Faerie Hair French Fries

We've been making these as an incredibly crunchy side-dish for a few years now.  We can't find anybody that can eat just one mouthful.  Super-slender tendrils of potato, golden brown, with a crunch that disintegrates in your mouth.  Can't stop eating them.

 The trick, other than the fine "shreds" is "Doble Frita" -- Double Fried.

This is surprisingly simple.

You'll need about 1 medium potato per serving.

Plenty of deep-fry oil.

Deep-fry thermometer.

Seasoning to make you happy.  Try lemon pepper or Tajín, to taste.  Salt as needed.

Tons of toweling for drying the spuds and draining them of oil.

PROCEDURE:

Run the potatoes over the julienne attachment of your mandolin slicer (this critter).  It's the one with all of the tiny close-set blades on the feed bed of the mandolin. 

For real fun, slide the potato back and forth across the blades which cuts some of the julienne "sticks" to "fuzz" thickness.  The sticks (shreds) are about the size of a wood pencil lead.  The fuzz is about the thickness of a 0.5mm mechanical pencil lead.

Depending on your potato type, as in Costa Rica, you should wash the potato shreds under running water until the milky starch stops running out.

Drain them well.

Better than that.  Get them really dry.

Get your oil up to a solid 350F (177C).

CAREFULLY drop a small handful of the shreds into the hot oil.  Watch the boil-up.  If it is safely well below the top rim of your pot, you can add up to about a half potato's shreds.  When the boil-up subsides watch the "fuzz" pieces and pull the batch out just as they show slight browning.  If you don't have any fuzz, pull the batch when they're lightly golden.

Drain the batch on paper towels.

Bring your heat back up to temperature and repeat until all potato is cooked through this first cycle.

Take the heat of the oil up to 370F (188C).

ATTENTION:  This next step happens fast.  Do not drop the fries into the hot oil and turn away or get distracted.

Grab up about a full potato's worth of shreds and gently slide them into the hotter oil.  Keep them submerged.  In about 10 to 20 seconds, the fries will go to a dark golden brown.  

Pull them out quickly to drain.  Repeat to finish the batch.

Season to taste.

Please eat responsibly.  We're not responsible for your overeating episodes.

Edit:  SWEET POTATO MODIFICATION

We discovered that the orange-flesh sweet potatoes (camote-zanahoria in Costa Rica) only require one modification to this procedure:  You don't have to double fry.  Just leave them in 360F oil until they're nice and darkly fried.  We then do the light salt and for sure the Tajín.  It's O.K. to stack up batches in a 180F warm oven to keep them crisp if you live in a high-humidity area.  People can't leave these alone.  They will devour these by the handful.

Chipotle Smashed Sweet Potatoes

I was discussing our holiday menus with a friend in a Facebook Chat and he told me about this side dish he planned to serve with his meal. I’ve never been fond of the traditional yams or sweet potatoes with the marshmallow topping found on almost every holiday buffet table. Don’t get me wrong, I loved it as a toddler, but I like to think my palate has evolved over the decades. This is a new twist for a spicy alternative to the humble Sweet Potato, or as we call it in Costa Rica, “el Camote”. This recipe was a big hit at our Thanksgiving dinner and now it will be a regular side dish in our house all year long. I modified this recipe from an Alton Brown original to suit our taste by adding bacon and sour cream.

Ingredients:

• 4 slices of bacon, diced (optional)
• 4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 4 tablespoon of butter
• ½ cup of sour cream
• 1 or 1½ chipotle pepper(s) in adobo sauce, depending on the heat level preference (not the whole can)
• 2 teaspoons of just the adobo sauce
• 1 teaspoon of salt

Directions:

• Fry the bacon until crispy, drain on a paper towel, and set it aside (optional)
• Steam the cubed sweet potatoes for about 20 minutes until they are fork-tender. Steaming the potatoes prevents them from absorbing too much water during the cook.
• Mash the sweet potatoes with butter, sour cream, and salt
• Mince the chipotle pepper (remove the seeds if you don't want a lot of heat). I recommend you start with just one chipotle pepper at first.
• Fold in the chipotle pepper and adobo sauce
• Let the potatoes rest for about 30 minutes so that the flavors can meld. Taste and add more chipotle pepper or adobo sauce if necessary. You can always add more heat, but you can't take it back. 
• Top the dish with the crispy bacon bits.

