Growing up, on the rare occasions when all the men were gone and my brother’s kids weren’t at our house, my mom would make a meal that never failed to taste wonderful, despite its simplicity.
She’d start with left-over boiled potatoes. Since we ate potatoes at least once a day, there were always left-over potatoes at our house. Always.
More often than not, they were potatoes we’d grown. In the summer and early fall, those potatoes packed such a delicious flavor.
Starting with a big ol’ glob of butter, she’d warm it in a cast iron skillet then thinly slice the potatoes into the pan. Sometimes she’d add onion slices and salt and pepper. Other times I’d catch her before she added the onions and beg and plead for her to leave them out since I disliked them as much as broccoli.
While the potatoes pan-fried to a lovely shade of crispy golden brown, she’d cut big, juicy, ripe tomatoes (still warm from the summer sun) into slices and sprinkle them with just a pinch of salt.
To finish off the meal, she’d cut slices of cheddar cheese that had just enough tang to be the perfect side to the potatoes and tomatoes.
Mom, my sister, and I would eat this simple meal and enjoy every bite. I’m not sure if it was the meal, the fact the house was quiet, there weren’t a bunch of dishes to wash after the meal, or that we could savor every delicious forkful that made it so wonderful.
Whatever the reason, it was always one of my favorite “harvest” meals.
If you’ve never made pan-fried potatoes, here are some tips. Better Homes and Gardens offers three ways to fry your potatoes – pan fry, oven fry, or pan fry pre-cooked potatoes.
She Who Needs to Fry a Potato
