Spicy Potato Wedges

Friday has got to be the most popular day of the week. It beckons the end of a torturous work week or grueling classes and the start of a leisurely weekend. As a kid, for me Fridays signified TGIF programming and comfort food. I'd get comfy on the couch with my spread of treats that wouldn't make their way into my lunch box during the week and watch Urkel and his crazy shenanigans. It was also the night when my mom would make tasty Middle Eastern pastries or her delicious chocolate brownies with rich cocoa icing, so I would have the satisfaction of munching on my favorite indulgences and inhaling the aroma of fresh baked goodies. 'Twas indeed double the pleasure. It was somewhat of a Friday night ritual for my brother to peel potatoes, hand-cut them and make two sizzling hot batches of French fries for us to chow on while we watched our favorite shows. They were all uniquely cut and when fried, their textures varied from thick and grainy to skinny and oily to thin and crunchy. I didn't discriminate, I savored each one. We had two dipping choices: ketchup or a super spicy cayenne pepper concoction that was my specialty. I would alternate between the two dips dunking the oily ones in the cayenne sauce and the thick ones in ketchup, don't ask why, it just seemed to go together. When my tongue was zapped with a little too much spice from the combination of the cayenne dip and the heat from the fries, I'd scoop up a generous portion of ketchup on one of the fat fries to cool my mouth. For some reason, my dad liked to eat them cold and with mayo; I cringed at the sight. Friday night French fries were a great end to the week.

I've got a great spin on the usual French fry recipe. It's a spicy potato wedge dish that is simple, healthy and flavorful. They'll take minutes to make and seconds to devour.

Here's What You Need:

• Olive oil
• Potatoes
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cayenne pepper
• Granulated garlic
• Dried parsley flakes

Here's What You Do:

1. Drizzle olive oil on a pan suitable for an oven.

2. Wash the potatoes and slice them so that they are thick. My strategy is to just cut them in-half then cut each half in-half and then cut each quarter in-half so that I end up with six wedges out of one potato.

3. Place the wedges on the oiled pan.

4. Mix the spices together to taste. I tend to make them more spicy so I liberally add cayenne pepper but you should mix the spices to your liking, of course.

5. Once you’ve combined the spices, sprinkle generously over the potatoes and place the pan in the oven at about 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes (keep them in the oven a bit longer if you want them more well done, it’s up to you).

6. Enjoy!

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Flickr

A Tasty Necessity

What's one of the most essential parts of life that links everyone in the world together? What's that common bond we as a species share no matter how far away we may be from each other? What's that thing we just absolutely cannot live without? Food. At the dinner table, in the car, at work, in an igloo, in a tent, on a mountain, in the desert no matter where we are, we've gotta eat.

My earliest memory of food is blurry and faint but what I do remember of it was orange, pureed and in a Gerber's jar. The sweet aroma of a bevy of home-made Middle Eastern pastries with their flaky layers and syrupy saturation always signified a celebration at my house. Freshly baked, moist to the touch pineapple cake with a rich cream frosting and strawberries sweetly lining the top was always the star of my childhood birthday parties. Every weeknight, my dinner plate was always stocked full of hearty meals mom made. Delicious rice was the base of many of her mouthwatering dishes. I would pile the buttery grain on my plate and layer it with tender meat that had been simmering for hours soaking up juices from the onions and garlic cloves or her famed savory okra stew with chunks of melt-in-your-mouth cubes of beef.

Weekends were my favorite because that’s when we would order in. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved mom’s fabulous and nutritional cuisine but what kid passes up a calorie dense banquet? Saturday mornings started out with a powder pink box awaiting me on the kitchen table and overflowing with a tooth-aching assortment of doughnuts—flawlessly glazed, jelly and custard filled, powdered, sprinkled, frittered, and my personal favorite, chocolate old-fashioned. It was a treat. I would park myself on the rug cross-legged and indulge as Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes entertained me. Then there was Saturday afternoon. My dad’s favorite place to get Mexican food was in the city. He would take us to this restaurant on the weekend more often than not. I can never think back on those memories without salivating. My favorite thing to order was the chicken burrito. The soft flour tortilla could barely contain the succulent ingredients, I could tell because remnants of the lumpy guacamole oozed through the bottom. Amid one bite filled with warm grilled chicken, soft rice, garden-fresh cilantro, firm tomatoes, crisp onions, jalapenos and sour cream, I was in heaven. I would forget all of my worries for the day and soak in my savory wonderland.

There were many pizza nights. The smell of the pizza topped with my beloved mushrooms, olives and bell peppers would fill the car on its way home from the pizzeria. I was a drooling mess until we arrived home and I was finally able to sink my teeth into cheesy goodness. Chinese food was a weekend favorite too. Each take-out box was a mystery. I would end up looking through about three boxes of vegetable laden chowmein, taste bud perplexing sweet and sour chicken and piquant Mongolian beef before I finally embarked on my beef and broccoli paradise. Oh, and the scrumptious fortune cookie, for without that I would’ve never had a mystifying destiny to ponder the rest of the weekend.

On this brief stroll down memory lane I know that I have had nothing but fond recollections of my experiences with food. I want to continue to keep these pleasant sensations alive and share them with you all by creating this forum where I can discuss (and you can discuss) all things food. Let the journey continue. Cheers!

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Flickr, veganyumyum.com