08 July 2010

Perfect hash browns: Science vs. art

Science wins.

"We usually cube the potatoes and add water enough to cover them for about 10 minutes in order to cook them in the pan. Then we add butter, salt, pepper, and either garlic or Emeril's steak seasoning and fry until crispy and brown."

I like Montreal, personally (the seasoning).

Is this [cubing] possible? I have my suspicions. The scene of the crime: soft, black cubed hash browns today. Four fat red flags -

Too little heat: Use medium high. I used medium for 20 min.
Too much flipping: Try only to flip once. I flipped continuously.
Chopping method: They say slice them; I say f.u. (feign understanding) I'm cubing.
Oil: Two Tbsp. I used less this time than before, but couldn't keep track.

P.S., "Crispify" isn't a word, normally I like wordplay, but my intuition tells me the word he wanted was "crisp" and he wasn't playing. Pet peeve. Speaking of 'taters: Commenters needn't commentate; commenting does just fine.

Reference: http://www.life123.com/food/sides/potatoes/hash-browns.shtml

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I'm in an analytical frame of mind today. I just got done giving Red Robin a piece of my mind on their new marketing strategy, (e.g. "Earn 100,000 points and receive a Red Robin polo shirt, or spend $100 and get $7 back on your next meal), no oomph left to serve that up for you. Their survey was weighted on four cool items + a gimmick (Free b-day burger, etc. PLUS some kind of bizarre point/visit based offer, the premise being they could get you in 12+ times a year, to spend $20+ dollars per visit). In sum: No. Sticker shock of counting big numbers + "It's the economy, stupid!"
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