Corn Chowder

I’ve never before eaten Corn Chowder (much less made it), so I have little to compare it to. But it’s been in the back of my mind to make since I saw it a year ago on America’s Test Kitchen, so I decided to make it for a small crowd gathered to celebrate my son’s first communion. It is a delicious summertime side dish, perfect to fill out the table as part of a barbecue.  For the celebration I pulled out all the stops; and served it with the Grilled Stuffed Flank Steak, Potato Salad, Smokey BBQ beans and Sangria. Everything turned out fantastic, and I would rate the Corn Chowder 4-stars.

Delicious Summertime Soup

Comments:

1. The only part of the recipe that confused me was in step 1, when you separate the kernels and pulp from the cob. I was worried that I might be cutting away too much pulp and I sliced off the kernels, but in the end you will throw away the solid from the pump (after extracting the juices). So the bottom line is you shouldn’t worry.
2. The recipe only makes 8 to 9 smallish bowls, and  I had 11 guests. While I was expecting that most of the kids wouldn’t want the corn chowder, it turned out that they did.

Rating: 4-stars.
Cost: $8.00
How much work? Medium.
How big of a mess?  Medium.
Start time: 5:30. Dinner time: 6:15

Chris Kimball’s original recipe is here. The descriptions of how I prepared them today are given below:

8 ears corn
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion
4 slices bacon
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
5 cups water
3/4-lb red potatoes
1 cup half-and-half
Up to 1 Tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1. Remove husks and silk from corn. Cut kernels from the cob using a chef’s knife, being careful not to cut away too much of the pulp. Then over a large bowl, use the back of a stiff butter knife to scrape the pulp into the bowl (once you try it you will see how easy the pulp comes away from the cob). Put pulp in a clean kitchen towel and tightly wring the pulp allowing the juice to fall back into your large bowl. Chris Kimball says that I should have been able to extract 2/3-cup of juice, but I was only able to extract about 1/2-cup. Throw away the dried pulp.
2. Finely chop your onion, stack your bacon slices and slice them lengthwise, then cut them into 1/4″ pieces. Mince you
3. Put a Dutch oven over medium burner and melt your 3 tablespoons of butter. Saute onions, bacon, thyme, together with 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, for 8 to 10 minutes until the onion has softened and the edges begin to brown. While that cooks, dice your potato into 1/2″ pieces
4. Mix in 1/4-cup flour and stir constantly for 1 to 2 minutes, then whisk in 5 cups of water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add your corn kernels and diced potatoes. Bring back up to a simmer, then reduce the burner to medium-low and cook for 18 minutes until the potatoes are ready.
5. Remove 2 cups of chowder to blender and process it for 1 minute until smooth. Return processed chowder to the pot, and add 1 cup of half-and-half, and continue to cook until the pot has again reached a simmer.
6. Remove from burner, add corn juice, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and as much as 1 tablespoon sugar depending upon the inherent sweetness of your corn.
7. Spoon into individual bowls and sprinkle each bowl with 1 teaspoon minced basil.

Both my sons at their first communion.

One Hour Grilled Baby Back Ribs with Lime Glaze

Summer BBQ ribs and one of the kids favorite culinary treats. I’ve made many recipes, including: 4-hour Texas BBQ Ribs, 5-hour Memphis BBQ Spareribs, and these 6-hour Kansas City Ribs. For many years I’ve been listening to Chris Kimball say that ribs need all afternoon to cook “low and slow”; collagen taking  has been telling me how. So when I read in the current issue of Cook’s Illustrated promised delicious ribs in about an hour, I was skeptical. First, the recipe uses baby back ribs, which are leaner and don’t require as much cooking time. But the main secret of this recipe is to par-boil the ribs on salted water for 25 minutes. Afterwards, the ribs just need 20 minutes on the grill to give them a nice char. They are delicious, but not fall-off-the-bone-tender. 4-stars for a weekday meal is pretty strong.

