Better Than McDonalds.

Just about everyone loves good French Fries. At the same time there is nothing worse than bad fries. The secret to great fries is simple:

YOU HAVE TO COOK THEM TWICE.

I will never forget my first trip to France when I was in high school. The first night in Paris we had dinner at a small bistro. I ordered “steak frites” and had an epiphany. The French Fries were better than McDonalds. Both at that French bistro and McDonalds they go through the extra step of cooking their fries twice.

What they do at McDonalds is they have their potato supplier pre-cooked the fries by blanching them in oil and then freezing them. At your local store they then flash fry the potatoes at high heat to crisp them up.

Growing up my mother made fries and she always struggled to get them crispy. She tried different oils and different potatoes but could never get them consistently crispy. No one told her the secret.

I am amazed at how often French Fries are soggy at restaurants. There is nothing worse than a soggy/oily fry. And there is no reason for it.

People love a good homemade fry. To the inexperienced cook making a good fry is a challenge. Again the French have the answer…Mise En Place. Precook your fries in advance and then flash fry them for second cooking and serve. Voila!

My neighbor and I host an annual Oktoberfest where we serve grilled Brats and coordinate with the rest of our neighbors to bring side dishes. One year I had some extra potatoes so I brought out my fry station and made fries. Using two baskets I would pre-cook one set potatoes in basket one and then let it cool. I would use basket two to do the second cooking. The fries were a big hit and a bit of work. The next year I tried to get away with not making the fries much to the disappointment of the crowd. From then on French fries have become a tradition.

Watch the video of my propane burner and large pot

French fries are easy for McDonalds and me as we have a fry stations and have been making them for years. Not every supper club host has the luxury of a fry station. If you ever do make fries remember the key:

YOU HAVE TO COOK THEM TWICE.

Check out the recipe

If you enjoyed this blog and similar other stories/supper club lessons follow me on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and check out my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs. Published by Morgan James Publishing and available through most channels where books are sold.

Focus On The Positive

Do you ever catch yourself focusing on what went wrong versus what was done well? We all do. It is really easy to be your own worst enemy.

Back in my school days I used to work for a great golfer. Bill Collins was the club pro at the course I caddied at as a kid. Bill was a five-time winner on the PGA tour and had played in a Ryder Cup. Bill was a great golfer back in the Hogan, Snead and Palmer era. In those days it was tough to make a living on tour and many great golfers took club pro jobs to provide for their families.

Working for Bill was a valuable experience. He must of liked me because he would listen to me complain about my golf game. He once cut me off by asking me if I hit 5 good shots in my round. He explained that Hogan would say that he was lucky to hit 1 or 2 good shots in the round. Of course it was relative, but Bill’s point was that it is better to focus on the 5 good shots versus dwelling on the negative.

Do I have five good dishes? I don’t know, but I certainly get good feedback on the following:

– Rack of Lamb Provençal

– Grill Roasted Shrimp With Bacon

– Romaine Lettuce Wedge

– Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

– Grilled Pizzas

It would be easy to focus on the times I have over-cooked a steak or messed up a menu. I know that some of my menus can be complicated. There have certainly been times when I didn’t do the right preparation. While I can be my worst critic, I will say that most supper clubbers are more than polite. I have never heard a complaint. Most are just happy that someone is hosting the party and cooking for them.

Social media has opened a door negative feedback. People will say nasty thing via the internet that they would never say to you in person. I have a rule. I have to make 5 positive comments before making 1 negative.

Focus on the positive. the five good shots, the five good dishes. Have a good time. If your supper club menu or dish isn’t the best, focus on the wine.

“Attire Should Match The Elegance Of The Evening”

Have you ever been part of a debate over the dress requirement for an evening or event? This usually isn’t a supper club issue, but it isn’t uncommon either.

In my former life at Kraft we were hosting an event at a Research Chefs Association trade show in Montreal. The venue for the event was magnificent and our budget wasn’t. We staged the event doing a lot of the work ourselves. As we were developing the invitation for the event we had a healthy debate about what we should tell people to wear. Our Marketing department wanted to require formal attire. Our Sales department wanted to keep it business casual. In the middle of the debate one of our Sous Chefs walked over to a black board and wrote:

“ATTIRE SHOULD MATCH THE ELEGANCE OF THE EVENING”

The debate was instantly over. The invitations went out and our event became the “Go to” event of the show.

Check out the video on the event.

I can remember showing the invitation to my then 85 year old mother. Her reaction was: “Who wrote this? It is simply brilliant!” I told her that our chef Amanda had written it. She said: “A chef wrote this? She should be writing your advertising copy”. I probably should explain that past being a great chef, Amanda is also really gifted. She did get a degree in English Literature before deciding to enter the culinary world. It was fun working with such sharp people.

One lesson I did learn about invitations from the corporate world that does carryover into supper clubs is that all invitations should state:

DATE:

TIME:

PLACE:

Those three requirements are critical and I am consistently amazed how many times they get left off. I heard a similar story last week. The head of HR at a local company was telling me how he received a resume from a student from a major University that had lots of wonderful information, but no name on it. You can debate dress, what to bring, and RSVP requirements, but you can’t forget the date, time and place.

And, if you have trouble with the wording of the invitation, defer to the chef with a degree in English literature.