French Fry Diary 525: Utz Gourmet Medley Potato Chips

This is the first review of my 2013 vacation. The Bride arranged for us to fly first class down to Orlando, and I guess one of the perks is snacks. Not a tiny bag of peanuts, but snack bags of, well, snacks. The flight attendant brought around a tray of snacks for us to pick from. I saw the Utz name on a bag and snagged it.

The full name is Utz Natural Gourmet Medley Kettle Cooked Potato Chips, and these are chips made from three different potatoes - dark and light russets, sweet potatoes, and blue potatoes - to give the chips a festive four-colored variety. Oooh, very fancy, very gourmet.

I held onto them 'til we got off the plane and back to the hotel to try them and write about them properly. Why? We were delayed, having some bad turbulence, and holy cow, you should have seen me trying to type the above on my Nook… autocorrect, most of the time I hate you, but you saved most of the above when I was barely hitting any of the right keys.

The chips are pretty good, as Utz' kettle chips always are. The novelty here is in the color, as the taste isn't all that different except for the sweet potatoes. It is worth noting that the mixing of sweet and other potatoes give all of them a bit of a sweet scent and taste. A different treat, I liked these, good stuff.

French Fry Diary 499: Cape Cod Waffle Cut

Looks like someone else is finally jumping on the bandwagon started by Herr's amazing Lattice Cut potato chips. I was delighted when I found these at Wegmans the other day. Here comes Cape Cod, a New England gourmet potato chip company, with their version - Waffle Cut potato chips.

They actually go Herr's at least one better. Not only are Cape Cod's chips kettle cooked, but they are also thicker, always a plus for dipping. They come in Sea Salt and Seasoned Pepper. Cape Cod Waffle Cut Potato Chips - if you can find them, these are probably the best dipping chips I've found.

French Fry Diary 206: Red Robin Puts It in Print

The last time we visited Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, we saved the paper our second serving of Bottomless Steak Fries were delivered on because we thought it was so much fun. Here's a list of everything it said:

"More! More! More!, Bottomless Yummm, Sure you can have more, Fill 'er up, Bottomless is where the yummm is, Eat, Load up the spuds, Enjoy your meal, Steak fries taste best when they're bottomless, Seek the bottom" and "Munch," along with the "Bottomless Fortune: More steak fries are on the way," and the non sequitors, "Bottomless freckled lemonade... ahhhhh!" and "Chew on this: It's impossible to lick your elbow."

Fun, fun, fun. And it's all true! Mmmm... bottomless fries...

French Fry Diary 38: Bottomless Birthday Fries

Just a quick one today, folks, but one with lots of pictures. Last night I celebrated my birthday with friends at Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, the home of the infamous "Bottomless Fries."

This isn't really a review, so I'll be brief. We had three servings, one in lieu of cake while being sung "Happy Birthday," of the sometimes hot and tasty, sometimes not, Red Robin steak fries. And they do mean bottomless. They will keep coming.

What made the night, other than good friends, good conversation and good fries, was the magic 8 ball coaster on the table -shown here- that kept prompting us (and by us, I mean me) to get more fries.

Good times. :-)

Gourmet French Fries

Another one from [POTATO-RECIPE], by way of Marla in Las Vegas, the Happy Cooker and Allkindsoffood:

The gourmet's trick to French fries that are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside is double-frying them.

6 large potatoes (Idaho or Russet is a good choice)
Oil for deep frying (Vegetable or Peanut)
Ice water (optional)

Cut the potatoes into fries about 3/8" thick. (Thin fries soak up too much oil.) You can peel the potatoes, if you like, but it's not necessary.

Optional: Soak the cut fries in ice water for about 30 minutes. This step removes a lot of the starch, making them less sticky when frying. Pat the soaked fries dry with a paper towel before frying.

In a frying pan or deep fryer, heat the oil to 325°. Fry small batches of the fries for about 3 minutes; they will be softened but not browned. Remove them from the oil and let them rest, or sweat, on paper towels for at least half an hour, up to 2 hours. (A great make-ahead step.)

When you're ready, reheat the oil to 375°. Cook the fries a second time until golden brown, 4-6 minutes. Drain again on paper towels, transfer to a serving dish, and season with one of the gourmet seasoning recipes below while they are still warm and moist.

You're half way there! Seasonings are the second half of gourmet french fry recipes:

Lemon-Parsley Fries: Combine 1 heaping tablespoon each of lemon zest and chopped parsley in a small bowl. Sprinkle the mixture over warm french fries. Salt and pepper to taste.

Red Pepper Fries: Simmer 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper in 1/4 cup olive oil for about 5 minutes. Set aside until ready to use. When the fries are done, remove the crushed red pepper from the oil (unless you're very daring) and drizzle the oil over the french fries. Salt to taste and toss. Option: Add 1 tablespoon minced garlic and 1 teaspoon basil to the oil and simmer with the red pepper.

Truffle Fries: Drizzle 1 tablespoon warmed white truffle oil over fries. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste, and toss.

Garlic Fries Recipe: Lightly sauté 1/2 cup minced garlic in 1/4 cup olive oil . Stir in 1 tablespoon thyme. Drizzle the garlic mixture over warm french fries and toss. Salt and pepper to taste. Option: Sprinkle 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese over the fries and toss again. Delicious.


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