Kicked Up Rustic Mashed Potatoes

I recently read about mashed potatoes made with garlic and chipotle adobo sauce. It occurred to me it might be fun to use my Phantom Chipotle Salt to really kick the potato experience over the top. Wow, what a tasty treat for a side dish! This salt blend adds a subtle smokey background heat that is most enjoyable.

Ingredients:

• 6 medium/large potatoes, cleaned and cut into large chunks with the skins on.
• 2 tablespoons oil
• ½ cup of milk or cream
• ¼ cup (½ stick) of butter
• 2 large cloves of garlic, either finely minced or pressed through a garlic press
• 1½ teaspoons of Phantom Chipotle Salt (If you can't make this salt blend, finely mince ¼ of a dried Chipotle pepper without the seeds and mix it with enough plain table salt to reach your desired level of heat.)
• ¼ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper.

Directions:

• Place the potatoes in a large pot, cover with water. Then add the oil to prevent the water from boiling over the top of the pot.
• Cover the pot and bring the potatoes to a rapid boil over medium-high heat. Lower the heat to medium-low and let the potatoes cook for about 15 minutes, until fork-tender.
• Heat the milk and butter in the microwave until the butter is melted.
• Mash the potatoes with the milk, butter, garlic, Phantom Chipotle Salt, and pepper.
• Serve hot.

Julienne Fries Are Yum!

In Costa Rica, the locals seem to want their french fries blond, limp and mushy.  I'm an In-N-Out double-fry fries guy so the local fries are a no-go.  This recipe takes my "crispy fetish" to the extreme.

If you've never had julienne potato french fries, you haven't lived!  All you need is

• julienne-capable mandolin or spiralizer with a julienne option, 
• potatoes
• high-smoke cooking oil 
• deep fryer or frying pan with high sidewalls
• salt, pepper & seasonings to taste 

Start by washing your potatoes.  Peel 'em or don't -- your choice.

Now set your slicing device to its julienne setting and turn the potatoes to a pile of "dress shoe strings," or about the thickness of angel hair pasta.

Some types of potatoes need to be washed after slicing to get rid of any excess of starch.  The Costa Rican types definitely need this starch-washing.

Dry off the julienned potatoes.  We shake them in a sieve and finish on toweling.  A salad spinner might be nice.  Just get 'em dry.

Heat your oil to 350 F (177C), then deep fry your potatoes.  Bring them to a light golden brown, then dump them onto a draining grid or onto several layers of paper towel.  Let 'em rest until they're cool enough to touch with your bare fingers, plus or minus -- the exact degree of cooling isn't important.

In a commercial fryer, you can do a big batch all at once.  If not, do a fist-full at a time so that the oil temperature doesn't drop much.  Be sure to reheat the oil to 350 again before doing subsequent batches.

Now for the crunch ...

Bring your oil up to 380-85 F (193-96 C), then, while hovering over your fryer, plunge a fully submersible batch of the previously fried potatoes into the very hot oil, gently agitating and watching constantly.  (They can go from crunchy to burnt in seconds.)

As soon as some of the thinnest ends are dark brown, pull them out.

Again drain them and shake on salt & pepper to taste.  We add a light sprinkle of cajun Tony's or the Central American chili pepper blend called Tajín Clásico con Limón.  ¡Yum!

We think these are best served hot, right away, but the local kids don't seem to care -- I think they'd eat them frozen.

Creamy Au Gratin Potatoes

I created this recipe trying to use up some cheeses, and an open container of heavy cream, I found in the refrigerator. I also found I had some potatoes that really needed to be cooked. I wasn't going to write this recipe down, but John insisted, so here goes...

Ingredients:

• 4 medium-size potatoes thinly sliced on a mandoline (1/8" thick). I used 2 white and 2 red potatoes with the skins.
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded Manchego cheese
• 1 cup shredded Asiago cheese
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper.

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400°F or 195°C
• Lightly coat a 9" square baking dish with cooking spray or oil
• Rinse and drain the potatoes
• Mix the 3 cheese together to thoroughly blend.
• Mix the cream and sour cream, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl.
• Lay 1/3 of the potatoes on the bottom of the dish, spread 1/3 of the cheese mixture evenly over the potatoes, followed by 1/3 of the cream mixture. 
• Add 2 more layers of potatoes, cheeses, and cream.
• Bake for 35-45 minutes until the potatoes are fork-tender.

