GFP: Gratuitous food post?

[bironic]

Food shopping day is my favorite day of the week. Afterwards, there's a surfeit of good things to eat.



I've been hankering to try an easy roast potatoes recipe I got from the back of an onion soup mix envelope. Tonight ended up being the night, since I've also been in the mood for some beef after many many weeks without any, and top sirloin was on sale, and what better pair than strips of beef with roast potatoes? Round it off with some asparagus, also on sale (ah, the life of a student), a touch of salt and lemon juice, and you get:





It's no roga photo, to be sure (for instance), but still. Yum yum yum. The potatoes are so soft.

Dinner-wise, I've been getting by on one to two dishes a week. Cooking for one is nice that way. For the latter half of this week, after the beef's gone, I'm planning to try a recipe from my long-neglected Star Trek Cookbook: Scotty's Lemon Chicken. (The book also offers such classics as Cellular Peptide Cake with Mint Frosting, Gagh with Yamok Sauce, Romulan Ale, and Leonard Nimoy's Kasha Varnishkas [from his grandmother's "village in the Ukraine, which is a small town in Western Vulcan"].) I'm pretty sure I made the chicken once in high school and that it was good.

Hmph. The only downside is that now I have to do all the dishes. *eyes full sink sadly*

Comments

[purridot.livejournal.com]

Those potatoes do look mighty yummy! *is wistful*

[bironic.livejournal.com]

So easy and yet so tasty. ...Now I have to stop looking at the picture or I'll actually get up and sneak some more out of the fridge.

Did you ever get around to baking like you wanted?

[purridot.livejournal.com]

As soon as I type this, I am heading to the kitchen! But I am unsure if it will be cookies, brownies, or pie. I ended up crashing at 8 pm last night. How pathetic is that for my favourite night of the week?

Bon appetit!

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Ooh, what a choice. Brownies are my favorite dessert, so my vote would be terribly biased.

Enjoy!

[ahab99.livejournal.com]

Aaaaaaah!! What's in the cellular peptide cake?! That is, perhaps, my family's favorite TNG quote - we still randomly through it out there, in full Work voice. <3

[bironic.livejournal.com]

LOL, I thought you in particular would like that. Let me type up the recipe for you.

[ahab99.livejournal.com]

And now it's too late for me to edit "through" to "throw." D'oh! But yes, I would love the recipe! :)

[bironic.livejournal.com]

:) Sent! I expect a picture if you ever make one.

[roga.livejournal.com]

Mouth is currently watering. That looks so, so good! I think I'll need to cook more meat this year - uh, to start cooking meat this year, yes I will! Up to now we've been a) microwaving frozen veggie schnitzels or b) M (roomie) making actual schnitzels. Which is great, and schnitzels are awesome, but, you know, MEAT. Is sometimes necessary. I've also fried frozen kebabs once or twice. Now that's health food. Um.

Your picture is awesome, by the way! You are a great photographer, as evidenced by recent picture posts.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Aw, I haven't had any schnitzel since my trip. Now I kind of want one.

You can do it, you can triumph over meat! I have faith in you.

Beef is much easier for me than chicken. Chicken is my nemesis. I find it much harder to tell when it's done.

The meat I was hoping for tonight was more like the medium-rare London Broil my dad makes -- like this (http://instoresnow.walmart.com/uploadedImages/Food/FoodRecipe/TFI%20Provided/POV_images/987184639.jpg) -- but the recipe I tried didn't have a picture, so I guess I got my hopes up when I shouldn't have. Maybe that'll be the next beef attempt on the list for this semester.

[elynittria.livejournal.com]

Hey, if I promise to do the dishes, would you cook for me? Pretty please? *stares longingly at delicious-looking food* I'm hopeless when it comes to cooking.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Absolutely, anytime! You don't even have to do the dishes. (And I will not use a new recipe either. It's one thing to experiment on oneself, and quite another to risk poisoning a friend. *g*)

[topaz-eyes.livejournal.com]

Mmmm, cellular peptide cake... XD

I just ate breakfast, and now I'm hungry again just looking at your dinner. :-D

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Seriously, each time someone comments to this post, I want to eat more of those potatoes. Must -- resist -- until -- dinnertime. :)

Would be happy to send you the cake recipe now that it's typed up, if you want it.

[topaz-eyes.livejournal.com]

Oooh, please, would you send it? :-D

[chocolate-frapp.livejournal.com]

that looks nummers. I love to cook too. even my fics tend to have food references in them.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Heh. Someone pointed out that one of our professors always uses food metaphors in his writing, and he said it's because he's always hungry.

I didn't cook much in the years that I was working -- it's nice to be able to explore more now (and not worry about having to feed anyone else with different tastes).

[chocolate-frapp.livejournal.com]

my roomie has for the most part very similar tastes in food to me so he's easy to cook for.

[daasgrrl.livejournal.com]

How do you get the potatoes to look like that? Mine never, ever do. I'm not sure if I'm not using enough oil, or don't bake them long enough, or am just using the wrong kind of potato. Hmmph.

Also: STAR TREK COOKBOOK? I thought that nothing in that fandom could suprise me by now. Turns out I was wrong XD

[bironic.livejournal.com]

*g* It's very cute. Some recipes from the actors, some attributed to the characters, and some tricks and tips from the food props guys.

How do you get the potatoes to look like that?

Beginner's luck? I don't know. I just took 2 lbs red potatoes, cut into wedges, shook in a bag with about 1/3 c olive oil and one onion soup mix envelope, poured onto a cookie sheet and baked for about 40 minutes at 425 F (sorry, I know all the measurements have to be converted). The recipe said to stir them occasionally; I tried once, but some of the skins stuck to the tray.

[daasgrrl.livejournal.com]

Ha, maybe it IS that onion soup (missed that part about the recipe at the beginning there). Of course, my cooking of roast potatoes tends to be rather random, so I might actually try it out :D

[bironic.livejournal.com]

What herbs/spices do you usually use? On the other end of the ... potato roasting pole ... I'm curious about how to make them the "real" way.

[daasgrrl.livejournal.com]

I'm curious about how to make them the "real" way.

Hee, don't ask me about the 'real' way. I usually just use salt, pepper and rosemary (since I invariably serve them with lamb). Slice them up, parboil, coat them in oil, roast until done. I have tried out techniques I got from the net, such as warming the oil in the oven first before adding the potatoes (watch for spatter!) and also 'roughing up' the parboiled potatoes in a colander for better crisp on the edges. They taste lovely, but never really get that dark, flaky 'bubbly' look all over that yours seem to have. They get quite dark and crispy at the edges but still quite pale and smooth in the middles. It could just be a matter of cooking time, or the magic soup *g*

Oh, and... I actually use a toaster oven to bake everything, including the lamb roast, which could be another factor. I got used to doing this the first time I went overseas (where 'real' ovens were non-existent) and never quite got out of the habit. You'd be amazed what you can fit in one XD

Edit: I also peel the potatoes, again don't know if that makes a difference!

[ignazwisdom.livejournal.com]

Beautiful!