Last night I decided to make beef ribs for dinner. To make it completely
easy, I decided on canned green beans and canned potatoes for
accompaniment. I like to pan fry canned potatoes in oil till golden
brown. It's a taste from my childhood. It would be easy, I thought.
I found I didn't have any canned potatoes. I did have some small russets
growing in the cupboard. There were just small sprouts growing out of
them, so I peeled and boiled them till done, dried them and coated with
olive oil. I refrigerated them till forty minutes before dinner. Then I
fried them till brown on as many sides as I could. They looked fantastic.
The ribs were great, the green beans a known taste and the potatoes
sucked.
I served them plain because they looked so good, and they were as dry as
toast. The four small spuds would have sucked up a quart of gravy and
begged for more. I'm thinking of selling them as desiccants.
If I do it again, it will be with reds or Yukon golds. I should have
known better.

leo

--
<http://web0.greatbasin.net/~leo/>

"Leonard Blaisdell" > wrote in message
...
> Last night I decided to make beef ribs for dinner. To make it completely
> easy, I decided on canned green beans and canned potatoes for
> accompaniment. I like to pan fry canned potatoes in oil till golden
> brown. It's a taste from my childhood. It would be easy, I thought.
> I found I didn't have any canned potatoes. I did have some small russets
> growing in the cupboard. There were just small sprouts growing out of
> them, so I peeled and boiled them till done, dried them and coated with
> olive oil. I refrigerated them till forty minutes before dinner. Then I
> fried them till brown on as many sides as I could. They looked fantastic.
> The ribs were great, the green beans a known taste and the potatoes
> sucked.
> I served them plain because they looked so good, and they were as dry as
> toast. The four small spuds would have sucked up a quart of gravy and
> begged for more. I'm thinking of selling them as desiccants.
> If I do it again, it will be with reds or Yukon golds. I should have
> known better.
>
> leo


Potato dessicants - I like it!

In article >,
Leonard Blaisdell > wrote:

> I found I didn't have any canned potatoes. I did have some small russets
> growing in the cupboard. There were just small sprouts growing out of
>
> I served them plain because they looked so good, and they were as dry as
> toast. The four small spuds would have sucked up a quart of gravy and

> leo

Leo, Leo, Leo. . . .
One uses russets *because* they are dry and absorb liquid.
For my house, because we are only two, I always waffle about which spuds
to keep on hand and my choice of potato accompaniment is affected by
which type of spuds are in house. More I think about it, though, I'm
thinking I'll keep a small bag of reds around and buy a couple whites as
needed. Yeah, that's the ticket. Now, about that 5# BOGO bag of
russets in the drawer. . . .
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.mac.com/barbschaller - Winter pic and a snow pic
http://jamlady.eboard.com
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/amytaylor

In article >,
"JoeSpareBedroom" > wrote:

> "Leonard Blaisdell" > wrote in message

> > begged for more. I'm thinking of selling them as desiccants.
> > leo
>
>
> Potato dessicants - I like it!

Just sprinkle some dehydrated potato flakes in those shoes, Joe. "-)
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.mac.com/barbschaller - Winter pic and a snow pic
http://jamlady.eboard.com
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/amytaylor

"Michael "Dog3" Lonergan" > wrote

> Melba's Jammin' >

>> couple whites as needed. Yeah, that's the ticket. Now, about that 5#
>> BOGO bag of russets in the drawer. . . .
>
> Barb, we are in the same situation. Only 2 of us left and I always cook
> way too much for 2 people. I've been trying to cut down on wasted food.
> I
> too have an issue deciding which potatoes to keep on hand. I also go back
> and forth over which onions to keep on hand. Just when I think I've got
> it
> all under control, a cantpassitupsale will invariably be underway and I'll
> pick up a 3 or 5 pound bag of one or the other.

