skinned alive

At least I think I'm still alive.

I've never had a semester with such a brutal exam schedule. But, it's over. And I think my GPA made it out relatively unscathed.

I on the other hand am exhausted, brain dead, and ready to sleep for a week. But first, dinner:

I'm very much a fan of finger foods. No cutlery to wash. And since it's the time of year for entertaining (apparently in December, most people get to go to parties, and don't have to do metric shittonnes of calculus) I made an appetizer for dinner.

Fast enough that you can make them long after the guests arrive, easy enough that you can make them long after the first bottle of wine is empty, and tasty enough that you won't have to figure out what to do with the leftovers.

Potato Skins

What you need:

• 4 small baker potatoes
• 1 c grated cheddar
• 3 strips very crispy bacon
• 2 green onions
• 1/2 jalapeno (or a few rings of the pickled ones)

What you gotta do:

We at authorskitchen do not typically advocate cooking anything in the microwave, but there have been times when we've had to. And times when we totally regretted it. But when you're whipping up an appetizer for hungry guests, or brain dead engineering students, baking a potato in the microwave just really doesn't seem that bad.

Just make sure you poke holes in them first.

Mine took about 12 minutes, but I did them in 4 minute increments. 4 minutes seems a reasonable increment.

They will be making steamy noises and will give under pressure if you squeeze them.

Set these aside and let them cool while you chop the onions, crumble the bacon, grate the cheese, and preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Once the potatoes are cool enough that you can hold them in your hand without wanting to toss them across the room at someone, roll them around on the counter or baking sheet first though to see which are their flat sides. Cut them in half so that the halves rest on the flat sides.

Remove the potato innards with a small spoon. Leave a bit of an edge and enough on the bottom so that the filling will have something to sit on.

Toss the cheese, bacon, etc. together and then divide it up between the skins. They will seem full, but trust me, they're not. I think about 1.5 times the amount of stuff I put in these, would be ideal.

They only need about 7 minutes to bake.

Bacon, melted cheese, eat with your hands. Perfect.

I imagine most Americans will want to dip these in ranch dressing (srsly guys, what's with the fucking ranch on everything?) but I like a bit of sour cream spiked with some hot sauce.

And there you go, less than 30 minutes and you've got tasty cups filled with bacon and cheese.

What more could anyone want?

I'm in!

Yes, in fact, I did say that.

The move is complete and I now live in an apartment with interior walls. Bedrooms are wonderful things. Square footage is too. My new kitchen is the size of my previous bachelor pad.

It's not the ideal kitchen, particularly since it was holy fucking filthy when I got it, but it's shittonnes better than my previous one.

However, I haven't managed to go grocery shopping yet. I've been too busy cleaning my bathroom six times; it still needs 2 or 3 more. Breakfast is much easier to make than dinner. And you can eat it for dinner. No, this isn't a post about cereal.

Mushroom Omelet

What you need:

• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp low fat milk or water
• a handfull of mushrooms
• half an onion
• some cheese
• an herb

What you gotta do:

Omelets don't have to be filled with much. Fresh things can be used, like cherry tomatoes, herbs, or avocado. Leftovers can too! Omelets are a great way to use leftover asparagus and other greens.

Me, I had mushrooms, so that's what I made.

Slice the onion and mushrooms. I sauteed mine in bacon fat over medium high heat, but butter would work too. Once the onions are nice and browned, set them aside for a bit.

Motion shot! Tough to flip veggies in a pan and take a picture at the same time.

If there are bits of caramelized stuff left in the pan, wipe them out. You want to start with a smooth, clean pan. You also want the heat just below medium, so if you just sauteed something give the pan a few minutes to cool down.

While the pan is cooling or heating, crack the eggs into a deep bowl.

Orange was not the best choice for this, but they were the bowls I'd already unpacked. Also, egg yolks should be bright orange, not pale yellow. Add the milk or water. Don't use cream or a high fat milk. The fat seems to weigh the eggs down. Weird, I know, but it does. Beat the eggs and liquid until they're nice and foamy.

Drop about half a teaspoon of butter into the pan over heat that is about 3/4 the way to medium and let it get nice and foamy too.

Slowly pour in the eggs. Gently push the eggs toward the centre of the pan and tip the pan to fill in the empty space.

When the eggs are set enough that you can't get them to run freely into the open space, spread them evenly and cover them.

Yes, I know this is not the traditional french omelet way, but I don't like to have runny egg in the middle of my omelet. Covering them cooks them.

Once they're set completely, or still slightly snotty if you prefer them that way, spread the filling on most of one side. Cheese, herbs, whatever you've got. Bacon works. Mozzarella and marinara is interesting. Mushrooms and cheddar are what I used.

Now, the flip. If you spread your filling all the way to the middle, you aren't going to get a complete fold over. But, there is a certain aesthetic appeal to having some of the filling exposed.

If you had the time and patience (and potatoes) to make hashbrowns, they make a great side. If not, refried beans work.

What's your favourite breakfast for dinner?