Another entry from This Is Why You’re Fat, these are Buffalo Chicken Cheese Fries.
Specifically, these are French fries topped with buffalo chicken pieces covered in hefeweizen beer cheese sauce all topped with crumbled blue cheese and scallions.
What, no bacon?
Wow, what will they think of next?
The Topsider Buffet is the place for breakfast on board the Disney Magic, a buffet arrangement that has everything you could possibly want – fruits, bagels, toasts, breads, pastries, juices, pancakes and waffles, a cereal bar, an omelet station, and yes, even a potato product. Sadly it was not a good potato product.
Much like the disappointment at Parrot Cay, the hash browns were of the same variety. Of course there’s not as much disappointment this time as Topsider’s is a buffet and Parrot Cay a fancy restaurant, but still… what do I have to do to get good breakfast potatoes on board this ship? 
Apparently the answer to that question is to simply wait a day. Day four brought with it roasted potatoes for breakfast at Topsider’s. More dinner style than breakfast style, these stir-fry red potato wedges with onion, parsley and other extras mixed in with a subtle but yummy sauce made breakfast so much more worthwhile than previously. Day five gave us very thick slices of red potatoes in the same configuration. Tasty, but I would have to say the wedge shape worked much better. So they did redeem themselves in the breakfast potato arena, eventually.
Potato Latkes from Judy Zeidler, author of “The Gourmet Jewish Cookbook”
Ingredients:
4 Potatoes, peeled
1 lg Onion, grated
1 tb Lemon juice
4 Eggs
3 tb Flour
1 t Salt
Pepper
Oil or shortening for frying
Grate potatoes fine.
Add all ingredients (except fat).
Mix.
Heat 1" deep oil or shortening until it is almost smoking.
Drop batter by the tablespoonful and flatten with the back of a spoon.
Cook 3 - 5 min on a side until golden.
Drain on paper towels and serve with sour cream or applesauce.
These may be frozen: in this case, bake them on shiny baking sheets at 450 until crisp, about 5 min.
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 47 Calories; 1g Fat (11.4% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 21mg Cholesterol; 66mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch) ; 0 Lean Meat; 0 Fruit; 0 Fat.
Yield: 36 servings
On the Disney Cruise ship the Magic, Pluto’s Dog House is a counter service fast fast food place up on the top deck where the pools and lounge chairs are. It’s designed for quick and easy, and for our purposes here, for French fries.
These fries are typical of Disney, specifically the parks – natural regular cuts, and suitably tasty hot and crispy and not soggy or greasy.
The only thing that bothered me is that the counterperson pulled them out of nowhere. It was like poof and here was a plate of fries, and then he added the hot dog that I saw where that was cooked. Not that the mystery origin of the fries affected their taste or goodness, it was just a bit curious. 
Just for the record, these are also the same fries one would get at Pinocchio’s Pizzeria that is situated on the other side of the pool. I get why Pluto would have a dog house, but I am still pondering the whys and wherefores that Pinocchio would have a pizzeria. Hmmm… I guess it’s like any number of appliances on “The Flintstones” would say, ”It’s a living.” I guess I thought that being a real boy/former puppet might pay better...
Parrot Cay is the Disney Cruise’s Caribbean themed restaurant, very festive island flavor, decorated with parrots everywhere and even the sounds of parrots and other tropical birds. Island décor, music and even menu items, this is one of my favorite restaurants on board.
For breakfast, however, this was a disappointment. The same rectangles of processed hash brown that you can buy at your local Shop-Rite at ten for three bucks is what you get, and it’s not even good. These were crispy to a crunchy texture with barely any potato flavor left. It was a good thing the syrup overflow from my pancakes was there or they’d have no taste. Heck, nothing against this type of hash brown, but I could make it better in my microwave, oven or toaster myself. Epic fail. Except for the bacon of course, which was fabulous. But this is French Fry Diary, not Bacon Diary... 
When I came for dinner later that day I had some great jerked chicken as an appetizer and grilled beef tenderloins for dinner. Rather than French fries (which is where you thought I was going, didn’t you?) as a side I got the twice-baked potato, which in hindsight was a great idea. Not the usual, which impressed the wait staff who had already tagged me as a catastrophically picky eater, but it was still quite good. The only other night we ate there I also had mashed potatoes, so oh well, we’ll have to try the fries at Parrot Cay another time.
I'm a lapsed Episcopalian married into a Jewish family. I know my share of the Jewish religion, have attended services on numerous occasions and was even married by a Rabbi. I'm not converting, but I know my way around the Torah. Imagine my shock when I learned after nearly two decades of exposure that there was a holiday that heavily involved the potato! I might have married earlier had I known.
