Kettle Fries

I almost lost the tip of my thumb making these. The husband awoke ready for breakfast. He likes eggs, sunnyside up are a new fav of his. I wanted homefries to go with the eggs. I began by chopping a shallot. I was using a dull knife and I thought to myself the last time I used it I should get rid of it. I didn't and the mangling of my thumb taught me a lesson, no dull knives!

INGREDIENTS
1 shallot, diced
1 clove of garlic
4 potatoes, mine were small

I diced the shallot and garlic and sauteed in the pan until soft. I "baked" the potatoes in the microwave then peeled and chopped them. I tossed them in with the shallots and garlic after adding a bit more oil to the pan. I added salt and pepper and tossed to coat the potatoes. I got a piece of tin foil and sprayed one side with vegetable oil spray. I put the foil on top of the potatoes and then put my teakettle on top of the foil. I first filled my teakettle with water, and heated it before I put it on top of the potatoes. The kettle pushed the potatoes against the pan and they got nicely browned and crispy.

Corn Chowder by eye

When I bake I measure, when I cook I throw things together until it looks/tastes good. While I was preparing this chowder I knew I was going to put it in my blog, that forced me to measure, a little. Since I cook by eye I also end up with lots of whatever it is I'm making, that is what happened here.

1/4 pound salt pork fat back

1 1/2 cups onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

5 small/medium potatoes, I scrub them and leave the skin on, cubed

1 14.5 oz can of white corn, save liquid

1 14.5 oz can of yellow corn, save liquid

1 14.5 oz can of creamed corn

2 cups of vegetable broth

2 cups of milk

1/2 cup of cream

1 teaspoon of chives

1/8 teaspoon of dill

I began by rendering the salt pork. Cook it in a stock pot over medium heat until it is golden brown, drain it on paper towel. Add a bit of vegetable oil and saute the onions. This will help to get the yummy bits off the bottom of the pan. If you have some white wine you might want to add a bit of this too.

Once the onions are soft add your garlic and your cubed potatoes, stir. Add the broth and the liquid from the corn, the potatoes should be covered, if they aren't add just enough water to cover them. Turn the heat to high and boil the potatoes, cook until they are just tender. Add milk, cream and the spices, along with salt and pepper to taste. I let this simmer for another 15ish minutes. Serve with corn bread and butter.