{thirsty thursday} — homemade potato chips : a tribute to the east coast

when people ask, “where are you from?” you probably have one solid answer, right – “california, wisconsin, canada, las vegas, china, etc…” ?! well, i usually respond with, “i’m kind of from all over…” because, i am.  i mean, i just never respond with the place i was born and stop — i don’t claim one place as ‘home’ — i am really, kind of, from all over…

a little history on me :

– born in south carolina, didn’t stay long…

– lived in pennsylvania for a year {ish}

– massachusetts for like another year or so, i think…

– then maryland for a while, with some

– long summers in oklahoma

– then colorado for a while…

– long summers in virginia

– colorado again… always came back to colorado

– then back to maryland for a while

– then back to colorado

– then back east to new york

– and now here we are… once again, living in colorado.  i always come back to colorado… i suppose there is something to be said about that…?!

i bounced around a few other places in between and have been fortunate enough to have been through almost every state and i’ve spent some time in canada… i’m grateful to have been able to travel so much in my life so far… but mostly, colorado and maryland are what i consider home.

and now, a huge HUGE part of me, my heart, and my soul will forever be in new york city…

———

my reason for that preface was mostly this — every now and then i really really miss maryland, mostly for the sweaty summers filled with friends on the deck by the pool, week-long stints at the beach, a case of beer, a case of corn, and a bushel of steamed maryland blue crabs drenched in old bay seasoning.  in maryland, we put old bay on everything.  mostly, on our delicious fresh-caught and steamed crabs.  if you’re lucky enough to live near water, you can catch your own {so fun!} — and i have been simply craving them lately!  i am planning a trip to NYC in the fall, i think i may see about catching a train down to my old stomping ground near the chesapeake bay and having a little crabfeast of my own……….

i can’t help but think of an old friend and now reconnected friend and reader of the blog, KM – and my first time exploring and eating crabs with her.  the whole thing is very vivid in my mind, like it was yesterday.  i was so awkward and had no idea what i was doing, but once i learned, i was hooked.  mostly on the flavour.  damn, have you ever had a true authentic maryland blue crab freshly pulled out of a huge pot of old bay and beer?!  mmm, i salivate at the thought…

aannnnd, i digress.

since i can’t pay like, $200 a dozen to have them freshly flown in {it’s seriously some absurd price like that}, i decided to make something to help satisfy the taste buds for now…

so i made my own potato chips – maryland style, with old bay.  and then for kicks, i also made some with nutritional yeast on them, because i just love it.

both were delicious… but of course i am partial to the old bay chips, because it hits home and it also totally hit the spot!

simple ingredients :

– between 4-6 small-medium creamer potatoes

– seasoning of choice {old bay and nutritional yeast}

a high-temperature oil.  i always opt for canola.  it’s inexpensive and whole foods market always guarantees non-gmo {which of course, i love} and it can withstand a deep-fryer, which i used…

if you do not have a deep-fryer, fret not.  just use a deep saute pan — and preferably {in order to avoid hot oil splatter}, a mesh covering of some kind – similar to this.

i know what you’re thinking – “a deep-fryer — really, audrey?!?!!!” i know, i’m the queen of health or whatever, i just cleansed out my body, etc, etc.  but really – what’s the big deal with oil?!  for me, i hardly ever even use it unless it’s a smidgen of good quality organic olive oil, and i soon hope to invest in a high quality pan to avoid even having to use any butter or oil…

my point is, i use canola oil – it’s cheap, it’s not the “best” for your heart, comparatively — but so little is actually being fried into the potatoes and like i said, i hardly use it.  everything in moderation, eh?!  have some delicious homemade chips from time to time – you can control the ingredients — hooray, what’s better than that?!  it’s just hot oil… just get it from a good source and treat yourself only once in a while… it’s not that big of a deal.

i digress, again..

if you have something cool like a mandolin or super neat slicer of some kind, use that.  and slice your “chips” like so.  i always keep the skin on my veggies – just scrub them really well and cut out any bruised spots or deep knots.  i do not have a cool slicer of any kind, other than my super sharp and neat-o chef’s knife that i used to slice the potatoes as thin as i could…

then, boil water and blanch the sliced potatoes for 2-3 minutes…then remove from heat and drain.  someone suggested i do this in order to drain out some of the water in the potatoes – as to avoid them being “chewy” — i was all over it.

after blanching them, drain and squish out any excess water with a paper towel and spatula or large spoon…

then fry for 8-10 minutes or until crisp…

CAREFULLY remove from heat and toss with seasoning of choice…

make in small batches. experiment, it’s fun.

i devoured a good portion of the old bay chips, to scratch my itch… until october, when i can devour at least two dozen maryland blue crabs – yes, i can pack away at least that many — and my friends will roll me home.  and i will love it.

normally, i’d probably have some good ol’ cheap easy beer like yuengling to wash down some crabs.  its low alcohol content and refreshing clean finish make it perfect for complimenting the spiciness of the old bay.  but since i am not even sure if you can get yuengling west of the mississippi, and since i was only eating chips and not spending a half day on my uncle’s porch mowing down some maryland delicacies, i’m going to recommend this beer to you :

hades belgian style ale from great divide brewery.  another strong one {the good ones are strong}, but full of flavour and a perfect crisp finish.  i like the belgian style ales because they usually are made with unique yeasts and have almost a champagne finish… usually dry and crisp and well-balanced.  i think a belgian style ale is the perfect night-cap.
just enough to get ya relaxed on the couch, as you pop on tonight’s first preseason football game – broncos vs. bears.

GO DENVER!

i love everywhere i’ve lived – and each part is special to me in a special way. but you know, you can take the girl out of the east coast, but you can never take the east coast out of the girl…

😉

Tags: beer, chips, drinks, fun, homemade, maryland style, old bay