Home Made Potato Chips

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Now before you shake your collective heads in dismay at the high fat, high carb fare appearing on this blog lately, hear me out.

These potatoes, organically grown here in Humboldt county, were an offering at the farmers market yesterday. Well, Mr CC loves potatoes and he rarely gets them because I don't cook or eat them. But the potatoes were so small, so cute, so colorful and his eyes so imploring, how could I resist? I'll make potatoes au gratin, he said excitedly. My eyes rolled in my head as I envisioned yet another pound settling around my hips.

It was not my idea to turn them into potato chips. It was his. We'd been asked to bring hors d'oeuvres to a friends house for dinner and he decided it would be a hoot to bring potato chips; organically grown, home made potato chips. What could I say? No, I do not bow to his every culinary whim, but I must admit to a bit of mischievous curiosity thinking about bringing potato chips as hors d'oeuvres.

Red Bliss, Yukon Gold, Yellow Finn, Russet, and Purple Peruvians all combined to make a basket of lovely little chips. I dare you to eat just one. It turns out that the purple and red in these little guys are the same antioxident rich anthocyanins that give blueberries their color and health benefits. Of course I didn't know that before we made the chips, but it does help to alleviate the guilt factor a bit.

My contribution to this endeavor was to slice the potatoes into very thin slices using a mandoline, then carefully blot the chips as they came out of the hot oil. Then I sprinkled them with kosher salt and tossed them with a grating of our local Mt. McKinley cheese from Cypress Grove Chevre. Mr CC did the frying. Exceedingly well.

Were they a hit? Did they make people smile? Oh, you betcha!

Mr CC's Home Made Potato Chips

Ingredients:

About 3 pounds of a variety of small potatoes

canola oil

kosher salt

Mr. McKinley cheese, grated (parmesan would be good also)

Preparation:

Pour oil to a depth of about 4 inches into a large, heavy pot and heat to 375 degrees over medium heat.

Have a thermometer handy to check the temperature of the oil occasionally.

Wash and scrub the potatoes then dry them thoroughly. Do not peel.

Using a mandoline, position the potato so the slices will come from the length of the tuber, not the width, and slowly slice until all the potato is in thin slices.

When the oil is the required temperature, carefully place the slices, one at a time, into the hot oil. The oil will bubble ferociously at first because potatoes are so full of water.

Maintain the oil temperature between 350 and 375 degrees.

Using long-handled tongs, keep the chips from sticking to each other in the hot oil. Never leave the stove during this process.

Watch the chips very carefully as they begin to turn golden brown. As soon as they do this, allow them to cook for just a minute more then remove them from the oil with a skimmer and place them on paper towels to drain.

You can gently blot the oil from them with paper towels.

Toss them with kosher salt and then grate some of the cheese over the chips and toss them again.

Try not to eat too many before taking them to your hosts.

Copyright © 2005-2007, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved