san francisco garlic fries
Ummm, uhhhhh. What do I do? (panicky prance like dance around the oven) What if I blow it out, would that work? The sink is right behind me, I can get a cup of water and douse it. No wait, water spreads kitchen fires, I need flour. Ohmygah save me, I have gas pipes (totally referring to my house thankyouverymuch).
Thankfully the flour explosion that played out in my mind was not needed as a few huffs and puffs calmed the fire and eventually put it out. Thank gawd. The good, as we must always find the good in things (haha hehe, pllbt) I now know what it feels like/the lung power it takes to blow out a cake with about 213 candles on it. Yay me!
The bad: I am now squeamish around my oven. I never know now if the fickle thing will decide it doesn’t like what I’ve humbly offered to the oven people and decide to set it ablaze in protest. But, after examining my oven for like damage, as the flames were literally licking the broiler like it tasted of seared steak paired with a glass of cabernet, I found the problem. My gratin was too close. Like it was touching the red squiggle screwed to the top of my oven, and I guess it didn’t like being touchy-feely because in less than 60 seconds I was dealing with a fire the size of, well, my gratin dish.
Glad that is over. But I’m still trying to ease my way back into this oven monster and well, I think I owe this man I live with a good solid meal that does not involve a salad green, vinegar or breakfast. Baking something, on the third or fourth, okay, absolute lowest possible rack down, seemed safe enough to try without the constant worrying of random burning fires, and luckily I was right. Not a single singe, not a puff of smoke, not a shrill sound from the fire alarm. Instead the oven decided to resume it’s normal oven-like duties and brown these fries to a deep golden brown with warm potato-y insides. A quick toss in a mix of parsley and garlic and we were ready to put our faith back in the baking box.
One Year Ago: Thyme and Gruyere Crackers
San Francisco Garlic Fries
Adapted from Bon Appetit, August 2011
Serves 4
So, I really like this version more than the previous baked fry I auditioned. Here we skip the step of boiling, which apparently isn’t all that necessary as these turned out just as soft and pillow-y inside while maintaining a crispy, crunchy exterior, and baked up in half the time. Really, it should be the go-to method for fries as these came out perfect.
2 pounds russet potatoes, cut lengthwise into 3×1/3×1/3 batons
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves chopped (not minced)*
3 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
Preheat oven to 450-degrees. Coat a large rimmed baking sheet with non-stick spray. Toss potatoes with 2 1/2 tablespoons oil in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer on baking sheet.
Roast the potatoes, turning ever 10 minutes, until browned and tender, about 30 – 40 minutes.
Whisk reaming 1/2 tablespoon oil, garlic and parsley in a large bowl. Add hot fries, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat.
*Minced garlic is much stronger and has a sharper flavor than larger pieces of garlic. I made the mistake of mincing and it was over powering. Next time I would chop the garlic leaving larger chunks and thus softening the garlic flavor. (I know it sounds weird and doesn’t make sense as you would think smaller pieces means less flavor, but believe me, trust me — don’t mince.)
Spoon More: Budget, Potatoes, Side Dishes, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Whoa! It’s good to hear that you survived with eyelashes still on. I’d panic, as well. I had bookmarked this recipe, hoping it would be as good as my Baked Garlic Fries that is one of my most visited posts. This one does sound easier, so you’ve confirmed that I need these in my life.
Fabulous! This is the word for your fries, they look absolutely delicious!
I am just loving this!
I am so glad you survived that catastrophe. It would have scared the wits out of me too. this looks just delightful. Thanks for sharing.
Wow! Your fries look perfect! I’ve been looking for a good garlic fry recipe and I think I found it.
Yum!
These look lovely! I do something similar except I roast my garlic cloves, whole and still in their papers, along with the fries. Then (there is no other word for this) squidge them out into a bowl with parsley and oil before tossing the fries in it. It totally gets rid of the overpowering effect that raw garlic can have and turns into a sweet paste that coats the fries perfectly. Although I have done a mix of both raw and roasted which is nice as it adds a bit more of a punch.