Delicious ribs in about an hour

Rating: 4-stars.
Cost: $14.00
How much work? Low/Medium.
How big of a mess?  Low.
Start time: 5:00. Dinner time: 6:15

Chris Kimball’s original rib recipe is here, and the lime-glaze recipe is here. The descriptions of how I prepared them today are given below:

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons salt
2-1/2 quarts of water
1 racks baby back or loin back ribs

Lime Glaze Ingredients:
1/3 cup lime juice (3 limes)
3 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Remove the membrane from the rib-side of the rack. Cut the rack in half so that it will fit in your dutch oven.
2. Add 2-1/2 quarts water to a Dutch oven, then stir in 2 tablespoons table salt until it is dissolved. Put ribs in Dutch oven ensuring that they are complete submerged.
3. Turn on burner to high and bring up to simmer. While the water comes up to a simmer, open the bottom vent of your grill halfway, and light a chimney starter filled with 6 quarts of charcoal.
4. Reduce burner to low. Cover the Dutch oven and allow to cook at bare simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. The thickest part of ribs should read 195-degrees with an instant read thermometer. (If the ribs come up to temperature before the grill is ready, then you can leave them uncovered in pot)
5. While ribs are simmering, whisk together all the graze ingredients in a small bowl. Also, once the coals are ready, empty evenly over the entire grill. Clean the grill grate.
6. Fish the ribs out of the water and use paper towels to dry the ribs. Use 1/3 cup of glaze to brush both sides of ribs.
7. Put ribs on grill and cook, uncovered, for about 20 minutes; after 10 minutes brush with another 1/3-cup of graze. The ribs are ready when graze has caramelized and the ribs have a light charred.
8. Remove the ribs from the grill, brush them with the remaining glaze, tent them with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes, before cutting into separate ribs.

Parboiled ribs don’t look appetizing

Start them meaty-side down

Almost ready

Naked Grilled Chicken

I usually prefer to leave the skin on chicken because it adds a lot of flavor to what can be an otherwise bland piece of meat. But one man’s blandness is another man’s blank canvas, and Chris Kimball fulfilled his promise that I wouldn’t miss the skin. He cuts slits into the chicken to allow the flavors to penetrate, and cook more evenly. His reason for removing the skin is as follows: the fat rendering from the skin causes flare-up which cause the exterior of the chicken to become fully cooked while the interior is still raw. Without the fear of flare-ups, the chicken can be cooked directly over the hot coals. The result is an extremely flavorful Grilled Lemon Chicken with Rosemary; 4-stars.

Grilled without the skin.

Comments:

1. Chris Kimball’s original instructions were unclear that the butter mixture and past are two separate things. The paste gets applied just before you light the charcoals, and the butter gets applied during the final stages of grilling the chicken. I added some clarification in my descriptions below.
2. While his recipe calls for a 3 1/2-to-4-lb chicken, I had to feed a gaggle of kids. I used a 7-pound chicken. Of course, this meant a longer cooking time. So I created a cook zone on my grill, and moved the chicken there once the exterior was cooked. It cook an extra 15 minutes for the rest of my bigger chicken to reach an internal temperature of 165-degrees.

Rating: 4-stars.
Cost: $8
How much work? Low/Medium.
How big of a mess?  Low/Medium.
Start time: 4:00 PM. Dinner time: 6:30 PM.

Chris Kimball’s version of this recipe is here. The descriptions of how I prepared the recipe today are given below:

