Garfunkeling Fries

The Bier Markt pomme frites

You may be asking yourself, "Garfunkeling fries? What the hell is this girl talking about?" Well this is how it all began. To avoid sitting in the rain at a recent Browns preseason game, Chase (the boyfriend) and I decided to head down to The Bier Markt in Ohio City to watch the game and eat. Gladly, we decided to try their fries.  I am a big fan of well-seasoned fries, with a delicious aioli to dip and enjoy the salty treats in. With this boost of inspiration I decided to tackle the challenge of making my own fries.

But incase you don't know me, I don't like to do anything that is usual or expected. So in trying to decide how to make french fries unique, Chase, Jocelyn (the friend, a.k.a. Jocy-kat), and I found ourselves in a conversation that flowed like this: love for Flight of the Conchords>the Simon and Garfunkel spoof of FOC>Parsley, Rosemary, Sage, and Thyme>all of these herbs being great with fries>making french fries inspired by Simon and Garfunkel.

Alright, now that that is clear, I bought all of the necessary herbs, potatoes, garlic and I was ready to cook! So making french fries is really not as hard as it seems. First preheat oven to 400 degrees, wash your potatoes (the same kind you make mashed potatoes with is fine) and cut into strips, I realized having them a nice medium thickness is best, not too thin and not too thick. Next, get out your frying pan and cover the bottom of the pan with about a 1/2 inch of olive oil, add rosemary, parsley and lightly chopped garlic cloves to the oil and turn that baby up to high. Once the oil starts to bubble, wait a minute and then put the fries into the oil making sure that all of the fries touch the bottom of the pan. Toss the fries around after a minute, making sure that all sides are getting a nice crispy coating. After the fries have gotten a nice golden crisp in the frying pan put them on a baking sheet and into the oven for 10 minutes. Take out and toss with some salt and pepper.

Garfunkeled Fries!

Now to complete the Garfunkeled fries, you must dip them in this special aioli. To keep it simple, add 2 tablespoons of mayo to a food processor, along with a half teaspoon of sage and thyme (fresh or dry). Then strain the rosemary and garlic out of the oil in the frying pan and add to the food processor and turn on until the mayo and spices have mixed evenly. Dip your fries and enjoy!

Inspiration

Inspiration is the key to creativity, and in my opinion creativity is essential in great cooking. Welcome to my blog! Cooking Cleveland will feature dishes that inspire me to recreate them and make them accessible for the every day cook. I love the Cleveland food scene and have been motivated to experiment and see if I can really cook great dishes like the ones I love to enjoy. There is a big difference between loving, enjoying and appreciating great food, and truly understanding how to create and envision a dish from it's inception. This blog will be a journey to find great ingredients, learn about cooking techniques, and explore the possibilities of food. Hhhhmmm now what do I want to tackle first?... The Greenhouse Tavern's Pommes Frites or Parkview's Chipotle Pork Tacos [two of my favs ;)], I guess we shall see....delicious food soon to come!