Homemade Hangover Recovery: Homefries
going out dancing with your friends ’till the wee hours of the morning is a wonderful thing. as is bringing your own bottles of cheap wine to a rooftop party and proceeding to down them alongside multiple cranberry vodkas. but you know what’s not so wonderful?
waking up the next morning with a pounding head and sunlight streaming through your curtains. and a cat that’s repeatedly pawing your head wanting to be fed. in my dreams, my hangovers are aided/abated by the beautifully hot guy sleeping next to me, reminding me that my bad choices (drinking too much) are okay because they lead to good choices (bringing home a hottie). in reality, what happens is that i stumble home to my apartment after throwing my cabbie a $10, heat up some leftover pasta and sit in my bed watching house hunters until i’ve drank a full two cups of water and consumed everything in my bowl. the next morning, all i wake up to is a dirty bowl and my hungry cat.
i’m still waiting for the morning i wake up with the hottie in tow and can cook both of us a spectacular breakfast that makes him fall madly in love with me. but in the meantime, i’m just cooking for myself – which is by no means a reason to skimp on the details.
it’s my personal belief that hangovers are remedied by one thing and one thing only: grease. maybe that grease comes in the form of bacon, maybe it’s in your fried eggs, maybe it’s in your homefries, maybe it’s in all three. that, combined with a little hair of the dog (if you can stomach it) and some coffee, and you should be good to go. since i don’t want to pay to go out to breakfast every time i’m hungover, i’ve developed a pretty delicious and grease-filled recipe for homefries that has worked pretty darn well as a homemade hangover remedy. remember in this post, when i told you i was obsessed with homefries? well, i am. and it turns out, i make a pretty mean batch myself.
so, tomorrow morning, when your head is throbbing, and you’re regretting those drunk texts you sent last night and you feel like you might barf if you have to put on clothes, pop a few aspirin and whip these babies up. then throw on some john mayer or damien rice in the background. something about a guy crooning with a soothing guitar makes all your worries melt away, if you ask me.
Homemade Hangover Remedy: Homefries
1/2 cup chopped yellow onions
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
2 cloves fresh garlic, diced
2 tsp fresh herbs of your choice (i used thyme and a little bit of basil)
2-4 tsp of smoked paprika (add this to taste – i like a lot of paprika in mine)
1 tsp garlic powder
3 medium sized potatoes, cute into bite sized pieces
3 tbs butter, maybe a few more to taste
to make, chop all your chop-able ingredients and set them aside. you want to have things ready to throw in as you go. heat a large skillet with your butter and maybe a tiny bit of canola oil. you want to get that grease in there – it’s what’s going to soak up all the alcohol in your tummy. once the pan is warmed and the butter is melted, add your mushrooms, onions, and garlic and turn head down to medium. you want to cook these babies until soft. also, if you’ve got some green pepper on hand (i don’t usually buy peppers, but if you do), dice it up and toss about 1/4 cup of it in there as well.
once your onions and shrooms are softened, throw your potatoes in there as well. season with paprika and garlic powder, and smell. if you can’t smell the paprika, add more. you want to smell something strong, fragrant, and paprika garlic-y. if you can’t smell it yet, you need more spices. also add salt and pepper to taste. a few grinds of pepper should do, as well as about a tsp or two of salt. now add your fresh spices, and toss. cover your skillet and cook for ten minutes or so, covered. the cover will help cook the potatoes quickly by keeping the heat and steam inside the pan.
after ten minutes, stir again, and consider adding more seasoning if need be. the measurements above are estimates – you might want more, depending on how flavorful you like your homefries. remove the top and add a bit more butter. remember, grease is the word. cook a few more minutes, uncovered, to really cement the flavors in there. your homefries should be soft on the inside, and crunchy on the outside, much like a great cookie.
if you want to add more garlic, or more onions, or any of the above, go for it. homefries are great, because you’re really just throwing a bunch of stuff into a pan and hoping for the best. these came out delicious, hence my sharing them with you, but feel free to add or subtract as you see fit.
now, serve them up with some fruit salad (bananas are also good for hangovers) and some fried eggs.
sweet studio 