Crispy Homemade French Fries

So, I wanted to make up some homemade french fries for my friends the other day.  I went to my trusty blog (which mostly functions as a handy recipe book, these days) and searched "fries."  Unfortunately for me, it turns out I never did that post I meant to about how to make the perfect, crispy, delicious batch of homemade fries like I thought I had.  So here it is now, for all of you (and me, next time I want it -lol).

First take the potato of your choosing.  Yes, the humble spud.  My husband is partial to Yukon Golds, so that is what I will be using in this post.

Cut up your potatoes into thin strips.  (Leave the peels on.)  Put them in cold water, and rinse them until the water runs clear. 

Pat them dry with a paper towel.

Heat your oil to 350 degrees, and lower a small amount of potato slices in.  Make sure they are fully covered.  Stir them, if using the stove.  If using a basket and a deep fryer, give the basket a shake occasionally so they don't stick together.  Fry them for five minutes.

Bring them up and try to dismiss the visions of McMinamin's greasy, floppy fries from your mind.  We aren't done here.

Let the oil drain a bit, and then put them on a baking tray and put them in an oven heated to 200 degrees to keep them warm, while you fry up other small batches of fries.  

If you are only making 20 or so fries, you can skip this step.  But don't overfill your fry basket in order to not have to heat the oven.  You want your fries to have hot oil on all sides, not other potato pieces slapped up against them! 

Continue frying small patches of up and adding them to the tray.  Then heat your oil up some more.  Preferably 425 degrees, or if your fryer only goes to 375 degrees like mine, just crank it all the way up. Dip them in there for two more minutes.

Dab them off again with paper towels.  Add salt.

Maybe not quite this much salt:

But look how crunchy and divine these look!

A little ketchup, and you are good to go.

If you are the skeptical or scientific type, take a look at The Burger Lab's post about why we double fry them.  Also, the recipe is from the same guys, and can be found here.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Frosting

I've decided that my attention to domestic activities appears to be in direct relation to the amount of time I spend alone in my home.  When my husband is home, it rarely occurs to me to try a new recipe or scrub down all the walls.  But when he isn't here... I begin to fill my time in Suzy Homemaker ways.

Today while he was at work, for example, I decided to try making some cupcakes and decorating them with a swirl of peanut butter frosting.  That was a first - I've never made peanut butter frosting before today.  I will be taking these cupcakes to bunco tonight and will see what my tasting panel thinks.  But I am getting way ahead of myself.

First, I mixed up some batter and dolloped it into the tin:

All ready to go in the oven:

When the cupcakes were baked and cooling on the counter, I began making the frosting, roughly by this recipe here.  But I subbed margarine in for butter - then cut it back because no one wants a mouthful of margarine.  I upped the peanut butter to compensate.  I used soy instead of cream.  I also added some vanilla for good measure.  It wasn't looking too promising there for awhile:

But I got it whipped into shape before too long.  Then, using a Pampered Chef kitchen gadget that always reminds me of puffed paint, I started frosting my cupcakes.

Like so:

They turned out like this:

Viola!

I wished I had chocolate sprinkles to top them with, but I don't.  Maybe I will run to the store and get some... along with a container to transport them to bunco tonight.

Happy baking!

Ice Cream Sculpture

Our favorite dessert place to go to is Ice Cream Renaissance. So when my husband signed his contract for his new job, we decided to go there and celebrate. We ordered an "Indecision" for him and they brought him this fantastic two-toned ice cream sculpture in the shape of a bear with "congrats" written in chocolate syrup.

We snapped a picture before digging in. They also have a nice variety of milk-free sorbets (including Chocolate Decadence which is to die for!) for me to choose from. If you are anywhere in the area, you should check them out. All their ice cream is made on site, and it is delicious!

Dining like a Princess

By far the most fun I've had with my food this summer was all the delightful offerings on the Alaskan cruise we just went on. We did formal dining for the majority of our meals because it is easier for me with my food allergy. But who doesn't love a five course breakfast, right?

Here we are in the International Dining Room before dinner one evening.

Here is Bryan humoring me by posing with one of his favorite desserts - the Love Boat Dream.

They made me pretty non-dairy desserts too.

They also had a fruit carving demonstration, which was entertaining:

And a cooking show, with more beautiful food carvings:

Our waitor, Ramil, was in the cooking show. That's him on the left.

