, etc.  Roll up your sleeves, and get your hands dirty, coating potato bits in the oil and seasoning.

Place fries on a roasting pan.  Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, flipping fries over halfway between baking time. 

This recipe makes about two servings, but the other half can be frozen in a Ziploc bag, and crisped in the oven again when your next Carnival Food Night comes to town. 

Courtney's Favorite Granola

There's something about crunch.  Is it the sound?  The satisfaction we get from chomping down with our teeth into the armor of a crispy little nugget of goodness?  I can't say for sure, but I can say that this granola sates my otherwise endless craving for crunchiness.  Oh, and like all good things, it's sweet!

From a little Internet researching, a little cookbook sleuthing, I came up with this recipe, pretty much the first recipe I have ever created "on my own." It can easily become "your favorite granola" simply by customizing it: keep the ratios of the liquids and dry ingredients the same and you really can't go wrong.  One word of caution: watch this stuff like a hawk in about the last ten minutes of baking, because that's when it tends to get moody, and say, "I'm going to burn if I want to, and you can't stop me."  Otherwise, smooth sailing, and happy mouths.

Courtney's Favorite Granola
Preheat oven to 300 degrees

Mix dry ingredients:
3 cups oats
1 cup of walnuts (or almonds, or any other nut you like)
1/2 cup shredded coconut

Mix wet ingredients and spices
1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
1 TB vegetable oil
2 tsp cinnamon (or 1 each of cinnamon and nutmeg for a Christmas-y feel)
1 tsp vanilla, almond, or maple extract
1/2 c applesauce (I use sugar-free)
2-4 TB brown sugar

Incorporate mixed wet ingredients into mixed dry ingredients.  Sprinkle with a dash of salt.  Spread mixture on a greased jelly roll/roasting pan.  Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, stirring after about 20 minutes.  After baking, allow granola to rest in pan for about 5 minutes to finish baking completely.  Spread granola onto a sheet of foil paper or a different pan to finish cooling completely.  Mix in dried fruit if desired (I like dried cranberries, dried apple slices, or raisins).  Store in airtight container for about a week, or in a Ziploc bag in the freezer for up to a month or two (not sure how long it lasts to be honest, because I eat it pretty quickly, but this seems to be the general consensus among other granola bakers).

Better Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe from allrecipes.com

Everyone says that their chocolate chip recipe is the best. I'm not saying this, because this recipe isn't mine. Still, I think it is the best. If you like crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside chocolate chip cookies, then this one is for you.

I love bing able to make up a batch of this dough, bake a few cookies and freeze the rest. Company coming over? Bake them some fresh cookies. You're home will smell delicious, your neighbors will be jealous, and you will be toted as the hostess of the century.

*A note about the recipe: it calls for dissoliving the baking soda in hot water. I'm not really sure what this does to the cookies. Next time I might just skip this step and see how they turn out. Still, with the batch I made, I did do this quirky step and they turned out great. Maybe that's the trick?

**For freezing: wrap dough in plastic wrap and put in a freezer bag. Thaw in the fridge for 3-5 hours before baking. Interestingly enough, chilled dough produces chewier cookies because the fats are not melted.

As always, nuts are optional. I left them out (mainly because I wanted to add in extra chocolate chips heheh!)

Knock-off Razzleberry Pie

When I was in middle school, it seemed that every girl and her mother owned a Louis Vuitton purse.  Ah, well, that's what it seemed.  Upon closer inspection, one would realize that those little LV's and fancy symbols were actually, LU's paired with smiley faces or some other ridiculous circular motif. 

Well, I'm not going to try and dupe you with this recipe.  It kind of looks like Marie Callendar's flaky double-crust pie with dark berry filling.  Yet, with scrutiny the filling is a little too red, a little too Razzly.  But it tastes darn good, just like how those knock-off Louis, in the end, were purses too.

So don't judge, and try it.  Preferably warm with vanilla ice cream.

Knock-off Razzleberry Pie adapted from Better Homes & Garden's New Cookbook 15th Edition

Double-Crust Pie Pastry

3 cups AP flour

1 tsp salt

1 cup shortening

1/2 cup to 2/3 cup ice water

Mix flour and salt.  Cut in shortening until mixture looks like peas.  Sprinkle ice water 1 TB at a time, and toss flour mixture with a fork, working in sections until the entire mixture is moist but not sticky.  Divide mixture in half.

