The contents of my camera bag:

Camera

• Canon Rebel XT

Lenses

• EF 28mm f/2.8
• EF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 III USM
• EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM
• EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
• Lensbaby 3G

Flash

• Speedlite 580EX

Accessories

• Sto-Fen Omni Bounce
• Lensbaby Macro Kit
• RS-60E3 Remote Switch
• RC-1 Remote

Storage

• 512MB CF card
• 2GB Sandisk CF card
• 8GB Promaster CF card

Misc

• Promaster cleaning cloth

Part of growing up in the UK involves eating an absurd amount of chips. The whole cliche of “chips with everything” rang especially true in my household - and I am extremely grateful that it did. I love the chips that my parents made for me as a wee lad (and as a not so wee lad too, as a matter of fact).

Four years after moving to the US, I missed the chips of home. American Fries just don’t do it for me, so I wanted to recreate the flavours and aromas from my childhood. Here follows the result of many potato iterations.

Ingredients:

• Potatoes - I prefer organic Russet potatoes, as they have a nice sugar content, making for a really sweet flavour even after deep frying.
• Oil - I like Grapeseed oil for its relatively high smoke point and clean, neutral flavour.
• Salt - Whatever fine table salt you have on hand is fine. No Kosher salt for this recipe!
• Pepper - I prefer a rainbow blend of black, white, pink and green peppercorns and allspice berries, for a more complex peppery aroma.

First, we peel the potatoes. I like a good potato skin as much as the next guy, but for this recipe, who needs ‘em? So, flay those bad boys and come back when they’re skinless…

All done? Good, now it’s time to get slicing. I like to slice my potatoes between 0.5″-0.75″ thick. You can use a V-slicer or mandoline if you’d prefer, however unless you’re feeding an army then a good sharp kitchen knife will probably do the trick, and save money/utensil space to boot.

I like to soak Russets in cold water in the fridge for a while before cooking, as it helps remove a lot of the starch, which will make for a crispier fry. After soaking, rinse with cold water, then pat dry as much as possible. All that excess starch and moisture form a barrier against the frying oil, which leads to longer frying times, which lead to greasy, mushy chips.

If you don’t have a deep fryer (and if not, why not?), any kind of heavy, high-sided pot will suffice, provided that you can heat the oil safely to 370°. You’ll have to use your own judgement as to how much oil you can fit in the pan, bearing in mind that you have to allow for the potatoes to displace the oil and raise the overall level. Before I bought an electronic deep fryer, I used to ensure that I had at least two inches between the surface of the oil and the edge of the pan, in order to keep my frying escapades as safe as possible. Remember to never leaving heating oil unattended or else disaster will surely ensue! To make sure that your oil is at the correct temperature (370° seems to work best), you’ll need a deep frying thermometer, preferably one that can clip to the side of the pan.

With the oil heated and ready to go, it’s time to start frying! Make sure that you dried off the potatoes as much as possible, then start placing them into the fryer (super carefully if using an open pot!). We are going to fry them twice - once to cook the potatoes, then again to create a nice crispy coating. Let them cook for about 12-15 minutes. until the slightest hint of a crust has started to form on each fry, then carefully remove from the oil with a skimmer, and drain on baking tray. While the fries are draining, make sure that oil is coming back up to 370° for the second fry session. Once it reaches the right temperature, start placing the fries back into the pot. The second fry should only take a few minutes, just keep an eye on the fries until they turn golden brown. Once they hit that magical shade, remove to the baking tray once again and drain thoroughly.

Now, we season. I find that when they’re still super piping hot is the best time to season these bad boys. Toss ‘em in a bowl with liberal amounts of salt and FRESHLY ground pepper.

Eat. Then make a second batch. Eat again.

All you need now is some nice battered fish to go with your English chips! That however, is for another day….

This is the first year that we went and shot the 9/11 memorial in New York City. Apparently there is no guaranteed funding to do the installation after this year; somehow I think that the people of NYC will find a way to keep it going. I hope so.

Lensbaby, originally uploaded by johnheppolette.

My new toy - a Lensbaby 3G.