Casual Elegance

For our last family dinner, I wanted a simple, relaxed, but still special menu. Since I just got my new order of truffle butter delivered (yum!), I wanted to be able to use it to add an elegant touch to our meal. I decided to pull out Ina's Truffled Filet of Beef Sandwich (yes, again!) for it's simplicity, and I needed a side dish that could match the casual, but chic nature of it.

Tyler Florence's Kettle Chips with Parmesan and Herbs to the rescue! We had tried this recipe once before and it didn't come out quite right, but the flavor was still excellent. The problem the first time was my insistence on slicing the potato chips by hand, because I'm a freak, and love to slice and chop. But as you've probably guessed, it's nearly impossible to get them thin enough and a consistent size. So this time, we used the slicing blade on our food processor and we had perfectly sliced chips that turned out beautifully. I even got the herbs perfectly fried this time as opposed to some slight burning last time.

What we had was the perfect menu that was simple, casual, but with an unexpected twist of elegance. A gourmet sandwich with gourmet chips. It was the perfect meal for a quiet dinner with family, but shows you care enough to put that extra special touch on it.

Ingredients

* 6 large Yukon gold potatoes
* Canola oil and olive oil, 75/25 ratio for frying
* 6 whole cloves garlic
* 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
* 1/2 bunch sage
* 1/2 bunch fresh thyme
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions

Wash and clean the potatoes in cold running water. Using a mandoline, or vegetable peeler, finely slice the potatoes into chips. Drop the chips into a bowl of ice water as you work to prevent them from going brown. This will also remove any excess starch.

Set a large pot of 75/25 canola and olive oil over medium heat and add the garlic (paper and all) and whole stems of fresh rosemary, sage and thyme. Bring oil up to 375 degrees F. As it heats up the oil will get infused with the garlic and herbs. Once the herbs crackle and get crispy they will go clear and you know they are done. Using a strainer drain the herbs and garlic and set aside on paper towels.

Fry the potatoes in batches until golden and crispy. Drain the chips, dry well on paper towels and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Garnish with crispy fried herbs, garlic and shower with Parmesan.

SATC is Back!!

Like many people, I can't wait for the new SATC movie coming out May 28th. So until that glorious day comes, I have to make do with the new extended trailer that just came out. It looks fabulous!! I'm a little worried, though. Aidan is back, and it looks like it may cause some issues for Carrie and Big. As a huge "Team Big" supporter, I'm crossing my fingers that Carrie won't get into any trouble.

And as always, I'm looking forward to some wonderful fashion...