Beware of exploding potatoes!

This has happened to me before, so it's not a new experience. But I didn't have this blog then and therefore no one to share my wisdom with. Aren't you so lucky that this happened to me again?!

Potatoes explode. If you don't pierce the skin before putting them in the oven, they will eventually explode leaving a crispy skin hanging from the oven rack and bits of potato will cover the bottom of your oven.

I was getting my prep done for supper tonight- thawing the pork chops and chicken, figuring out what other vegetables to have, and baking the potatoes the first time for the twice-baked potatoes. I cleaned the potatoes well and dried them off. Then, I grabbed a fork and pierced each one a several times...or so I thought. I had six small potatoes and I could have sworn that I pierced all six before placing them in the oven. Apparently I missed one, because about 30 minutes later I smelled something burning. I opened the oven door and sure enough, one of my potatoes had burst leaving a crisp skin dangling from the rack while little bits of white and lightly brown flesh were scattered all of the bottom of the oven. I cleaned everything up, pulled the other potatoes out to cool, and then what did I do? I took pictures of the disaster, of course!

The moral of the story (though, I'm sure this is common knowledge): Potatoes, especially farm fresh potatoes or new potatoes, will explode if the skins have not been pierced or vented in some way. Don't let it happen to you!
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Elle's Adventures in Dining Out (or eating in)

Clemson, SC (for the locals)

Little Pigs Bar-B-Q
A casual, quick-service restaurant serving Carolina style, pork BBQ. The chopped pork is flavorful, juicy, and tender and the homemade sauces are the perfect compliment. I prefer their signature mild sauce, which is savory and vinegar-based. They also offer a hot vinegar-based sauce (which is the staff favorite), a South Carolina mustard-based sauce, and a more traditional tomato-based sauce. Oh! And you have to try the apple sticks. You won't regret it.
Price range- $5 to $15
Eat in, carry out, bulk carry out, catering

Greenville, SC
Steak 'n Shake (nation-wide chain)
I know, I know. Yet another chain burger joint. But there's something about the burgers and those teeny, matchstick fries. Not to mention some fond memories I have that involve 15 people on a 3 am burger run in Ohio. I like my steakburger with American cheese and bacon, while my fiance prefers the cheesy cheddar steakburger. Most all of them are delicious and let's not forget the milkshakes. A meal at Steak 'n Shake wouldn't be complete without the "Shake" part.
Price Range- $5 to $10

About that job...

I went in for my interview today, and I think it went really well! The owner and I talked a lot about various concerns and expectations. With everything that we covered, she is sure to have a good idea of my culinary background and experience. She also knows what my goals are. I feel pretty confident about how the interview went, but I won't know whether or not I got the job until next week. There are a few people they called that haven't called back yet and there's one person that she won't get to interview until next week. There is also a possibility that I could have to preform an audition of sorts. So, we'll see. But I still feel really good about it. It's the longest interview I've ever had and I'm taking that as a good sign. She genuinely enjoyed talking with me.

I'm a little frustrated I have to wait until next week, but what can you do? Other than keep searching for other options, I'm going to keep cooking, keep eating, and keep blogging! I'm going to start incorporating a new element to my blog posts. It may not happen with every post, but I'd like to use this once a week. Now I should explain what it is, right? Right.

In Food & Wine magazine the editor-in-chief, Dana Cowin, starts everything off with a letter to her readers about that particular issue. In a small column on the side she tells us what restaurants she's eaten in lately in her "Where I'm Coming From" section. I'd like to do something similar. Now, I'm not a jet setting editor-in-chief in one of the most popular food periodicals out there, but I'm a budding chef and I do eat out at least once a week. So I will share where I'm coming from if I eat something or somewhere new, but I'll also share an ingredient or a dish that I've had or made recently. I suppose it's not a really big deal, but when I read my F&W every month, that little column is something I really looking forward to reading. And now, I'm looking forward to writing my own version.

Elle