Tag Archives: french fries

Tis The Season

The holidays are a lot about family and food. We were lucky enough to have our children in town for Christmas this year with their kids. With grandchildren: Max (5) Emma (4) Dylan (20 months) and Declan (3 weeks) it is just easier to eat at home versus going out to eat. This led to a wonderful seven days, and a fair amount of work in the kitchen. I keep reminding myself, it is all about the mise en place.

I have developed a reputation. You write a book about food and people expect you to cook. The good news is that we never have problems getting people to come over. When our kids come back into town around the holidays, we get their friends to come by as well. The Friday night meal (below) was a classic example where we wound up with 13 adults and 8 kids. My standard steak, French fries and salad dinner is always a crowd pleaser and serves 20 people very easily. I went shopping at 3:30, welcomed guests at 5:30, served dinner at 6:30 and said good night at 8:00. Preparation was quick and easy. With young kids involved and bedtimes approaching things end earlier, which is a good thing!

After seeing the following, one question gets asked: Who wants to be invited Next Year?

The Seven Days of Kenny Christmas

(Click on the hot-links below for recipes and pictures)

Saturday

  • Flammkuchen (German pizza with Gruyere cheese and caramelized onion)
  • Char Roasted Ham
  • Sweet & Sour Red Cabbage With Apple, Bacon and Onion
  • French Fries

Sunday

Monday

Christmas Eve – Feast of the 7 Fishes (6 Shrimp Two Ways  & 1 Calamari)

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday (Christmas with Mom Mom)

  • Rack of Lamb Provençal
  • Cauliflower Risotto and Balsamic Glaze
  • Blanched Asparagus with Mignonette sauce
  • Sautéed Haricot Verts

(The Kenny Clan: Seated – Max, Susan, Jenn, Dylan, Dorothy, Declan, Lauren, Emma, Standing – Ethan, Paul, Brian)

Friday – Standard Steak & French Fries

I have had a few followers asking why there hasn’t been any blogs for a few weeks. Well I have busy working on my mise en place. After a wonderful seven days of Christmas, we are all looking forward to going on a diet.

The holiday was made extra special by the arrival of our fourth grandchild. Declan Andrews Kenny arrived on November 23rdand has been a bright light through the holidays. Declan is a lucky guy in that he has 3 great grandmothers alive. (Good genes to have). My mom Dorothy (96) arrived on the 27th and has delighted in seeing her 7th great grandchild for the first time.

The holidays can be stressful whether you cook or not. Somehow Christmas can bring out the best and worst of just about every family dynamic. The following Saturday Night Live skit  THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER cleverly captures many of the special moments that the holidays bring. TIS THE SEASON.

Next year we might do takeout.

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.

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.

 

Better Than McDonald’s

On my first trip to France when I was in high school I had my first pommes frites (a.k.a. French fries) and I was amazed that they were better than McDonald’s. To this day there is probably nothing more popular at a supper club meal than homemade French fries.

Growing up my mother made French fries and to honest they were not great. She could never get them consistently crispy. Mom used an old stove top fry pot that was small and probably dangerous. I can never remember her having a problem with a grease fire but I do remember soggy fries and never having enough to keep her family of five happy.

The key to making a perfect fry is to do what the French and McDonalds do. You have to cook them twice. McDonald’s pre-cooks their fries and then flash freezes them. Then they pop the frozen fries into hot oil at the store to finish them up. Served hot they are the gold standard for fries. The classic French preparation is pretty much the same. You pre-cook them, let them cool and then cook them a second time to get the targeted crispness. While not everyone is a Francophile, just about everyone loves good French fries.

French Fry Recipe

The second solution to my mother’s quandary was quantity. I have built a fry station on my back patio using a propane fryer with an 11 quart pot (12″ X 5″). Combining a mandolin to cut the fries with the fryer has allowed me to keep a crowd of 30 well fed.

My neighbor Howard Johnson (His wife Jan still calls him HoJo) and I host an annual neighborhood Oktoberfest. Howard used to work for a company that made sausage casings. He had a ready source of bratwurst and I did the grilling. One year I added homemade French fries at the last minute. The next year I skipped the fries and almost had a neighborhood revolt. While folks liked the brats, they love the French fries.

Serve homemade French fries at your next supper club and you will make everyone happy.

If you enjoy this blog and similar other stories/supper club lessons subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and be on the look out for my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs. Morgan James Publishing published the Kindle-Version on September 5, 2017 and the hard copy coming out January 30, 2018.