French Fry Diary 620: Wild Ophelia BBQ Potato Chips Chocolate Bar

This was one of the treats I was looking forward to in my Christmas present from friends Dom and Cindy this year. As you might recall, they gave me the gift of some very odd potato chips variations. One I was eager to try was this – Wild Ophelia All Natural Smokehouse BBQ Potato Chips Dark Chocolate Bar.

There are a few companies involved here in this unusual flavor combination – Wild Ophelia, Vosges, and The Billy Goat Chip Company. Supposedly it’s all about connecting American farmers with chocolate. To that end we have here 70% cacao dark chocolate and Russet Burbank Potatoes mixed up in this all natural, gluten free, with no preservatives, treat.

It came in a slim fancy hard paper sleeve and was sealed in foil inside. Once opened, there was an overwhelming but good dark chocolate aroma. It’s a rich dark chocolate, perhaps too rich, and like most potato chip candy bars, the chips are crushed up into tiny pieces and mixed into the chocolate.

Quite honestly the chip to chocolate ratio is quite low, but when you do bite a crunch you do get that spicy slow burn smokehouse barbecue flavor. That said, I wish there was more chip, and quite possibly a milk chocolate instead. I think this dark stuff might be too rich for my blood.

This was a nice treat, not as good as others of this type I’ve had, but pretty good. I’d have this again. Thank you, Dom and Cindy!

All That and a Bag of Chips

Dom and Cindy are dear friends and loyal readers of this blog. You might know them as they accompanied The Bride and me on one of our Disney trips and cruises, and are both regular contributors here as well. This Christmas they gave me a very thoughtful and French Fry Diary centric gift.

Last Christmas The Bride got me a bag of rare chips from Anchor Food Finds. Dom and Cindy kinda did the same thing, but they did it in their own, seeking out the rare chips themselves from all over their local Maryland area. Dom took great delight in finding some real oddities.

So over the next few weeks and months, I will be featuring reviews from this terrific gift package that included some odd and arcane potato chip flavors and styles, as well as some potato chip candy bars. Thank you for the generous and thoughtful gift, Dom and Cindy!

Potato Chip Peanut Fudge

My friend Marni hipped me to this recipe recently. It comes from the Candy section of About.com.

Potato Chip Peanut Fudge, recipe by Elizabeth LaBau.

Potato Chips are the not-so-secret ingredient in this sweet and salty fudge. Although the peanut butter is the flavor that really shines, the chips add a nice subtle saltiness and crunch that’s irreplaceable.

Ingredients: 3 cups granulated sugar, 1/2 cup (1 stick, or 4 oz) butter, 1.5 cups sweetened condensed milk, 1.5 cups chunky peanut butter, not natural-style, 1 cup chopped salted peanuts, 2 cups coarsely crushed potato chips, and 1 tsp vanilla extract. 

Preparation:

1. Prepare a 9×9 pan by lining it with aluminum foil and spraying the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Place the sugar, butter, and condensed milk in a medium-large saucepan over medium heat and stir until the butter and sugar melts.

3. Continue to stir occasionally as the mixture comes to a boil. Insert a candy thermometer, and cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees, or soft-ball stage. This will take about 8 minutes, if you are not using a candy thermometer.

4. Once the mixture reaches the proper temperature, remove it from the heat and quickly stir in the peanut butter, peanuts, potato chips, and vanilla. Stir until the fudge is well-mixed and all the ingredients are incorporated, but work quickly so that it does not begin to set.

5. Pour the fudge into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer. Allow the fudge to set until firm, about 2 hours at room temperature or 45 minutes in the refrigerator.

6. Once set, remove the fudge from the pan using the foil as handles, and cut into small one-inch pieces with a sharp knife. Serve Potato Chip Fudge at room temperature, and store remaining fudge in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.

Check out the full recipe here.

Sour Gummi Fries

These Sour Gummi Fries, from the Gummy Zone, might be something that ends up in your (or your kids’) Trick or Treat bags today and tonight for Halloween.

That kinda leaves me sour myself. If you’re going to give French fries out to the Treat-or-Treaters, give gift certificates to your favorite restaurant. Just a hunch, you probably won’t get your windows soaped that way.

French Fry Diary 215: Irish Potatoes

For St. Patrick’s Day this year I figured I would talk about Irish Potatoes as someone contacted me about a week ago asking if I was going to. I said sure, even though I had no idea what an Irish potato was. I was delighted to find out however.

I was surprised that this candy treat was actually a Philadelphia tradition for the holiday. Coconut cream covered in cinnamon, this treat is simplicity itself, and really doesn’t contain potato at all. Notably, it apparently isn’t Irish either, although some folks will tell you it commemorates the Irish Potato Famine and shows up in stores around March, just in time for St. Pattie’s Day.

While I have been told that Bayard’s Chocolates makes the best Irish Potatoes, I managed to track these down at Wegman’s. I only took a small bite as I have slight cinnamon allergy, but these are sweet and tasty, and I’m glad I know what these babies are now.

Flesh Fries

Just in time for Halloween, here come Flesh Fries!

The Oriental Trading Company describes the product thusly: Gummy Flesh Fries. This candy makes great “finger food!” Each spine-chilling box holds bloody tips for even more fleshy taste! Share these gummies with fellow ghouls and goblins! Perfect at your school’s Halloween carnival or in goody bags. Includes 5 watermelon-flavored candies in a cardboard container. Fat-free.

Ghoulishly fun!

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