I Sample New Lay's Roasted Garlic + Sea Salt, Potato Chip Recipe Round Up

**** I received sample bags from @FritoLay through the +Klout program. In exchange I was asked to provide my honest opinion on my various social media outlets.  All photos contained blow are copyright Momma Told Me Blog 2013.

Momma Told Me: You can't have just one.


The older I get, the more sophisticated my palette becomes; or, at least that's what I prefer to think. However, some constants remain in the form of an immense love of sweet and salty, soft and crunchy- contrast of flavor and texture has always been, and I suppose will always be, my favorite culinary experience. While Pop was lounging on the couch popping kernels of popcorn, or Lay's wavy chips into his mouth I was craving something to offset the crisp of these snacks. Before long I would only enjoy my potato chips wedged between a peanut butter sandwich, on a hamburger, or with a hearty dip of sour cream and onion (Ranch being a close runner up). It mattered not how much flavor potato chip brands packed between those ridges and waves, I craved a texture contrast that chips alone could not satisfy.

Jay, however, craves the crunch. He loves the loud snap of a chip crumbling between each bite, and the salty baked flavor of a good all American chip. While I'm dipping and dunking he's clearing out the bag a handful at a time. So, when Klout informed me my social media status had qualified me for a new 'Perk' from Lay's, I was certain our favorite brand had cooked up something especially delicious. You may recall my feature on the brand's Do Us A Flavor specialties, including my thoughts on the controversial Chicken and Waffles Chips. While many of you seemed revolted and equally intrigued, I proceeded to devise some inspired baking and food recipes- more on that in a bit. However, I first did some research on chip history, in particular some of the more bold flavors that have graced our favorite brands throughout the years. As it turns out, Lay's Do Us A Flavor regional contest yielded many interesting results, including Grilled Cheese and Ketchup Sandwich and Maple Moose (Canada). But those aren't to be outdone by British favorites, Sunday Best Roast Chicken, Roast Ox, and Prawn Cocktail.

To get back to our feature, Lay's sent on over a trio of their popular (re-designed) Wavy chips in Original, Ranch, and new Roasted Garlic and Sea Salt. Apparently the term 'roasted' makes even potato chips artisan these days.... Already familiar with the first two I immediately pried open the Garlic and Sea Salt with a pleasing 'pop' as the trapped nitrogen escaped the bag. A mouth watering smell of subtle sea salt and slow roasted garlic wafted up, the beautifully large (and whole) Wavy chips dusted in a visible seasoning. I forgot how much I disliked crunchy treats by themselves and popped a chip in my mouth, ignoring the loud crunch and savoring the rich flavor. Surprisingly these were not overly salted; they didn't make me crave a sip of water. Instead, I popped yet another chip in my mouth, letting out an audible 'Mmmmm!' these were even more addictive and delicious than my favorite KC Masterpiece chips, and the wide wavy ridges were perfect for dipping (though entirely unnecessary).

Jay, my father, and I finished off the bag in an afternoon, and I have since been scouring local shelves for the new flavor to make an appearance. I can't wait to get my paws on another Roasted Garlic and Sea Salt bag to create a new twisted recipe- Speaking of my potato chip recipes; which some called slightly deranged, it turns out I am not the only crunch loving girl who likes to spice up recipes with a kick of crunch and salt. Complex Magazine actually contacted me about a Top 10 Potato Chip Recipe roundup they are running in their print issue next month. Not only is our Potato Chip Brownie recipe live in the Top 25 Potato chip Recipe roundup online (and coming in at 5th!), but there are 24 other amazingly delectable chip recipes for you to discover there. Head on over, and be sure to show our recipe some love with a click through or comment!

Until next time, keep it sweet and salty my readers!

What Daughter Says: Why stop at one chip when you can create a whole new favorite treat. Try cooking with potato chips today!

Bacon Chipotle Deviled Eggs Recipe: Potato Chip Cooking 4/5

Momma Told Me: The stinkier, the yummier.

I was not a very adventurous eater, as a child. Up until about 13 my father had to frequently bargain TV time and desserts just to coax spoonfuls of vegetables and unwanted protein (pretty much anything that wasn't chicken). And, while my Pop had his own diet peculiarities (he, to this day, refuses to eat any form of pasta, and substitutes it for rice no matter the dish), Momma would try anything without having to be asked. There was the time our family went to the Filipino neighbor's family banquet and sampled baby quail and quail eggs, or the time our Chinese neighbors brought over the delicacy of 'Shark Fin Soup' (which it turns out is like sipping toothbrush bristles), or the countless afternoons Momma would dine on Liverwurst, pate, and bagels. Yes, there was no lack of bold International cuisine in my household, but I remained staunchly closed off to new culinary experiences.