1 whole chicken
3/4 cup granulated sugar
Salt and pepper
2 lemons
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
1-1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1. Use kitchen shears to open up your chicken by cutting out and discarding the backbone (I saved mine for making chicken stock). Open up the chicken and press down on the breasts until it flattens. Remove the skin from the chicken using paper towels to hold the slippery skin and kitchen shears to snip the parts that you can’t pull off, but leave the skin on the wings.
2. Fold the wings back and tuck them behind the back and turn drumsticks to face inwards. Cut 1/2″-deep slits every 1/2″ apart in both the legs and the breasts with a chef’s knife. Insert two 12″ skewers to hold the chicken together during cooking. Insert the first skewer into the thigh, the bottom of the breast and then through the opposite thigh. Second, insert the second skewer 1″ lower through the thigh/drumstick of both sides. I didn’t understand completely, but really all you are trying to do is hold the chicken together while cooking.
3. Brine the chicken in 3 quarts of water mixed with 3/4-cups of table salt and 3/4-cups granulated sugar. Refrigerate for up to an hour.
4. Meanwhile, add the paste ingredients to a small bowl. Zest your 2 lemons, and add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1-1/2 teaspoons minced rosemary, 1 teaspoon Dijon, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. This paste is to be applied is step 5. In a small saucepan set over low burner, melt the 2 tablespoons butter, and add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon Dijon, and another 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Once the butter has melted, remove from burner and juice one of the lemons into the pan. Stir to combine, and set aside until the final stages of grilling in step 8 (basting the chicken 3 times).
5. When the chicken is done brining, use paper towels to pat it dry. Rub 1/2-teaspoon of the past into the underside of the legs, then flip the chicken breast-side-up, and rub the remaining paste over the entire chicken, especially working some into the slits.
6. Completely open the upper and lower vents of your grill, and start a heaping chimney starter filled with charcoal. When the coals have ignited; about 20 minutes; empty the coals over half the grill leaving half the grill without any coals. Pre-heat the grill for 5 minutes and scrape the grill clean.
7. Put chicken on grill directly over coals with the breast-side down. Also place the lemon wedges directly over the coals. Cook, covered, for about 10 minutes until the chicken becomes lightly charred. Remove the lemon from the grill and put them on a small plate for serving.
8. Turn the chicken leaving directly over the coals, then brush with about 1/3 of the butter mixture (you will baste the chicken 3 times). Place a large sheet of aluminum foil directly on top of the chicken, which will make the chicken cook faster. If your butter mixture has become too thick, you can loosen it up by putting the saucepan over the cooler side of the grill. Continue to cook with the lid on for another 8 to 10 minutes to brown the second side. Move chicken to the cooler side of the grill, baste for a second time with half the remaining butter, and continue to cook, covered with foil and the grill cover on, until the internal temperature of the breasts reaches 160-degrees and the dark meat reaches 175 degrees. This will take about 10 minutes for a small chicken, but my larger chicken took another 20 minutes.
9. Remove chicken from grill and allow to rest on a cutting board for 5 minutes; tented with foil. Remove skewers and cut apart the breasts, thighs and drumsticks. Serve immediately with the grilled lemon wedges.

Resting just before carving.

Cuban Picadillo

While Chris Kimball tries to translate Cuban-Style Picadillo into a simple weeknight recipe, his recipe fails badly. I know Chris Kimball’s Yankee palate usually under-spices his Latin-themed recipes, but his problem in this case is that he seems more interested in attaining tender ground beef than developing the flavors by browning the meat. His trade-off left the recipe with bland, but tender, ground beef/pork. I recommend that you do not make this recipe. You will be disappointed. It is my lowest rated recipe in the past year. The leftovers sat in the refrigerator, until I got tired of looking at them and threw them away. A 2-1/2 star disappointment.

Disappointing; but easy to make.

Comments:

1. While Chris Kimball recommends serving Picadillo with rice and black beans, and optionally topped with chopped parsley, toasted almonds, or chopped hard-boiled egg, I didn’t include any of that as the supposition was that this was going to be an easy weeknight meal.
2. There is also a variation with fried potatoes. I guess the fried, diced potatoes might have helped the flavor.

Rating: 2-1/2 stars.
Cost: $10
How much work? Low/Medium.
How big of a mess?  Medium.
Start time: 5:00 PM. Dinner time: 6:10 PM.

Chris Kimball’s version of this recipe is here. The descriptions of how I prepared the recipe today are given below:

