Burgers and Fries

I recently posted about the Nicer Dicer that Brett's mom got me for Christmas. It's advertised as being great for making french fries, which I have to admit I was skeptical about since raw potatoes are pretty firm. I decided it was time to give it a go....and wish I would've taken pictures during the process of making the fries, rather than just as we were getting ready to eat dinner, and with lousy lighting!

One interesting thing about trying to slice potatoes into fries with the Nicer Dicer is that the blade area isn't big enough around to just lay a potato down on it's side. You actually have to stand it up on end at a slight angle, jam the top down into it enough for the blades to stick while holding the potato, and then remove your hand before proceeding down with the blades. SOMETIMES while doing this the potato would slide a bit, and then I'd continue with the cutting, and we'd have boomerang shaped fries! Not a problem - they'll still taste the same AND have a fun shape!

After slicing all the fries I put them in a mixing bowl, rinsed them briefly, and then filled the bowl with water and about 1/3 cup of sugar, and then let them sit for two hours. I've read about both the soaking and the sugar water from various sources online, and so decided to give it a try...


Another "good homemade french fries" technique that's supposed to be really nice is to fry the potatoes TWICE. You first fry them in batches at a lower temperature (about 320F) for just a few minutes. You don't want them to brown - you're just sort of blanching them and getting them a bit tender. Then you RE-fry them at a higher temperature (about 375F) until brown - just a few minutes more really. I think maybe I tried too hard to ensure the fat fries were softening during their first round in the oil, because they really browned up quickly during the second frying...


I wish the lighting was better in these pictures - trust me, they were REALLY good!!!! Nice and crisp on the outside, tender on the inside! And what goes good with french fries? Freshly grilled cheeseburgers, of course!


We were having a batch of nice weather the night I made this dinner, and I was itching to grill... I must have been so excited that I ended out making REALLY thick burgers. The seasonings I mixed in (oregano, basil, garlic salt, black pepper and a few shakes of Worchestershire sauce) tasted great, but MAN were the burgers hefty! I couldn't even finish off a full burger for dinner that night. A few days later, when I was taking some time off work, I figured I better eat the leftover burger...and decided to go for a "skinny" option. I sliced through the middle of the burger, and nuked one half, and then assembled it on these really thin, soft, wheaty buns we've found we really like. And just to make it a bit more healthy, I went with freshly cut pineapple rather than chips or more fries... MMM - good lunch!