Nothing tried my resolve quite like family gatherings. There were always a few great Aunts who'd make the classic family meal staples. You know, the foods everyone recognizes, but few actually look forward to. There were the marshmallow topped sweet potatoes during the holidays (which inevitably ended up still in the pan with all the mallows scraped off), the green bean casserole, Grandma's special recipe fruit cake (now with 50% more grapefruit!), and my personal nemesis Deviled Eggs. Don't get me wrong, I loved eggs; scrambled. But hard boiled eggs, well, I didn't even care to paint them at Easter, let alone consume them. There was the sulfur smell they released when being made, or even if left in the fridge uncovered too long; and the slippery texture of the outer egg white 'shell.' It was certainly not for me. That is, until the foodie me, as an adult, was asked to make them for a relative on a special request.

The first time I made deviled eggs I was quite intimidated. Just the process of hard boiling and peeling eggs, alone, can be frustrating for a Type A person like me. I must've went through 2 dozen my first attempt, simply trying to get them cooked perfectly, then trying to peel them picture worthy. Let me tell you, home chefs, there will be whites peels and cracked halves; it happens. Food should always be about taste, firstmost- don't get hung up on presentation. Of course, I have learned a few helpful tips over the years. When picking your eggs to hard boil, use ones that are at least 4-5 days old (from the grocery store). for farm fresh, or personal laid eggs, allow one week prior to hard boiling. This will make peeling considerably easier. Add a pinch of vinegar to cold water (never place eggs in warm or boiling water to begin cooking, always start from cold), and be sure to rapid chill the eggs upon removal from the water. There are many hard-boiling techniques out there, but I usually use one that involves bringing the water to a boil, then turning the heat down to low and allowing the eggs to sit for 15 minutes, submerged.

Peeling hard boiled eggs can be a nightmare. Hopefully, you've avoided cracks by using the cold to hot method, and rapid cooling has ensured an even set within the shell. Trying to peel eggs that are still warm, even if only in the center, can lead to disaster. If using an ice bath to chill your eggs, remove them from the water and allow them to sit at room temperature 3-4 minutes prior to peeling. Next, begin by gently tapping the shell on a hard surface to create a few simple cracks on the surface. Then, gently roll the egg on a hard counter or surface until you feel the shell begin to peel from the egg's surface. Begin peeling, and voila! I, personally, like to cut my eggs width wise, rather than traditional lengthwise. By doing this I can shave a little off either end, and create a flat surface to stand the eggs without a special tray or platter; but to each their own.

You may recall I've been working through an original Potato Chip Recipe Series; and today's Deviled Eggs just so happen to be made with some ground potato chips. I suggest using sour cream and chive chips, processed to a find crispy powder, but traditional style Lay's will work just as well. They add a great flavor that really goes well with the richness of the bacon. If you're especially bold, you can even introduce some finely shredded cheddar cheese int the filling. And if you still find the concept of cooking with potato chips odd, my grandfather puts walnuts in his deviled eggs- anything goes!

What Daughter Says: You'll never see me scarf down Momma's Liverwurst, but I'm glad I've expanded my culinary palette.

Bacon Chipotle Deviled Eggs

***click here for printable deviled eggs recipe

Ingredients:

*14 Hard Boiled Eggs

*1/2 C Light Mayo

*1/2 C Light Sour Cream

*1.5 TSP Dijon Mustard

*1TSP Fresh Lemon Juice

*1/4 TSP Pepper

*1/3 C Crumbled, Cooked, Bacon

*1/3 C Finely Processed Potato Chips

*1/2 TSP Chipotle Powder

Directions:

1.) Take an even 1/4" off each end of the hard-boiled egg. Cut each egg, width wise in half and carefully spoon out the yolk into a medium bowl. Save 24 white halves (the extra eggs are to account for mistakes and bad eggs)

2.) Mash yolks with fork and place in food processor with mayonnaise, sour cream, mustard, lemon juice, pepper, chipotle, bacon, and potato chips. Blend until smooth. (Add finely shredded cheddar cheese if desired.)

3.) Spoon or pipe 1 mounding TBS of yolk mixture into each egg white. Garnish wish excess Chipotle powder/bacon crumbles. Keep refrigerated up to 5 days, covered.

Oven-Fried Potato Chip Onion Rings Recipe (#3/5 in Potato Chip Series)

Momma Told Me: Let's get crunchy.

Growing up there was one thing I especially enjoyed about eating out; okay there may have been two. No, it wasn't the endless barrage of kid's meals with chintzy coloring pages. Besides, those 'activity placemats' usually came with just 2 crayons, and it was a minor miracle if they were two different colors, let alone anything that would work into the coloring design. But I digress. Aesthetic place mat issues aside, my family would often visit Chili's, back when the Awesome Blossom was, well, awesomely on the menu, and we didn't have to trek to the Outback for our fix of Whole Fried Onion and 'Bloomin' sauce. I've seen these onions go home before, half slumped over, and sad, in a Styrofoam container, likely never to be eaten again (because we all know fried food doesn't reheat quite the same). This never occurred in our small 3 person family, where my father and I would go head-to-eat, strand-for-strand in a fried onion eating contests of sorts. Yes, I despise onions in all other forms, but give me a properly fried piece of onion, slathered in creamy 'special sauce,' and I'm there like an ant at a picnic.