Take one half and on a lightly floured surface, roll until about 12 inches in diameter.  Fit into bottom of a 9 inch pie plate.  Trim edges.

Roll out other ball and leave aside.

Berry Mixture

3 cups of frozen mixed berries

2 cups of frozen raspberries

1/2 cup to 3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup AP flour

Berries should be icy, but not frozen solid.  Let fruit stand for 45 minutes if solidly frozen.  Mix everything together, until berries are well coated, and mixture is thickened.  Spoon mixture into crust-lined 9-inch pie plate.  Cover with second pie crust.  Fold top crust beneath the edges of the bottom crust.  Cut several slits in the top crust to allow for air to escape. Decorate edge.

Brush milk or egg wash onto top of pie and sprinkle with sugar (sanding sugar is very pretty) for a fancy schmancy look (it goes with the knock-off theme).  Cover edge of pie with foil to prevent it from browning too much. 

Place a cookie sheet below pie in oven to catch any fruit juices that escape.  Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes (40 to 50 if fruit was frozen).  Remove foil.  Bake for another 35 to 40 minutes until filling is bubbling, or fruit is softened.  Allow to cool on a wire rack.  Top with ice cream or whipped cream.  Take that Marie Callendar.

First Meals

June 17th I moved into my own very first place (financed by parents and student loans, of course).  It is an exciting and scary time.  I have had to learn to feed myself, and not rely on the glorious salad bar from the dormitory dining hall: O how I miss thee, fair selection of organic and local produce, and the occasional oddity like miniature corn. 
It has been pretty warm here, so I haven't wanted to turn on the oven too much.  I have, however, made copious amounts of granola...

Tried my hand at mashed potatoes...

Made Trader Joe's Multi-grain Pancakes from a wholesome and tasty box mix (farewell Bisquick)...

And Made Mom's Pasta Salad, all on my own...

When I'm not eating leftovers, it's mostly salads, quesadillas, and sandwiches.  Easy, but satisfying.

Which reminds me, I recently saw an interview with Anderson Cooper where he said that he goes through phases where he "rediscovers" food.  Three of his favorites are protein shakes, egg whites, and PB&J sandwiches.  I think Anderson and I would get along pretty well.

Spinach and Feta Quiche

J'adore la quiche.  Hey, I took 6 years of French, and I can at least say that (and enough to muddle through a French Club pique-nique for Bastille Day).  I made this quiche for the get-together, and I think it was well-enjoyed, as I was only left with 2 slices.  Delicieuse.

I had made the same recipe sans tomates a week before for my Mom's first visit to my nouvelle apartement.  The first one was good, but the second one was definitely a charm.

Faux pas: do NOT buy any other spinach than frozen, CHOPPED spinach.  I made the mistake on the first quiche of not buying chopped, and it was very stringy, and grass clod unappetizing looking.  Green is good, but not this much green.

Case in point: Green onions=good green, especially with nice white cheeses

Also, I am becoming a bit pie obsessed.  I could literally eat pie crust with every meal of the day.  More pie crusts to come.  Decorating is fun!

If you are a lazy  busy college student like me, then I have a tip for you: after you've eaten as much quiche as you can handle the first day of making this, freeze individual slices.  Pop a slice in the microwave for a minute in and a half in the microwave, and voila!  Dinner!  Sure the crust will not be quite as crumbly, but good eggy, cheesy, oniony, spinachy deliciousness will still be there. 

Spinach and Feta Quiche from Sunset: Vegetarian Cooking

Pastry for 9 inch pie from Better Homes and Garden New Cookbook 15th Edition

Chocolate Revel Bars

Although I've made both chocolate chip banana bread, and granola since making this indulgently tasty, yet ridiculously easy cookie, I won't bore you with my old favorites.  While I love banana bread, I seem to have fallen into a banana rut.  I blame my Grandmother, who purposefully leaves out bananas to become overripe so that when I come home I will bake with them: banana bread, banana muffins, banana...  The granola I own up to though.  There is nothing like crunchy, sweetly spiced oats.  

I love oats.  Wholesome alone.  Hearty for breakfast.  Comforting as a cookie.  Plus, it's a whole grain, so let's just forget the sugar bomb of sweetened condensed milk that goes into this recipe for now. 

From Better Homes and Gardens' New Cook Book 15th Edition (another old favorite).