Note: Be sure to shred your own cheese. It is best to not use pre-grated cheeses because these cheeses have fillers like Cellulose Powder to prevent clumping and Natamycin as a mold inhibitor. Many people are allergic to these added ingredients.

Cheesy Mashed Potato Muffins

Wondering what to do with those leftover mashed potatoes? Here is a sure fire recipe to please even the most finicky eater.

Ingredients:
• 4 cups of leftover mashed potatoes
• 1¼ cup of grated cheese divided (I like to use a mix of cheddar, jack & mozzarella)
• ¼ cup of thinly sliced scallions
• 1 large clove of garlic, finely minced
• ½ tsp dried parsley
• 1 large egg (If the mixture is too thin, add an extra egg)
• Salt and Pepper to taste.
• Optional - ½ cup of minced bacon or ham

Directions:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. and generously grease a 12 cup muffin pan.
• Mix one cup of the grated cheese with all the other ingredients.
• Divide the mixture evenly between the muffin cups, and pack the potatoes down with a spoon.
• Bake the muffins for 35 minutes until the potatoes start to crisp around the edges.
• Take the muffins out of the oven and top them with the remaining cheese.
• Return the muffins to the oven for an additional 5 minutes to melt the cheese.
• Remove the muffins from the oven and allow them to cool for a few minutes to make them easier to transfer to a serving dish.

Serve immediately.

Potatoes Au Gratin - Vertical Hasselback Style

These potatoes are just about the very best "Potatoes Au Gratin" ever! This is not my original recipe, but I have modified it a bit, and made it my own. I reduced the amount of cream, and I also use cheeses and herbs that are readily available to us in Costa Rica. Russet potatoes are not an option here, so I use white, yellow, and red potatoes. Every time I wanted to make these I had to search for the original recipe on the internet again, and then try to remember how I modified it. It was time to add my recipe here, where I can find it when I need it, and so can you!

Ingredients

• 3 ounces finely grated Manchego, Sharp White Cheddar, Gruyère or Comté cheese
• 2 ounces finely grated Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
• 1 cup, or 250ml, of heavy cream
• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon of whatever fresh herbs you have on hand, like thyme, rosemary, parsley, and basil, roughly chopped (You can also use a mix of dried herbs, buy only use 2 teaspoons)
• Coarse ground salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1½ to 2 pounds of potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8th-inch thick on a mandolin slicer (3 to 4 medium size potatoes, the longer & thinner the better) I use a mix of red and white potatoes. Rinse the potatoes with cold water to release some of the starch and thoroughly drain.
• 2 tablespoons butter

Directions

1. Grease a 2-quart casserole dish with butter (I find a deep dish casserole, oval or rectangular, works best). Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 400°F. Combine cheeses in a large bowl. Transfer 1/3 of cheese mixture to a separate bowl and set aside. Add cream, garlic, and herbs to cheese mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add potato slices and toss with hands until every slice is coated with cream mixture. Separate every slice so the cream mixture evenly coats them them.
2. Pick up a handful of potatoes, make a neat stack, and lay them on end in the casserole dish with the edges vertical. Stack the potato slices like this from the outside perimeter, working your way to the center until all potatoes have been added. The potatoes need to be very tightly packed. If necessary, slice an additional potato, coat with cream mixture, and add the slices to the casserole (this is why longer & thinner potatoes work best, because you get more slices). Pour excess cream/cheese mixture evenly over potatoes until the mixture comes half way up the sides of the casserole. You may not need all excess liquid.

3. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake about 30 minutes more, until the top is a light golden brown. Remove the dish from the oven and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Return the potatoes to the oven and bake until they are deep golden brown and crispy on top. This could take another 30 minutes, or so. Let the potatoes rest for a few minutes before serving.

Serves:  4 to 6

Total time: 15 minutes of prep work, plus 1½ hours baking

Waffle Iron Hashbrowns

We make hashbrown potatoes all the time on an old cast iron griddle. Yesterday I stumbled upon an interesting recipe on Pinterest that is very similar to the one I've created.

Here in Costa Rica, you don't just pop on over to the local grocery store and pick up some frozen shredded potatoes. Here, you shred your own potatoes, or you go without hashbrowns. This is my version of Waffle Iron Hashbrowns.

