Alexia Fries and The Battle of The Fry Sauces.

What? You haven't heard of fry sauce?

Well neither had I when I hauled my college aged self across the country from Pennsylvania to Idaho 20 years ago.

I discovered that every fast food restaurant -- every one -- had fry sauce available for their patrons. An orange dipping sauce that I thought was weird. But then I am not really a mayo fan.

Legend has it that Fry sauce, which happens to be a blend of mayo and catsup flavors, was first commercialized by Some Dude.  Arctic Circle claims to have invented it in 1948.  They do claim to have the original fry sauce on all their little fry sauce packets.

So, maybe the fry sauce craze has spread beyond the Western United States. You tell me. But here in Utah it is still going strong. Every one has their own version and now you can even buy it by the bottle from Arctic Circle at their burger joint and from the grocery stores from brands like Famous Daves. (see you may be able to find it in your grocery aisle next to the catsup even if you live in PA.)

So, when I was offered a chance to sample Alexia products through my foodbuzz publisher affiliation I thought what better way to sample some Alexia Seasoned Waffle Fries than with a fry sauce showdown with my family. After all, my children are Utah natives they have a pretty good handle on the fry sauce culture.

First, I just have to say this. Sometimes my extremely clever 13 year old boy can revert to sheer naivete. He took one look at the waffle fries and said. "Did you make these in the waffle maker or something." So funny. As if waffle fries are easy to make, that is why I love to buy them at the fast food joint or try fozen versions like Alexia for my homemade hamburger nights.

First: our review of the waffle fries. Obviously my kids liked them. I thought they crisped up beautifully, although I was expecting them to have a little more spice kick. The spices were relatively mild. Which is probably why the kids loved them.

One of their biggest benefits in my book is their ingredient list: All natural ingredients win no trans fat.

Next benefit: perfect for dipping into fry sauce. All those little indentations perfect for holding this pink sauce.

We tried 3 fry sauces.

The original from Arctic Circle

                                 
 Famous Dave's Fry Sauce
                                   

Some Dude's

We tallied our really scientific results and this is what we decided.
Arctic Circle got 3 out of 5 votes for the best and the other two voters said they were all equal.
I personally liked Arctic Circle the best. It's got a zing. I am sorry those of you who don't have Arctic Circle near you. You will have to settle.

I did like Famous Dave's second best. It had more catsup flavor than mayo. My son's second choice was some Dude's and it leaned towards more mayo flavor. So, I guess the question is, do you prefer mayo or catsup better?

If all else fails do what my kids do sometimes. Make your own by mixing mayo and catsup together in a bowl. Experiment. Find your fry sauce nirvana.

Kielbasa Cabbage Stew W/ Latkes

Sweet potatoes and cabbage usually get a bad rap at my house. There are naysayers; people (certain family members) that won't eat these foods on most occasions. This soup (chock full of cabbage) however gets eaten every time I make it and the Latkes or potato pancakes are one of my favorite sides, especially with this hearty stew. Serve on top or as a side dish with a dollop of sour cream.

Both of these recipes have a pretty simple ingredient list and are easy to make although they do require some chopping and shredding.

I used my Bosch shredder to shred all the potatoes and onions for the latkes and that process went pretty quickly.

Potato Latkes

2 russet potatoes -- shredded
1 sweet potato -- shredded
1/2 small onion -- shredded
1 egg. beaten
1/4 cup of flour
salt and pepper to taste
Canola oil

Combine all ingredients except oil in bowl. Heat 1/ 4 inch of oil in a frying pan until hot. Add dollops of potato mixture. Press down slightly with the back of spatula.

Fry until golden brown on each side. About 3 minutes.



Kielbasa Cabbage Stew

4 Carrots chopped
2 celery ribs chopped
1 small onion chopped
1 keilbasa, sliced in 1/4 inch slices. I have also used 5 bratwursts in this stew )
3 Cups chopped cabbage
3 cans of chicken broth
1 can of Northern white beans
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp olive oil

Heat a large saucepan over med heat. Saute onions and celery for about 3 minutes until onion starts to get tender. Add chicken broth, carrots and herbs and salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.

Add chopped cabbage and cover and cook additional 10 minutes

Stir in kielbasa and beans and heat through about 5 more minutes.

Serve with Latkes or hearty bread

Corn and Smoked Sausage Chowder

I now have two favorite corn chowder recipes. The first is meant to be used with fresh corn and so I call that my summer corn chowder. This chowder is definitely my winter chowder. It is creamy and satisfying and uses ingredients easily stored or found in the pantry. I love smoked sausage and keilbasa. It is one of my favorite go to foods. It stores for quite a while and it adds richness to every dish. Once again I went to my favorite source for kielbasa recipes: gomeat.com Once again they gave me a tasty dish that will now become a staple in my house.

