Homemade Potato Chips with Herbes de Provence

A couple of weeks ago I was greeted by one of my coworkers who rushed into the office and had a bag of herbes de provence in her hands. With excitement, she said “I know you love to cook, and I just got back from Paris, and thought you would enjoy this!”. My only words, of which I had the same excitement, were thank you! I feel blessed at times when those around me know and realize that I love my past time of cooking, and I truly do get excited when folks like the ones at work, or those who I have yet to meet, send me seasonings, or other great products to use in my recipes.

If you do not know what herbes de provence are, it is basically a blend of herbs which typically include things like thyme, basil, marjoram, and fennel, among other things. Basically it is a mixture of great spices that really do amazing things for stews, chicken, or heck, what I did, potato chips

When I go grocery shopping, which is every other day, I spend a handful of time in the chip aisle. I am never interested in the standard chips like Doritos, Fritos, or Cheetos, but I spend a lot of time looking at the flavor combination from Kettle, and the like. Chips like Spicy Thai, New York Cheddar, and simple things like Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper really catch my attention. With that said, I am not a big fan of spending a lot of money on a bag of chips either, hence why I make my own. If you have never made your own chips, now is the time. You will be amazed at the flavor combination that you can come up with, and realize how simple and quick they are to make, and you know, a heck of a lot cheaper to boot.

Lets get started.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 3 Russet Potatoes, cleaned, skin on, cut into 1/4 inch thick
• Large Bowl of cold water
• 1 1/2 tbsp Herbs de Provence
• 1 tsp salt
• Cooking Spray

Begin by heating your oven to 400 degrees. While the oven preheats, heat a small skillet and add the oil and garlic. Cook on medium to low heat for about 5 minutes, trying to get as much of the garlic into the oil. Remove the garlic, and reserve the oil, removing from the heat.

Make sure you thinly slice your potatoes. This is great practice with your knife skills. Once all of your potatoes are sliced, add them to the cold water, making sure they are all submerged. Let them sit in the water for about 20 minutes. Drain, and place them on a large towel, making sure you pat them dry.

Add the potatoes to a large bowl, adding in the oil, salt, and herbes de provence. Toss the potatoes making sure you evenly coat them with the seasonings.

Spray a large sheet tray with cooking oil. Add the sliced potatoes to the sheet making sure not to overlap or crowd. Place in the preheated oven and cook until a nice golden brown, being careful not to overcook them as they will get bitter. These take about 20-26 minutes in the oven.

Quickly remove, adding them to another bowl and toss with a pinch of salt. Serve warm or place them in a brown paper bag for later use.

When I placed these on the table, the kids took a glance at them, as did my wife. As soon as they ate one, it was as though we had the best bag of chips poured out onto a plate. Simple things make people happy, people like me who received a simple bag of seasoning. Enjoy.