I live in Idaho now, so it is only fair I share my favorite recipe for baked potatoes. They sure are a cheap way to get some nourishment - $1.29 for a five pound bag. I got my baked potato recipe from Jacques Pepin and Julia Child. Here is how they, and I, recommend cooking baked potatoes...quite possibly one of the easiest things to make. Sometimes if I don't have a lunch ready for work, I pop the potatoes in when I wake up in the morning, and they are ready to grab and go when I head to work.
1) Preheat oven to 425* and set the rack in the bottom third of the oven.
2) Scrub your potatoes under cold running water and cut off any parts that look sketchy.
3) Place the potato directly on the rack (no dishes!). Bake for 45 minutes - pierce with a knife to ensure they are done.
4) When the potatoes are done, remove them and cut a 2 inch slash lengthwise. Press the two ends toward each other to make room for salt and pepper and your choice of toppings. Here is where Julia and I diverge - I understand what she is getting at and can visualize cutting a 2 inch slash and pushing the ends together. However, it never seems to work for me. What I do now is cut the potato in half and separate the two halves. Then I cut a bunch of slashes widthwise and a bunch lengthwise so my entire potato looks like a crisscross. Then I mash in my toppings.
My favorite potato is lots of pepper, sea salt, a bit of olive oil, chives, parsley, a shake or two of grated parmesan cheese and a big huge side of ketchup. Absolutely delicious and without all the butter/sour cream, bacon etc. it really makes for a healthy dinner. Try to add as many herbs/vegetables as you can for an even healthier meal.
Well I think it is time to let the cat out of the bag. If you haven't caught on by now, it is time you know the truth...I LOVE PARMESAN!
I also love salads, homemade salad dressing, and my coworkers. Why my coworkers? Besides being all around fantastic, many of them seem to have an affinity for growing tomatoes and sharing the wealth. I have picked up about a dozen or so home grown tomatoes in the last week, and they are fantastic. I eat them plain with a bit of salt on top, but I was looking at my last remaining beauties tonight and decided I needed to do something special with them. I decided to roast them in olive oil, balsamic and a spice mix of ground mustard/cilantro/cayenne whilst preparing a salad to go along with the fresh veggies.
Now back to my love of parmesan -- I had shredded parmesan for lunch in a chickpea salad and it was the first time parmesan just didn't do much for me. I could have done with or without it, so I didn't want to just sprinkle some over my dinner salad. I decided it was time to get creative, so I picked up some grated parmesan (the kind that looks like powder) at the store.
This creation was pretty genius. You can jazz it up however you want and I didn't use precise measurements, but it went somethin' like this:
- Preheat oven to 375* F
- Lay parchment paper over my version of a cookie sheet AKA a pizza pan
- Pour about half a cup of parm into a bowl
- Add garlic powder to taste
- Add pepper to taste
- Add Italian seasoning to taste
- *If you prefer solid measurements, I would estimate about a quarter teaspoon garlic powder, a tablespoon Italian seasoning, and a half teaspoon pepper
- Mix it all up in the bowl and add to the parchment paper.
Here is where I would change things if making again. My original intent was to melt the circles into individual servings. Well I had never really thought about it before, but realized grated parmesan doesn't melt! When they were done in the oven, I expected to pick each circle off the paper, but they all crumbled, which ended up being a happy accident. If I were doing it again, I would just spread the cheese in a thin layer over the pan (use parchment paper though).
Cook for five minutes -- mine started to brown at four minutes, so pay close attention and don't exceed five minutes without a VERY watchful eye!
When done, remove from the oven and crumble up.
Now you have something that tastes like a deconstructed crouton -- breadcrumb-like, flavorful, adds a bit of crunch, and, even better, much lower calorie than croutons! One tablespoon of this stuff is only 20 calories and because of the crumb-like consistency, it sprinkles over your salad quite well.
I ALSO JUST REALIZED THESE TASTE EXACTLY LIKE BREAD CRUMBS! I really think they could replace bread crumbs in any recipe someone is looking to make gluten free. The flavor options are endless, and the cheese doesn't melt, so it will retain its crumbly texture. I am going to have to try it out and report back, but I can't imagine there is much more exciting for the gluten-free world than gluten-free breadcrumbs...imagine the frying possibilities it opens up :) Compared to breadcrumbs, the calorie content is about 1/3 to 1/2 as many calories.
This should be a fun week in the cooking world. Today I went to Costco and got:
- Lemons
- Apples
- Whipping cream
- Mussels
- Parmesan cheese
- Brussel sprouts
- Sourdough bread
- Grape tomatoes
- Spinach
- Walnuts
- Sundried tomatoes
I have some exciting plans...Quinoa and Walnut Stir Fry, Billibi (soup from the juice of mussels), Apple French Toast, and Cream-baked Brussel Sprouts.
In addition, my parents got me new tires for my birthday -- Thanks Mom and Dad!
However, now that I went grocery shopping, I am in grave danger. I rarely buy bread and now that I have some, I am absolutely obsessed with broiled buttered bread with parmesan cheese melted on top, Italian seasoning, and sun-dried tomatoes. To DIE for!!! I can't stop eating it -- it is fantastic. Stay tuned for some cooking adventures this week :)
There is a secret I need to let you all in on, and it is called "The most delicious snack in the whole word."
First, there are two things you should know about me:
A) I LOVE PARMESAN CHEESE. Like, I literally scoop it out with my hands and eat it plain, from the container.
B) I think of certain foods as means for eating my favorite foods. Ex: potatoes as a way to eat ketchup (another favorite food, but not as delicious by the spoonful and much harder to eat with your hands). I don't really eat the potatoes because I want the potatoes, but I eat them because I want the ketchup. Ask my roommates. I am really that weird.
So this is about methods and means of eating parmesan cheese. And in this case, that parmesan-cheese carrier would be green beans.
The best part is, green beans are cheap and they are good for you! You can buy bulk with twelve cans from Costco, and one can has about seventy calories. It fills an entire bowl and keeps you pretty full. Also, the most recent issue of Cosmo says green beans are full of silicon and a study has found people taking a silicon supplement had stronger and thicker hair after nine months...
Anyway, I take the green beans, drain them, and pour them in a bowl. Sprinkle them with garlic salt (which can potentially slow the growth of tumors, among other things [the garlic part]). BE CAREFUL not to add too much. This happens to me about 30% of the time. I obviously haven't caught on yet and it is awful when it happens. I consider rinsing the beans off, but by the time I notice, they are already covered in cheese so I can't do that. Instead I pick around for the best beans and end up just choking them all down. TERRIBLE.
After that, sprinkle the beans with parmesan. I love the kind from Costco, and of course I have to buy it in bulk! [thanks Chris for always sharing when I got desperate]. Mix everything together, and pop it in the microwave for 1 minute and fifteen seconds. I always do it for a minute because my microwave has quick cook buttons for thirty seconds and one minute. To be honest, I haven't taken the time to figure out how to do fifteen seconds (yes, I do realize I could just open the microwave but no!). After a minute, I always wish I had cooked it a bit longer and I know if I did it for a minute thirty it would probably burn my mouth because I wouldn't be able to wait long enough. So trust me -- a minute and fifteen.
Then, enjoy your tasty, amazing delicious snack. If you are weird and not obsessed with parmesan, I am sure most other cheeses will suffice.
And if you were wondering -- yes I usually have this once per day (right Grandma!!?) and yes, this is my go-to-snack for three in the morning [have NOT been sleeping well lately!]
