National Potato Chip Day March 14, 2014

March 14th is National Potato Chip Day

According to a traditional story, the original potato chip recipe was created in Saratoga Springs, New York. Popular versions say this happened on August 24, 1853, and versions by the late 19th century attributed the dish to George Crum, a half black, half Native American cook at Moon's Lake House, who was trying to appease an unhappy customer. He sliced the potatoes very thin, fried them until crisp and seasoned them with extra salt. The customer loved them. They soon became called "Saratoga Chips", a name that persisted into at least the mid-20th century.

A version of the story popularized in a 1973 national advertising campaign by St. Regis Paper Company, which manufactured packaging for chips, said that Crum's customer was Cornelius Vanderbilt. Crum was renowned as a chef and by 1860 owned his own lakeside restaurant, Crum's House.

Alternative explanations of the provenance of potato chips date them to recipes in Shilling Cookery for the People by Alexis Soyer (1845) or Mary Randolph's The Virginia House-Wife (1824) as well as two other contemporary cookbooks. In the 20th century, potato chips spread beyond chef-cooked restaurant fare and began to be mass-produced for home consumption.

The Dayton, Ohio-based Mike-sell's Potato Chip Company, founded in 1910, identifies as the "oldest potato chip company in the United States". New England-based Tri-Sum Potato Chips, originally founded in 1908 as the Leominster Potato Chip Company, in Leominster, Massachusetts claim to be America's first potato chip manufacturer. Chips sold in markets were usually sold in tins or scooped out of storefront glass bins and delivered by horse and wagon. The early potato chip bag was wax paper with the ends ironed or stapled together. At first, potato chips were packaged in barrels or tins, which left chips at the bottom stale and crumbled.

Laura Scudder, an entrepreneur in Monterey Park, California started having her workers take home sheets of wax paper to iron into the form of bags, which were filled with chips at her factory the next day. This pioneering method reduced crumbling and kept the chips fresh and crisp longer. This innovation, along with the invention of cellophane, allowed potato chips to become a mass market product. Scudder also began putting dates on the bags, becoming the first company to freshness date their food products. This new standard of freshness was reflected in the marketing slogan: "Laura Scudder's Potato Chips, the Noisiest Chips in the World." Today, chips are packaged in plastic bags, with nitrogen gas blown in prior to sealing to lengthen shelf life, and provide protection against crushing.

The average potato chip is .04 to.08 of an inch thick. During WWII production of potato chips halted because they were deemed an "unessential food". In Great Britain and many other parts of the world Potato Chips are referred to as "crisps". Chips, to them are French Fried potatoes.


Text Credits: Wikipedia || Wikipedia || blog.al.com southern foodie Image Credit: Potato Chips photo by sookietex

Blondies

A blondie (also known as a "blond[e] brownie" or "blondie bar" is a rich, sweet dessert bar. It is made from flour, brown sugar, butter, eggs, baking powder, and vanilla, and may also contain walnuts or pecans. Chocolate chip blondies may contain white or dark chocolate chips. A blondie may have a taste reminiscent of butterscotch. Blondies resemble the traditional chocolate brownie, but are based on brown sugar instead of cocoa; they are sometimes referred to as blonde brownies. They are baked in a pan in the oven similar to how traditional brownies are baked, then cut into rectangular shapes for serving.

Blondies are often confused with white chocolate brownies, although they are highly different, as unlike the white chocolate brownie or the normal brownie, they contain no chocolate or chocolate flavoring, not inclusive of chocolate chips, which are often put in blondies.

Like brownies, blondies may include chocolate chips. They may also contain coconut, nuts, toffee, or any other chunky candy for added texture. Blondies aren't usually frosted; the brown sugar flavor tends to be sweet enough. Another popular variation is the Congo bar, which contains chocolate chips with either walnuts or coconut. Blondies are sometimes served in sundaes, often topped with caramel sauce

The blondie, essentially a brownie variant. A dense cake with butterscotch being the predominant flavor instead of chocolate. Characteristics to strive for include a rich, buttery flavor with good balance between sweetness and saltiness, moist texture, and a golden blonde appearance.