For the first night of Channukah, here’s a recipe for potato latkes (also known as the thinly disguised hash brown) from All Recipes:
Potato Latkes
"A classic potato latke, you can't go wrong with these crispy hot cakes. Serve with applesauce, sour cream and chopped green onions! Happy Hanukkah!"
Original Recipe Yield 10 to 12 latkes
Ingredients
2 cups peeled and shredded potatoes
1 tablespoon grated onion
3 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup peanut oil for frying
Directions
1. Place the potatoes in a cheesecloth and wring, extracting as much moisture as possible.
2. In a medium bowl stir the potatoes, onion, eggs, flour and salt together.
3. In a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until hot. Place large spoonfuls of the potato mixture into the hot oil, pressing down on them to form 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick patties. Brown on one side, turn and brown on the other. Let drain on paper towels. Serve hot!
This is an amazing thing, and it just doesn’t happen on cruise ships, but mostly at finer hotels. It’s called ‘room service,’ and it’s truly a magical thing. You pick up the phone and then after a few moments, people come right to your door, right to your table by your bed… and they bring you French fries. Yeah, seriously. I told you it was magic.
In the case of the Disney Magic cruise ship, we got a case of the munchies one night on our cruise and made the magic call. In a matter of minutes I was greeted by steak fries, similar to the ones I had at Animator’s Palate. Hot, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The only thing that could have made them better would have been more fries.
And you know, there could have been, they were only a phone call away. Like I told ya, magic.
I’m gonna see if the same thing happens with chocolate, and then bacon, and if it does... I ain’t leaving...
The Animator’s Palate on both the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder is a thing of both magic and wonder. It’s a restaurant that gives you the sensation of experiencing a Disney animated feature from start to finish, from sketches to full animation – literally from black and white to color.
In fact when you enter Animator’s Palate the entire restaurant is in black and white and set up with props like giant paint brushes holding up a ceiling of artist’s palattes and walls filled with black and white preliminary sketches of various Disney characters and movie scenes. Even the wait staff are wearing black and white.
As you order your meal and enjoy the company of your companions and eventually eat, some of the wall fixtures come to both color and animated life. Finally in a blaze of color the entire restaurant is transformed, including the wait staff, vibrant colors soak every corner of the room as an animated video and music show transpires around you. When it ends, you can enjoy your dessert in the vibrancy of the new atmosphere. It’s a truly wonderful experience. 
The themed menu at Animator’s Palate has some great stuff on it, including some penne pasta, veal and salmon, but as anyone who has traveled on the Disney Cruise Line knows – ask and you shall receive. I asked for fries and I got fries. These were steak fries, general variety, probably frozen from a bag, but they were so tasty. Obviously the chefs here on the Magic know their stuff even when it comes to the easy stuff.
And of course, the best thing about eating on the Disney Cruise is that your wait staff follows you from restaurant to restaurant. They get to know what you like, what you don’t like, and how to specialize a meal to you. This is only the first night of the cruise. I suspect by tomorrow, I’ll be happily getting fries with every meal. Vacation is good.
Steak fries, mmmm. Ask and ye shall receive.
On my last trip on the Disney Cruise, on board the Disney Wonder, I found some amazing French fries, English chip style, along with a lunch burger at Triton’s. This trip, on board the Disney Magic, I figured I would try the fries at Lumiere’s – the Magic version of Triton’s.
The obvious choice for lunch at Lumiere’s is, duh, the Lumiere Burger. This came with, and was even labeled on the menu as, steak fries. No biggie. Actually I had kinda expected this. Upon request at dinner the night before, I was also brought steak fries. Like I said, no big deal, cuz these were really good steak fries. 
Presentation counts. Here I was in a French restaurant, surrounded by French bread, French onion soup, French escargot, and I was having French fries. It works. There’s an old saying that you can’t dress up a pig – you still have a pig in a dress. Sometimes, just sometimes though, you can dress up French fries. Such is the case with Lumiere’s steak fries. And the burger was damned good too.
"Do You Want Fries with That?" by Tim McGraw, a humorous musical interlude as a send off as I leave for vacation on the Disney Cruise. I’ll be back in a week with more French fry adventures - from the cruise ship the Disney Magic.
See you then, and until then, don’t forget the fries. Mmmm... fries...
The Chick-Fil-A across from the Cherry Hill Mall in New Jersey does a crazy lunch business. It’s crowded inside and the drive-thru usually wraps around the restaurant.