A few notes:

This dish uses potatoes, canned corn and onions, all good pantry staples.

I used fresh milk but in a pinch you could reconstitute powdered milk making this a real food storage meal.

I have a lactose intolerant child in my house. I did not serve her this soup. She had the princess Campbells Chicken Noodle. I just did not think Soy Milk was going to cut it in this recipe. Plus the butter was not going to do her any good either. Feel free to try soy milk if you want. Just let me know how it turns out.

1 pkg  of smoked sausage, cubed

1/4 Cup butter or margarine

1 medium onion, chopped

1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

4 Cups milk

1 can whole kernel corn, drained

2 Cups cubed potatoes (cooked and drained)

Shredded cheese

1. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat

2. Add onion and cook and stir for 4 minutes or until tender

3. Add flour, salt and pepper and cook stirring constantly for 1 minute

4. Add milk. Increase heat to medium high and bring to a boil stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute

5. Add corn and sausage. Return to boil.

6. Reduce heat to medium lown and simmer for 10 minutes.

7. Add potatoes and heat through. Top each serving with cheese.

Creamy Hamburger Stew

It snowed in Southern Utah today, it snowed last week and the week before that. We are all a little ticked off here. We are cold and we want our sun back. Hey, I will even take the wind if it would just warm up and be Spring. So, that is my preface to a blog post on a creamy hearty stew recipe being offered up in May. Sometimes when you are feeling a little put out by the weather you just need warm comfort food, And this stew hits the spot. You should have seen the dissapointment when I announced that weekly soup day was a thing of the past for the next few months last week when I served up this family (and mommy favorite). WHAT? WHY? "Because it is just going to be too hot," I told my loyal soup  lovers. And then it went and snowed again today and I realized there will be a few cold blustery days ahead of us (and they better be just a few) and we,and maybe you, will need a good comforting soup to warm yourself up.


I have been making this easy soup that relies on basic veggies and pantry staples for years. You can also make substitutions and this soup still works. Substitutions below.

1 lb hamburger
1 tbsp of montreal steak seasoning.
1 tbsp of steak sauce (a.k.a A1)
3 Tb of dehydrated onions or 1/2 Cup onion chopped
1 tsp of garlic powder.

2 Cups of tomato juice or 1 1/2 Cups tomato sauce plus 1/2 cup to 1 Cup of water.
1 C. Potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 C. Carrots, sliced thin or shredded
1 C. or 1 Can of corn, drained. or 1 C. Lima beans
1 to 1  1/2 tsp salt
1 cup fresh swiss chard leaves or spinach leaves (optional)

White Sauce
2 T. butter
2 T. flour
2 C milk

Brown hamburger in large skillet with seasonings and onions.

Add tomato juice or sauce/water, vegetables and salt. Cover and simmer until veggies are soft. Add more water if you feel it is too thick for your taste. But remember we are adding a white sauce later.

In a small saucepan melt butter and stir in flour. Add milk and simmer until just thickened. Stir into hot stew and serve.

TIP: The key to a really flavorful hamburger stew is seasoning your hamburger well in the beginning. Bland hamburger equals bland stew.

Potato Rosemary Waffles & Turkey Gravy

First, I need to take care of  a little contest business. Frieda won the dehydrated apple slices and the emergency kit. Yay Frieda! Frieda of Lovin' From the Oven loves food storage stuff and so I am so excited she gets this prize.

Featured Food Storage: Potatoes or potato pearls and turkey gravy mix.

This is one of those recipes that makes me smugly content that I decided to learn how to make good food with my food storage staples. Seriously, it makes me feel all gourmet (even though I am not) just to say I made waffles that were fragrant moist and tasted of rosemary mashed potatoes. These waffles and the gravy are proof that not every recipe that comes out of your food storage needs to be in a casserole. There are clever ways to use instant potato pearls and instant gravy packs can have their uses, especially for those of us who are gravy challenged. I rank making gravy right beneath ironing on my least fave list. If my mother -in-law is not standing mext to me in the kitchen making her completely delicious gravy or by the ironing board showing me how to iron the right way, I can guarantee that I am going to go for the shortcut. EVERY TIME. So please don't judge me over the gravy -- because the waffles definitely did not come out of a box. And they are pretty simple to make, especially if you don't have to toss the first batch because you didn't follow the directions. Ahem. . .

