Salt N' Pepper Chips

I took homemade to a new level today: potato chips! I admit homemade potato chips is a little overboard, but I had a lot of potatoes and wanted to play with my Zyliss vegetable slicer.

I fried up three small Russet potatoes and we had them as a mid-afternoon snack today. They were really tasty; not as good as Kettle Chips but much more thin and crispy than most of the brands labeled "rustic" or "organic." I hate thick, crunchy chips!

The trick with potato chips is to soak the sliced potatoes in cold or iced water for an hour, then drain and dry them on paper towels. Heat up a wok of oil to over 350 degrees. Frying potato chips is easier than frying other foods because chips are paper thin; you don't have to worry about charring the outside before the center is cooked. The oil will sizzle when you put the potatoes in, then stop sizzling as the potatoes darken and lose moisture. When it's time to pull the potatoes out, you might be tricked into thinking the oil is cold because it won't sizzle at all. Don't be fooled; it's still very hot and you need to carefully transfer the chips to a baking sheet lined with paper towels or a flattened paper bag. Salt and pepper the chips before they cool, then eat when they are safe to touch!