I don't know how good these recipes are, but I like that it emphasizes simplicity. We can do a whole lot with very little and I know I often forget that.
Gourmet Magazine had a monthly article entitled "Four Ingredients" on their last page from about 1992 until they shuttered. It was pretty much this. They also consistently made the argument that the fewer ingredients you used, the more finicky the recipe was likely to be: their classic example was the tarte tatin, a heavily execution-dependent dessert. Many of the things shown on this page are also likely shown on Tumblr disasters - those "peanut butter cups" are the sort of thing that, if you don't know how to work with chocolate, are going to disappoint you more ways than you can possibly imagine. Fans of simplicity in cooking are recommended the 1930 classic French Cooking in Ten MInutes by Eduard de Pomaine.
I really like Gourmet and in fact, that magazine was the one I chose to do my magazine publishing practical on in college. I'd forgotten the "Four Ingredients" thing, but it makes sense that the less you have to work with, the more you'd better know what you're doing. I haven't read French Cooking in Ten Minutes, but I'd love to check it out, thanks!
I miss Gourmet. A lot. Not what they were when they died, but what they were before the redesign 3 years previously. They got rid of a lot of good stuff. Pick up the Pomaine book. The philosophy is great. Just read the first few pages. I own a lot of cookbooks. Lots of them are weird. Few of them I reference. But that "what is it good for? I don't know. But it's bound to be good for something." aspect is just perfect.
Four ingredients, admittedly, but pretty delicious. The idea is basically the same as the energy bar in the OP. I made a big batch of these in first year at university but weirdly never got round to making any more. http://www.reddit.com/r/Cooking/comments/l1r78/super_simple_easy_delicious_healthy_breakfast/
Right, didn't want to use it before ghostoffuffle, but it did occur to me that you might like this post. I'm a sucker for hashbrowns. Tasty, cheap and a great base for toppings. Let us know if you try any of these recipes!
Was waiting for you to post! Thought we were gonna start the challenge. That icebox cake is one of my favorite birthday go-tos.
If you're going to make the hash browns, there's no chance you're going to be successful with three ingredients. You're missing two keys: oil and salt. Oil in this case is an ingredient, because the potatoes will soak a lot of it up, so you want something that tastes good. I always make hashbrowns (which I do probably 3-4 times per week) with good quality olive oil. It's a bit expensive, but the difference isn't subtle. Also, no matter how salty the cheese is, it's no substitute for actual salt.
Do you boil your potatoes before shredding? I've had good results with boiled potatoes that were refrigerated over night and this way I used less butter to make them. Though I love hashbrowns, I am not yet a master, so I'm interested to get more 'brown knowledge.
I neither boil not shred. I use a very small dice, just made easier by the fact I bought a set of Shun knives last week. I've never been so excited by cooking equipment. The key is to use your spatula to make sure the potatoes don't clump while cooking (med high heat), and to add oil occasionally so there's always some in the pan. Gets absorbed quickly.