For Starters: A perfect pairing
Grown-up root beer float and truffle parmesan French fries with ranch aioli paired with a grown-up root beer floot make for a tasty treat that gives a hint of childhood fun.
Truffle parmesan French fries with ranch aioli
Grown-up root beer float.
For those of you counting (I’m hoping that’s most of you) this is my eighth column since I began writing for GO! Magazine. The reason I mention this now is because all of my columns to this point have been fun and, as far as I know, controversy free. Well, I am a talk radio host, (turn your dial to WMBS 590 AM every Saturday at 9 a.m. to catch my show) and I can only go so long without stirring something up (pun intended)! So, let the spirited debate begin!
First and foremost I’m sure that 80-90 percent of you fervent foodies who glanced at the titles of the recipes that follow this column are probably at least slightly agitated. Allow me to explain to not only defend my opinions, but also so that everyone understands the fierce differing of food ideology that’s happening.
If you’ll turn your attention to exhibit A: Truffle Parmesan French Fries. This food item alone is enough to make most dedicated foodies squawk with agitation or anger. Yes, it is a very trendy and overused food item on many menus, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not delicious and doesn’t pair well with other foods. I happen to love truffle and Parmesan and French fries and I happen to think they are even more delicious when they are all together in the same wonderful bite. If you have yet to try them, then please prepare this week’s recipe and see for yourself. I also know that many chefs and personalities on a certain national food television station continuously bash truffle oil and the people who use it. To these angry people I simply say that truffle oil is an ingredient and any ingredient used properly can be delicious. I’m sorry if they, or you, have had bad experiences with it in the past, but I assure you that there is no need to bully poor truffle oil. When used in the correct amounts on the correct foods it is quite magical.
Two other issues exist that I would like to address before allowing you to delve deeply into the following recipes. Yes I did use frozen French fries in the recipe and yes I also used Ranch as the flavor for the accompanying sauce.
As for the French fries, I like to keep my recipes as simple and labor free as possible for your convenience. I know that most home gourmets want to make their own French fries from raw potatoes and if you are one of those people please allow me to briefly describe that process. After cutting your potatoes into strips that are roughly one-third of an inch in width, you will soak them in ice-cold water for one hour. You will then drain and pat dry your potatoes before frying them in 325 degree oil for two minutes. You will then drain the potatoes on paper towels to absorb any excess oil and then proceed to fry them again, only this time in 375 degree oil, for about one and a half minutes or until they are golden brown and crispy. You may then follow the below recipe for instructions describing how to season them.
As you can see it is a bit of a process and to be quite honest, buying and frying frozen French fries isn’t one of the worst things you can do. If you follow the recipe instructions and cook them properly they come out just as crispy and delicious as their more laborious counterparts. For me it’s about working smarter, not harder. After all, they’re French fries – not filet mignon!
Now to address the Ranch issue which probably isn’t really a big issue in these parts. I have come to find that our affinity with all things Ranch is more of a local taste.
A lot of people who aren’t originally from our cozy little corner of Pennsylvania may find Ranch and truffle oil and French fries down right offensive.
To these naysayers I simply retort, “Great! That’s more for me (and you of course because we have a common Southwestern PA Ranch loving understanding)!”
Now that I have had ample opportunity to defend my position regarding certain things that I do which can potentially cause outrage in the food world, let’s discuss my actual recipes.
I love root beer floats and I was reminded of them in all their glory at a recent Pittsburgh Pirates game that I attended. I saw someone enjoying one and quite frankly couldn’t get root beer floats out of my mind since! I also love maraschino cherries and Whitehouse cherry ice cream happens to be one of my absolute favorite ice cream flavors. Basically I deconstructed and then reconstructed the root beer float in my own unique way. Instead of putting whipped cream on top I used whipped cream vodka to make it more grown-up and then instead of the cherry on top I used the vanilla ice cream with maraschino cherries already in it. I also used the word grown-up, as opposed to adult, to describe the drink because I thought the term “grown-up” sounded more childlike and lends a certain childish integrity to an incredibly fun and innocent (without the vodka) drink.
Since I was thinking about root beer floats, it also made me imagine an old-school 1950’s style diner.
With that in mind, I tried to imagine what a child would order with their root beer float in the 50’s and of course the one thing that almost every child (or human for that matter) loves and that all diners had and still have today are French fries. I then wanted to help the fries “grow-up” a bit as well and give them more of an adult flavor profile while still staying true to the innocence and integrity of the food. Truffles are more of an adult flavor, and price for that matter, and Ranch in my opinion satisfies both the young and adult flavor profiles (around these parts anyway).
Finally, I hope you can understand the complexity of these very simple yet delightful recipes. I like to think of them as kind of being a “grown-up new age retro” theme of food if you will. I know I certainly enjoyed making and eating them together. All in all, I hope that you can overcome the controversy and enjoy my recipes so that we can all live in food harmony.
Remember that when in doubt, Just Cook It!
Mario J. Porreca of Belle Vernon is a food personality, author, and the host of The Mario Cooks Show on WMBS Radio 590 AM. He can be reached via his website at: www.MarioCooks.com.