French, Belgian or American Style ?

Fries that is… Lately I’ve seen lots of humouristic references to the “european” way of enjoying french fires. Of course these allusions were all seen on the american cable network, in Hollywood movies or other David Letterman's type of jokes. Recently I’ve rented Quentin Tarrentino cult film, Pulp Fiction. And unlike the first time I’ve seen it in a parisian movie theater upon it’s reliese in France that very same year I immigrated to Canada (it was doubled in french), I’ve enjoyed the rented film in its english original version. In that superb flick, Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) and Vincent (John Travolta) go on and on about hamburgers and Vincent last trip to Amsterdam. Jules’ monologues as well as Jules and Vincent discussions are truly jewels of films’ dialogue. Just for those Tarrentino should have won an oscar. But back to our fries… In the french version of Pulp Fiction, I don’t recall at all Vincent making any reference of how "bizarely" europeans enjoy their french fries, with mayonnaise ! Imagine that ! MAYONNAISE ???!!!! “I’ve seen them do it” says Vincent to Jules. I discovered with some surprise upon my arrival to Canada, living close to the USA, that americans have their fries with industrially made ketchup. Heinz in the USA (and to some of or large extend in Canada too) really is the way to go not only on fries but also on a very large array of food-stuff. Homemade ketchup ? Never seen it otherwise than in obscure, old, dusty and dog-eared canning recipes books. In France, McDo serves their “allumettes” (translation = matchsticks) fries with small plastic sachets of industrial mayonnaise… (Smile). Or so they did last time I checked in a french McDo 11 years ago. By the way, they don’t sell “oven cooked potato wedges” in french McDos, no-no-no…. They don’t serve “pommes de terre au four” neither, they serve “Potatoes”. I mean, they name them with the american word (you should hear my non-english speaking sister say the word with her south-of-France accent ! Hilareous !) “potatoes”! It probably occurred to McDo marketing gurus that if french words are chic and cool when throwned in american vocabulary, the countrary must be true for american words throwned into french vocabulary. And they more than probably were right and right on! In Belgium, mayonnaise is the almost sine-qua-non accompaniement to… errr…. “Belgian” fries. Yes, you read me ! BELGIAN FRIES. Any inhabitant in Belgium will tell you vehemently fries are their nation’s creation and those french crooks stole the credit of their lovely little nation culinary world-wide renowned marvel. And if any french is around when this belgian statement is made about the citizenship of fries, you can just kick back, put your feet on the table, relax and enjoy the fun of the most heated culinary debate ever. I’m not about to give you a recipe for fries, neither belgian or french. I made belgian potato croquettes. I have a twist for those that I explained and pictured later in the recipe. Belgian Potatoes Croquettes 1 kg unpeeled potatoes (the more starchy the kind, the better) 2 eggs, well beaten 3 tablespoons all purpose flour Sea salt to taste Wash and scrub potatoes to remove dirt from them. Put them in a pot of COLD water (water has to be cold!). Water level should be at least 2 (5 cm) above potatoes. Bring water to boil and let cook until potatoes are cooked through (time depends on potatoes size). You shouldn’t feel any resistance when you poke the biggest potato with a pointy knife. Drain potatoes and let them cool enough to handle comfortably. Peel them and cut them in wedges. Lay them on a cookie sheet to dry (for faster drying, pop them in a 200 F oven for few minutes). Using an italian ricer (I’m not sure it is the right name for this contraption, I suggest you look at the picture of my .italian ricer), or the smallest holes of your grater, or a really fine potato ricer, purée finely the cooked potatoes. Sprinkle salt and flour on the purée and add the eggs. Use your very clean hands to mix well. Form 1 inch (2.5 cm) balls. Lay them on a aluminium covered cooke sheet. If you have time, by all means leave the formed croquette dry 1 or 2 hours before cooking them. To cook the croquettes, prepare near the stove: a shallow dish with 3/4 of a cup all-purpose flour in it a shallow dish with 1 beaten eggs in it a shallow dish with 3/4 of a cup fine semolina or corn flour in it. Heat 1 inch (2.5 cm) of vegetable oil in a skillet. Take a croquette at a time, roll them in the all-purpose flour, then in the eggs, then in the semolina or corn flour and put in the skillet to fry, delicately turning them so they brown evenly. Serve very hot. These keep very well after they are cooked. Flash-freeze them layed on a cookie sheet, then put them in a ziplock bag and store them in the freezer. To reheat, lay them on a cookie sheet in the 400 F. oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Cheese Filled Croquettes Variation I prepare my potatoes exactly like I do for the belgian croquettes. I buy the Mini-Babybel (gooda cheese) because I can slice them in half and use a half per croquette to obtain perfectly formed patties but you can use whatever cheese you want and shape them either in round or oval patties. I put some mashed potato in my hand, make a ball and flatten it, I put the cheese in the middle and shape the mashed potato around it. I dip them successively in flour, eggs, semolina exactly like I do for regular croquettes and I fry them. I never had the chance to try to freeze those. There is never any leftovers. When I make those, I become the most popular mom and wife in town ! Bon appétit !