Random Tater Pic of the Day #286

Today's Somebody Else's Fries comes from dear friend and frequent FFD contributor Robin Renee. Crinkle cut French fries with garlic powder, cayenne, and truffle salt (plus a tomato and peppers from the garden and volunteer dandelion greens).

French Fry Diary 429: Nadia G.'s Duck Fat Fries

You folks know how how much I love Nadia G. and her "Bitchin' Kitchen." I watch religiously, or so I thought. Recently my buddy Ray told me about an episode I had apparently missed. It's called "Getting the Romance Back," and featured recipes for rib-eye steak, oysters with creamy spinach alfredo, strawberry shortcake, among others, and, yeah baby, duck fat fries. Yeah, I know, how could I have missed this one? So after a long search through the Xfinity schedule grids for weeks, I finally found it.

The episode presents a dinner designed to get couples who have been together a looong time some romance into their lives. And you know Nadia, she does it with style. And here's the recipe for both the ribeye and the fries from Nadia's website:

Ingredients:

Fries: 2 cups warm water, 1/2 cup raw sugar, 2 russets, cut into 1/4 inch fries, 3 cups duck fat, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, Freshly cracked pepper, Sea salt

Beurre blanc: 1/4 cup good dry white wine, 1/4 cup white wine vinegar, 2 shallots, minced 1/2 cup cold butter, cubed 2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, roughly chopped, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, Freshly cracked pepper

Steak: 2 1 inch thick rib-eye steaks, at room temperature, 2 tablespoons canola oil, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, Freshly cracked pepper, 2 tablespoons butter

Recipe tools: Medium saucepan, Large pan, Salad spinner

Directions Making the fries: To warm water, add raw sugar and whisk.  Soak fries in sugar water for 1hour or overnight. Strain and dry off in salad spinner. In a pot heat duck fat to 325˚F. Blanch 1 cup of fries at a time for 5 minutes, until cooked but not crispy. Remove and raise temperature of oil to 375˚F. Fry for 3-4 minutes until golden and crispy. Season with cayenne, pepper, and salt.

Making the beurre blanc: Heat saucepan on medium high. Add white wine, vinegar, and shallots. Let boil and reduce down to 2 tablespoons of liquid. Take off heat and let cool for about 1 minute. Put saucepan back on burner without turning on the heat. Throw in a few butter cubes at a time; whisk until butter is melted. Continue until all butter is melted. Add tarragon, salt, and pepper. Mix. Cover, turn heat to very low and let sit.

Making the steak: Heat canola oil in a pan on medium high. Season steak with salt and pepper. Cook for 3 ½ minutes per side, for medium-rare. For last minute of cooking, add butter and melt. Remove steak from heat, tent and let rest for 5 minutes.

Place steak and fries on a plate and top steak with sauce.

See the whole recipe here.

French Fry Diary 298: 365 Mesquite Barbecue Potato Chips

Back at one of my favorite places to shop, Whole Foods, I had just picked up a couple burgers from their incomparable meat counter and I was looking for chips to not only go along with them, but also to go on top of the burgers for flavor and crunch. Barbecue flavors are usually the best and I spied something new - 365 Mesquite Barbecue Potato Chips Classic.

Now 365 is the Whole Foods store brand, not that there's anything wrong with that, but like most WF snack products, the bag is just about impossible to open without a scissors. Something really has to be done about that.

These chips are thin regular potato chips, inconsistently seasoned, but not greasy. They have an interesting but pleasant smoky afterburn if you eat more than a few at a time. The seasoning contains a few intriguing wild cards like cinnamon and celery, as well as the usual suspects like cayenne and paprika.

Bottom line, they worked well on my burgers, adding that extra crunch and extra flavor. Yum. Recommended.

Guy Fieri's Yucca Fries

For this Food Network Friday we turn again to Guy Fieri, mostly because he's one of my favorite chefs, but also because he knows his fries - even when they're not made of potatoes! Here's his version of Yucca Fries:

Recipe courtesy Guy Fieri

Show: Guy's Big Bite Episode: Mojito Chicken

Prep Time: 15 min
Inactive Prep Time: --
Cook Time: 10 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 4 to 6 servings.

Ingredients
•3 cups canola oil
•1 tablespoon fine sea salt
•1 teaspoon black pepper
•1 teaspoon paprika
•1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
•2 pounds fresh yucca
•1 lime zested

Directions
In medium Dutch oven heat oil to 350 degrees F.

Place all spices in mixing bowl, and combine thoroughly.

Peel yucca tubes with heavy-duty vegetable peeler until bark is completely removed. Cut yucca into strips: 1/4-inch wide, 4 inches long. Add yucca into oil and fry until golden brown. With a slotted spoon remove the yucca from the oil and drain on paper towels.

Season hot yucca fries with spice mixture and lime zest and serve on a warm paper - towel-lined platter.