Who has a craving for some french fries?

There is an on going debate in our house about which place has the best french fries. I've got two overall favorites, McDonald's and Popeyes. I think I like both because they are thin fries with just the right amount of salt!

We were over our friend's house Superbowl weekend and they made their own french fries! I don't know why, but that idea never occurred to us. So my husband was inspired to try making them at home. Why go to some fast food joint when we can make relatively healthy fries at home! I got a really cool chopper for my bridal shower and all we had used it for was to chop onions - http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/professional-multi-chopper/?pkey=cfruit-vegetable-tools%7Cctlfvtveg.

But we thought it would make the perfect and evenly sliced french fries. And oh boy, it sure did. The fries came out the perfect size, just like how they make them at McDonald's and Popeyes! We wanted some fries to snack on, so we got 2 huge russet potatoes and decided we'd each have a potato as an after work snack. After giving them a good thorough scrubbing and drying, we put the whole potato into the chopper. It does take some muscle to get the whole potato to go through, so use those biceps if you are using the chopper. If you don't have one, you can just as easily hand cut the french fries. Just try to get them in even slices so they cook at about the same time.

Next, we heated up some extra virgin olive oil to about 350 degrees in a deep pot. We monitored the temperature using a candy thermometer. We have a deep fryer too, but it was at my father in laws house, so we needed to go to plan b. We cooked the french fries in batches to get them a golden brown color. After each batch, just lay them out on layers of paper towels to soak up the oil. And then once all the fries have been cooked, refry them again only for a minute or two this time for that extra crunch. We loved the idea of double frying. Next, transfer all the fries to a large mixing bowl, sprinkle in some finely grated sea salt, thyme and rosemary. Mix well and enjoy.