Best Home Fries

I frequently make home fries for Sunday breakfast and I've tried different ways of making them, but the variation I used today from Cook's Illustrated was great.

Essentially, you dice some onion and saute it until it gets soft and a little browned. Set it aside.

Dice the potatoes. Place in skillet or pot, covered with 1/2 in. water. Bring to boil. As soon it starts to boil, dump the potatoes in a colander. (This allows starch granules to expand without exploding.)

Heat a mixture of oil/butter in a skillet over med heat. When butter foams, add potato cubes in a single layer, with one surface touching the skillet. Leave them undisturbed for about 5 min., then turn cubes over to another side and repeat for another 5 min. Continue every 5 min, for a total of about 15 min or until cubes are golden brown.

Add onions, season w/salt and pepper and some paprika (or cayenne powder). Golden, crisp exteriors with creamy interiors. Yum.

Larry, they do sound wickedly good. But I thought fries were deepfried sticks of potato (what we call hot chips) ? Can fried cubes be called "fries" too ? Or is what I'm thinking of called "french fries" ?

Here you are Celia: Home Fries.

Celia, in the USA, deep-fried sticks or wedges of potato are called "French fries", what most of the English-speaking world calls "chips".

Very thinly sliced potatoes, deep-fried or baked until crispy, are called "potato chips", what the rest of the world calls "crisps".

As described in this thread, pan-sauteed diced potatoes are called "home fries".

-Paul W.

Right you are, Paul.

Thanks for the headsup, friends.

Actually, Paul,

Very thinly sliced potatoes, deep-fried or baked until crispy, are called "potato chips", what the rest of the world calls "crisps".

we call these "chips" as well. We tend to say "packet of chips" for the ones you buy at the supermarket, versus "hot chips" for the ones you get at the takeaway.

Over here, "french fries" would tend to refer to shoestring chips (ie. the skinny ones you get at Macca's).

"packet of chips"................for the ones you get at the takeaway.

Your "packet" is our "package" or "bag" and don't forget that we call takeaway "to go" instead.

AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Isn't it great that we all speak the same language?

"Crisps" for "potato chips" must be British Isles-only.

I especially like "pavement" being the bit on the side of the road reserved for pedestrians in Britain, whereas in the USA it's the part in the middle where the motor vehicles are (the bit on the side is "sidewalk" over here). Getting that one wrong can get you killed.

And over here a "rubber" is not something you use to correct mistakes when writing with a pencil (that's called an "eraser"). "Rubbers" (plural) are something you put over your shoes when it's raining so that they don't get wet. A "rubber" (singular) is something a man puts another part of the anatomy for a different purpose altogether.

-Paul W.

That's regional, Paul. Where I grew up, we used "sidewalk" and "pavement" interchangeably. In Bawlamerese, it was pronounced something closer to "payment," as in, "Oh, it was terr'ble, hon, the amblance wen' right up on the payment!"

Isn't it great that we all speak the same language?

"Crisps" for "potato chips" must be British Isles-only.

I especially like "pavement" being the bit on the side of the road reserved for pedestrians in Britain, whereas in the USA it's the part in the middle where the motor vehicles are (the bit on the side is "sidewalk" over here). Getting that one wrong can get you killed.

And over here a "rubber" is not something you use to correct mistakes when writing with a pencil (that's called an "eraser"). "Rubbers" (plural) are something you put over your shoes when it's raining so that they don't get wet. A "rubber" (singular) is something a man puts another part of the anatomy for a different purpose altogether.

-Paul W.

There was a story in the news recently about an Australian woman who was killed crossing a major road in the US, because she inadvertantly looked the wrong way when checking for oncoming traffic. Very tragic, and easy to see how it could happen.

"Pavement" or "footpath" is the bit of concrete on the side of the road you walk on here. And over here a "rubber" is something you rub pencil marks out with.

The obvious foodie word which is used differently is "entree". Over here an "entree" is the first course, I think you'd call it a "starter".

Larry, sorry to hijack your thread ! Those fries really DO sound good..

[Jenise]

I frequently make home fries for Sunday breakfast and I've tried different ways of making them, but the variation I used today from Cook's Illustrated was great.

Great tip--been doing it that way for years. Learned it from a Hungarian friend who said it was a technique she learned in the 'old country'. However, instead of dice I prefer to halve the potatoes and slice the halves into half-moon shapes. This way, there are only two surfaces to brown (or not, not all get contact, which makes for nice variation) vs. the dice.

The obvious foodie word which is used differently is "entree". Over here an "entree" is the first course, I think you'd call it a "starter".

It's more commonly called an "appetizer" in the US. "Entree" is the term we use for "main course". Heaven knows why.

-Paul W.

Having participated so heavily in the diversion, I feel obliged to contribute to the actual subject of this thread.

I love this recipe for home fries. I've always done the potatoes and onions together. Never really been satisfied with the results. The separate treatment, combining at the end, looks a lot better.

-Paul W.

That's regional, Paul. Where I grew up, we used "sidewalk" and "pavement" interchangeably. In Bawlamerese, it was pronounced something closer to "payment," as in, "Oh, it was terr'ble, hon, the amblance wen' right up on the payment!"

What's terr'ble is that 40 years away from Bawlmor I can read that, understand it, hear it in my head and think that all is normal.

....
There was a story in the news recently about an Australian woman who was killed crossing a major road in the US, because she inadvertantly looked the wrong way when checking for oncoming traffic. Very tragic, and easy to see how it could happen......

I was quite amused to see the warnings painted on the pavement at street corners in Melbourne and Sydney. Guess a lot of Yanks visit Oz and end up in the hospital!

And potatoes that are shredded and then fried are hash browns.

That recipe for home fries sounds great.

b