Ingredients:
• 2 cups freshly shredded potatoes
• 1 tablespoon of butter, melted
• 1 one egg
• 1½ teaspoons flour
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon black pepper
• pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions:
Preheat the waffle iron to it's highest setting. Rinse the shredded potatoes thoroughly to remove as much starch as possible (this prevents them from becoming gummy). Blot the potatoes dry on a clean dish towel and set them aside.  In a medium size bowl, mix the egg with all the remaining ingredients. Add the shredded potatoes to the egg mixture and toss until the potatoes are well coated.

Spray the waffle iron with some non-stick spray and layer the potatoes evenly on the waffle iron.  Bake for a minimum of 10 minutes. If your timer on the waffle iron beeps before the baking time is up, ignore it, and pay attention to the steam escaping.  When the steam stops, the hashbrowns are done.


Carefully remove your finished waffle iron hashbrowns and enjoy!

Servings: 2

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

Here is great way to use up leftover ham and create a wonderful comfort food casserole.

Ingredients:

3 pounds Potatoes, Washed (I like to mix Red and Yellow Potatoes)

4 Tablespoons Butter

1 whole Yellow Onion, Diced

2 cloves of Garlic, Minced

3 cups Diced Ham

1-½ cup Milk

1-½ cup Heavy Cream

¼ cups Flour

Black Pepper to taste

1 cup Cheddar Cheese, Grated

1 cup Monterey Jack, or other mild white Cheese, Grated

Chopped Parsley or Cilantro (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a large casserole dish.

Slice the unpeeled potatoes with a mandolin, or slicer, into 1/8-inch slices.  If you are using a knife, try to get the slices as thin as you can.  Soak the sliced potatoes in a bowl of water to leach out the starch. 

While the potatoes are soaking, melt the butter in a large skillet.  Sauté the onions for a minute or two, just until they start to turn translucent.  Add the minced garlic and quickly add the diced ham.  Cook another 3 minutes, until the meat is thoroughly heated. Remove from heat and set aside.

Combine the milk and cream in a microwave-safe container and heat it just enough to take off the refrigerator chill.   Add the flour and black pepper and whisk it until the pepper and flour is totally combined. Set aside.

Grate and mix the two cheeses. Set aside.

Drain the potatoes and pat out most of the moisture with a clean dish towel or paper towels.

Now you are ready to assemble.  Make a layer of 1/3 of the sliced potatoes in the casserole dish; add a layer of 1/3 of the ham and onion, then 1/3 of the grated cheese, and top with 1/3 of the milk and cream. Repeat these layers 2 more times. 

Note:  Stir the milk and cream mixture between each layer because the flour tends settle on the bottom.

Cover the casserole dish with foil and bake for 50 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes, until bubbly and hot.  Test to make sure the potatoes are thoroughly cooked

Cut into squares and serve.  Top with chopped parsley or cilantro before serving!

Yield:  8 Servings

(Note: If you want to reduce the baking time, boil sliced potatoes for about 3 to 4 minutes before assembling the casserole.  You will need to drain and cool the potatoes a bit before assembling.)

Herb-Roasted Potatos & Onions

Ingredients:

1 large red onions
1 large yellow onion
2 medium to large red potatoes
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced garlic
½ tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
½ tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
½ tablespoon minced fresh oregano
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Remove the stem end of each onion and carefully slice off the brown part of the root end, leaving the root intact. Peel the onion. Stand each onion root end up on a cutting board and cut the onion in wedges through the root, so that the root holds the wedge together. Depending on the size of the onion, you should be able to get 6 or 8 wedges, Place the wedges in a bowl.

Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and quarter each half. Try to cut the potato into chunks so that they are about the same size as the onion wedges. Place these in the bowl with the onions.

For the dressing, combine the lemon juice, mustard, garlic, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Pour the dressing over the onions and toss well.

With a slotted spoon, transfer the onions and potatoes to a sheet pan, reserving the vinaigrette that remains in the bowl. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, until tender and browned. Toss the onions and potatoes once during cooking. Remove from the oven, and drizzle with the reserved dressing. Season to taste and serve warm temperature.

Number of Servings: 4

Nutritional Info:
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 151.3
Total Fat: 7.3 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 329.9 mg
Total Carbs: 19.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.8 g
Protein: 2.4 g

Originally posted 8/13/09