One Potato, Two Potato: 300 Recipes from Simple to Elegant-Appetizers, Main Dishes, Sidedishes, and More Hardcover - 2001

Details

• Title One Potato, Two Potato: 300 Recipes from Simple to Elegant-Appetizers, Main Dishes, Sidedishes, and More
• Author Roy Finamore; Molly Stevens
• Binding Hardcover
• Edition First Edition
• Pages 608
• Volumes 1
• Language ENG
• Publisher Rux Martin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Orlando, Florida, U.S.A.
• Date October 18, 2001
• Illustrated Yes
• ISBN 9780618007141 / 0618007148
• Weight 3.13 lbs (1.42 kg)
• Dimensions 9.42 x 7.52 x 1.82 in (23.93 x 19.10 x 4.62 cm)
• Library of Congress subjects Cookery (Potatoes)
• Library of Congress Catalog Number 2001026373
• Dewey Decimal Code 641.652

Classic French Fries Serves 4 to 6 This is as much a technique as it is a recipe. Two pounds of russets will give you enough fries for 4 to 6 people, but you can just cut up as many fries as you feel like eating. We do. Remember: this isn’t a last-minute side dish.
While we don’t say no to ketchup, we also like dipping our fries in mayonnaise.

2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled Oil for frying (peanut or a neutral vegetable oil) Coarse salt

Cut the potatoes lengthwise into 1/4-inch sticks. A mandoline is the tool you want to be using here, but if you don’t have one, here’s a good system: trim off a slice so the potato will lie tat on the cutting surface. Cut the potato into 1/4-inch-thick slices, then make manageable stacks of the slices and cut again, this time into sticks. Drop the potatoes into a big bowl of cold water as you cut them. Leave the potatoes to soak for at least 2 hours. If you’ve got room, pop the bowl into the refrigerator; if not, and you’ve got the bowl out on the counter, add ice cubes to keep it cold.
Pour at least 3 inches of oil into a large pot; do not Tll the pot more than half full. Heat the oil to 325 degrees. While the oil heats, drain the potatoes, lay them out on clean towels, and blot them completely dry with paper towels. Heat up a skimmer or slotted spoon for the stirring and retrieval of the fries (just put it in with the oil).
Grab a handful of potatoes and drop them into the oil. Not too many, so you don’t lower the temperature. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring once in a while for even frying. The spuds will be beginning to go limp and will show just the slightest hint of gold. Lift them out with your handy heated skimmer and drain them on paper towels.
Once you’ve prefried all the fries, spread them on trays and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Come dinnertime, heat the oil to 375 degrees and heat up that skimmer. Drop in the fries, again by handfuls and again not crowding them, and fry, stirring for even browning, until they are perfectly golden and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels, sprinkle with salt, and serve hot.

Variations

Steak Fries These sturdy hand-cut fries sit so nicely next to a juicy, thick steak. They’ll never be as crisp as classic fries, but we love their creamier, potato-ier tavor. Leave the peels on for these, but scrub the spuds well.

Follow the method above, cutting the potatoes by hand into 1/2-inch sticks. The prefrying will take longer, 5 to 7 minutes. The second fry should be about the same, 3 to 4 minutes.

Herbed French Fries Follow the method above, but while the potatoes chill, prepare 1 cup mixed herb leaves (a combination of parsley, thyme, basil, and oregano is nice). Wash and dry the leaves thoroughly. After you’ve fried the last handful of potatoes, drop the herbs into the oil. Attention: they will spatter wildly, so stand back. Scoop out the herbs with the skimmer as soon as they crisp, which will take a mere 30 to 45 seconds. Scatter the herbs over the fries and serve.

Copyright © 2001 Roy Finamore. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Company.

If there were any doubt an ingredient as basic as the potato could result in exciting cooking, this tribute to the humble spud should dispel it. Cookbook editor Finamore and Fine Cooking magazine's Stevens have paired up to produce an impressive, wide-ranging potato Bible which covers everything one could hope to know about Solanum Tuberosum. The authors do a heroic job of categorizing the thousands of potato varieties, from waxy vs. starchy to news, blues, yellows and sweets.The 300-plus recipes are organized by different cooking techniques - soups, gratins, baked, roasted, fried (29 recipes for mashed alone!); each begins with a brisk run-through of potato science and chemistry. Ambitious home cooks will delight in fussy offerings like "Venison and Potato Stew Cooked in a Pumpkin" and the infamously tricky Pommes Souffles (aptly subtitled "Heartbreak Disguised as a Potato"). But even simple recipes (Basic Mashed Potatoes, Classic French Fries)have been carefully tested and scaled to yield consistent results. Traditional potato recipes from around the world - Vichyssoise, pierogi, samosas, shepherd's pie, red flannel hash, gnocchi, and latkes - all make an appearance. The authors have also secured recipesfor signature dishes by such celebrities as Martha Stewart, Tom Colicchio, Julie Sahni and Diana Kennedy. Although this is not the first potato cookbook on the market, it is certainly the most comprehensive; written with heart and humor and as versatile as the potato itself, this delightful volume should be at home on almost any cook's bookshelf. (9/10/01) Publishers Weekly, Starred

"In this encyclopedic tribute to the glories of the lowly tuber, celebrated cookbook editor Roy Finamore deploys potatoes in an astonishing 300 recipes... french fries, mashed potatoes, shepherd's pie - make this a sort of all-potato 'Joy of Cooking"...it's destined to be manhandled for years to come, until it turns into a spattered relic with a torn cover and crumbs between the pages. Such an inglorious but affectionate end will be fitting enough for this loving tribute." Boston Globe