Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Nellie McKay’s Okay



We don’t exactly see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, especially politically, but I like Nellie McKay’s music, and even though she’s a vegan, I like her cuz she’s also a junkatarian, meaning she likes French fries. She’s okay in my book.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

You Say Potatoe…


Nita has some things to say about how things are said, and one of the biggies is the favorite fried food. Check it out here.

Cool stuff, huh? Just remember wherever you are, and whatever you call the favorite fried food, it’ll be, in most cases, tasty.

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Sunday, December 28, 2008

French Fry Telepathy


Here’s Laume discussing her recent Sookie Stackhouse moment at a Burger King when she ordered onion rings and got French fries instead. Check it out here.

And don’t know who Sookie Stackhouse is? Shame on you. Make sure you check out HBO’s True Blood and the work of author Charlaine Harris.

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Tasty Potato Latkes


While we’re still in Chanukah, here’s another recipe from the POTATO-RECIPE Yahoo! Group, this one is for the holiday treat, latkes!

Tasty Potato Latkes

4 medium potatoes, about 1 1/2 pounds
3 tablespoon olive oil
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
2 cloves garlic (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon cooking oil
1/4 - 1/2 cups non-dairy sour cream

1. Peel and finely shred potatoes. In a mixing bowl combine potatoes with olive oil, eggs, garlic (if desired), and salt. Using 1/3 cup mixture for each latke, press mixture into patties about the size of the palm of your hand, squeezing out excess liquid.

2. In a large skillet heat oil over medium-high heat. Carefully slide patties into hot oil.

3. Cook over medium-high heat about 2 minutes or until latkes are golden brown, turning once.

4. Repeat with remaining batter. Add cooking additional oil during cooking, as needed.

5. If necessary, reduce heat to medium to prevent over browning. Drain on paper towels and keep warm. Serve with non-dairy sour cream, if desired. Makes about 10 latkes. (Nutrition information is given per latke plus 1 teaspoon non-dairy sour cream.)

source is unknown

God Bless, Marla


Happy Chanukah all!

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Tuesday, December 23, 2008

The Peckerwood Gravy Company

The Peckerwood Gravy Company, located here, is a fun and informative food blog exploring the styles and recipes of the American Midwest.



Here is their recipe for, what else – French fries!

Monday, December 22, 2008

Friday, December 19, 2008

French Fry Shellac

Ever notice the crappy coating that some fries have these days? It supposedly makes ‘em crunchier but the reality is that this stuff –Invisicoat by name- makes the fries last longer in the freezer section. Longer life, more time on the shelf, more sales. It’s used mainly by McCain, Denny’s, any number of nameless diners and more potato products than I would like. Yes, it’s good for the sales end of the business, but really, it tastes like crap.

A month or so back, Natalie posted her thoughts about the French fry shellac phenomenon on her blog, Curly Wurly Gurly. She’s got it right. Just say no to Invisicoat.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Fattiest French Fries


The folks at Eat This Not That really do mean well. I love the books. The books are good common sense guides for folks who are weight and nutrition-conscious, but sometimes, just sometimes, they veer into health Nazi territory. Here's just a little bit of what they have to say about the favorite fried food, French Fries:

"By now, almost everybody knows that trans fats are the food additive that should rarely pass your lips. They add useless calories, build bad cholesterol (known as LDL), and lower your good cholesterol (known as HDL). The American Heart Association says you should only consume 2 grams or less of trans fats in our daily diets. (And we say less. Zero is a good number.)

So why on earth is trans fat still in food if it’s so terrible? Because even though trans fats may shorten your life, they actually add to the shelf life of baked goods, and keep the deep-fat fryers stoked batch after batch. Choosing between your personal health and their own financial health, some chain restaurants and food manufacturers go the wrong way.

Our mission: to raise the warning flag. Here’s a list of the worst trans fat transgressors. Put them on your do-not-eat list, and we’ll all feel a lot better.


