FFQoTD: Top 3 fave chips/chip related snack

[bradm]

When I get a craving, I crave it all.

I go with the snack-platter:

- l'le bowl of ice cream

- a cookie or two

- a handle full of chips...preferably regular, soaked in vinegar

- chocolate (whatever is in the fridge door)

- cold popcorn

- cheese & crackers

- finished off with one more spoonful of ice cream

Let's see..."craving"..."ice cream"...all you need is some pickles on that platter, and it'd be a strong indication of a personally profound upcoming event...

Aloha,

Brad

[c-towns]

Taco Bell Taco Supreme Dorito's circa 1994

From straight out of the freezer!!!

thanks mom.

[c-towns]

i recommend everyone try chips from the freezer.

[Esau.]

Don't really eat the things very often, but my brother brought me a few bags of these from Scotland during his visit this last 2 weeks.

Actually really good.

Loads of other "interesting" flavours from Walkers.

http://walkers.corpex.com/cr15p5/index.htm

Local that I like to eat.

Miss Vickies

- Lime & Black Pepper

- Sea Salt & Malt Vinegar

[Davey Boy 2.0]

i like some of their ideas:

BBQ Rib

Spicy Chilli

Steak & Onion

but yeah some are craazzzyy

Marmite Yeast Extract

Pickled Onion

Prawn Cocktail

Lamb and Mint

[Asparagus]

i recommend everyone try chips from the freezer.

I second this recommendation.

[Sarahbelle]

Chips and Salsa all the way!

Try organic salsa if U can.. yummmy!!!

[bouche]

lately, we've been grabbing Shrimp Chips from china town, because they make a good happytizer.

However, the real mcCoy for my favourite chip at the moment is.....RUFFLES SALT AND VINEGAR!

Unfortunately, if I want some, I can only buy the big giant super bag. I don't understand why I can't get a little bag of them.

[Davey Boy 2.0]

you guys are all retarded. the best snack HANDS DOWN is Snyder's of Hanover Pretzel Pieces.

They are amazing.

There are 6 flavours that I know of: Hot Buffalo Wing, Buttermilk Ranch, Cheddar, Honey BBQ, Honey Mustard and Onion, and Jalapeno

My favourite is the Honey Mustard and Onion.

We had some cheesey ones over the w.e., AD- they were great.

Catphish: "I don't know if I like them but I can't stop eating them"

[djmelbatoast]

http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/982/kettlechipsorganicccbjh9.jpg' alt='kettlechipsorganicccbjh9.jpg'>

Just tried these the other day. Delicious.

[Davey Boy 2.0]

Holy sheepshit these are good:

[bouche]

why don't we get Lay's to sponsor this thread?

[Davey Boy 2.0]

or a whole separate forum!

[Alexis]

i like ketchup crispy mini's....or movie popcorn with ketchup flavouring...but i hate the stain i get on my hands.

these days i don't eat any of that tho....but if i were to succomb to a chip craving i'd probably go all out and get some nachos.

[Alexis]

so at work today my boss who i never really talk to comes up and offers me some of those honey mustard pretzle bits...weird timing i thought

i tried a couple and while they had lots of flavour which i love, they were kinda dry and at 1200 calories a bag...wow!

[M.O.B.E]

Don't really eat the things very often, but my brother brought me a few bags of these from Scotland during his visit this last 2 weeks.

Actually really good.

Loads of other "interesting" flavours from Walkers.

http://walkers.corpex.com/cr15p5/index.htm

Nice the Beef & Onion are my favourite!

Im all about the Ring-a-lo's too

[Davey Boy 2.0]

has anyone tried the reduced salt Bits and Bites?

they've got a totally different flavour to them, strangely. As in not just less salty, but also the whole spices balance seems to be thrown off

anyway i love bits and bites. Giant Tiger had a spcial on a bigass box of them a month ago or so- that was a very salty couple of weeks for me

[bradm]

I've got a hankering for some Bugles right now. They're pretty much pure salt with some corn flavouring, but are immensely munchable, and work really well for dipping.

Aloha,

Brad

[slavetothegroove]

Matt bought those Lays Curry chips tonight, pretty tasty I must say. A nice change.

[Jaimoe]

has anyone tried the reduced salt Bits and Bites?

they've got a totally different flavour to them, strangely. As in not just less salty, but also the whole spices balance seems to be thrown off

anyway i love bits and bites. Giant Tiger had a spcial on a bigass box of them a month ago or so- that was a very salty couple of weeks for me

I love Bits & Bites, but only the original (garlic) kind. Any knock-off brands suck too.

