Potatoes are tasty

Spicy ramen, eggs, guacamole, and potatoes are the four primary food groups that got me through college. Now that I am eating out pretty 80 or 90% of the time on the job, I am sick of restaurant food and find myself struck by pangs of longing for my staple noms. But cooking for one can be really frustrating on my weekends back in Chicago because that "one" cannot finish her leftovers the next day or hope that somehow her celery will make it through the next two weeks. So in a nutshell, I've missed cooking and it's lovely to be home at my parents' house in a fully-stocked, brand new kitchen.

Breakfast is always my absolute favorite meal, both to make and to consume. Especially when the house is empty and it's 11:00 AM and I have no rush to accomplish anything productive or meaningful for the entire day. My favorite breakfast dish? Potatoes. Lots of 'em. In my mouth.

To begin, I grabbed a medium-sized russet potato. I gave it a good scrub and then cubed it, leaving the skin on (ridding potatoes of their skins is, in my book, a sin against humanity).

 

While I was chopping the taters, I'd dropped two tablespoons of vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. I transferred the goods to the pan and tossed it around to coat all the surfaces as evenly as possible.

Next came the fun part - seasoning! I am too lazy and have too short term of a memory to know exactly what I throw in there and in what quantities, but it usually always turns out quite tasty anyway (except for that time I dumped half a spice bottle of rosemary by accident. Eight people had to pretend like they really loved rosemaried potatoes that morning). Today I ransacked my parents' kitchen and found the usual players: salt and black pepper, allspice. But then, lo and behold, out of the corner of my eye I glimpsed an old love of mine:

Words cannot describe how fond I am of Old Bay seasoning. Not only is it a delicious ingredient in it of itself, it also reminds me of one of my favorite things in the world - eating blue crabs with my parents. Such a Maryland, home-y taste to this spice! I also adore it on greasy boardwalk fries, so I figured why not add it to my greasy morning taters?

I usually add all spices about five minutes after putting the potatoes into the oil, just to give them a little bit of time to absorb the moisture. I then let them cook for more five minutes (still on medium) and then cover them for another ten before serving. This morning's tater accomplices: a nice thick chunky line of ketchup, an egg over (very, salmonelly) easy, blueberries and clementines, some nice smoked gouda cheese, and a mug of Mocha Cappuccino Swiss Miss hot chocolate. Needless to brag, it was a delicious breakfast (though I won't lie: it left me feeling rather stuffed and perhaps a little disgusted with my own gluttony afterwards. But it got me through five consecutive episodes of Glee!). Cheers to happy holidays and nomtastic nourriture!