With all that's been going on, I lost a bit of my cooking zeal today. I didn't want to make any big meals, nor did I want to clean up the kitchen again (I go from compulsive cleaner to 'this'. Go figure.) Thankfully, hubby obliged by offering to provide today's meals. As he's still working on getting the car fixed and so on, this of course means food from *gulp* outside.
I don't know if I was brainwashed growing up, or if having really bad food-poisoning in my early-mid teens scarred me for life, but I just don't like buying food on the outside. It makes me cringe, it makes my blood crawl, and I feel all eeeeewwwwwwyyy just thinking about it.
There have, of course, been moments around other people where the only available choice (to them) was not to prepare beforehand and drop in to some random (or well-known) food spot. In such cases, I kept my cringes to myself. I'd usually be the only cringer anyway.
So hubby and I came to an arrangement, where he would gladly buy his own meal from *gulp* outside, and I'd prepare a quick-fix something for me. I have absolutely no idea what got me thinking about wedges, but all of a sudden I wanted them really bad. So, I did the only thing possible in this situation. I got to work.
HOW I MADE IT
1 medium-large Idaho or Irish potato per serving
2 cups of vegetable oil for deep frying
a deep-ish pot you can fry in with a proper fitting cover
a few sprinkles of salt and black pepper
**last minute sauce if you're really curious: (per serving)
three tbsp ketchup
one tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp spicy brown mustard (any mustard will do, you can leave it out if you like as well)
1/2 -1 tsp hot lime flavored peppersauce (I go for more because I like it super spicy. If you don't like anything spicy, just add a drop for flavor)
1/4 -1/2 tsp freshly chopped green seasoning (optional)
1. I used one large Idaho potato to make one serving for myself. Wash and scrub the potato thoroughly (I'd advise you to keep a scrubbing mechanism or toothbrush put aside just for food stuff.) and cut out any bad spots if you see any present. If any part of the potato is really soft, it's not good.
2. Put the 2 cups of oil into your pot. Make sure the pot is on medium-high heat. Cut the potato into wedges. the easiest way I can recommend is to slice the potato vertically three times, and then slice those three parts to your desired size. I usually just cut the potato in my hand, so I don't have an average size.
3. The oil should be hot by now. If you're not sure, drop in a small piece. If it bubbles up and makes a lot of noise, it's definitely ready. Throw all the wedges in, and cover for five minutes. If you're afraid of being splashed by oil, just remember not to jump. Grab a handful and carefully put it into the oil. Still afraid? Then put them in just a few, maybe two or three at a time.
4. This part is where you stop multitasking and focus on the pot. Once the five minutes are up, uncover the pot, turn the wedges so that the slightly browned sides are now facing the bottom of the pot, and re-cover the pot. Raise the heat to high for two minutes, then turn down to low as you turn the wedges again, re-cover, and leave for a remaining three minutes. The wedges should be a golden brown now. Drain the wedges with your frying spoon, and set them out on a paper towel or napkin laden dish and turn the stove off.
5. Fold the napkin or paper towel around the wedges and allow any remaining oil to drain out from the wedges. Discard any oily paper. Sprinkle some salt and black pepper to your taste, about a 1/4 tsp of salt, and half that amount of black pepper for most people. I made a quick-fix sauce that I mixed together with one of the wedges (see recipe above). Serve warm with or without sauce. Enjoy!
REVIEWS
I enjoyed these wedges so much, I told hubby forget about a normal dinner. I plan to make them again this evening. It was even better with the sauce! The wedges were a beautiful mix between a light golden brown and a slight honey brown, and the inside was soft; richly accentuated by the sauce.
Hubby had a taste as well and insisted that I make these the exact same way for his dinner tonight. There's one place that we both trust for buying food 'outside' and we always order wedges. After tasting these hubby assured me that we wouldn't be craving their wedges anytime soon!
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