The place also has a rather large parking lot, with a rear that backs up against a thin strip of trees, dividing the restaurant from the houses beyond. Because so many folks at lunch time just pull up there to eat their lunch, it has become home to a flock of very brave and scary seagulls. 
These are no ordinary seagulls though. They sort through the litter and trash that some folks throw out there, obviously too lazy to walk the ten or twenty feet to the trashcan. Regardless of the laziness and ignorance of some people, the seagulls seem to make due with the food they find. Some folks even toss their waffle fries to the birds, which they seem to love (who can blame them?), and try to catch them in their beaks in the air.
The part that kinda freaks me out is that the seagulls also seem to enjoy chicken as well. Brrr... Don’t they know that stuff comes from other birds? These aren’t just carnivorous birds… they’re cannibals too. Come on, I don’t care how good Chick-Fil-A is – that’s just damned creepy!
Potatoes have always been a huge part of Thanksgiving, and for a potato connoisseur like me, especially so. There are various casseroles, and sweet potato variations (even pies) and of course yams, but what I’ll be talking about today are mashed potatoes.
Many times during the year, as a time saver, or if she just wasn’t feeling up to it, my mom would do the easy thing – instant mashed potatoes. Usually these were the Idahoan variety. They weren’t bad, but you could tell when they weren’t home made. Also, those now-long-gone gigantic cans always bring back good memories. I can remember both wooden blocks and Tinker Toys being kept in those huge cans.
My mom’s home made mashed potatoes started with white potatoes skinned and boiled, then mashed with a fork before being sent to the mixer for a good whipping. Somewhere along the way equally mashed and mixed turnips would be added as well as butter. These smooth tasty mashed potatoes were a treat at many a dinner throughout the year and especially Thanksgiving.
Happy Holidays, folks!
Grocery School gives us a lesson in buying potatoes just in time for Thanksgiving. Good luck buying them, enjoy the potatoes and have a Happy Holiday!
I had the chance recently to go to the Nodding Head on Sansom Street in Philadelphia when celebrating a friend’s birthday. This brewery/bar/restaurant has quite a reputation and I’ve wanted to go for a while. The birthday gave me a chance to finally try their famous Spanish fries. 
For the uninitiated, Spanish fries are fries that are specifically deep-fried using olive oil, always an interesting touch. Those at the Nodding Head were very good. Hot crispy versions of Five Guys fries, they were natural regular cuts tossed with parsley and served with a honey mustard dipping sauce. These were crispy good with soft hot potato-ey goodness inside and a spicy kick outside. It was a big helping and hard to finish, and this is a good thing.
The Bride ordered a steak salad, basically a salad with hot peppercorn steak strips over top – and a side of fries. That’s right, a salad that came with fries. Does it get much better than that? Thumbs up for Nodding Head, and Happy Birthday, Andrea!
Ahem. Not the kind of French potatoes we usually talk about around here – these are missing that all-important word “fried” in the middle. Still, it’s a great recipe, this one, another from the Just-Potatoes group:
French Potatoes
2 large or 3 medium baking potatoes
1 large onion
1/2 cup parsley sprigs minus stems
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground white pepper
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons butter
Pare potatoes and slice very thin. Peel onion and slice paper thin. Separate into rings. Mince parsley.
In a buttered 10 x 6 x 2 inch baking dish arrange 1/2 of the potatoes. Layer with onion and parsley. Cover with remaining potatoes. Sprinkle each layer with salt and pepper.
Heat together the water and butter until water boils and butter melts and pour over the potatoes. Bake in a preheated 450F oven until potatoes are tender about 40 minutes. Top layer of potatoes will be dry. Serve hot. Makes 4 small servings.
I visited the Short Hills Restaurant & Deli in Cherry Hill NJ for dinner with family recently. It was the first time I’d been there since a fire gutted the place a few years back. I was impressed by how everything had been restored almost perfectly, and even better. But you don’t care about that stuff, you want to know about the favorite fried food, right? 
Short Hills has a variety of potato products – potato skins, shredded breakfast potato home fries, many different flavors of Herr’s potato chips, even sweet potato fries, all with the standard toppings – but the French fries are something else.
The Short Hills fries are natural cuts, thinner than regular cuts but not quite shoestrings, neither crispy nor soggy but just right. They lack salt but you can apply that yourself to your pleasure. The best part is the presentation – in a wax paper cone, Belgian style. How can you go wrong with that? A tasty treat well worth the trip, check them out. Recommended.
Checking out the Irish Hog the other day I came across the blog of The Spiteful Chef. There I came upon the entry about apple peeler machines.
