This is the second of a two-part series of my homage to baseball (food). Here’s the first part.
This is the part where I tell you that I’m a failure at making Sweet Potato Chips.
My original idea, for the gourmet baseball dinner, was to create Beet and Sweet Potato Chips. A few months ago, the produce guy at the store gave me a huge and beautiful beet and told me to go home and fry it. I did as ordered, with the help of a friend who knew way more about the intricacies of the vegetable chip than I do. The thinly-sliced and fried beet, topped with sea salt, was lovely.
When I perused the produce department, I realized that beets are not very large this time of year. I decided to skip the beets altogether and work solely with the sweet potato. While I’d never had Sweet Potato Chips before, I’ve had my fair share of Sweet Potato Fries in the past few months. It seems as if they’re everywhere. From Tip Top in downtown Columbus to my local diners, O’Reilly’s and The Blue Danube in North Columbus. I heart them.
“Should I deep fry or bake?” I asked Him (of baseball lore). I had two recipes in front of me. The deep-fried one would be more similar to my beet experience, but I was afraid that it would make my house smell like McDonald’s. He suggested the baked version and I was happy to oblige.
I decided on this recipe. I used cayenne pepper instead of the paprika, and was very, very happy about all the butter that I would get to use on the chips. The Red Onion Sauerkraut seemed a bit too healthy for my liking.
Well. You saw the result. A few minutes into the process, the kitchen filled with the delicious smell of “Butter + Something Else” in the oven. I love that smell. About 18 minutes into the baking process, I opened the oven to take a peek. Smoke filled the kitchen as I ordered my companion to open the back door.
My Sweet Potato Chips were dead.
We ended up trying a few; not all of them were scorched. They were okay. I think that even if they were good, I wouldn’t have noticed. My ego (and spirit) were as burned as my chips.
Next time, I think, I’m going to try the frying method. But I might wait until summer, so I can open all of my windows first.
Tags: sides, vegetarian
February 28, 2009 at 12:12 am |
I looked at the produce department today, and the beets were remarkably bigger. So I retract my line about this not being the time of year for large beets. I’m both confused and humbled. The produce department does that to people.