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By Ken Sakamoto, Star-Bulletin
Chef Karen Molina fries up her first-place dish in the potato category.

Fry it up

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Star-Bulletin

Deep-frying at home is a tricky proposition, but if you're serious about making restaurant-style french fries, here are some tips.

Cook's Illustrated, the extremely meticulous magazine that tests recipes by revising and remaking them hundreds of times, suggests:

Use a russet Burbank baking potato, often called the "Idaho" and slice in 1/4-inch thick lengths.

After cutting the potato, rinse the starch off, then refrigerate in a bowl of ice water for at least 30 minutes. This makes them nearly frozen and allows for slow, even cooking. Pat dry before frying.

Fry twice, once at 325 degrees for 6 to 8 minutes, then at 375 until golden, about a minute. Drain on a paper bag between fryings.

Use peanut oil and add bacon grease for added flavor.

Karen Molina, chef at Sunset Terrace, also believes in the double-frying technique. Her recipe for Dirty Cheese Fries took first place in the potato category at the French Fry Fry-Off.

She dusted 1/4-inch slices of potato lightly in cornstarch before frying. Her special horseradish and mushroom "dusts" were tossed with the fries just before serving.

To make a "dust": Spread prepared horseradish (shake out liquid) or whole portabello mushroom caps on a baking sheet and bake at 200 degrees for 60 to 90 minutes, until they are "like sawdust." Place in a coffee grinder and reduce to dust.

The cheesy part of the dish comes from this sauce:

Blue Cheese & Sundried Tomato Sauces

2 shallots, chopped
2 cups white wine
1 quart heavy cream
1 cup blue cheese
1 cup sundried tomatoes

Cook shallots in wine until liquid is reduced by half. Add cream and reduce by half again.

Combine half the sauce in a blender with blue cheese and blend until thoroughly incorporated.

Repeat with remaining sauce and the tomatoes.

Nutritional information unavailable.

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