1 lb ground beef (85% lean)
1 lb ground pork
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Salt and pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 onion
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 garlic cloves, minced
14-1/2 ounce can whole tomatoes
3/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup beef broth
1/2 cup raisins
3 bay leaves
1/2 cup pimento-stuffed green olives
2 tablespoons capers
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1. In a medium bowl, combine beef, pork, water, baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon table salt and 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper. Allow to stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, stem and seed you bell pepper and cut into 2″ pieces. Cut the onion in half and then into 2″ pieces. Process the bell pepper and onions separately if you have a small food processor. Pulse about 12 times until the pieces are chopped to about 1/4″.
3. Place a large Dutch oven over medium-high burner, add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and preheat until the oil begins to shimmer. Saute chopped vegetables, oregano, cumin, cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon salt for 6 to 8 minutes. While the vegetables cook, drain your tomatoes and chop them coarsely, and peel your garlic cloves. When the vegetables have begun to brown, press your 6 garlic cloves and saute them for 30 seconds, then add tomatoes and 3/4 cup wine, using the liquid to deglaze the bottom of the pot. Cook for about 4 to 5 minutes until it becomes almost dry.
4. Add 1/2 cup beef broth, 1/2 cup raisins and 3 bay leaves bring up to a simmer, then reduce burner to medium-low. Add meat to the pot in 2″ chunks. Return to a simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and eventually using 2 forks to break the meat into 1/4-to-1/2″ chunks. Meanwhile coarsely chop your olives, and rinse your capers.
5. Remove and bay leaves, and add chopped olives and capers. Increase burner to medium-high and cook for 5 minutes. The sauce should become thick and should coat the meat. Add vinegar and adjust seasoning (salt, pepper and vinegar) according to your taste. Serve.

Crispy Potato Latkes

I love hash browns, and at one point subsisted on them for more than a month. But I had never heard of Potato Latkes before I made this recipe; I think may be the same thing as Potato Pancakes. Whatever they’re called, the only real difference is that they use egg as a binder and include a 1/2 cup of grated onion. The Latkes themselves are delicious, 4-stars. Unfortunately, I was very unpleasantly surprised at the huge mess they made in my kitchen. It’s like Chris Kimball purposefully tried to use the greatest number of bowls and baking sheets possible; definitely not worth the cleanup.

Delicious, but a big mess

Comments:

1. I froze the leftover latkes by loosely covering them with plastic wrap while they cooled for 4 hours at room temperature. Then I put them in a Zip-lock bag and froze them. Chris Kimball recommends reheating in a 375-degree oven for 3 minutes per side (for room-temperature latkes) or 6 minutes per side (for frozen latkes).

Rating: 4 stars.
Cost: $1.20
How much work? Medium.
How big of a mess?  Huge.
Start time: 5:30 PM. Dinner time: 6:30 PM.

Chris Kimball’s version of this recipe is here. The descriptions of how I prepared the recipe today are given below:

2 pounds russet potatoes
1/2 cup grated onion
Salt and pepper
2 lightly beaten eggs
2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley
Vegetable oil

1. Scrub your potatoes and shred them, unpeeled, using the shredding disk of a food processor. Chris Kimball recommends cutting the potatoes into 2″ lengths.
2. Set an oven rack to the middle of your oven, and pre-heat a rimmed baking sheet to 200-degrees.
3. Add shredded potatoes, onion, and 1 teaspoon salt in medium bowl. Put half of potatoes in center of clean cloth dish towel. Gather together towel ends and twist to drain as much liquid as possible; allowing the liquid to drain into a measuring cup. Empty dried potatoes into a second bowl, then dry the reminder of the potatoes. Allow the reserved potato liquid to stand for 10 minutes, so that starch and water separate.
4. Cover potatoes with plastic wrap and microwave for 1-1/2 minutes, stirring mixture with fork every 30 seconds, until warm but not hot. Evenly empty potato mixture over a second rimmed baking sheet. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. There is not need to wash out bowl.
5. Pour off the water from reserved potato liquid, leaving only the potato starch in measuring cup. Add eggs and stir until smooth. Put cooled potatoes back in to bowl. Add minced parsley, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and potato starch/egg mixture. Toss until everything is evenly combined.
6. Place another wire rack over a third rimmed baking sheet. Line with a triple layer of paper towels.
7. Add 1/4″ of oil to a 12″ skillet. Preheat over medium-high burner for 5 minutes until reaches 350-degrees (oil will be shimmering but not smoking). Measure 1/4-cup of potato mixture and place in oil. Push down with spatula until in becomes a disk 1/3″-thick. Repeat until 5 latkes are in pan. Cook for 3 minutes per side, until they become golden brown. You may need to adjust the burner so that the latkes bubble around the edges.  Remove to drain on paper towels, then place on baking sheet.
8. You may been to add a little more oil to ensure you have 1/4″ depth, reheat oil to 350-degrees and repeat step 8 with the rest of the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper according to your to taste, and serve with sour cream.

