American Favorites

Food is a fundamental part of all cultures.    Potatoes are very prominent in the native culture of Texas.  Look for potatoes fried--oh that's right--That's French Fries.  The perfect French Fry is easy to define: Crisp and richly browned on the outside, and soft and custardy on the inside.  It should never be limp or have excess grease.

One of the factors that causes French Fries to be limp and greasy is excess starch.  To prevent that, allow the sliced potatoes that you intend to fry to sit in cold water for a few minutes; then rinse them in cold water until the water runs clear and you see no more evidence of the starch.  Chill them for 30 minutes or over night.

Fill you fryer with at least three inches or more of crease.  Fry the cold, drained potatoes until they are limp and begin to brown.  Take them from the grease with a skimmer and drain on paper towels for 30 minutes overnight.  When you are ready to serve them, return them to the hot grease and allow to cook until they are brown and crisp.  Serve immediately.

Until I learned to cook French Fries like this I thought you couldn't prepare them in advance, but using this technique, you can.  This is real cooking, so if you don't want to go to this much trouble, you can bake your potatoes.

To bake potatoes in the conventional oven, choose Russet or other baking potatoes.  Rub washed potatoes in butter and wrap in foil.  Cook them in the oven for 1 hour at 400 degrees.

To bake them in the microwave, rub them in the butter and wrap them in 1 or 2 paper towels.  Bake for 5 or 6 minutes.  Pierce with a skewer to test for doneness.  Serve with butter, sour cream, bacon bits, chopped chives or cream cheese.
Enjoy the potatoes, and they are American, too.