New Name and French Fries

I've changed the name of my blog to "The Beautiful World." It is the subtitle of Kino's Journey, this wonderful anime that I own, and in a way it reflects my worldview. In Kino's Journey, the main character says, "The world is not beautiful, therefore it is." It does not mean that the world is devoid of beauty, nor that it's full of it. It means the ugliness of the world highlights the good things that we experience in life, though they may be few and far apart. Things like compassion, love, and hope still exist despite all of the brutality, loneliness, nonsense, oppression, and tragedy* that we may face.  It is that fact that makes this world beautiful. And with that in mind, I hope you continue to enjoy what I irregularly share from my life.

Once you're done reading all that, hit the jump for a look at my latest culinary creation.

Yes! This is the first time I've made legit french fries without a deep fryer! Here's how (10-15 minutes total prep+cook time): I scrubbed two medium potatoes (make however much you want, though batches going into the pan should be no bigger than 3-4 potatoes), then sliced them lengthwise so they're shaped like french fries. I prefer to leave the skin on, but it's easy to peel the skin off if you so wish.

Then I heated a good amount of oil in my wok (though any large frying pan will do. Hell, even a pot will work). Whatever you're using, make sure that it is completely dry before you put in the oil. Unless, of course, you're willing to wait for the oil/water mixture to stop crackling. Oil/water mixture = bad for frying. You want to make sure there's enough oil to cover your fires and then a little more, but you also want to make sure that you can take the fries out of the oil without burning yourself. If you're not sure you can do that, I implore you to cease and desist from preparing fried foods.

This is the part where you don't do as I did. I didn't use a thermometer to keep track of the temperature of the oil. You should. The next time I make fries, I will make sure to have a thermometer. A proper thermometer for frying, not the kind you use to check if you have a fever. When I thought the oil was at 300 degrees F (without a thermometer, because I'm stupid awesome), I put my hand-cut fries into the oil. Then I cooked them for 6-7 minutes, keeping the temperature at 300 degrees (again, I'm crazy awesome). They should be completely soft when you take them out.

Take the fries out the oil (leave the oil in the pan) and drain the fries, setting them somewhere clean. Then raise the temperature of the oil to 360 degrees. The first time was to make sure that the fries were cooked all the way through. This second cooking is to make their outside nice and crispy. When the oil is a few degrees over 360 (because it will drop once you put the fries back in), place the fries carefully in the oil and cook for 30 seconds to two minutes, depending on how crispy and brown you want your fries. Remove your fries, carefully, drain them of oil, and enjoy. Careful, they're hot. Don't forget to safely dispose of the hot oil, though I've yet to figure that part out.

*Thanks to the Wikipedia page for the bad words. I was just going to use "bad things."