Hello Readers!

It’s been a bit chaotic here in the Maruska house.  I’ve had lots of house projects going on (possibly including some renovation work) and I have 5 custom orders to do for the shop (4 needlebooks and a custom project tote).  All these goings on have certainly kept me out of trouble, but sadly, have given me little time for blogging (and to everyone I owe emails to – you’ll be hearing from me soon!).

So here is my latest Two Spoonfuls post: Chapter 4 of Alton Brown’s “I’m Just Here For The Food”.

This time I’m tackling immersion Frying.

I made one recipe from Alton’s book: Quick-Dip Potato Strips.

The only ingredients for this recipe are: canola oil, a potato, salt & pepper.

This has to be one of the easiest recipes I’ve tried in awhile.  And according to Alton, he’s been able to create his own home made potato chips at a cost of approximately $0.22 for a large bags worth of chips.  Compared to store bought, that’s pretty economical!  And these are fun to make.  This past Wednesday night (aka “LOST night” in our house) we had two friends over and we all took turns making chips.  My friends really enjoyed it and I bet kids would love this, too.

In his book, Alton goes into great detail about the science of frying, types of oils, smoke points, etc.  He provides many recipes to try out your new immersion frying skills, including a homemade tempura batter recipe.  I used several of Alton’s pointers to make my chips a success:  I used a Dutch oven and heated it up before adding my oil (oil starts to degrade once it’s passed a certain temp., so it’s best not to heat it along with the pan.), I used a combination candy and oil thermometer while I was frying (these can easily be purchased in your local grocery store.) and I kept an inverted metal rack and paper towels close by to drain my finished chips.

Using an ordinary potato peeler I peeled potato strips right into a bowl of cold water.

Before frying, I gave them a quick spin in the salad spinner.

Keep that temp. between 360° and 380° F!

Plain ‘ol potato strips go into the oil…

…and turn into crispy, delicious homemade chips!

This is the beauty shot I took when I made these for Josh and I.

When the guys came over on Wednesday – the chips never made it to the serving platter!

Yeah.  They’re that good.

(Here is a similar recipe from Alton, found on the Food Network site.)

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Since I had the oil out already, I was inspired to make up my own quick tempura dinner.

This isn’t Alton’s recipe – instead I used a box mix that I got in the Asian section of my grocery.

I sliced up a variety of veggies (onion, sweet potato, green beans and zucchini) and a few large shrimp.

Into the oil…

…and onto paper towels.

Delicious!

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I had alot of fun giving immersion frying a try. I like how quickly the food is cooked – making this a great option for a fast, warm snack or dinner.  I already had a candy/oil thermometer, so my only equipment investment was the metal strainer for getting the hot foods out of the oil (that cost about $7).  And I’ve got to say it again – my guests LOVED the chips.

So buy a couple potatoes, invite some friends over, and gather ’round the stove = you’ll have alot of fun!

My next technique to master will be Sautéing!

Jenn : )

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