What I learned this week: Apple slicers cut perfect home fries

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We're never too old to learn something new, be it tangible or intangible. This week I learned something super handy of a super tangible sort.

My lesson? I learned that apple slicers are great for cutting home fries! Especially if you don't have one of those nifty kitchen gadgets made specifically for slicing up fries.

how to cut fries

French fries, according to myriad medical and nutritional experts, are oh-so bad for you. But they're oh-so good to the taste buds. Making (and baking) fries at home cuts down a smidgen on the awfulness of the tater treats, but cutting the potatoes for home fries is a pain in the patootie, whether using regular potatoes or the healthier sweet ones.

That is, until I realized this past week that an apple slicer creates perfect home fries. Here's how:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Figuring one potato per person plus an extra, scrub them clean or peel them — though it's the peels that make them "home" fries, if you ask me.

Next, pull out your handy dandy apple slicer, then carefully cut through the potato just as you might an apple.

Viola! French fries!

making french fries

Slice the center piece, the one where an apple core would be, in half length-wise to make all your home fries about the same size.

sliced potato

To complete the home fries process, sparingly slather (oxymoron?) the potato slices with light mayo, sprinkle with pepper and seasoned salt, then place on a baking sheet coated with non-stick spray.

Bake for 30 minutes or until tender, flipping the potatoes halfway through.

Pull them out of the oven, and there you have it — home fries. Perfectly cut. With an apple corer.

home fries

See? You're never too old to learn something new.

This post linked to Grandparents Say It Saturday.

Today's question:

What did you learn this past week?

Reheated comfort food

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As is the case with many flu- and bug-stricken folks around the country, the last few weeks have been a battle for me as I struggle with super bugs of dizzying sorts that I just can't seem to lick.

Yesterday, though, I felt a bit better than I have been. At least enough to actually cook dinner, compared to the frozen foods and fast foods Jim and I have been feasting on for far too many meals.

Considering I was still feeling fairly cruddy, it should be no surprise that I chose to make one of my favorite comfort foods: biscuits and gravy.

While I stirred the gravy, sausage bits swirling around the spoon as I waited for the milky goodness to get thick and creamy, I considered how much I love biscuits and gravy, how much comfort it provides when I feel not quite myself, physically or otherwise.

Yet I wouldn't give biscuits and gravy top billing on my list of favorite comfort foods, for that belongs to another dish.

comfort food

I wrote about that particular dish — my very most favorite of all comfort foods — for Victoria magazine nearly 15 years ago. (Well, it was actually for the "Friends of Victoria" reader newsletter, which is neither here nor there, though, as I was paid just the same.)

Because my brain is still rather foggy and creative juices haven't been flowing well of late, I decided that today I'd simply share with you that little story of my favorite comfort food, word for word as published by Victoria magazine.

It goes like this:

A Taste of the Past

Simple pleasures are the best

I remember days from my childhood walking home from school for lunch through the frozen Minnesota landscape. Snow covered the ground and a thin crust of ice formed across the top. As I balanced each step, I tried to guess how long I could stay atop the snow before the crunchy crust gave way.

After trudging through the cold, I was greeted by an unexpected welcome. Inside our old farmhouse, bowls of warm macaroni and tomato sauce awaited my brothers, sisters, and me. Perfectly cooked, perfectly plain elbow macaroni bathed in brilliant red tomato sauce straight from the can, with just a sprinkling of salt.

What Mom prepared for us those winter days was love pure and simple, no extras added. In my memory, those simple lunches must have been right around Christmas, because I remember the contrast of the red sauce and the white of winter making a lasting impression.

Ever since then, I've turned to macaroni and tomato sauce whenever I'm in need of comfort. My high-school boyfriend and I used to enjoy it as an after-school snack, although his mother tried to convince me to add a little butter to my simple recipe. The butter makes it creamier and better, she explained, but to me, it no longer tasted like Mom's.

When I was pregnant with my first daughter, there were times I felt scared about my future role as a mother. Many days were comforted by the simple taste of home and those early memories of Mom boiling up a pot of elbow macaroni.