You may recall that we are on Post #3, of our 5 part series featuring potato chips in cooking and baking. The first two recipes were a tad bit shocking for some, who I hope have now reconsidered the salty/sweet combo as a reasonable stretch. The simple fact is that both the PB+J Thumbprint Cookies, and Potato Chip Brownie recipe can in fact be made without the potato chips if desired (I designed them that way for those still being awoken to the fried potato possibilities). Today, there is no substitution on the chips, they are the proverbial, okay, actual, breading that holds this recipe together. However, a friend of mine pointed out on Facebook that some people have onion allergies, or a simple distaste for onions, and I humbly suggest you try this recipe with Zucchini slices, and perhaps a sprinkle of shaved Parmesan!

That's right, today we are featuring Onion Rings made with a generous crumbled chip 'batter.' But these aren't just any onion rings. I recall the first time I attempted to make onion rings at home- it was a rousing un-sucess. 20 seconds after hitting the rolling oil all of the batter was floating North, with sad browned onions sinking to the bottom. It was an anti-climatic affair; but I picked up my knife and oil, and hit the books again. That's how I learned you can actually Oven-Fry your onion rings (and I suspect many other things). Of course, like anything else dealing with hot oil, it is important to be extremely careful when handling your baking pan, and to always use a utensil when turning frying food. And, naturally, this will present some of the usual issues 'frying' things do; such as the light smoke scent as the oil reaches temperature, and the cleanup of said oil. But, in all, this recipe uses considerably much less oil, and I reckon is far healthier than traditional frying.

So I have you intrigued? I'll admit, my mind was blown at first, and I was indeed skeptical of a process that sounded like it might be best off left on Pinterest than in my oven. However, this simple recipe yields the most amazingly crispy, wonderfully flavorful, perfectly cooked slices of fried onion I've ever had. Not to mention, they look awfully gourmet, which is sure to garner plenty of compliments at your next cook out or game day celebration. This recipe also uses Low-Fat Plain yogurt, which drops the calorie count once again, over traditional cream based batters. Lastly, this recipe is perfect for even novice home chefs, and is virtually fool-proof, so long as you get your oil hot enough, in the oven, and turn once halfway through cooking (over-handling before the batter has set might result in sticking of flaking).

Oven Fried Potato Chip Onion Rings might sound odd at first, but it's no further a leap than potato chip (or corn flake) battered chicken. Cooking with potato chips, especially in recipes such as this, help find creative uses for those leftover crumbs from your Fourth of July gathering, and offer a great chance to get out some aggression pounding stray chips into crumbs (or you can do it the dull way and use a food processor). The recipe calls for some spices, such as Cayenne and Pepper, but I prefer to substitute Chipotle Powder, as I'm lucky enough to have a bottle of it on hand, which brings more flavor and less heat to the recipe. Make it however you like, just prepare for the compliments! If you're looking for an Awesome Blossom like experience, there are several recipes online to modify Ranch dressing. See our Double Chocolate Potato Chip Brownie recipe in our first series post.

What Daughter Says: Put a twist on this fried appetizer classic with the addition of potato chips and an oven!

Oven-Fried Potato Chip Onion Rings

****click here for printable Potato Chip Onion Rings recipe

Ingredients:

* 3/4 C, plus 2 TBS All Purpose Flour

* 1 C Plain Yogurt (Low Fat Okay)

* 2 Eggs

* 2 Large Onions

* 4 C Fresh Finely Crushed Potato Chips (Thicker, like Ruffles, work best)

* 3 TBSP Vegetable Oil

* 1/2 TSP Salt

* 1/4 TSP Black Pepper

* 1/4 TSP Cayenne

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 390F

1.)  In a large mixing bowl combine 1/4 C Flour, 1/2 TSP Salt, and 1/4 C Cayenne (or seasoning substitute, such as Chipotle Powder).

2.) In a medium mixing bowl, combine the yogurt, eggs, and 1/2 C plus 2 TBSP Flour. Whisk until batter is smooth.

3.) Peel the onions and slice them into 1/2" thick rings.

4.) Cover a baking sheet with parchment or foil and drizzle with the vegetable oil, then pre-heat it in the hot oven for 8MINS, or until oil begins to smoke.

5.) Toss the onion slices in the flour mixture. Dip each ring into the batter, and allow the batter to dribble the excess off. Next, dip the rings in the crumbled potato chips (the finer the better).

