#42 (ENH) Chips Ahoy!

Shownotes for #42 Chips Ahoy!

The music for the opening and ending of the show is Fast Food Rampage by the The Touch Ups, courtesy of the Podsafe Music Network.

Stuff you need to know for this show's recipe:

All the recipes here are an hour or less. Total preparation time for is less than 30 minutes.

Talk Back! We are a Snacking Community. Go to the End of these Shownotes and click on comments. Leave your thoughts and experiences. Or email me at [e-mail].

The podsafe music used in the show:

This week, I'm featuring the song Make Me Laugh by Beau Hall. Beau hails from Atlanta. If Prince had a car wreck with the Rolling Stones and Stevie Ray Vaughan, the resulting candybar would be called UNH!, Beau Hall's new CD, which he calls "the soundtrack for mating tyrannosaurs."

Here is the lead recipe I describe in the show:

Potato Chips (adapted from Sparks in the Kitchen by Katy Sparks with Andrea Strong)

2 medium Yukon Gold or Idaho potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/8-inch slices on a mandoline or other handheld slicer (make up additional recipes for other veggies)
3 tablespoons olive, canola, or peanut oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Slice the potatoes into a bowl and immediately toss them with the oil. Season lightly with salt and arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven until golden brown — about 12-15 minutes. Season again lightly with salt and pepper when they come out of the oven. Transfer to a rack to cool for maximum crispness.

Top your warm potato chip with crème fraîche, a small slice of smoked salmon, smoked trout, or a bit of caviar. If you want to be a little more daring, don't limit yourself to salt and pepper — you can season with ancho chile powder, ground cumin, minced herbs, toasted sesame seeds, ground nori (toasted black seaweed sheets used to roll sushi) — really anything you like. Just be sure to season immediately after the chips come out of the oven, while there is still some residual oil for the spices to adhere to.

Or try this fennel spice sprinkle: Put 1 cup fennel seeds, 3 tablespoons coriander seeds, and 2 tablespoons white peppercorns in a heavy pan over medium heat. Watch carefully, tossing frequently so the seeds toast evenly. When light brown and fragrant, pour the seeds onto a plate to cool. They must be cool before grinding, or they will gum up the blades. Pour the seeds into a blender and add 3 tablespoons kosher salt. Blend to a fine powder, shaking the blender occasionally to redistribute the seeds. When chips are still hot, sprinkle with the mixture.

Or, try some cheese and herb: Heat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place a layer of the cooked chips onto a baking dish and sprinkle with some of the bleu cheese and chives. Place another layer of chips onto that and some more cheese and chives. Continue until you have used up all the chips and cheese. Put into the oven and bake until the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes. Garnish with more chives.

For a special treat, try putting this on your chips for a sort of Mid-Western Nachos: Cover the warm chips with shredded cheddar cheese, barbeque sauce, hot giardiniera, white gravy and raw onions! You’ll never eat ordinary nachos again . 

BEET CHIPS (adapted from Gourmet, January 1998)

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

6 medium beets (about 3/4 pound)
1/4 cup cornstarch
about 4 cups safflower or vegetable oil for deep-frying

Peel beets. Using a mandoline or other manual slicer cut beets into paper-thin slices and transfer to a large bowl. Add cornstarch and toss well to coat.

In a 3-quart saucepan heat oil until a deep-fat thermometer registers 350°F. Working in batches of 8 to 10 slices, separating them from one another, fry beets, turning once or twice, until crisp and beginning to shrivel, 30 seconds to 1 minute, making sure oil returns to 350°F before adding next batch. Transfer chips as fried with a large slotted spoon to paper towels to drain and season with salt. Beet chips may be made 12 hours ahead and kept, uncovered, at room temperature.

YUCA CHIPS (adapted from Gourmet, June 2002)

This recipe is an accompaniment for Avocado Jicama Salsa with Yuca Chips.

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 30 min

2 to 2 1/2 lb fresh yuca (cassava), trimmed
About 7 cups vegetable oil
Kosher salt for sprinkling

Special equipment: a Y-shaped vegetable peeler; a deep-fat thermometer; a mandoline or other adjustable-blade slicer

Peel yuca with vegetable peeler, removing all waxy brown skin and pinkish layer underneath, then cut flesh crosswise into 3-inch sections.

Heat 1 1/2 inches oil in a 5-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until it registers 375°F on thermometer.

While oil is heating, shave as many very thin lengthwise strips as possible from yuca sections with peeler or mandoline.

Fry yuca strips a handful at a time, stirring and turning with a slotted spoon, until golden, 30 to 45 seconds, transferring to paper towels to drain. Sprinkle immediately with kosher salt

WAFFLED SWEET-POTATO CHIPS (adapted from Gourmet, February 1992)

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

1 large sweet potato
vegetable oil for deep-frying

Peel the sweet potato. Adjust the fluted blade of a mandoline to 1/4 inch and with the mandoline slice the sweet potato, turning it a quarter turn after each slice to produce a waffle pattern. In a deep skillet heat 1 inch of the oil over moderately high heat to 375°F. on a deep-fat thermometer, in it fry the slices in batches, turning them, for 1 minute, or until they are golden, and transfer the chips as they are fried with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. The chips may be made 1 day in advance and kept in an airtight container. Just before serving arrange the chips in one layer in shallow baking pans and heat them in a preheated 400°F. oven for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the chips with salt to taste and serve them warm.

Here is the shopping list for next week:

Next week, we're going to make Italian cheese wafers, called frico. You'll need Parmesan cheese, Cheddar cheese fresh tarragon, fresh basil, fresh chervil, fresh sage, eggs, pecans, 24 paper-thin slices (4-inch rounds) Genoa salami (1/4 lb), 1/2 lb Haloumi cheese, dried Greek oregano, and olive oil.