Now that I have three daughters and a slightly more sophisticated approach to cooking than I did in my first few years of marriage, I rarely make macaroni with tomato sauce. Our tastebuds prefer a bit of basil, a hit of garlic, or a sprinking of cheese — and elbow macaroni is rarely the pasta of choice these days.

But there are days when the kids are in school and I'm home from work that my husband comes home for lunch. If either of us feels under the weather, we satisfy our craving for comfort by cooking something simple. The first thing we reach for is the macaroni and tomato sauce — always kept on hand for just such emergencies. The soothing smell seems to curb some of life's worries and I find great satisfaction in knowing that my husband's enthusiasm for my lunch of choice is as strong as mine.

It is then I am completely reassured that I've made the right choices — in meals and in men.

— Lisa Carpenter, December 1998

Today's question:

What's at the top of your list of comfort foods?

Easy homemade suckers

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Once upon a time, I pinned on Pinterest a pin for making homemade suckers using Jolly Rancher candies. When you clicked on that pin, it didn't lead to the actual directions (as I've found the case to be with many a Pinterest pin), but the photos made it seem simple enough that further directions weren't necesary.

The photos also made it seem like a sweet and simple project Bubby would enjoy. So we tried it.

Bubby and Mac both enjoyed it. Well, Mac mostly sampled the Jolly Ranchers while Bubby and I did the work. Here are the directions—which will be here for a long time to come, just in case you choose to pin them on Pinterest for returning to later.

What you need:

  • Jolly Rancher hard candies

  • sucker sticks

  • parchment paper

What you do:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place candies in sets of three in spots on the parchment paper that will allow for a sucker stick to extend from the candy grouping once candies are melted in the oven.

Bake for about 5 minutes or until the candies are melted.

Remove from oven and immediately press sucker sticks into each candy puddle.

Cool completely and remove from parchment paper.

Two notes: 1. Use parchment paper, not wax paper for lining the baking sheet. I used wax paper and much of it stuck to the suckers. Then I made a smaller batch using parchment paper and the suckers came off the paper beautifully. 2. Bubby and I decided three Jolly Ranchers per sucker made for a large-size sucker requiring lots of sucking, so we plan to use only two Jolly Ranchers per sucker going forward.

Today's question:

What is your favorite candy?

Sweet and spicy recipes, plus the GRAND Social

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Though it may already be the seventh of January, today seems to me like the beginning of the first real week of the new year as it's the first full week of 2013 with no holidays in it. Anyone else agree? Or am I the only one taking an egregiously long time getting back in the swing of things?

Before we get too far removed from the holidays, though, I do want to share with you something from my New Year's Day celebration—two recipes I made for our New Year's Day eat-a-thon (for lack of a better word). Click on the photos and you'll be taken to the full recipes in my Recipe Box tab. 


Sweet and Spicy Cheese-Stuffed Jalapenos


Rich Caramel Brownies

Both are pretty darn good, if I say so myself. I hope you and your family enjoy them!

Also, as noted in today's post title, we have another GRAND Social up and running. Thank you for joining me!

How it works:

  • All grandparent bloggers are invited to add a link. You don't have to blog specifically about grandparenting, but you must be a grandparent who blogs.
  • Posts shared can be an old one or a recent one, your choice.
  • To link up, copy the direct link to the specific post you want to share, not the link to your blog's home page. Then click the blue "Click here to enter" text below and follow the directions to add your post to the list.
  • You can add up to three posts, but no duplicates, please, and none you have promoted on a previous GRAND Social linky.
  • No contests, giveaways, or Etsy sites, please.
  • Adding a mention at the bottom of your linked posts, such as This post has been linked to the GRAND Social linky, is appreciated. Or, you can post the GRAND Social button using the following code:

Grandma’sBriefs.com

<a href="/" target="_blank"><img src="http://grandmasbriefs.squarespace.com/storage/GRANDsocialbutton.jpg " alt="Grandma’sBriefs.com" width="125" height="125" /></a>

 

  • The GRAND Social linky is open for new posts through Wednesday evening, so please come back to see those added after your first visit.
  • If you're not a blogger, you have the pleasure of being a reader. All bloggers who link up would be honored to have you click, visit, read and comment.