Sour cream always goes nicely with potatoes

“Best” Chicken Parmesan

Normally I don’t like Chicken Parmesan because the marinara sauce feels too heavy and overcooked. So I was excited to try this recipe after seeing the photo on Chris Kimball’s website; the tomatoes looked fresh and bright. However, the reality is that he uses the same can of crushed tomatoes that I’ve always used to make my red sauce. On the plus side, the generous amount of fresh Parmesan in the breading adds great flavor. So it’s better than average, but the not the “best”. The continued use of canned tomatoes leaves in place the exact thing that I dislike about Chicken Parmesan. My red-sauce loving son gave this 5-stars, but I can only give it 3-1/2.

Better than average, but not the “best”

Comments:

1. Just as every sauce recipe that I’ve ever made, this recipe uses a whole, 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes. I only used about 1/4 of the sauce; but the sauce was so inexpensive to make (about $1.25) that there is no reason to make less. My son, who hasn’t eaten jarred red sauce in 3 years, was happy with the leftovers.
2. I didn’t use the recommended Fontina, because I don’t generally use it and didn’t want to buy it for just 2 ounces. Instead I used 4 ounces of mozzarella.

Rating: 3-1/2 stars.
Cost: $7. ($3 of which was the basil)
How much work? Medium.
How big of a mess?  Medium.
Started: 4:30 pm. Dinner Time:  6:00.

Chris Kimball’s original recipe is here.  The descriptions of how I prepared it today are given below:

Sauce Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
Kosher salt and pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
Pinch red pepper flakes
28-oz can crushed tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh basil

Chicken Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1-lb total)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2-oz mozzarella cheese, shredded (1/2 cup)
2-oz ounces fontina cheese, shredded (1/2 cup)
1  large egg
1 tablespoon flour
1-1/2-oz Parmesan cheese, grated (3/4 cup)
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup torn fresh basil

1. Lay chicken breasts flat on cutting board and freeze them for 15 minutes so that they become firm.
2. Trim away any excess fat and cut breasts in half horizontally to form two thin cutlets. Use a meat pounder to flatten only the fat ends; leaving a uniform 1/2″-thickness. Evenly sprinkle both sides of chicken with a total of 1 teaspoon Kosher salt. Allow to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Peel and mince the garlic cloves. Place a medium-size sauce pan over medium burner and pre-heat 1 tablespoon live oil until it begins to shimmer. Add pressed garlic cloves, 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, and the pinch of red pepper flakes. Saute for 30 seconds, then add crushed tomatoes and 1/4 teaspoon sugar. Increase burner to high until it reaches a simmer, then reduce to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Remove from heat, add chopped basil and 1 more teaspoon of olive oil. Adjust season with salt and pepper according to your taste. Cover the pot to keep it warm while you finish cooking the chicken.
4. While the sauce is cooking prepare your remaining ingredients. Shred your mozzarella and fontina, combine in a small bowl, and set aside until step 7. In a pie plate, whisk 1 egg and 1 tablespoon flour together until it becomes smooth. Grate your Parmesan cheese directly into a second pie plate, then combine with panko, garlic powder, oregano, and ground black pepper. Set an oven rack about 4″ from the broiler element and begin pre-heating.
5. Use paper towels to pat the chicken dry. Coating on piece of chicken at a time, dredge through egg mixture and allow any excess egg to drip back into the pie plate. Put in bread crumb mixture and gently press so that the coating adheres to the chicken. Put coating chicken on a large plate, and continue coating the remaining chicken.
6. Place in a 10″-nonstick skillet over medium-high burner. Pre-heat 1/3 cup vegetable oil until it begins to shimmer. Add two pieces of chicken at a time into oil, and cook for 2 minutes per side without moving. Carefully flip the chicken using tongs and cook the second side for 2 more minutes. Remove cooked chicken to a plate lined with paper towels. Cook the second batch of chicken.
7. Put the cooked chicken on a foil-lines baking sheet and spread cheese evenly trying to cover as much of the chicken as possible. Broil for 3 to 4 minutes until the cheese has melted and is beginning to brown. Put chicken on serving platter and top with 2 tablespoons of sauce per chicken. Sprinkle with minced basil and serve immediately. Pass additional sauce separately.

