- had a craving for a proper southern breakfast on saturday, so decided to embark on a quest to learn how to make home fries. the secret, it turns out, is in the spices - paprika, cumin, garlic, salt and pepper. it all turns out very well for a maiden attempt and i also fry sausages and eggs and make a stack of pancakes. finally, coffee, and i have a 2-hour breakfast while reading the newspaper and missing durham with every mouthful.