We enjoyed our dining experience and waitstaff so much, we got a group picture with them at the conclusion of our cruise.

For all my fellow foodies out there... save your money and go on a cruise. The food alone is well worth it!

Bacon-y Reprise

This year for fourth of July the Bacon Explosions were back by popular demand. They were so popular last year, in fact, that we made four this year! If you haven't tried this yet, I highly reccommend it. See here for step by step instructions.

Yum!

Summertime is Coming!

I am so excited that grilling season is here again! My husband is amazing at the grill. Here is a quick snapshot of dinner:

I made red roasted potatoes in the oven while he was working the above magic.

Happy grilling!

Monday Bento

I used one of my bento containers again today to turn my simple lunch into a bento.

This bento contains:

• a ham sandwich
• BBQ chips
• a miniature brownie

Happy bento!

Apple Pie Filling

Once you've got your pie crust prepared, you are ready to move on to the filling. Preheat the oven to 425* to start with.

For the filling you will want:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 Tablespoons flour
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• a dash of salt
• 5 cups thinly sliced pared tart apples (about 5 medium green apples will do)
• a few dabs of butter or margarine

Mix the first five ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

This was the first time I had used the apple peeler, slicer, corer. I was a bit intimidated, so I had my husband help. It turned out to be not only easy, but fun too! You put the apple on the prongs:

Then you turn the handle and it peels and slices the apple.

It goes very quickly and works great!

Now you can pull it off of the core.

And you have an apple spiral, like so:

If you cut the apple through from top to bottom, you end up with lovely thin apple slices. When you have five cups worth, stir them into the sugar and spice mix.

Pour them out of the bowl into the prepared crust:

Put a few dabs of butter, or dairy free margarine if you have a milk allergy. (I use Imperial, but if you are allergic to whey, you will have to use something else.)

Next, put the second pie crust on top and cut slits in it for the steam to escape during baking. Squeeze the edges together so the filling stays in. If you are feeling fancy, you can "flute" it.

Cover the edges of the pie with foil so that they don't burn.

Cook until golden brown, and juice begins to bubble through slits in the crust. For me this was about 35 minutes, I think. Take the foil off during the last 15 minutes of baking so the edges can brown up as well.

Enjoy!

Easy As Pie Crust

For Thanksgiving this year I was asked to bring a milk free dessert that I could eat. I chose good old apple pie. (Now, keep in mind, this is only my second time doing a baked pie myself, so if it looks a little rustic... well, give me some slack, k?)

I used my aunt Jackie's "EZ Pie Crust" recipe. Not sure where she got it from, but it was very simple.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup boiling water
• 2/3 cup oil
• 2 cups flour
• 1 pinch of salt

Boil the water and mix with oil. Add flour and salt. Mix all ingredients together with a fork.

Here's what mine looked like at this point:


Then you divide the dough in half. Each half makes one pie crust (one for the top, and one for the bottom). I was supposed to roll it out between two sheets of waxed paper so there is no mess, but I didn't have wax paper, so I used foil. It rolls out very easily, but is very greasy to the touch - so if you have wax paper, use it. I am sure it would "let go" of the dough a bit easier.

Either way, transfer the first pie crust to the pan you are using.

Now you are ready for filling. I will post the pie recipe tomorrow.

Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Late Start Bento

This morning, due to ice and snow, the school I work at had a two hour late start. So, I thought, while the ice outside melts away, why not pack a simple bento? This is what I came up with:

This bento contains

• ham sandwich
• red roasted potatoes
• wheat thins
  

Happy bento!

No Knead Rolls

It has been coming on for a while now. The cloudy days and cooler nights have me thinking of baking. Today, I couldn't help myself. We just had to have homemade rolls with dinner.

So I looked up a no knead recipe. One of the top no knead roll recipes was from Oprah. Since it didn't have any milk in it, I gave it a try.

These first couple pictures are of my dough as it is rising. I used a plastic ice cream container left-over from our last milkshake party, and poked a couple holes in the top to allow it to breath while the yeasties were doing their rising thing.


Here are the rolls after I punched them down and formed them:

I had warmed the oven slightly (by baking brownies and then opening the door up to let it cool some) so that they would rise well.

Here they are after they have been buttered and are browning.

They turned out nice and brown on top.

My husband asked if this was a new recipe, because they were not as dense as the dinner rolls I typically make. Then he got himself a second light and fluffy roll to slather good jam on. I call that success.

What are you baking?