From Wikibooks Cookbook

Blondie Recipe

1 cup flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup unsalted butter [melted]

1 cup light brown sugar [firmly packed] 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1 egg 3/4 cup chopped walnuts and/or pecans

Preheat oven to 325°F. Dry toast the chopped pecans/walnuts until fragrant and slightly colored. This can either be done in a dry skillet on the stove top over medium high heat while stirring frequently or else by roasting the nuts in the oven on a cookie sheet while you prepare the batter. The stove top method is faster but requires more attention. It is also possible to buy dry toasted nuts instead of raw to avoid this step.

The pecans/walnuts should be crunchy and nutty, not rubbery or mealy. In a small bowl stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, stir the melted butter, brown sugar, and vanilla until uniform, breaking any large lumps of sugar. Beat in egg until creamy. Gently fold in flour mixture. When flour is nearly incorporated, gently fold in toasted pecans/walnuts. Do not overmix. Spread mixture into buttered 8" x 8" baking dish. Bake at 325°F for 30 minutes or until desired doneness. Let cool and cut into bars.

Text Credits: Wikipedia Wikibooks Cookbook || Image Credit: WikimediaCommons

Snickerdoodles

A snickerdoodle is a type of cookie made with butter or oil, sugar, and flour rolled in cinnamon sugar. Eggs may also sometimes be used as an ingredient, with cream of tartar and baking soda added to leaven the dough. Snickerdoodles are characterized by a cracked surface and can be crisp or soft depending on preference.

Snickerdoodles are often referred to as "sugar cookies". However, traditional sugar cookies are often rolled in white sugar whereas snickerdoodles are rolled in a mixture of white sugar and cinnamon.

The Joy of Cooking claims that snickerdoodles are probably German in origin, and that the name is a corruption of the German word Schneckennudeln ("snail noodles"), a kind of pastry. It is also possible that the name is simply a nonsense word with no particular meaning, originating from a New England tradition of whimsical cookie names.

Depending upon preference there are two ways to make snickerdoodles. The first recipe below is the traditional method. The second recipe yields a chewier cookie which will become crisper within 24 hrs.

[Recipes Damage In The Kitchen Editor's Note: The second recipe does not utilize shortening. In most cookie recipes shortening is the ingredient that provides the crispness, butter the softness so a good rule for any cookie baking is for a chewier cookie use less or no shortening and more butter.]

From Wikibooks Cookbook

Traditional Snickerdoodle Recipe

2 3/4 cups (650ml) all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons cream of tartar 1 1/2 cups (360ml) white sugar

1 cup (240ml) soft shortening 2 eggs, beaten For the dusting 2 tablespoons (30ml) sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (205 degrees Celsius), mix ingredients, and bake for 10 minutes or until crisp and light brown. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon while hot.An alternative recipe uses only 1 cup (240ml) sugar and replaces 1/2 cup (120ml) of the shortening with butter. After those ingredients are mixed, the dough is rolled into 1 tablespoon balls and then rolled in a mixture of 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. They are baked as noted above. Other recipes add honey to the dough, which helps to keep the cookies from becoming too crisp.

From Wikibooks Cookbook

Chewy Snickerdoodle Recipe

2 cup (120g) butter, softened (not melted) 1 cup (240g) granulated sugar 2 tablespoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar 1 egg

1 cup vinegar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1 1/2 cups (350g) all-purpose flour For the dusting 2 tablespoons (30ml) sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a medium mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the 1 cup sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, and vinegar. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Cover and chill dough for 1 to 2 hours or until easy to handle. Preheat oven to 375°F (190c) Combine the 2 T. sugar and the cinnamon in a small bowl. Shape dough into 1-inch (2.5cm) balls. Roll balls in cinnamon-sugar to coat. Place balls 2 inch (5cm) apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 11 minutes or until edges are golden. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Text Credits: Wikipedia Wikibooks Cookbook || Image Credit: Tina Marie's Adventures In The Baking Aisle