READERS and PARTICIPATING BLOGGERS: Please visit the posts others have linked to by clicking on the thumbnail photos. Comments are always appreciated by the bloggers whose links you visit, even if it's simply "Hey, stopping by from GRAND Social."

Thank you for participating in the first GRAND Social grandparent linky of 2013!


Photo replay: My Saturday, for Sunday

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My main accomplishment yesterday:

Spritz cookies! Nearly 300 of 'em, in fact.

All for today as it's once again our annual family Cookie Swap.

Bring on the baked goods!

Today's question:

What's your favorite holiday cookie you make and your favorite holiday cookie someone else makes?

These are a few of my favorite (Thanksgiving) things

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What do you love most about Thanksgiving?

Sodahead, an opinion-based community, recently asked its members exactly that, then made a nifty infographic of the answers. Here are some highlights of the results:

 

 

The full Sodahead infographic on Thanksgiving favorites can be found here.

Sodahead never asked me about my favorites, but here are a few of them:

  • Tops is spending time with my family. Many years we've taken a trip to South Dakota to spend the holiday with Jim's extended family. Two years ago, our entire family celebrated in the desert, with Megan and Preston hosting. Most years, though, have meant a houseful of people, with extra chairs and table leaves (sometimes extra tables) added in my dining room. This year, for a variety of reasons, will be our smallest Thanksgiving ever. Jim and I will spend it at home, with our youngest and oldest daughters as our only guests. To be honest, I'm kind of looking forward to the intimacy of such a low-key, low-stress gathering.
  • As far as food goes, I must say that mashed potatoes with lots of turkey gravy is one of my all-time favorite foods, and not just at Thanksgiving. But as the nest has emptied and mashing potatoes doesn't happen often around here anymore, I definitely look forward to those made at Thanksgiving.
  • In addition to the mashed potatoes, I truly love my cheesy corn casserole. And pumpkin pie. And this year I'm going to try out a new addition to the dessert selections—a cranberry-apple cobbler which will likely become a fast favorite.
  • Favorite things to do on Thanksgiving, other than eating? I particularly enjoy baking the day before. And on Thanksgiving day, I used to enjoy watching bits and pieces of the parades with my little girls. Not anymore, as my little girls are now big and no longer around at parade time. I do still love watching the performance of The Rockettes in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade—if I remember to turn on the TV in time.
  • I also love gathering around the table and giving thanks before the meal. We always say grace at dinner in my house, but I get especially verklempt when doing so on Thanksgiving. (Sheesh...I'm getting verklempt and teary just writing this.) Because every year, no matter how freakin' difficult the year has been—and let me tell ya, this last one has been a doozy beyond compare—there is so, so much I'm thankful for, so many blessings that make my life full in ways I never imagined, ways that make up for those not-so-blessed moments. I love giving thanks for those...and listening to what others around the table are thankful for, too. One good thing about this year's smaller gathering: The thank yous and amens should be completed before the food has gotten cold.
  • A new favorite: Last year, Jim and I established a Thanksgiving tradition all our own. With there typically being so many pies to choose from after Thanksgiving dinner, we decided last Thanksgiving morning that our breakfast should be the pumpkin pie I had made. I'm pretty sure pumpkin pie has never tasted sweeter. I look forward to us doing that again this year.
  • This year we'll try another new activity: going to a movie—Lincoln—after stuffing our tummies with turkey and trimmings.

Other things I love about Thanksgiving: a fire in the fireplace, delectable scents wafting through the house from early morning til late at night, the stillness of the holiday as work and worries of the everyday are put on hold.

Bottom line: I love pretty much every little thing about Thanksgiving. Well, everything except getting the leftover turkey off the bone and bagged up for leftovers.

Oh! Speaking of leftovers, I also love turkey sandwiches the next day, with lots of salt and mayo (not Miracle Whip!).

Today's question:

What are a few of your favorite Thanksgiving things?