French Fries

Do you love french fries, but worry about the fat they absorb during frying? These oven fries have less than half as much fat as homemade french-fried potatoes and about one-third as much fat as a serving of fast-food fries.Oven Fries4 small baking potatoes (about 1 pound total)1 tablespoon margarine, melted1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese1/2 teaspoon garlic salt1/4 teaspoon paprika1/8 teaspoon onion powder (optional)Non-stick spray coatingScrub potatoes thoroughly. Cut each potato lengthwise into eight slices.

Rye is the kind of bar every neighborhood wishes for — creative takes on classic drinks, friendly service, warm atmosphere and, as a bonus, talent in the kitchen. It might be a bar, first and foremost, but thanks to chef Benjamin Polson, Rye is also a surprisingly good restaurant. Owner Ryan Perlberg, whose family also owns the nearby upscale hot dog joint Stuggy's, didn't plan to open a restaurant, but he realized that when people go out for a drink, they also need to eat. Atmospherically, Rye feels like a bar, with friendly service and more cocktails than entrees.

OTHELLO, Wash. -- More than 30 years ago, the king of fast-food hamburgers and the patriarch of potatoes came together for a meeting that would change the American meal and create a new breed of corporate farmer.Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald's nationwide restaurant chain, and J. R. Simplot, the food processing and chemical magnate in Idaho, forged a deal to make perfect french-fried potatoes -- upright, bright, cheap and free of molds.They would look the same whether they were sold on the Jersey shore or in a drive-through in Idaho.

She's played in indie horror films, in plenty of tough girl roles, and with multiple theater groups, and she recently “signed a contract in blood” (her words!) with the Baltimore Rock Opera Society. Julia Pickens, 27, has been acting since she was 14 and earned her degree in theater at Towson University. Now, she's taking on the role of Mandi in the play “Asking Questions,” a Baltimore Playwrights Festival production at Fells Point Corner Theater, premiering Friday. Check out this local actress's tastes.

DEAR Dave:You'll never guess who I was thinking about today. Smart as you are, Dave, there's just no way you'd come up with this one.Charlie Spikes. Yes, that Charlie Spikes, Louisiana-born, journeyman outfielder -- mostly with the Indians -- in the '70s. Batted .246 lifetime and just fair with the glove. The best thing old Charlie had going for him in the bigs was his name.That name evokes the tragic story of the french fries jinx, right? Mid-summer 1975 (you were just 10 then, Dave) and Cleveland had come into that great ballpark, Memorial Stadium, at a time when our high-flying Birds were neck-and-neck with the Red Sox. Under new manager Frank Robinson, the Indians, then as now, were something less than a .500 ball club.

McDonald's Corp. has apologized for not being upfront about its use of beef extract in french fries sold in the United States, an ingredient the company calls "natural flavor" in its nutrition brochures. The apology comes after American Hindus and vegetarians sued the world's largest restaurant chain this month in Seattle, accusing the company of deliberately misleading its U.S. customers. The plaintiffs said they believed they were eating vegetarian fries because McDonald's has marketed its fries since 1990 as cooked in "100 percent vegetable oil."

These days, you might shun french fries for political reasons - remember freedom fries? But Jeanne M. Manson, for one, believes they're perfectly safe to eat. That might not be noteworthy except for this: A 2002 Swedish study found that frying or baking starchy carbohydrates such as potatoes at high temperatures produced acrylamide, a white, odorless chemical known to cause cancer and reproductive problems in laboratory rats fed high doses. Suddenly, people wondered: Are we talking killer carbs here?

CHICAGO -- As plump Polish sausages sizzle on the grill, the Dog Haus counterman dips a ladle into the fryer (whence cometh the French-fried potatoes) to get some hot fat to pour over the grilling tube steaks. The grease helps give them a blackened, crisp skin; it also gives them a look of glistening, luscious avoirdupois. Here are some of the heaviest, greasiest Polish sausages in a city where Polish sausages, along with their beefy brothers, hot dogs, are matters of serious culinary consideration.

WASHINGTON - Anyone trying to add more fruits and vegetables to their diet might have just gotten an unlikely assist from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Based on a little-noticed change to obscure federal rules, the USDA now defines frozen french fries as "fresh vegetables." As bizarre as it might sound, a federal judge in Texas last week endorsed the USDA's decision in a court case, saying the term "fresh vegetables" was ambiguous. The USDA quietly changed the regulations last year at the behest of the french fry industry, which has spent the past five decades pushing for a revision to the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act. The revision was made at a time when the reputation of french fries has been under siege.

Let me see if I understand. Medical researchers at Harvard University followed a couple of hundred thousand nurses for as long as 35 years and came to the remarkable conclusion that, though we all gain weight as we age, potatoes — french fries and potato chips, in particular — will cause us to gain more weight. And, in other ground-breaking news from the study, watching television also causes you to gain more weight. I am not sure where to go with this. Except to say that the real headline might be that desserts don't cause you to gain nearly as much weight as you think.