TRANS FATTIEST FRENCH FRIES
Jack in the Box's large Natural Cut Fries
10 g trans fat
300 calories
33 g fat

Although most fast food restaurants have transitioned to trans-fat-free fryers, Jack in the Box hasn’t. Their large servings of natural cut fries and curly fries both pack more than 5 days' worth of dangerous fats. In fact, most of the items on their menu are riddled with more than a day’s serving of trans fats.

Eat this instead:
Jack in the Box Egg Roll (1)
130 calories
6 g fat (1 g trans fat)

The fruit cup and one egg roll are the only sides that do not have 2 or more grams of trans fats. If the fruit cup isn’t for you, limit yourself to one egg roll."


Okay, like I said, somewhat good stuff, but really now, who's going to trade fries -even crappy natural cut fries like Jack in the Box has- for an egg roll or a fruit cup? Especially the egg roll... have you ever had a Jack in the Box egg roll? I think I'll take my chances with the world's fattiest fries.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Mashed Potatoes for Thanksgiving



What better time for mashed potatoes than Thanksgiving?

From Marla in Las Vegas' Potato-Recipe Yahoo! group...

Thanksgiving Mashed Potatoes

2 lbs yukon gold potatoes
1 1/2 cups butter
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup shredded asiago cheese
1/2 cup olive oil
1 lb garlic clove, peeled
salt
pepper

The day before dice potatoes. Place them in a bowl with salted cold water and place in the refridgerator overnight.

In an oven safe pan saute olive oil and whole garlic cloves for ten minutes. Season with salt and pepper and roast in the oven at 350 degrees for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven and puree garlic and olive oil in blender. Adjust seasonings as needed. (This can also be done one or two days ahead).

The day of your meal drain the diced potatoes and place in fresh cold water with salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cook till tender (10 minutes).

Mash with a potato masher. Add enough broth to achieve desired consistancy and fold in butter, garlic paste and cheese. Season to salt and pepper to taste.

source is recipezaar

God Bless, Marla


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Monday, October 27, 2008

Flesh Fries



Just in time for Halloween, here come Flesh Fries!

The Oriental Trading Company describes the product thusly: Gummy Flesh Fries. This candy makes great “finger food!” Each spine-chilling box holds bloody tips for even more fleshy taste! Share these gummies with fellow ghouls and goblins! Perfect at your school's Halloween carnival or in goody bags. Includes 5 watermelon-flavored candies in a cardboard container. Fat-free.

Ghoulishly fun!

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Saturday, September 27, 2008

Thursday, September 25, 2008

French Fry Diary 09: The Potato Onion Web



On a recent trip to Orlando Florida I discovered a place called CityWalk’s Rising Star. It’s karaoke with a twist – you do it on stage with a live band and back-up singers. Terrific fun.

Now what’s that got to do with the favorite fried food I hear you ask, well, I’ll tell you. Rising Star has the usual variety of bar foods available to guests while they watch or wait their turn, and on that menu is a magical item called “The Potato Onion Web.” It’s described simply as beer-battered potato and onion, but it’s all that and more.

Served in a basket, it appears to be nothing but golden brown hot fried lumps but is really a mix of battered and deep-fried chunks of crunchy, but soft in the middle, potatoes stuck together with frizzled onions. It’s a cholesterol nightmare and a heart-attack-waiting-to-happen but it’s oh-so-delicious.

If you get down to Orlando, definitely check this out. Oh, and the show is good too.


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Wednesday, September 24, 2008

French Fry Diary 08: Aboard the Disney Wonder


Cruises are notorious for the never-ending parade of food on board ship. The Disney Cruise Line is no different. What is different on board their two ships, the Magic and the Wonder, is the quality of the food. Personally I’ve only cruised on two other lines, the Disney Cruise proving to be vastly superior in comparison.

I’ve traveled on the Magic my first two times and the Wonder my second, including this most current trip. The ships are virtually identical with one major difference – the dress-up restaurant on the Magic is Lumiere’s and Triton’s on the Wonder. But both ships have variations on the favorite fried food.

Starting with the morning, the breakfast potatoes at Beach Blanket Buffet up on Deck 9 came in a few different varieties. There were hash browns of the flat tater tot style, closer to store brand than McDonalds, but nowhere near as greasy and just as tasty. Also available were potato wedges, baked and seasoned, and soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside. The final type were stir-fried scalloped potatoes – my personal breakfast fave on the cruise (potato-wise at least) – made from reds and cooked perfectly in that nebulous area between crisp and baked potato goodness.

