Potatoes n' Cheese

More often than not, I start chopping up produce and putting it in a pan or pot before I've decided what the end product is going to be. I love making breakfast restaurant-style potatoes (with crispy browned outsides, with gooey middles), so that's what I started with tonight. I stared at the taters, frothing up and sizzling, and contemplated where to go next.

"Potatoes and eggs, with some pancakes? Maybe potatoes and black beans in a burrito? Potatoes with... Cheese curds! Which means I should make gravy - POUTINE!"

I hovered over the stove, muttering, but Rachel (my roommate) is pretty used to this by now. A place in Durango, Colorado popped into my head at that moment, and I furiously began chopping onions. I love onions, and they are a good source of vitamin C to boot, so I tend to use at least a half a cup of onion in anything I cook. The restaurant I'm speaking of is Serious Texas Barbecue. They make "Cheezy potatoes" that are out of this world. It's been years since I had them, but I remember it was potatoes, onion, and a ton of melted cheese. I, of course, slathered the whole lot with their Jack Daniels BBQ sauce, and I wish I had some of that right about now.

So I skipped the poutine for tonight, and I made a stab at Cheezy potatoes. I had some curds from the Tillamook Cheese Factory in the fridge, and when you pan fry those, they get even "squeeky"-er. Which is amazing-er. I pan fried the taters in 2 tbls olive oil, and 2 tbls butter, then added a cup of sliced onions, 1 tbls fresh thyme from my Aerogarden, 2 ts rubbed sage, and 1 ts of oregano. I think I actually went overboard with the spices. I also added 2 cloves of garlic, which I like to microplane into the pan, rather than chop. Microplaning gives you a garlic paste, rather than little bits that will brown and burn in the hot oil. Finished off with half an avocado, some Tillamook sour cream, and a lot of sriracha. Pretty damn good dinner. For 9pm on a weeknight...