Crispy Potato Tots

My first Tatar-Tot-experience was from my mediocre Jr. High School’s cafeteria. Even still, they were delicious and I never figured out why my mother never made Tator Tots when I was growing up. I have always loved them, and I’ve made them for my kids many, many times; but only from a bag. So I was excited to see in the latest season of Cook’s Country that Tator Tots can be made from scratch. I made them for a recent sleepover with 5 teenage boys. They were easy to make, but there were a few minor problems. First, 10 minutes in my microwave didn’t seem to fully cook the potatoes, compromising both texture and flavor.  They were just undercooked, not raw, so an extra 2 to 4 minutes would be enough extra time. Second, I failed to properly estimate the amount of time they would take to prepare. Budget a full 1-1/2 hours. Third, the boys wanted the Tots to be round; not square. Fortunately, the bar to make a sleepover a success is set pretty low; having more to do with the smile on my face than perfectly cooked Tator Tots. As they were, I can only give them 3-1/2 stars. Not worth the effort when compared to the bag. But I will try them again and update the review if I am more successful next time.

Homemade rectangular Tator Tots

Comments:

1. Chris Kimball warns that if you have a food processor with capacity less than 11 cups, that you need to process the potatoes in two batches. I did this, using half the water in each batch.
2. When I pressed the water out of the potatoes I didn’t check to see if I yielded 1-1/2 cups of liquid. If I didn’t, that may explain why the potatoes didn’t fully cook during the 10 minutes in the microwave.
3. Chris Kimball says that you can cool the fried leftovers, then put in a zip-lock bag. They can be frozen for up to 1 month. Bake at 400-degrees for 12 to 15 minutes to re-heat.

Rating: 3-1/2 star.
Cost: $2.
How much work? Low/Medium.
How big of a mess?  Low.
Started: 4:30 pm. Dinner Time:  6:00.

Chris Kimball’s original recipe is here.  The descriptions of how I prepared it today are given below, but the ingredient list has already increased the amount of cheese according to my recommendations above :
2-1/4 teaspoons table salt
2-1/2 lbs russet potatoes
1-1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 cups vegetable oil

1. Whisk 1 cup water and salt together in bowl until salt dissolves.
2. Peel your potatoes and cut them into 1-1/2″ pieces.
3. In one or two batches depending upon the size of your food processor, add the potatoes chunks and water. Pulse 10 to 12 times until the potatoes become coarsely ground. Empty into a fine mesh strainer and use a rubber spatula to press out 1-1/2 cups of liquid.
4. Put potatoes into a large glass bowl and microwave (uncovered) for 10 to 14 minutes; stir potatoes once after 5 minutes. The potatoes should become dry and sticky.
5. Add 1-1/2 tablespoons flour and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, mix until combined. Allow to cool for 10 minutes by spreading the potatoes out on a foil-lined sheet pan. Use a spatula to push the mixture to the center of the foil, and put in an 8″ square cake pan. Use a spatula to evenly spread the potatoes, then fold the foil over and firmly press the potatoes to ensure they are even, compact and fill the corners. Freeze for 30 minutes, so that they are easier to cut.
6. While the potatoes freeze, begin pre-heating your oil over a high burner to 375-degrees (about 10 minutes).  If you want to serve both batches at the same time, pre-heat your oven to 200-degrees. I served the first batch immediately, and therefore didn’t pre-heat my oven.
7. Use the foil to lift the potatoes and put them on a cutting board. Cut them into bite-sized tots. Depending upon the exact size of your cake pan, that could be 6×8 or 5×9.
8. When the oil reaches 375-degrees, use a wide, metal spatula to gently lower half your tots into the oil (without splashing). Fry each batch for 6 to 7 minutes until they become crispy and golden brown.
9. Remove from oil as they become ready and drain on a wire rack set over a foil-lined sheet pan. Season with salt. Keep the fist batch warm in your 200-degree oven while you cook the second batch. Repeat steps 8 and 9 for the second batch.

Slice into bite-sized tots

Allow to cook on baking sheet

Cut into chunks before processing

In a bowl, not magically suspended in mid-air