Kitchen Collection [24]

I love french fries. For years, Ken and I have been making our own fries at home. That's not to say we don't eat fries out - a good steak-frites or poulet-frites in a bistro can't be beat.

We have an old enamel fryer with a wire basket that has served us well over the years. We've tried and tried to perfect the method, be it par-boiling then frying the potatoes, or frying them once, twice, three times at different temperatures, or using different varieties of potato, all with mixed results. Always edible results, but just not like good bistro fries. One of the problems we had was regulating the temperature of the oil using an instant-read thermometer.

The friteuse has several temperature settings depending on what you're frying.

Then, about a year and a half ago, our friend Cheryl sent us a friteuse, pictured here. It's an electric fryer, so the temperature is totally regulated and worry-free. And we've discovered that we can use frozen fries from the supermarket to make the perfect crispy fries we like. The supermarket frites are just potatoes, no additives, so we don't feel bad about making them.

We love the fryer, and have used it to fry fish, hushpuppies, and lately, sweet-potato fries. Yum !