September 17, 2007

FRY DADDY

So there was that time when I lost my mind over the hot dog roller my bride gave me. Then there was the OCD that kicked in when she threw a backyard smoker my way.

Fry DaddyNow, it appears, I am now a full-fledged fryer freak.

What is wrong with me, people?

It's just super-hot oil. There's nothing magical in that, right?

Maybe it's genetic. Maybe there's a recessive trait that makes me susceptible to the allure of cooking appliances.

Maybe I just like making delicious food.

Thin-cut potato chips in the fryer potato chips

Is it me, or is that a beautiful sight? All those paper-thin slices of potato roiling in their little peanut oil Jacuzzi?

It's almost enought to bring a tear to your eye.


Thin-cut potato chips dusted with Island Rum BBQ seasoning by Caribbean Essentials

Okay, now I'm openly sobbing.


It's like Ricky Fitts says in "American Beauty": Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take it, like my heart's going to cave in.

Well. That may just be the starchy tubers and peanut oil talking. But still.

It's not like anyone could resist them after I coated the batch with Island Rum BBQ seasoning by Caribbean Essentials. It's a mixture concocted by my friend Greg Hurley.

Day-um.

Ruffled Potato Chips

And then, well, you know how it goes. You throw a couple batches in. They crisp beautifully at 375 degrees. They taste amazing. And you get a little cocky.

Before you know it, you're dragging the mandoline slicer out that you bought for your wife last year as a present. You prop that bad boy up and, before you know it, you're making crinkle-cut (nee ruffled) chip slices and watching the ends curl as they cook.

All the while, I might add, that a Buccaneers victory is at hand on the tube.

Yes, I ignored the best football day in about a year for the Bucs so I could make homemade potato chips.

That's how strong the pull is.

As I said about the smoker I fell in love with, Hallmark doesn't make a card for such a moment, but it should.





Posted by Jeff at September 17, 2007 08:12 AM | TrackBack
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