It sparked my interest as I just got rid of one of these things at a yard sale. I could never get the darned thing to work. Yes, it leads you to believe it can peel apples, and potatoes, among other things, with ease – but I couldn’t do it. It makes me wonder if maybe I gave up too quick on it. The possibility of homemade spiral-cut potatoes is almost enough of an incentive to get another one...
For a little while now it has seemed like This Is Why You’re Fat hasn’t really been trying. When we get entries like the perfectly delectable and nearly harmless chocolate-cover potato chip, I would think it’s time to re-access the website and its mission statement.
However, this week they have redeemed themselves with the Irish Hog. This work of cholesterol-death-art is a deep-fried spiral-cut potato encasing a strip of deep-fried bacon, served with brown sugar BBQ sauce. And artery-clogger or not, it looks delicious, Health Nazis be damned.
It looks like This Is Why You're Fat is back on track, back on the fat track, that is, and that's a good thing.
Picture courtesy of The Spiteful Chef.
Another great recipe from the Just Potatoes Yahoo! group. This one's a terrific idea with Thanksgiving coming up.
Potato Dumplings
4 medium potatoes, boiled
1/2 cup sifted flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 T grated onion with juice
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
1 1/2 tsp melted butter
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 quarts boiling water
1/2 tsp salt
Rice the potatoes. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. Combine riced
potatoes, flour mixture, onion, bread crumbs, butter and egg.
Mix well. Shape into 12 small balls and dredge lightly with flour. Chill. Drop dumplings into boiling salted water. Cover and boil 15 minutes. Serve. Enjoy.
“I Got Fries on It” by Big Cheese, a song parody of “I Got Five on It” by Luniz. Niiice.
From CHOW:
Truffled Fingerling Smashed Potatoes Recipe
Chef Garces folds truffle oil into smashed potatoes to make them even more irresistible.
What to buy: Fingerling potatoes are white potatoes with a thin skin. They can be found in gourmet grocery stores and at farmers’ markets. If you can’t find them, use Yukon Gold potatoes instead.
Truffle oil can be found at gourmet grocery stores.
This recipe was featured as part of our Suckling Pig for the Holidays menu.
INGREDIENTS
* 5 pounds fingerling potatoes
* 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick)
* 1 cup heavy cream
* 1/4 cup white truffle oil
* 4 teaspoons kosher salt
* 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Place potatoes in a large pot, add water to cover the potatoes by 2 inches, salt well (the water should taste like seawater), and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer potatoes until fork tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Drain potatoes, return to the pot along with butter, and cook over low heat until butter is melted. Using a hand-held potato masher, smash potatoes until butter is incorporated, leaving some lumps. Add cream, truffle oil, salt, and pepper and fold together. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
Difficulty: Easy
TIME/SERVINGS
Total: 1 hr
Active: 10 mins
Makes: 10 to 12 servings
The package may look misleading, but I got this bag off the grocery shelf, not the freezer aisle. Alexia is known for their frozen potato funchies but now they are moving into a different snack territory, the potato chip-ish variety.
The full name of my purchase is a mouthful – Natural Alexia Crunchy Snacks Waffle Fries Naturally Flavored Bold & Spicy BBQ. Wow. And that’s not counting where they have the words “potato snack” way down at the bottom of the bag, as if they were hiding the fact this was in fact a potato product.
The package has a hefty price for a five-ounce serving bag, $3.49. But one would think that it might be worth it, or at least worth it for the Health Nazis, cuz they have “25% less fat than regular chips” and no trans fat. 
The shame is that it’s not all good news. These aren’t good. There is an after-taste that will stay with you for hours and require near constant hydration to recover from. That might be a problem with the very strong bbq spices employed. The waffle chips themselves, almost identical in shape to Chick-fil-A’s famous waffle fries, have a solid if dry potato taste – reminiscent of home-made microwave potato chips. This variety however was a bit too strong for me.
Alexia has several varieties of these non-frozen potato snacks, so perhaps the others might be pretty good, but for me, this one is a fail.
From the folks at Whataburger:
"11/10/09 - Orange Night Out
It never ceases to amaze us how many dedicated fans there are of Whataburger. Well, here's a great chance for you to prove yourself as part of that crowd. On Tuesday, November 10th from 5-8 pm, we invite you to get decked out in orange from head to toe for an Orange Night Out. So dress up, dine in, show us how much orange spirit you have and get a Free Whataburger."
And don’t forget to get some fries to go with that free burger. Mmmm... fries...
The folks at Food Wishes show us in a quick YouTube video how to make crispy (don't break your cheek bone) French fries...
An excellent example of par-frying, one of the best kept secrets of good fries. Mmmm... fries...