Hey Davey Boy, any thoughts on the wonderful line-up of Miss Vickie's chips? I've yet to eat a bad flavour.

[Jaimoe]

By the by, some Food Basics still sell good old Hostess chips. God bless Hostess.

[CatPhish]

BUT do they have rare sour cream and bacon flavour!?

that's the big question

[Davey Boy 2.0]

Fromt he ottawa citizen:

Let the chips fall: Low-salt, savoury and exotic crisps make a fun and delicious garnish to adorn your plate

--------------------------------------------------

If I were a food processor, I'd love to be the one who invented potato chips, and then had the good sense to market them like crazy. (Well, maybe not the inventor part, because he's long dead -- although his legacy lives on in our chubby children.)

To my mind, these tasty tubers must rank among the most perfectly honed profit-generating products -- chips, as well as their ridiculously overpriced and fat-laced companion, popcorn, sold to captive audiences in movie theatres everywhere.

Consider the business of cashing in on potato chips: Start with a truckload of raw spuds that are worth practically nothing, fry them in fat, bag them, then sell them for as much as $11 a pound in cafeteria vending machines long noted for offering nutrition and value. The wonder of it is, popcorn may be even more lucrative than chips! What next, bottled tap water?

Toss in a lot of salt and artificial flavour enhancers, and people will come back again and again for more and more. Cut back the salt just a little, substitute trans-fat-free oil, and you can claim they're healthier than, say, eating toast dipped in lard. Why, if you're really lucky, some expert somewhere may then stick a Healthy Choice food logo on your bag of chips because, ah, they're better for you than eating straight grease.

So it's obvious that George Crum was onto something when, in the summer of 1853 at an elegant resort in Saratoga Springs, New York, he decided to slice potatoes paper-thin and deep-fry them in oil.

This, he did as a joke after a cantankerous patron at his restaurant sent uneaten french fries back to the kitchen because they were too thick for his liking.

As the story goes on the Food

History website, the exasperated chef decided to get even by producing fries too thin and crisp to skewer with a fork. But in a country where even deep-fried chocolate bars pass as clever innovation, it turned out everyone loved these paper-thin chips.

(Another story has it that thin potato chips were fried in oil in England, where a recipe appeared in a cookbook in 1854. Leave it to the land of culinary adventure.)

The unpatented chips were eventually "discovered" and popularized in 1895 when William Tappendon of Cleveland turned his barn into a potato chip factory and took the snack food into grocery stores. Others followed in the early 1900s, among them Herman Lay, who sold potato chips through the southern United States.

In 1961 his company merged with Frito, the Dallas-based producer of corn chips, and the rest, as they say, is caloric heaven.

Today there are lots of manufacturers pumping out chips that come in oodles of flavours. Among them is Procter and Gamble, a soap company that decided in the early 1960s to make a potato slurry, press it, bake it and market it under the brand name Pringles. Now they even print trivia questions on some Pringles chips.

Surely, I wondered, there must be something more clever we can do at home with our vegetables.

For today's inspiration I turned to executive chef Marc Lepine at the Courtyard Restaurant in the Byward Market, named Chef of the Year in 2006 by the Ottawa branch of the Canadian Culinary Federation.

Mr. Lepine, 30, frequently uses chips to garnish his plates or as part of the dish itself. But his are not chips from a bag, mais non.

While some may dump of sack of No-Name spuds in a bowl at the bar and call it food, Mr. Lepine chooses more interesting ingredients, then carefully bakes or fries them at precise temperatures to create just the flavour and crunch he's looking for.

In a moment of inspiration, he may even sandwich a single leaf of fresh herb between two paper-thin potato slices, then crisp them up in either the oven or fryer. Unusually tasty, yes, and always by design.

"If you make chips at home, they're easy and they're healthier for you," Mr. Lepine says.

"You don't have to worry about trans-fat or nut allergies. I use extra-virgin olive oil for my herb chips, or you can also use butter."

Well, no one says you must eat healthy.

"You can cut back on the salt, or use a more coarse salt that adds texture to the chips. And you can choose your own flavourings."

Here, Mr. Lepine offers variations with russet and/or sweet potatoes that you bake in the oven. Or, try homemade Fried Garlic Chips to add crunch and flavour to your next salad.

