Fish & Chips

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Homemade French Fries

I read about a different technique in an old issue of Cooks Illustrated, and streamlined it a little - I didn't measure my oil, nor my potatoes. I cut two unpeeled potatoes (you could of course cook as many as you like) into even sticks and put them in a pot, then covered them with canola oil. I covered and brought the pot to a boil, which took about 5 minutes, but then I took the lid off (there's condensation there - you don't want that in your oil) and let it bubble away. As instructed, I didn't touch them for at least 10 minutes, then gently gave them a bit of a stir.

In about 20 minutes they were beautiful and golden, and I took them out to drain on paper towels and showered them with salt.

Battered Fried Fish (for Fish & Chips)

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, divided

1 1/2 lb cod or haddock filets, skinned

1 12 oz. bottle cold beer

canola oil, for cooking

coarse salt

Put 1/4 cup of the flour into a shallow dish. Cut the fish filets diagonally into 1-inch wide strips.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour, a pinch of salt and the beer - you should have a mixture with the consistency of pancake batter.

In a shallow, heavy pot, heat a couple inches of oil until it registers 375°F.

Pat fish dry with paper towels and dredge in the flour, shaking off the excess. Coat a few pieces at a time in the batter and then into the oil. Cook, turning as needed, for 4-5 minutes, until deep golden and cooked through. Transfer to paper towels to drain and cool, then sprinkle with salt. Serves 4-6.