6.) Place the rings on the baking sheet and bake for 8MINS, then flip each ring, once, and bake an additional 8MINS. You will likely have more rings than will fit on one sheet, and have to bake in batches. Sprinkle with salt, while they are still hot, to add additional flavor.

Grab Some Milk: Potato Chip PB+J Thumbprint Cookies Recipe

Momma Told Me: They go together like peanut butter and jelly!

When I was a child I was strictly a peanut butter girl. Momma would make me a PB+J Sammy (as they're affectionately known by those who haven't yet developed the linguistics skills to pronounce mufti-syllable words), and ship me off to kindergarten. Every lunch, which as I recall was really a semi-cricle of kids swapping food; I would gingerly scrape the purple jelly off the top half of my sandwich then smush it back together. I loved fruit, but I didn't feel it had any right to be on my peanut butter. Perhaps it was texture, perhaps it was simply that I knew peanut butter was far less nutritious to begin with (if only someone had told me preserves were loaded with sugar!) I simply never cared for this classic foodie combination until I was too old to enjoy Momma's love and lunches anymore.

So, I digress; peanut butter and jelly is a food profile that most associate with childhood, whether they loved the sandwiches or not. Personally, I still think a peanut butter banana sandwich (Elvis style) is tops- but that's for another recipe post. Today we are amidst Post #2 of  5 in our Potato Chip Cooking series, and this recipe is yet another sweet one. You may recall our Double Chocolate Potato Chip Brownies from last week; well, this recipe is a much more mellow; nostalgic one. After all, what else usually came in my elementary sack lunches, but a Ziploc baggies of Dad's leftover potato chip crumbs. Okay, they weren't literally his crumbs, but it did seem like I got the bottom of the bag, smashed chips more often than not. (Something I suspect I will be discussing with a counselor as I get on in age.) It's these greasy baggies of broken Lay's that inspired me to smash my last bag of Chicken and Waffles potato chips and integrate them into the following recipe for soft and chewy Peanut Butter + Jelly Thumbprint Cookies.

Sure, you can smash up potato chips and throw them into any old recipe; that process is precisely how some of the most popular flavor combinations have been created, pure luck. But I didn't set out on this potato chip coking mission with the intent to throw a bunch of bizarre (arguably wildly unhealthy) recipe ideas your way. I sat down and drafted 5 unique recipes that could stand alone without the chips, but are otherwise enhanced (in texture or taste) by the addition of them. Just keep in mind, I'm not endorsing cooking with chips day-to-day, merely presenting a creative solution for those 1/4 bags of 'crumbs' floating around the cupboard.  Just, please, if you're going to give chips to your daughter, don't use those- (Mom) I mean, spring for a fresh bag, they even make fun sized, just for kids.....that's all I'm saying....

So, I made this recipe for soft and chewy peanut butter thumbprint cookies, and enlisted the other half for assistance (dish washing). I heard several times, during the process how he 'didn't care for peanut butter cookies' and how the Chicken and Waffles chips seemed like an odd combination. Again, I differ you to my Chicken and Waffles potato chips review; the flavor is very subtle and one of a lingering syrup aromatic. If you could bottle the aroma just after pouring syrup on a fresh stack of waffles, that's the flavor you're gaining from the addition of these chips. Naturally, you can get the same texture effect by crushing regular potato chips, as well, but I especially like the extra note of maple here.

These cookies are great for beginning bakers, as they are no fuss, and do not brown quickly once fully cooked. You can give the oven a few extra minutes on either side and still find them delicious. If you wish to turn them into PB+J Thumbprint cookies simply re-indent your thumbprints upon remove from the oven and drop a dollop of your favorite preserves in the little nook atop. As a side note, we did learn the difference between jelly (made from fruit juice), jam (made from fruit pulp), and preserves (less processed fruit chunks), during this little project. It's my home chef opinion one should avoid jelly, especially if not being consumed immediately, as it will have a higher liquid content and tend to soften the cookie over time. Additionally, when cooking with potato chips, keep in mind the chips will go stale when exposed to the air; so store all recipes as air tight as possible and in the fridge when not being served.

So how did these curious cookies turn out? In all honesty, I think they are now one of my favorites! I could eat a bag of the cookies without the preserves, or a plate of them with. We used Oregon Strawberry Preserves, and it was just the right balance of tang and sweetness. The cookies almost melt in one's mouth, even now, days later. The peanut butter texture is a lot more mellow than a traditional, crumbly, cookie, and the chip flakes add a fun crunch to each bite. These Peanut Butter and Jelly Potato Chip Cookies go great with a glass of milk, and will have you ready to snuggle on the couch with a blankie and coloring book in no time!

What Daughter Says: With or without the chips, these cookies are sure to be a hit!

Continue reading for the full, printable, recipe.....