Isn't that the way? Those BOGOs get you sometimes. I have potatoes
on my shopping list, get to the store, there are the potatoes I want, and
if I buy one bag, I get one free. Well, how can I just leave the free one
there? So I take it home and try to use it up before it goes bad. I
usually manage, but 10 pound of potatoes is a lot for me to use up.

Before anyone says it, yes I could drop off the potatoes at the food
bank, whatever. I am just using potatoes as an example, there are
many BOGOs in the sales circulars, same deal. Not great for single
people looking to save money.

nancy

Michael "Dog3" Lonergan wrote:
>
>
> Barb, we are in the same situation. Only 2 of us left and I always cook
> way too much for 2 people. I've been trying to cut down on wasted food. I
> too have an issue deciding which potatoes to keep on hand. I also go back
> and forth over which onions to keep on hand. Just when I think I've got it
> all under control, a cantpassitupsale will invariably be underway and I'll
> pick up a 3 or 5 pound bag of one or the other.

I have the opposite problem. I have never been in the habit of cooking
huge amounts of food. It has been done on the odd occasion. Most of my
cooking has been for 2-3 people, and because I know what they like and
how much to prepare, we rarely have left overs. I have started to make
larger meat loaves and batches of stew in order to get a second night
out of them. Most nights we serve up everything, eat everything we are
served and when it comes time to scrape off the plates there is rarely
anything left but bones.

That may be just as well. My wife has a habit of wrapping up leftovers
and putting them in the fridge and then putting things in front of them
and shoving them further and further into the back of the fridge. By
the time they are recovered they are a prize winning science project.

> Last night I decided to make beef ribs for dinner. To make it completely
> easy, I decided on canned green beans and canned potatoes for
> accompaniment. I like to pan fry canned potatoes in oil till golden
> brown. It's a taste from my childhood. It would be easy, I thought.
> I found I didn't have any canned potatoes. I did have some small russets
> growing in the cupboard. There were just small sprouts growing out of
> them, so I peeled and boiled them till done, dried them and coated with
> olive oil. I refrigerated them till forty minutes before dinner. Then I
> fried them till brown on as many sides as I could. They looked fantastic.
> The ribs were great, the green beans a known taste and the potatoes
> sucked.
> I served them plain because they looked so good, and they were as dry as
> toast. The four small spuds would have sucked up a quart of gravy and
> begged for more. I'm thinking of selling them as desiccants.
> If I do it again, it will be with reds or Yukon golds. I should have
> known better.


Canned potatos with curry powder fried golden, real mayo for dipping on the
side... child hood dish, and yummy. I now use my own curry powder but the
simple packaged stuff does just fine.

On Wed, 31 Jan 2007 19:26:43 -0800, Leonard Blaisdell
> wrote:

>Last night I decided to make beef ribs for dinner. To make it completely
>easy, I decided on canned green beans and canned potatoes for
>accompaniment. I like to pan fry canned potatoes in oil till golden
>brown. It's a taste from my childhood. It would be easy, I thought.
>I found I didn't have any canned potatoes. I did have some small russets
>growing in the cupboard. There were just small sprouts growing out of
>them, so I peeled and boiled them till done, dried them and coated with
>olive oil. I refrigerated them till forty minutes before dinner. Then I
>fried them till brown on as many sides as I could. They looked fantastic.
>The ribs were great, the green beans a known taste and the potatoes
>sucked.
>I served them plain because they looked so good, and they were as dry as
>toast. The four small spuds would have sucked up a quart of gravy and
>begged for more. I'm thinking of selling them as desiccants.
>If I do it again, it will be with reds or Yukon golds. I should have
>known better.
>
>leo

Well, you live and learn. Just don't forget. I used to like those
canned potatoes, but I found that I can almost achieve the same thing
(taste) using real ones. And the green beans? Trust me, if you can get
them fresh in your area htey will impart the same taste as the canned,
provided you don't season them at all until they are done, and even
then, only lightly.

Congrats on the success of your beef ribs.