In the fries category, natural cut shoestrings came as a side with most offerings at Pluto’s Doghouse. For free fast food sides, not bad, hot and tasty, and they certainly compliment the giant hot dogs they have. My only complaint would be that the last thing I want on an open deck in the Caribbean is hot food. Still good fries though.

The prize find of the trip however, as far as the favorite fried food goes, would be at Triton’s. The French fries available at lunch seatings (and dinner if you ask nicely) are very close to the best fries on Earth (those found at Cooke’s of Dublin in Orlando, FL). Obviously fried then baked, these fries are thick cut, three-quarter inch by three-quarter inch and perfectly delicious. The only problem would be the sparse amount one gets, but as with most things Disney, you only need but ask and you shall receive. Just ask for more.


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Monday, September 22, 2008

French Fry Diary 07: Captain Cook’s at Disney’s Polynesian Resort, Orlando

You want snacks, Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida is a cornucopia of snacks, and of course the number one snack is the favorite fried food – the French fry.

On our most recent trip to WDW, we stayed at the Polynesian Resort. It’s one of the main on-property hotels, one of the big three, the one with the island theme and the flaming luaus. Heck, it’s even a monorail stop.

Their 24/7 kid-friendly snack shop/restaurant is called Captain Cook’s Snack Company. Referred to by more than one employee here as their version of McDonalds, it’s really more like a Wawa meets cafeteria with nicer trimmings sort of place. Really, the only thing that says Disney about the whole place is the friendly atmosphere and service, and the Mickeys and Minnies on the cups and napkins. Come to think of it, one must wonder the why of the name – yes, Captain Cook was a real pirate, but Captain Hook was a Disney pirate.

The official blurb reads: “A 24-hour walk-up counter café on the first floor of the Great Ceremonial House. Features include egg sandwiches, bakery bar, hamburgers, pizza, hot/cold sandwiches, salads, and snacks.” Snacks. That would be the fries, people.

My visit was in the morning, so I, of course, got their breakfast potatoes. After marveling at the concept of being given a beeper for my short order I picked them up and proceeded to eat. At first glance they appeared to be quite similar to the potato wedges one might get at KFC, only not seasoned so darned much. After a taste they proved to be more.

They were in fact potato wedges, but freshly cut and baked, lightly seasoned and then sautéed. I doubt they were fried. They had the wonderfully texture of a boiled potato inside but cooked just enough. Yes, it was a short order, but filling enough to be a meal. Good stuff.

I wonder what their fries are like? I got to find out later that day. Nothing to write home about (blogging is a different story…). They are standard-tasting deep-fried natural cuts, but the magic is in the post cook/pre-serve technique. After the deep fry, the fries are shaken in a metal mixing bowl with a splash of salt and shaken some more, a la Belgian fries. Bravo. Fun to watch, just okay to eat.


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Wednesday, September 17, 2008

French Fry Diary 06: The Steakhouse, Harrah's Atlantic City


For my birthday this year, the Bride used up her comps at Harrah's Atlantic City and took me to The Steakhouse there, a place I had always wanted to go. Well, that’s not exactly true. I like steakhouses, so going to any steakhouse is someplace I always want to go, but perhaps not that one in particular, but still.

The Steakhouse, as it is simply called, is a well-to-do place, one that if it were not in the middle of a casino would definitely have a dress code. On our visit we saw evening wear and jean shorts and sandals. The steaks were to die for, so juicy and tender, a knife was hardly needed to cut it. There was also a interesting variety of breads available before the main course.

And now we get to the, pardon the pun, meat of the meal – the fries. I was a bit tempted by the onion rings, having seen them brought out to another customer. They were thick, crunchy and served vertically on a stick a la Red Robin, but our waiter, when asked what he preferred, suggested the fries. "When else will you have a chance to have real Belgian fries?" True, true, and so I was sold.

