In an attempt to get back some normalcy in my life, I thought I'd post something more homestead related - cooking.

I have found a way to improve my homemade french fries. After soaking in cold water, I fry them twice. Once to sorta cook the potato, the second time to brown them up. I had quite a few left over (I'm dieting and French Fries are a no-no) and usually I just toss them to the chickens, but this seemed like too many to waste. I laid them out individually on a cookie sheet and put them in the freezer. After they were frozen, I put them in a freezer bag. The next night, DH wanted a few fries, so I grabbed a handful from the bag and fried them up and they were really quite good. Usually, my homemade fries are kinda limp, but these were very crispy and very good. (I HAD to taste just one.)

Wishing you enough.

-- Trevilians (aka Dianne in Mass) (Trevilians@mediaone.net), September 14, 2001

Answers

As another dieter I have to ask, have you tried oven french fries? I juswt cut up the potatoes into french fry size, spray a non-stick pan with pam, place the potatoes on, spray potatoes with pam and cook until done, about 20 minutes. They turn out quite good and they are low-fat.

Anita

-- anita (anitaholton@mindspring.com), September 14, 2001.

Dianne: I think this is the way the Belgians make them. I went there on a military assignment many moons ago and fell in love with their chocolate and french fries. Imagine trying to diet living in Brussels! I'd fail and be a very large person munching on fries and chocolates every day. :) They also much prefer their fries with mayo or a spiced mayo vs. ketchup. Pretty tasty! I think the first frying was at a lower heat and the finish frying at a high heat.

-- Susan (smtroxel@socket.net), September 14, 2001.

I recently found an old Ecko french fry cutter with the wooden handle at a yard sale for $.50! I looked up french fries in an old recipe book I have (50's) and they also said to fry them twice. Cook them once till they're brown, drain them, and when they are all done put them in again for a few minutes. Tried it and they turned out really good. I'll have to try your freezer trick next time.

-- Cindy in NY (cjpopeck@worldnet.att.net), September 14, 2001.

I was just thinking about this the other day. My fries too came out limp but good. Was wondering how to get them crispy like my hubby likes them. Thanks for the tip. :-D

-- Kim in Indiana (kwcountrygirl@aol.com), September 14, 2001.

Thanks for the great tip. I gave up dieting as such long ago. I just limit the amount of "comfort" foods that I enjoy.

-- Grannytoo (jacres40@hotmail.com), September 14, 2001.

glad for this idea..hubby works midnights and is home with me all day..he often fixes lunch and when it comes to french fries, he cooks for 10..I hate to throw them away but had not thought of this. He also often coats them with a light coat of flour which gives them a nice crispy taste..but does mess up the oil for future frying..

-- Sandi (msjazt@aol.com), September 14, 2001.

This is how the fast food chains do it too. McDonalds just got into a lot of hot water with Hindus and us vegetarians (I knew the truth as a friend worked for McDOnalds) for pre cooking their fries in beef lard then advertising they fry in all vegetable oil.

-- Dianne (yankeeterrier@hotmail.com), September 15, 2001.

My family loves homemade french fries also. We have a bumper crop of homegrown, organic potatoes this year and I've been wondering how to use and preserve them. Our new favorite way to cook them is the oven fries, but we don't use any aerosol sprays here, so we slice the potatoes into thick slices, leaving the skin on and lightly coat them with olive oil and sprinkle them with various spices. Try garlic and rosemary, parmesan cheese, cajun, and anything else you like. Put them in the oven at 375 for about a half hour. I think this is a pretty healthy version of french fries. The only thing we haven't tried yet is freezing because they always disappear before I can get any into the freezer!

-- Rose Marie Wild (wintersongfarm@yahoo.com), September 15, 2001.

When I microwave potatoes for quick baked potatoes, I do an extra mess of them and refrigerate. Slice lengthwise the next day leaving the skins on and deep fry for a short time till golden for just yummy texas fries. Sprinkle with seasoned salt for an extra treat. Makes a quick, satisfying snack for the kids and it's cheap.

-- Sandra Nelson (Magin @starband.net), September 15, 2001.

I "precook" mine in the microwave, then deep fry and they do really well. Frankly, though, I uasually do the pan baking, as its quicker, less mess and certainly healthier, and really great with garlic! everynow and then, though, I haul out my deep dutch oven and fry away. I hadn't thought of freezing-uasually they are gone, thanks for the tip!

-- kelly (markelly @scrtc.com), September 15, 2001.

I have heard that the grease that is used for frying fries is the best to use when making donuts later. Appearently, the initial frying does something essential to the grease that make it primo number one donut fat. So save your french fry grease for frying up your snacks. I heard also that the donut chains actually buy "pre- fried" oils for use in frying their donuts (it gets filtered, etc first) because "virgin" grease makes for greasy cakes.

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), September 16, 2001.

I like the thick cut fries, which they call steak fries in part of the world. My problem was that they would get brown on the outside and still be only partially cooked on the inside. After fiddling around trying several methods I came up with the perfect steak fries. Peel, cut up as you like, salt and pepper them, and microwave them for a minute or two. Then lightly dust with flour, tossing them to coat evenly. I then put them in a deep fryer and fry til brown. They don't seem to absorb much grease, are seasoned through and through and the best part is that they are done all the way to the middle and have a crunchy outside. YUM Carole

-- Carole in Tx (carle@earthlink.net), September 17, 2001.

Soni- I don't know about using fries grease for donuts-I'll have to try that but what I DO know is that left over donut grease makes fantastic biscuits! We made some donuts, a few weeks back using melted vegtable shortening in a dutch oven, and being one of those types who dosn't throw anything out I scooped the (cooled) shortening back into its container, and stuck it in the fridge. (Since it did have food particles in it I was afraid it might get rancid if left at room temp) A little later, I was low on shortening for biscuits- I uasually use margerine or lard, but I had all this left over shortening and wow! They were slightly sweet and very tender, excellent for breakfast.

-- Kelly (markelly@scrtc.com), September 17, 2001.