MAY 12, 2012–BREAKFAST PIZZA
Every Saturday in May, we have three soccer games and at least one baseball game. This means we spend all day outside. This means we all have a good time. This means we all are tired and hungry. This means BREAKFAST PIZZA (p.26) for supper.
But before we eat, let’s play some soccer.
I have a not-so-funny soccer story. Many of the girls on the soccer team have siblings that also play soccer. That means they hang out together between and after games. A couple of weeks ago they all decided to play in the woods. And in the woods was poison ivy. They had on long socks and short shorts–not the most fun place to get poison ivy.
Eloise is also playing soccer. It makes her feel so “included” to finally have a uniform to wear. To finally have practice. To finally be able to run off to her game. To finally stop spectating and start participating.
Little Man was dressed by his brother this morning, and Little Man insisted on wearing his big brother’s soccer T-shirt.
Baseball was at 2:30, so we got home right around supper time.
I had set out some bread dough before the game. Sometimes I make my pizza dough, and sometimes, I just use some Kroger-brand frozen white bread dough.
Pioneer Woman’s BREAKFAST PIZZA calls for a package of hash browns. I didn’t have any on hand, and decided to make my own. I started by frying up some onions. Then I grated some raw potatoes and threw them into the skillet. BIG MISTAKE! I ended up with a glue-y pile of sludge. I didn’t take a photo as it looked ugly.
The red sauce on this BREAKFAST PIZZA is salsa. Then I covered the salsa in mozzarella just like I was supposed to.
I added the glue-y, gummy, hash browns, knowing that I would regret the decision, then I layered on some cheddar to hide the horror. They tasted just fine, but they didn’t look fine. And anyone who feeds kiddos knows that the battle is more in how it looks.
I tried to crack the eggs without breaking the yolk, but I failed on one egg. My bad luck continued as the pizza crust started to get really brown, yet the egg whites were still runny. The egg yolks started burning, while the white was still clear. The oven temperature was set at PW’s suggested 475 degrees Fahrenheit, and I usually cook my pizzas hot, but this time it didn’t work.
Now I know this pizza can work, as I often make BREAKFAST PIZZA. My recipe is slightly different as I use a biscuit cutter to cut holes in the pizza crust and crack the egg into that hole. The hot pizza stone below, cooks the egg quite quickly.
Here is what I learned about crispy has browns. (taken from http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/crispy_hash_browns/
The debate usually begins like this.
ME: Dad, how do you make your hash browns turn out so crispy? DAD: Use a potato ricer. It’s the only thing I’ve found that really gets the moisture out of the potatoes. The trick to these hash browns is to get rid of as much moisture as possible before cooking them. MOM: I always used paper towels to press out the moisture. DAD: Your hash browns are mushy. MOM: I made this family hash browns for forty years and you never complained. They’re perfectly fine. DAD: They were mushy. MOM: You ate them! DAD: Yes I did. And they were mushy. (and the debate continues as I quietly leave the room.)
Mom’s hash browns are mushy. Tasty, edible, yummy, but still mushy. They aren’t as good as dad’s, and that is just a fact. Here’s how dad makes his hash browns.
Crispy Hash Browns Recipe
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- Prep time: 5 minutes
- Cook time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp olive oil, canola oil, or grapeseed oil
- 1 lb Russet baking potatoes, peeled and grated
- Salt and pepper
Equipment needed:
- Large frying pan (at least a 9″ diameter bottom)
- Potato ricer
Method
1 Heat 3 Tbsp of oil in a large frying pan on medium high heat.
2 While the pan is heating, squeeze out as much moisture as you can from the grated potatoes. It’s easiest to do this with a potato ricer, using it much like you would a garlic press, except you don’t force the potatoes through the ricer. You just press out the moisture. If you don’t have a ricer, use paper towels to squeeze out as much moisture as you can from the grated potatoes.
3 When the oil in the pan heats up to the point of shimmering, but not smoking, add the grated potatoes, spreading them out along the bottom of the pan. The potatoes should not be too thick in any one place, no more than a half-inch thick. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on the potatoes. After a few minutes, lift up one edge of the potatoes and see how done they are. If they have fried to a golden brown they are ready to flip. Use a large spatula to flip the potatoes over all at once, or divide the large potato cake into halves or quarters and flip. Continue to cook until they are golden brown on the bottom.
Yield: Serves 4.
It’s Rebecca again. “So that is how it works!” I also read that washing the potatoes to get rid of the excess starch is how some people get crispy hash browns.
Ingredients
- 2 russet potatoes, peeled
- 3 tablespoons clarified butter
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 1 pinch paprika, or to taste
Directions
- Shred potatoes into a large bowl filled with cold water. Stir until water is cloudy, drain, and cover potatoes again with fresh cold water. Stir again to dissolve excess starch. Drain potatoes well, pat dry with paper towels, and squeeze out any excess moisture.
- Heat clarified butter in a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Sprinkle shredded potatoes into the hot butter and season with salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and paprika.
- Cook potatoes until a brown crust forms on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Continue to cook and stir until potatoes are browned all over, about 5 more minutes.
(From http://allrecipes.com/recipe/classic-hash-browns/detail.aspx)
COMMENTS: Thankfully, I made two BREAKFAST PIZZAS as the kiddos wouldn’t touch the one with potato glue on it. Doing a little reading, I also learned that it is wise to crack the egg into a little bowl or ramekin, then slide the egg onto the pizza. About hash browns. I think I will just buy a package of frozen ones.
Grade card time. What is the verdict? Is this a re-do or not. You vote. Vote “YES” if it is not a re-do. Vote “NO” if you think I don’t need to re-do this recipe.
Your Chef,
–rebecca
P.S. If you ever had an older brother, you won’t need to re-read that last sentence. You will already have heard the “Heads I win, Tails you lose.”
My Whit's End 
No! Not unless you’re making it again because you want to. But I loved the hashbrown information, because I am a miserable failure at them. I usually just dice and fry my potatoes instead and while those are delish, sometimes I just want a good hashbrown! Also, I read that “debate” with YOUR parents voices in my head and it was super funny : ) Think I need to try this recipe–using frozen hash browns, of course.
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Yes, could hear your mom and dad’s voices in the hash brown debate though it has been too long since I have actually heard them!
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You will have to come down for a visit to the Farms then.
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