I cannot deny that I was impressed by the presentation. The fries came in a wax paper cone, just like Belgian fries are supposed to, and this deep cone came in a specially made metal container. The cone was stuffed with natural cut fries, not exactly Belgian fries, but close. The problem was that the ones on top, the ones I could see at first that were bursting from the cone, were barely warm and kinda crunchy. And not good crunchy, mind you, crunchy as in rock hard and unbreakable by fork or teeth.

The good news was that the fries underneath, kept from the air by the 'bad ones,' were quite tasty and everything promised. And the cone and metal container were deep enough that there were quite a few of these. I then did what I should have done at first, just dumped the whole cone onto a plate and ate from there. I’ll know for next time.

So, Harrah's Steakhouse fries – A+ for presentation, B for taste and D for continuity. Worth a try. But I’m still getting the onion rings next time too.


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Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Monday, September 15, 2008

How to Make French Fries



Another tutorial on the art of making (baked) fries from scratch, this one from xJianwei92x with musical accompaniment.


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Sunday, September 14, 2008

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Speed Painting with French Fries



Info from the artist:

What do you do with fresh McDonald's French Fries and 10 packets of Ketchup? You paint with them of course. 50 min speed painting plays in 4 mins. Ketchup as paint and french fries as a paint brush.

I had to remove the original song because of copyright infringement. Unfortunately the YouTube AudioSwap beta also reduced the quality of the video. When I get a chance I will upload a new higher quality video. I am also in the process of having some limited edition posters and artist prints made. I will be selling these prints on eBay to raise money for the CARE World Hunger Campaign.

Please check out my other videos where I draw with more traditional mediums. Coming in April I am starting a series of instructional videos on how to draw portraits. I am also holding a contest on YouTube soon to win your own portrait. So subscribe to my channel to keep updated.

Now to answer some questions…

The painting Measures 14x11 inches on foamcore surface. It is not permanent the video is the art.

I do custom portraits in a variety of mediums. You can find some info at http://www.EclecticAsylum.com

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

The Lansing State Journal Knows Fries


A recent article in the Lansing State Journal not only praises the favorite fried food but also offers up a cool recipe and even some interesting variations on the fry. Check it out here.

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Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Fries Get Political


A coincidental name is putting a new spin on McCain's latest ad campaign.

McCain Foods Limited, the world's largest producer of frozen French fries and potato products, has started their new ads proclaiming "Why McCain Should Be in the White House."

No, not that McCain, but the fry people. It's a clever ad, and not an endorsement of either candidate, but it definitely gets attention.

I know I'm voting for McCain... fries!

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Matthryn and the Many Facets of French Fries



The wonderful world of Google Alerts recently hipped me to the blog of Matthryn, and their celebration of National French Fry Week. Almost every day of that week featured a blog entry dedicated to the favorite fried food.

Among the goodies we received, there was an introduction, a short story, a portrait, a run-on sentence, a poem and a conversation.

Beautiful.

Mmmm... Fries...


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Saturday, September 06, 2008

French Fry Diary 05: Maoz

Yep, I went to a vegetarian restaurant.

The big thing was that my friends Crystal and Anthony just couldn't wait to tell my wife that they had taken me to, and that I had eaten at, a vegetarian restaurant. Me, who never ate right and especially never ate my vegetables, and here I was at Maoz, a quirky cool tiny little vegetarian restaurant take out place on Philadelphia's eclectic South Street.

Maoz, just for the record, is an international franchise with locations all over the world, but only a handful here in the States, and we're lucky enough to have two in Philly.

Back at the vegetarian restaurant. The fix was that Glenn was there for the fries. Heck, you could lure me through the gates of Hell with the temptation of French fries. Now the fries at Maoz had an additional allure - they were Belgian fries (at least on the menu), and Belgian fries are the gold standard of French fries.

Other than the tasty selection of Coke products, these classic pomme frites called "Belgian chips" here at Maoz were the only dangerous item on the menu. Everything else was the usual healthy fare that every good vegetarian restaurant should have.

While I was at first excited by the prospect of Belgian fries, and I did enjoy them, I was a bit disappointed on closer inspection. They were really steak fries - par-fried, frozen and store bought. While they were in fact cooked and served in the traditional manner - they were still steak fries. They tasted quite similar in taste to the steak fries (called Fat Fries there) at Fatburger.