Oh and well done in dealing with your fire, but don’t worry so much about water. It’s fine for most things just not anything like fryers or grease fires where the fuel gets to such high temperatures and then splashes when the water is added, simply spreading the fire. If in doubt, smother it with a pan lid (not glass) or baking sheet thus depriving the fire of oxygen which it needs in order to continue burning.
All I can say is yum! These are my favorite side dish.
The fact that you make fries like this AND battle fires makes you 230498230894 times more attractive. haha. xoxoo
wow these look great
Your beautiful photos really show off what a delicious Garlic Fries this is! looks so yummy! thanks for sharing! ;)
I love fries! this is great recipe, gorgeous photos as well. I think I’ll try that! thank you :-)
Can’t go wrong with fires in the summer. I love to cook them in my Actifry. One tablespoon of oil is all it takes for great homemade fries!
Anything with garlic is an instant favorite of mine.
couldnt you mince but add less? I did about 3 small cloves( = to about 1 and 1/4 cloves instead of two) and it worked out beautifully. greaqt recipe though
Oh man oh man oh man do these look tasty!! I love anything that fits inside a cone!
I love your website layout and photography! Looks great!
I found your page via StumbleUpon – must say the fries look fantastic and I must try them. RE the fires – get a fire extinguisher ASAP! They’re not too expensive. I just had a fairly large fire in my oven as well and I was glad to have it. It worked like a charm.
The other thing that can work instead of flour is baking soda. I don’t think you’re supposed to use flour because it can burn too, but if I were in your boat I’d have done the same thing!
These fries look amazing. My husband, a fry afficianado, will thank me for trying this recipe.
The photo is mouth watering…
Nick — If you found mincing less garlic works for you than stick with it. We found the garlic had an over powering harshness and bitterness after mincing half the amount called for. We love garlic but we were hoping
for a soft subtle flavor and not something that eeks from your pores and overtakes the entire dish with one flavor.
Sounds like a great recipe. Though if you’re looking for a more subtle flavor you really should try roasting the garlic when you cook the potatoes. I do mine by just cutting the top off of a whole bulb then drizzling it with olive oil. You can just squish the garlic paste out.
BTW, the left over paste is great if you mix it with cream cheese and spread it on a bagel wit a bit of salt.
Oh and as to kitchen fires. Depending on the pan the fire is in just put a lid on it. No air = no fire. BUT, don’t take the lid off for like 10 min atleast so it has plenty of time to go out.
What a fantastic recipe, and WOW…awesome pics. I found your blog via StumbleUpon. What a great stumble it was. :)
Heather
Loved your description of the “red squiggle screwed to the top of your oven” — technical terms are over-rated. :) Re: your garlic woes — the more you cut garlic, the more garlic oil is exposed. I’m glad you mentioned that because I’m making these fries tomorrow!
Gorgeous!
Delish! I make oven fries all the time and I love them…never thought of garlic!
*soak your cut fries in ice water then towel dry.
Oil your palms and rub it all around the fries before baking.
Made these tonight. JUST like the fries at the Giants games. How I miss SF!!
Delish! I will definitely have to give these a shot.
These look gorgeous.
I’ve had some nice sweet potato based wedges, which I thought looked really good, but these look unbelievably tasty.
The photographs are also a cut above any I’ve seen – what equipment do you use?
I loved this recipe, such a great idea!
These are gorgeous. I love your photography. It’s so bright and clean.
for putting out fires never flour use baking soda !!! flour burns . the fries look GREAT!! i take a bag of garlic (Peeled ) and bake it in olive oil then mash and then put it in the frig (in a glass jar ) Needless to say the people at my job hate me when i eat it but to bad for them I love it. : )
I’ve never read a funny post. Thanks. AND, I will be making these fries. Very soon.
Meant to say funnier! That’s how much I was laughing.
I sprayed the crap out of my baking sheets and my fries stuck. Epic failure!
This is a wonderful recipe, thanks so much for sharing. You did a great job with the images too; I will definitely try this recipe this weekend.
These are amazing! Your photography is absolutely stunning!
Looooooved it!!!!! Just tried your recipe!Even though I minced them, they did taste fantastic!
Looks like a great way to have tasty fries without deep frying