"From Scratch" Hash Browns In A Meal.

It's early morning, (I mean "early") and I'm of the mind to make breakfast for the wife and I.  She gets up fairly early as well, and so I have about 1/2 hour or so to prepare.


I took out the griddle I had just been given, plugged it in to heat up, and turned the dial to Max (something like 400ºF on this particular one).

First off, I washed a couple of potatoes and peeled em.  No big deal.........going good so far.  I pulled a grater from the drawer with all the kitchen tools; the one with the biggest holes I could find (we have three types of various hole sizes), and ran the peeled potatoes thru it, with ease, on to a plate.

Meanwhile, I sprinkled a little Olive Oil on the griddle (I've GOT to get a plastic Ketchup dispenser (you know.....the ones with the little narrow nozzle on top), and after attempting to squeeze out any water from the potatoes (none came out), I put them on the griddle in about a 1/4 inch height pile, about 6 to seven inches in diameter.

Realizing that I had to do the eggs last, I had them warming to room temperature on the counter and cracked them into a bowl with just a little milk, and whisked them together, white and yokes combined.
My wife wanted me to griddle an English Muffin so I cut it in half and set it aside for a while.

The Hash Browns seemed to take forever, and I started the scrambled eggs too soon.  On top of that, the English muffin was buttered and put on the grill too soon and taken off before being truly "toasted."

We have a Bacon Press, and I used that on the hash browns, which didn't seem to want to form into one piece for quite some time.  They were cooked when I took them off, and even slightly browned, but certainly not "browned" like you would expect.

What did I learn:

a) Make sure you cook the foods that take the longest, as completely as possible, before starting
    the parts of the meal that only take 5 minutes. It's a "timing" thing, so that all the foods you
    present are fully cooked, and all "hot" at the same time.

b) The largest size grater is not necessarily helpful.  I might have had a shorter time cooking
     the hash browns if they were smaller in size (haven't proven this out yet).

c) Having a griddle (we've not had one til now, and it's been thirty-three years) is a wonderful
    addition to any kitchen.

What's next:

a) I'll tell you about the Omelet I attempted, and what the result was. (not very successful).
b) Choosing and planning for my first  "Main Dish" creation.