Now like I said, this doesn't mean they weren't good - they just weren't Belgian fries is all. I'd still go back, and now I can say I've been to a vegetarian restaurant. Believe it or not, it's true.


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Friday, September 05, 2008

Rock On, Patty Fisher

Remember that old NRA gem about "When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns"? Not my favorite organization, but in concept the tagline does have merit. All over the country, government and citizen groups are going after fast food, trans fats and cigarettes with much more vigor than truly dangerous things like drugs.

Apparently fast food, and not lack of self-control, is responsible for childhood obesity. Fast food has been around for quite a while, and to my thinking a few generations have survived the evils of fast food before this one. But, heaven forbid we should blame the parents, let's just blame the food.

Patty Fisher of Mercury News recently wrote a very cool and thoughtful article on the subject of banning fast food restaurants near schools. Check it out here.

Rock on, Patty Fisher!

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Poutine



Poutine is one of the worst tortures one can do to the poor French fry.

It comes from the French, or more accurately the French Canadien folk. It should be noted, despite the name, the French are the ones who lay claim to creating the favorite fried food, but we all know it was really the Belgians. I think that, right there, should tell us how much we should trust the concept of the poutine.

Poutine, roughly pronounced poo-teen, as in poop and teeneger, which is also very telling, is the process of drenching poor French fries in cheese and gravy. Just to make sure it's even more inedible, it's usually cheese curds and hot brown gravy. Come on, really, what did French fries ever do to you?

You can find a powerfully pictorial recipe for poutine here. The fries sure look good before getting tortured, don't they?

Despite my dislike for this variation on the favorite fried food, I have been assured it is quite tasty, and is actually quite popular in the great white north. All across Canada, chains like McDonalds, Burger King and KFC all have choices of poutine on their menus. If you're into it, enjoy!


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Tuesday, September 02, 2008

POTATO-RECIPE on Yahoo! Groups

More than just French fries.

Marla in Las Vegas runs a very cool recipe group on Yahoo! called "POTATO-RECIPE" that features recipes that involve the wonderful potato - including the fried variety.

According to the description: "fried, boiled, steamed, roasted, baked", come on now, does it get much better than that?

Click below to join in on the fun!

Join!

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Monday, September 01, 2008

Sweet Potato Fries



Not all French fries are traditional, or even from traditional potatoes. A twist of the favorite fried food is to make them from sweet potatoes. Mmmm... orangey goodness.

They're not easy to find though. The only place I have found them consistently is at Whole Foods, a wonderful and unique store with lots of hard-to-find stuff.

The Preppy Cricket reviews Alexia (makers of some very cool kinds of fries and fry-like items) brand sweet potato fries on her blog. Check it out here.


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Peace, Love and French Fries

On a visit to Peterborough Locks, LiveJournaler Madly Cool AKA Wallflower took this photo of the "Hippie Chippie."



Peace, love and French fries, indeed!

Check out the rest of the entry here.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Meal of Champions



Just thought it was worth noting that after winning a Gold Medal or two (or three or five or eight), Olympian Michael Phelps had to refuel with a cheeseburger and fries at McDonalds.

Ha! Take that, health Nazis!

Fast Food Olympics



One of the more memorable things about the 2008 Beijing Olympics was the constant almost annoying McDonald's commercials for their recent Chick-Fil-A rip-off sandwich. Not very Olympic, but this Mickey D commercial from earlier in the summer is more fitting. Gotta love the McNuggets, almost as much as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon... and don't forget the fries!

Big Red Kitchen Fries


The terrific foodie blog, Big Red Kitchen, recently posted a cool recipe (or set of rules) for making homemade fries.

Robin Sue certainly has a healthy respect and sense of humor for the favorite fried food and gets extra props. You can view the whole package here.

Mmmm... fries...


