I've learned that the key to any good home entertainment sesh is preparation. Preparing certain components ahead of time will save you stress and give you extra time to enjoy with your guests. For this menu, I suggest preparing the homemade ketchup and freezing the juice for the margaritas far in advance of your guests arriving.
It's always nice to get a good mise-en-place (French for "putting in place" - basically getting everything chopped or measured out before you start cooking) going as well. If you plan on making and serving two or all three of these delicious fry recipes at the same time, I suggest peeling and chopping all of the potatoes at once before you start putting together the recipes. That way they can all cook at the same time and will be ready to serve when your guests arrive, ravenous after a hard day's work.
We're gonna start with a little of that prep work I was talking about.
You want to get your three serving glasses ready first so that they're waiting for you when you take the fries out of the oven.
Start by cutting three six-inch pieces of wax paper.
Then, roll the paper into a cone shape.
Place in your serving glass and open up the cone to fill the glass.
Let's get cookin'!
All of these recipes are made to serve four people.
Prep time for each is about 15-20 minutes
Cooking time for each is 40 minutes
HOMEMADE KETCHUP
Ingredients:
1 8oz. can of diced fire-roasted tomatoes
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 of a large shallot, minced
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
I served mine warm, but if you want to serve cold, make sure you prepare this at least 3 hours before you're ready to serve. About one hour for prep time, and two hours to chill in the fridge.
Heat the EVOO over medium-high heat. Add minced shallot and cook until translucent, about two minutes. Add the fire-roasted tomatoes, tomato paste, brown sugar, vinegar, salt and simmer, uncovered, for about ten minutes. Then, use a hand-held blender (by placing directly into the sauce pan) to puree all of the ingredients until smooth. (If you do not have a hand-held blender, you can use a regular blender or a food processor. Simply pour the ingredients into the blender/food processor, being careful because it's hot, and blend until smooth. Pour the puree back into the sauce pan and continue cooking.) Let simmer uncovered for about twenty minutes. If you want a thicker, more traditional ketchup, let simmer for one hour. If you do this, make sure to stir often towards the end to prevent the ketchup from burning to the bottom of the pan.
Place in a ramekin and serve with the garlic fries (recipe to follow).
GARLIC FRIES
Ingredients:
2 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into thin fry slices
4 large garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
S&P to taste
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place the fry slices on a non-stick cooking sheet and toss in 2 tablespoons of the extra virgin olive oil and about 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook in the oven for about 40 minutes, checking on periodically to make sure they don't stick or burn.
Meanwhile, heat the garlic in a sauce pan on the stove in 2 tablespoons of EVOO over medium-low heat until cooked through, but not brown - about three minutes. Remove from the heat.
After the fries are cooked through and crispy, place in a medium-sized mixing bowl and toss with the cooked garlic.
Place fries in the prepared serving cup inside the wax paper. Serve with homemade ketchup.
SWEET POTATO FRIES with CINNAMON HONEY DUNK
Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into thin fry slices
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
S&P to taste
For the Cinnomon Honey Dunk:
1 ramekin full of honey
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
After sweet potatoes are cut into fries, place in an even layer on a non-stick cooking sheet. Drizzle on all of the EVOO and add S&P to taste. Toss with your hands to coat.
Place in the oven for about 40 minutes, checking on and turning over as needed to prevent burning or sticking to the pan. Remove when crispy and fully cooked. Let cool while you prepare the dunk.
Heat the ramekin of honey in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Remove, careful not to let spill on yourself because it will have liquified and become super hot. Stir in the cinnamon.
Place the fries in the prepared serving glass inside of the wax paper. Serve right away.
BUFF FRIES
Ingredients:
2 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into thin fry slices
1 cup store-bought Buffalo sauce (I like Moore's Buffalo Wing Sauce, but any brand will do)
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
After potatoes are sliced, place in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Drizzle with half a cup of the Buffalo sauce and toss with your hands to coat the potatoes. Place on a non-stick cooking sheet and put in the oven to cook for about 40 minutes. Check on them periodically and turn over as needed.
When somewhat crispy and fully cooked through, remove from oven and place back in the mixing bowl. Pour the remaining half cup Buffalo sauce over the fries and toss with a spatula.
Place in the prepared serving glass. Serve with your favorite store-bought ranch or blue cheese dressing.
My friend, Natalie, wanted me to note that these also taste really nice paired with a glass of white Bordeaux ;-)
Party time!
CRANBERRY MARGARITAS
Ingredients:
48 oz. cranberry juice (which is 3/4 of a standard 64 oz. bottle)
1 can lemon-lime soda (I used Sun Drop)
1/2 cup silver tequila
1 lime, cut in half. Half used for juice, half cut into four wedges for garnish.
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon "Red Crystal Decos" - basically red sprinkles
Start at least two hours ahead of serving time by freezing the cranberry juice. I did this by pouring it into two freezer safe sealable sandwich baggies and placing them in the freezer. This shouldn't really freeze the juice solid, but get it super cold and slightly slushy. Keep checking to make sure it's not freezing solid. If it's getting like that, remove immediately.
About ten minutes before taking the juice out of the freezer, garnish your margarita glasses. Pour the sugar onto a small salad plate and mix in the red sprinkles. Slice each lime in the center and use that to wipe around the rim of the glasses. Then, dip the rims one by one into the sugar mixture, making sure you get the whole rim covered. Last, slip your lime wedges onto the rim of each glass as a garnish.
Now you're ready to make the margs!
Take the slushy juice out of the freezer and pour into a pitcher. Add the soda, the juice of 1/2 the lime, tequila and stir.
Pour each portion into a shaker and gently shake. (Be careful to not shake too enthusiastically, as the carbonation from the soda will pop the lid off the shaker and you will have a mess and one less glass of margarita! I had to learn this lesson the hard way!) Pour the mix into your sugar-rimmed margarita glasses and serve right away! Your guests are thirsty!
I hope you have a great happy hour and enjoy all of these recipes as much as my friends and I did!
Salute!
Rachel is such a wonderful host! I loved the presentation of the fries in the glasses with the coned paper. And who knew white bordeaux went so well with buffalo sauce?? ;)
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