Burger ‘n’ Fries

We have this really lovely, well-priced, mostly-gluten-free restaurant relatively close to where we live. We don’t eat there very often, since we don’t eat out very much at all. But when we do, my kids nearly always get the very same thing every time: a burger and french fries. Its charm is threefold:

1. No vegetable on the plate. At home, there’s always a vegetable. Even if it’s just chopped spinach mixed in with the pasta, a vegetable will take up residence on your plate. Count on it.

2. French fries. And they’re really fried.

3. The burger sits on a bun. At home, historically, there was typically no bun. You used a knife and fork. You didn’t complain. At the restaurant, you have your choice of sandwich bread or a bun.

Well, the last time we patronized this restaurant, my eldest child started coming down with something right in the middle of the meal, and lost her appetite. So the burger and fries came home, and the next day, while she was at school … I ate it myself. All of it. I’m so ashamed.

So the next night at home, I dutifully served up a burger and fries, restaurant-style (but with a vegetable). Come ‘n’ get it! I think I need one of those triangles to ring when it’s chow time.

For the White Sandwich Bread that you see here, please turn to page 104 of your copy of Gluten-Free on a Shoestring, the cookbook (c’mon, support the Shoestring Team), and dutifully follow the recipe therein.

The oven fries you see here are a freebie. And I swear they are only a tiny bit more trouble than frozen french fries. You still have to bake those, right? And you can’t beat the price of these. I often get 3 pounds of red skin potatoes for $2.00 flat. Instead of those frozen fries, bake these …

Oven “Fried” Potatotes
SERVES 4

Potatoes (6 medium size red-skins, or 3 Idaho (russet) potatotes), skin on
4 to 6 tablespoons canola oil
Kosher salt, to taste

1. Grease a large rimmed baking sheet, about 18″x13″ or thereabouts, and set it aside. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Wash the potatoes well, but do not peel them (unless you would like to peel them, then by all means, peel them). Slice the potatoes into chunks in whatever shape and size you choose.

Two words of caution: (one) If you make the chunks radically different sizes, they will bake at radically different rates; (two) If you make the chunks too thin, they will be nearly impossible to remove from the baking sheet without being mangled.

3. Scatter the potato chunks on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with the kosher salt (I like to use lots), then drizzle with about 4 tablespoons of oil. Toss the potatoes to coat them evenly with the oil, adding more oil if necessary. The potatoes should not be dry. You’re going to be roasting these fries, and if they’re dry, they’ll burn.

4. Place the potatoes in the center of the preheated oven, and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until deeply golden brown, turning the potatoes after about 15 minutes to ensure even browning.

5. Sprinkle with a little more kosher salt, to taste, when they’re still piping hot.

My daughter never even asked about her restaurant leftovers. And serving up this meal soothed my aching conscience.

Warmly,

Nicole

P.S. – Don’t forget to pick up your copy of Gluten-Free on a Shoestring, the cookbook. It has 125 recipes, plus loads of tips and strategies to make gluten-free eating more affordable, but it’s worth it for the White Sandwich Bread recipe alone. For real.

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