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Thursday, July 10, 2008

Friday, May 16, 2008

French Fry Diary 04: The Veg-O-Matic


If you're a fan of late night TV you know either the name or the face of Ron Popeil. The man goes back a long way as evidenced by this black and white photo. He was the man (along with his inventor father Samuel J. at first) behind Ronco, home of many wonder products like the Pocket Fisherman and the Ginsu knife. Back on our blog topic, Ron is shown in the pic demonstrating the original Veg-O-Matic.

The Veg-O-Matic was one of the first of the Ronco gadgets for kitchens and probably one of the best. Of course my interest lies in the fact that it "makes perfect Julienne fries." It was probably one of the single greatest inventions for those of us who like making our own French fries at home.


There was a second new and improved model that came out in 1975. This is the model that I came upon when cleaning out my parents' house after they had passed. At the time it would have been at least thirty years old, and well used. I was able to try it only a few times before one set of the blades, or more appropriately, wires, broke and it wouldn't cut any more. But I guess thirty years service is enough for a trusty fry cutter, don't you think?

The Veg-O-Matic is wonderful for easy fry-cutting, but personally I like cutting them myself with a knife into the perfect size. But then again, it's a time-saving device, and if you must have fries immediately, the old Veg is great. If anyone still has one of these babies, take care of it and treasure it. After all it "makes perfect Julienne fries."


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Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Cooking for Dads: Healthy Fries

This one is from Rob Barrett of Cooking for Dads

He may talk like a health-nazi at times, but he's all right in my book. At least he fries his fries, rather than bake them like most of thems do. The rest of the dinner's not bad either. Be sure to check out his website and his show where available. Good stuff.

Monday, March 24, 2008

French Fry Diary 03: Dunkin' Donuts Hash Browns

Dunkin' Donuts has entered the potato arena recently with their new hash browns. Notably I couldn't find any photos online of their hash browns thus the corporate logo at the left, but there is a quick snippet of what they look like at their website.

Now when I went off to the local Dunkin' Donuts to try their new hash browns it occurred to me that I had not been to one since I worked in cubical hell several years back when getting coffee and donuts for everyone is a survival tactic. When I got inside I remembered that, for DD, customer service is job one, ahem, hundred. I really have to wonder: are the words 'miserable, unintelligible and rude' job requirements for this company? The two men and one woman working the counter looked and spoke as if they would have rather lost a limb each than have to deal with anyone else in the store.

I was first struck by the wonderful menu over the counter which was incomplete and out of order, and which the man who served me took great delight in correcting for me rudely. He also noted that "no one ever looks up there, they just order" or at least I think that's what he said. The menu however gave for a price the words "Remove and insert price" and then underneath it gave prices for a single, a half-dozen and a dozen. I get it now, but the word "donuts" which should have between Hash browns and the quantities was missing. But then again, "no one ever looks up there."

The hash browns themselves come nine-count and are stuffed into a small cup, and I do mean stuffed, so hard that you end up getting mashed potatoes at the bottom rather than hash browns. The most amusing thing about this cup is the warning on it: Caution: Contents can be hot. Can be? That's really not as decisive as 'may be' is it? Let's hope today is a hot day, shall we?

The hash browns themselves are pretty much the same mutant mini-hockey pucks you get at Burger King or Chick-Fil-A that make eating breakfast at those places so unappetizing at times. These do have an extra little kick though, nothing to write home about, probably some store brand version of Mrs. Dash, and certainly nothing to make these things more edible.

They claim they are oven toasted, which is half-right. Yes, I watched my favorite customer service specialist at DD scrape them out of a jar and put them on a pan and into an oven for about sixty seconds. But before that, they were most certainly par-fried and probably deep-fried once more before being ready for that oven toasting.

This was not a good potato experience. Stay away from these things unless you absolutely have to.

Friday, March 07, 2008

French Fries - NapaStyle



Michael Chiarello and friend show us the basics of homemade French fries, NapaStyle. Mmmm... tasty!

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Tuesday, January 29, 2008

It Started with the Super Bowl...



It started here, with an innocent Super Bowl tie-in.

Then thinking that "New York fries" was the style of those on the plate, the deep-fried scalloped variation, Google led me here, a wonderful street-side franchise out of Canada.

Gotta love the car horns!

Mmmm... fries...