Friday, June 24, 2005
Ah It Feels Good ~~~~
~~~~to feel good !
a Full Tilt Lolly Gag is an effective strategy during an Essential Lull
i learned how to make perfect homemade French Fries
from a magazine called Cuisine At Home
here's what i learned from following the recipe and making slight adaptation
#######
there are two basic parts to making a really good "side a fries"
have a big baking sized russet potato just laying around waiting to be used
peel it a little
slice into slabs and the slabs into sticks the size fry you prefer
like shoestring (my favorite) or 1/2 inchers / or another favorite : some thick and some thin and not at all even but 90% the same length
rinse in water and dry on towels
you need a deep and heavy pot / like Le Crueset / that can get real hot and is able to hold the heat / see you can get the frying oil hot enough but the addition of any food always lowers the temperature
you need a deep fry thermometer / the kind with the clip on it / it has to go to 400'
oil / i had on hand a couple of quarts of sunflower seed oil / it has to be at least three inches deep or ten cups
using the thermometer which should NOT be touching the bottom of the pot / bring the heat up to 325' and slip the potatoes in one at a time / do small batches / the idea here is to soften them but not brown them / amount of time this takes varies depending on the size of your fry / maybe only a minute or two
drain on a rack over brown paper bags
that's Part One
wrap these fries in paper towels and chill for at least an hour
Part Two : get your oil hot up to 375'
slip the chilled potatoes into the oil in small batches / the cold potatoes will want to lower the temperature of the oil so proceed slowly until you get the hang of it
this time they should crisp up and turn a lovely golden brown / fish them out when they are the colour you prefer
drain on towels and sprinkle with salt
what we dunk them in is topic for another post
a Full Tilt Lolly Gag is an effective strategy during an Essential Lull
i learned how to make perfect homemade French Fries
from a magazine called Cuisine At Home
here's what i learned from following the recipe and making slight adaptation
#######
there are two basic parts to making a really good "side a fries"
have a big baking sized russet potato just laying around waiting to be used
peel it a little
slice into slabs and the slabs into sticks the size fry you prefer
like shoestring (my favorite) or 1/2 inchers / or another favorite : some thick and some thin and not at all even but 90% the same length
rinse in water and dry on towels
you need a deep and heavy pot / like Le Crueset / that can get real hot and is able to hold the heat / see you can get the frying oil hot enough but the addition of any food always lowers the temperature
you need a deep fry thermometer / the kind with the clip on it / it has to go to 400'
oil / i had on hand a couple of quarts of sunflower seed oil / it has to be at least three inches deep or ten cups
using the thermometer which should NOT be touching the bottom of the pot / bring the heat up to 325' and slip the potatoes in one at a time / do small batches / the idea here is to soften them but not brown them / amount of time this takes varies depending on the size of your fry / maybe only a minute or two
drain on a rack over brown paper bags
that's Part One
wrap these fries in paper towels and chill for at least an hour
Part Two : get your oil hot up to 375'
slip the chilled potatoes into the oil in small batches / the cold potatoes will want to lower the temperature of the oil so proceed slowly until you get the hang of it
this time they should crisp up and turn a lovely golden brown / fish them out when they are the colour you prefer
drain on towels and sprinkle with salt
what we dunk them in is topic for another post
