French Fry Fail

So last week I attempted to make french fries off a recipe that my friend sent me. I figured why not? Everyone loves french fries and they require little money for the ingredients and are relatively simple to make. I should have known that morning that my plan was doomed to fail. I had made waffles for breakfast and apparently unplugged the wrong appliance before leaving for a meeting. Imagine my surprise when I came home two hours later to find my waffle iron still on! After unplugging it (this time) I lifted it up to move and burned my fingers accidentally. Sign number one. A little bit later I went to the store to buy everything I would need to make the fries and when I got home, realized I had bought a sweet potato instead of a russet one. Sign number two. Lastly my friend who was supposed to come and help me had to cancel at the last minute. Sign number three. Intent on still creating delicious (sweet) potato fries, I got to work. Here was my experience.....

Ingredients:

1 large russet potato

1 cup olive oil

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Directions:

1) Skin the (sweet) potato. Now I found an easier way to do this and it as follows: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4W0qIPJmoo <--watch this to see how

2) Once the (sweet) potato is peeled, slice into wedges

3) Place the wedges into cold water to keep them from turning brown while you cut the rest

4) Next set a skillet or pot to medium/high with your olive oil. I used a skillet to start but switched to a pot instead due to ease.

5) While the oil is heating up, mix your salts, paprika and flour together to create the batter.

(slowly add water to the mixture as you stir in order to create the texture you want to dip your fries into. I like my a little thicker so I used about 1 cup of water.)

6) using tongs, dip your fries into the batter one at a time and drop them into the oil

7) keep them in until they are a light brown and then allow to drain in the sink to rid of any excess oil

Tips and experiences:
****DO NOT TAKE YOUR ATTENTION AWAY FROM WHAT YOU ARE DOING. You are using hot oil that can flame up at a moments notice. If a fire does occur, DO NOT attempt to put out with water, it will cause an explosion. The best thing to do is turn off the heat and cover the pot or skillet with a damp towel or metal lid/tray. If you feel the need to move the pot into the sink, make sure nothing in it has water sitting inside. Because if water hits hot oil, you will burn yourself as I did thanks to stupid dishes in the sink having water in them.

* In case of a burn, immediantly submerge the injured area in room temp. water for at least five minutes. Do not use cold water or ice right away because it can send the person into shock. Ice may be used later to reduce swelling. If you are unsure about your burn, go to a hospital right away.

*Also, these french fries were not very flavorful, therefore I say:
FRENCH FRY FAIL