Baked Potatoes and Home Fries

 I mentioned in my previous post that I retain extra béarnaise sauce to serve with eggs or steaks the day after I initially serve it. I am big on leftovers. Why make two steaks when I can make extra and reuse them some other way?

When serving steaks, I often serve a nice baked potato. The extra ones baked with no additional labor can be used in many ways over the next few days.  You can hollow them out, mash, “load,” and stuff. You can mash the insides and make potato skins from the remainder. You can slice them thin, toss them in oil and rosemary, and roast them quickly to eat with chicken. Or, as I will detail here, you can make breakfast potatoes. But first, let’s bake them.

Baked Potatoes (Basics, Sides)

• 4 or more russet potatoes, scrubbed and dried

Oven

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Poke the potatoes on one side three times with a fork.

2. Place on middle oven rack.

3. Bake for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, depending on the size.

4. If you need these faster, preheat the oven to 450°F and bake for 45-50 minutes. Do not microwave, as they will never be as crispy as they should be, but if you must, microwave a cleaned, poked potato for 10 minutes and finish in hot oven for 20 minutes.

5. Let the extras cool completely, then refrigerate.

Air Fryer

1. Preheat the fryer to 390°F. Poke the potatoes on one side three times with a fork.

2. Place on rack and spray with cooking spray.

3. Crisp for 40 minutes to 1.25 hours, depending on the size of the potato.

4. If you need these faster, preheat the fryer to 425°F and crisp for 30 minutes. Do not microwave, as they will never be as crispy as they should be, but if you must, microwave a cleaned, poked potato for 10 minutes and finish in a hot fryer for 10 minutes.

5. Let the extras cool completely, then refrigerate.

Once per week I can get Satyr to eat breakfast with me, usually on Sundays as he often works on Saturdays.  I make a full meal, we watch Star Wars: Clone Wars, and the animals gather around, hoping he will throw them some food, as they know I will not.  Sometimes, I move slowly, and it is not a big-from-scratch-breakfast kind of morning.  This is when I bang out a frittata or see what can be done with leftovers, checking the refrigerator, then the freezers.  Yes, I said freezers. Plural.

I apparently lived through the Great Depression in a previous life as I am a freak about saving and stocking food.  I save everything.  Fat, bones, vegetable trimmings, as little as 2 tbsp of leftovers, etc.… If I cannot get to it in the next three days, then it gets labeled and goes to the garage freezer.  This was a scary, scary place until a couple of weeks ago when my obsessiveness kicked in, and I went through everything in there, typing up an inventory by shelf and listing approximate size in my Notes App on my phone.  Now, I will “shop” twice weekly in my freezer to reduce the stockpile.  I need to make room for a large portion of the cow.

Home Fries (Breakfast)

• 2 tbsp chosen fat (ghee/bacon fat/coconut oil/evoo, etc)
• 2 previously baked potatoes
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 large bell pepper
• 3 oz pancetta, diced (optional) OR vegetarian crumbles
• 1 tsp savory, rosemary, or dill
• 2 tsp parsley
• salt and pepper

1. In a large skillet, heat the fat to a shimmer.  Add onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Add garlic and stir. Immediately add bell pepper and potatoes, stir, and cook for about 4 minutes.
3. Add “meat” and brown, stirring occasionally.
4. Add the chosen spice, stir, and cook until peppers are soft and potatoes are browned.
5. Add parsley, salt, and pepper to taste, stir, and remove from heat.  Serve.

Since I was keeping breakfast free and easy, I fried some eggs, wilted some spinach, sliced a couple of strawberries, and threw some salsa and viola on the plate!  Pair with jazz and frothy coffee.