At home I made interesting chips from lotus root, which is very starchy and resembles a wagon wheel when sliced thin. Frying draws out the sweetness and gives it a nice golden appearance with background nutty flavour. I found lotus root in Asian grocery stores in Chinatown, but you may substitute parsnip or jicama.

Use these chips to add crunch and interest, not as the main event. For example, Mr. Lepine serves fingerling potato chips on suckling pig and Reblochon cheese; his parsnip chips may appear in a Japanese pear salad with mache and a blue cheese mousse; the homemade garlic chips may show up on pasta.

In every case, Mr. Lepine recommends you slice the vegetables with a chef's mandoline -- a little hand-held contraption with a razor-sharp adjustable blade for thick or thin slicing. You can find inexpensive versions in Chinatown, or check out kitchenware stores.

"Another reason you make them at home is for the flavour," he says.

"You can start with an ordinary baking potato and flavour it -- you're not stuck with the usual salt, vinegar and ketchup. Season it with herbs or even smoked sea salt."

The idea is to enjoy better food, but less. Something I dare say we should all be encouraging in our children.

- - -

Baked Russet or Sweet Potato chips

From: Chef Marc Lepine,

Courtyard Restaurant

Makes 30 to 40 chips

- 1 russet (baking) potato, or use a sweet potato, peeled and rinsed

- 2 tablespoons (25 mL) melted butter or extra -virgin olive oil

- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) kosher salt, or other coarse salt

Optional flavourings:

- Chopped fresh herbs (ie. thyme leaves, chive tips, flat leaf parsley, or sage leaves)

1. Preheat oven to 275 degreesF (140 degreesC).

2. Have all ingredients ready so the potatoes don't have a chance to oxidize (turn brown in the air).

3. Slice potatoes paper-thin on a mandolin or with a sharp chef's knife. Ensure that potatoes are sliced evenly, otherwise the thinner end will burn before the thicker end has a chance to crispen.

4. Brush 2 sheets of parchment paper (or use two silicone stick-free baking sheets) with the oil or butter and sprinkle lightly with salt and optional herb flavourings.

5. Sandwich potato slices between the 2 sheets on a baking tray and weigh down with another baking tray of the same size so that the chips remain flat.

6. Bake chips for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until dry and crisp.

Tip: To add interest, sandwich fresh herb leaves between 2 slices of potato and bake following the same procedure.

- - -

Fried Garlic Chips

From: Chef Marc Lepine, Courtyard Restaurant

Makes about 25 small chips

- 2 very large cloves garlic, or elephant garlic

- 3 cups (750 mL) milk

- 1 cup (250 mL) vegetable oil, for frying

- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) coarse salt

1. Slice garlic very thin on a mandolin or with a very sharp knife.

2. Blanch garlic in 1 cup (250 mL) of simmering milk for 1 minute to extract some of the bitterness. Drain milk and repeat procedure twice more using the remaining 2 cups (500 mL) of milk. (Note: Garlic-infused milk may be reserved for use in a sauce or chowder.)

3. Pat garlic dry on paper towels.

4. In a heavy frypan, heat vegetable oil to 325 degreesF (160 degreesC) and fry garlic slices about 4 or 5 minutes, or until crisp.

5. Using a slotted spoon, transfer fried garlic chips onto paper towels and immediately season lightly with salt (residual oil on the chips will help the salt adhere).

Serving tip: Use garlic chips in a caesar salad or sprinkle over a pasta dish just before serving.

- - -

Fried lotus root chips

From: Chef Marc Lepine,

Courtyard Restaurant

Makes 25 to 30 chips

- 1 lotus root, about 5 or 6 inches (13 cm) long (may substitute parsnip, jicama)

- 2 cups (500 mL) vegetable oil, for frying

- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) coarse salt

1. Peel and rinse lotus root.

2. In a wide heavy saucepan, heat oil to 325 degreesF (160 degreesC).

3. Slice lotus root very thin

using a mandolin or very sharp chef's knife. (If using parsnip, slice thin, lengthwise.)

4. Fry chips in oil about 4 to 5 minutes, or until slightly golden and crisp (until bubbling around chips has stopped, indicating moisture is gone).

5. Using a slotted spoon, transfer fried chips onto paper towels and immediately season lightly with salt.

[bouche]

Blair's Death Rain chips have been popping up everywhere. They're really good!

[phishtaper]

Only in Canada, you say?

Pity.