Well, where else would you celebrate National French Fries Day but on the Ocean City boardwalk, shoving down handfuls of Thrashers fries . (Don't forget the vinegar!) I guess you could go to Belgium, where the idea of cooking potatoes in oil is believed to have originated. But, really, who even knew there was such a day? And with recent studies that show French fried potatoes are certain to pack on the pounds - we didn't need a study to tell us that! - this seems a too-perfect opportunity to fry up some love for the much-maligned potato.

Let me see if I understand. Medical researchers at Harvard University followed a couple of hundred thousand nurses for as long as 35 years and came to the remarkable conclusion that, though we all gain weight as we age, potatoes — french fries and potato chips, in particular — will cause us to gain more weight. And, in other ground-breaking news from the study, watching television also causes you to gain more weight. I am not sure where to go with this. Except to say that the real headline might be that desserts don't cause you to gain nearly as much weight as you think.

A weekly round-up of juicy bits from food and dining blogs. Some of these I twittered as they appeared. You can follow my tweets on this page, in the box at the right. I posted a few of them on the new Baltimore Diner facebook page. 1.) The story about the Taiwanese blogger who was sued for her negative review was everywhere. Here's a good account in the Wall Street Journal. Yelpers debated it (Eater) 2.) Are fries to blame? Marion Nestle weighs in on the recent New England Journal of Medicine study that concluded that " specific dietary and lifestyle factors are independently associated with long-term weight gain.

Almost anyone engaged in the battle of the bulging midsection knows that French fries are not their friends. But the real shocker in the study of long-term weight gain that came out of Harvard this week was that eating too many spuds of any kind — even plain old baked potatoes — could make you heavier. Every additional serving of potatoes that people added to a regular diet each day was connected to an average weight gain of about a one pound over four years. That is not a ton of weight gain, but as the study published Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine points out, it adds up over time.

Senora McGuire says "We don't need anyone telling us what to eat" ( Readers Respond, June 7). I say Ms. McGuire must be walking around with her eyes shut. Two thirds of Americans are overweight, and half of those — more than one third of all Americans — are obese! And she thinks we don't need anyone telling us what to eat? Obviously, we do. She thinks "we are well educated on food. " Again I say, "Obviously not!" She says, "Is anyone really paying attention to what [First Lady Michelle Obama]

"Are you here to sell me something? Or do you wanna drink?" Thus did a dodgy looking 20-something greet us upon our entering Dick's Last Resort at the Inner Harbor's Power Plant complex. My first thought was: "Does this guy really think I look like a Bev Nap salesman?" 12:50 We stand momentarily stunned in Dick's lobby. It looks like a Gap t-shirt display, only more crass. That, by the way, is a compliment to both places. The rest of the joint looks like its interior decorator blew his entire $138 budget at a surf-shop fire sale.

Mention the Pomona Grange to those who never miss the Carroll County 4-H Fair, and they'll immediately think of french fries.Despite a dwindling membership and a public that has only a hazy idea of what the Grange is about, this fraternal agricultural club comes up strong every year as the exclusive french fry vendor for at least two popular events at the Carroll County Agricultural Center, including Sunday's tractor pull. The big one is the 4-H Fair."It's primarily a social organization," said Kenneth Schwarz, a member of the Berrett Grange in south Carroll.

OK, IF NOBODY else will do it, I'm going to patch up this spat between the United States and France. As you know, our two nations are not getting along, as evidenced by the recent high-level meeting in Paris, during which French President Jacques Chirac and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, in what aides described as "a frank exchange of views," bit each other. Yes, relations are at an all-time low. The French view us as a bunch of fat, simplistic, SUV- driving, gum-chewing, gun-shooting, mall-dwelling, John Wayne cowboys who put ketchup on everything we eat, including breath mints.

Within three months, Daniel Seddiqui's resume could boast an impressive list of experiences. He is on a mission to try a different job in each of the 50 states. He has spent a week as a marine biologist in Seattle and a week as a rodeo announcer in South Dakota. Since Monday, he has deep-fried frozen crab cakes and french fries as a cook at Phillips Seafood Express in the Inner Harbor. "I want to see what America has to offer in each of the states," said Seddiqui, 27. He's chronicling his exploits on a Web site, livingthemap.

Ever try a famous Primanti Brothers sandwich? You'll need a jackhammer to open your arteries. Two slices of Italian bread, grilled meat, cheese, tomatoes - OK, that doesn't sound bad. But get this: It also comes with coleslaw and french fries - inside the sandwich! All of it teetering 10 stories high on waxed paper. The fries poke out of the sandwich like wriggling centipede legs. The provolone congeals into La Brea Tar Pits consistency. This will shock you: It's a big favorite of drunks.