These really did turn out delicious and were a nice savory take on a waffle dinner. I used cubed deli turkey because I had stocked up on a big ole hefty he-man quantity of the stuff. But feel free to use canned turkey or chicken or fresh cubed turkey or chicken. The beauty of this recipe is how adaptable it is. In fact, in the true spirit of using food storage items, I exchanged the fresh mashed potatoes in this recipe with mashed potatoes made from potato pearls. I have every intention of making these again and again with both the fresh and the dehydrated version.


The Waffles (recipe adapted from Waffles From Morning to Midnight by Dorie Greenspan)


2 Russet Potatoes or enough to make 2 Cups of potato pearls rehydrated (mashed potatoes should be a little thinner consistency.)


1/4 Cup extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2/3 cup milk or amount called for dehydrated potatoes.
Salt and pepper to taste
2 large eggs
1 Cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder.
2 sprigs of fesh rosemary, rosemary should be removed from stem or 1 tsp dried. Roughly chop fresh rosemary.

1 Packet of turkey gravy mix
2 cups of cubed or shredded turkey or chicken.

If using fresh potatoes -- Peel and wash potatos. Cut into small evenly sized pieces and place in pot of cold water. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and cok until fork tender. Drain and reserve about 1/2 cup of potato water. Set aside.

If using dehydrated potatoes or potato pearls - Measure out about 2 cups of potato pearls into a large bowl.

Heat olive oil in a small skillet over low hat and saute the chopped onion just until barely softened. Pour the oil and onion over the potatoes. Add rosemary.

Add milk to skillet and heat on low until just before boiling. (small bubbles will form around edge of pan.) Add milk to potato mixture and whip or mash until smooth and slightly looser than normal mashed potatoes. If it is too stiff add poato water little by little.

Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat the waffle iron and lightly grease. Preheat oven to 200 degrees farenheit.

Finish the batter by beating eggs into the potatoes.

Combine the flour and baking powder in a seperate bowl and then fold into potatoes using a spatula.

Spoon 1/2 cup batter onto waffle maker and smooth evenly to withing a an inchof the edges. Bake until brown and crisp. Keep waffles in oven to keep warm

Prepare turkey gravy while waffles are cooking. Make according to package directions.

Heat turkey in the microwave to warm up.

Top waffles with turkey and gravy..

Tip: It is spring and herbs are available at your local nurseries for the same price as a box of them costs in the produce section. Instead of buying a box of rosemary. Go buy a plant and plant it in your kitchen or outside for rosemary all season long.

Homage to Potatoes

It is March and I can't help but think potatoes go with March. The Alive! magazine Taste section for March features potatoes and because I wrote the article I am going to cheat and link to it for a blog post. The article also features one of my fave foodie bloggers Lovin' From the Oven and her recipes and potato tips. Go take a peek. http://aliveutah.com/taste I'm thinking potatoes sound so good for dinner tonight.

Also check out the article on egg dyeing that is in the box on the right hand side of the Taste page. It is too cool how this Swiss egg dyeing technique with roots has found its way into the traditions of one little town in Southern Utah. It is not an eating kind of article but occasionally we just have to play with our food.  http://aliveutah.com/content/getting-root-it-santa-clara-egg-dyeing

Hammy Hashbrowns Straight From the Pantry

Featured Food Storage: Canned Ham
Pantry Suggestion: Boxed dehydrated Golden Russet hash brown potatoes

I bought a case of canned smoked ham. Unfortunately, I have never used smoked canned ham. I have been trying to think of a way to use this new addition to my food storage when I caught sight of the dwindling supply of boxed hash browns. Oh Yes! This had to work. And it did and it was delicious and it was so pantry friendly. This is so ridiculously easy it is more like a tip on how to use that canned ham. It is also a review of one of my favorite pantry items. I love these hash brown boxes.

They store so beautifully, they cook up absolutely delicious with just a little oil and they are way better than the frozen variety. Yes, I know I could shred my own hash browns but frankly this is so much easier. Open box, pour water to fill line and let sit for 10 minutes. I buy mine in a multi-pack from Costco.

Here is my recipe for Hammy Hash browns.

One box of hash browns or 3 cups other hash browns

2 - 6 oz cans of smoked ham

Salt and pepper

2 Tb oil

1/2 Cup cheddar cheese (optional)

Prepare your hash browns according to directions. Heat grill pan. Heat oil. Add hash browns and ham. Stir with spatula and then let set until underside begins to brown. Season with salt and pepper. Continue to turn hash browns and ham until browned. Add cheese if using and stir until cheese starts to melt. Serve warm

TIP: These would be yummy with a little salsa from the pantry.