This wonderful toy - the McDonald's French Fry Snack Maker from Mattel - was a thoughtful holiday gift from my dear friend Anne-Sophie years ago, and yes, I have only just now gotten around to writing about it.
For the folks who are always railing about how unhealthy McDonald's fries are or how they aren't really made of what they say they are - this toy should amuse no end. This French Fry Snack Maker is fully functional and does make fries (not cooked of course) but they're not made of potato. They made of bread. As it says on the box, "all you need is... bread, cinnamon, sugar" and "use other foods to make lots of different snacks!"
Bread is the big one though, it even comes with a coupon for fifty-five cents off two loaves of Wonder Bread. Two loaves? Wow, that's a lot of fries. And then there's also the cinnamon sugar mix you make yourself and use to fill the tiny plastic McDonald's 'salt' shaker. But fair warning, these easy to make non-potato snacks can be addictive, so eat responsibly.
Here's how it's done. You use the crust cutter to cut out a fair sized square of bread, then you feed it into the top of the machine. Turn the crank and the bread comes out the bottom in shoestring-sized strips. You take the 'fries' and put them in the little plastic McD's fry boxes and 'salt' them with your cinnamon sugar mixture. Enjoy!
The instruction booklet also comes with a page of other 'recipes' to try. These are much the same as the above but replacing the cinnamon sugar with vanilla instant pudding mix, or instant spiced cider powdered mix, or powdered cheese flavoring, or Nestle Quik chocolate drink mix, or just strawberry jelly. Fresh bread is always recommended, and while wheat bread can be used, don't try multi-grain.
At the same time this toy was available, Mattel also made a Hamburger Snack Maker, a Shake Maker, a Cookie Maker, and a Happy Meal Snack Maker, of which the Fry Maker was only one component. Hmmm... I'm probably better off not knowing what those burgers and shakes were really made of...
Despite how downright bizarre it sounds, I love this thing, it rocks, and I've enjoyed its odd and simple style of breadsticks, I mean fries many times. Thanks, Anne-Sophie!
The Dark Crystal was in from San Francisco, and my GAR! Podcast partner Ray was also down from North Jersey, so, along with The Bride, it was time for another French Fry Diary road trip. Donkey's Place Too in Medford was crowded and hopping the Saturday afternoon we went, barely a place to sit and we briefly discussed finding somewhere outdoorsy to eat our lunch, when a table opened up.
We sat in the booth below the huge picture of the legendary Bob Lucas, who ran Donkey's Place in Camden. The Bride and I got our regular cheesesteaks with onions and cheddar, and introduced Ray to the same, while Crystal bucked tradition and got a chicken cheesesteak. We of course also got fries to share while waiting for our main course to arrive at the table.
I've talked about these seasoned regular cuts before. They are always especially good while hot and good with cheese on the side for dipping. The cheesesteak is fantastic, and unlike any other you'll find, and remember, I hipped you all to Donkey's long before Anthony Bourdain ever heard of it. I am really going to miss this place and this food. Donkey's is the best.
