When we were in Cabo last winter everybody rhapsodized about the freshly fried tortilla chips. They were at almost every meal, accompanied by salsa and guacamole, still warm from the fryer. Or so we thought. Of course when you're in the business you notice things, you can't help yourself. And one afternoon I watched as the cooks behind the line opened bag after bag of tortila chips, poured them into hotel pans and parked them under the heat lamps to warm up. It was enlightening to say the least.
The chips on the left have been toasted in a toaster oven while those on the right are straight from the bag.
Once home I tried the technique using our toaster oven and baked tortilla chips. People gushed. They were blown away that I fried my own tortilla chips and somehow managed to avoid making the entire house smell of oil. That is one of the biggest benefits of this technique, the taste of freshly fried chips without the lingering scent of oil. Since tortilla chips were so good it only made sense to try it with potato chips. We used Kettle chips with sea salt. They were fantastic. You have to let them cool a bit to maximize crispiness. But frankly you could serve them with a variety of dips before dinner and no one would complain because they are that good. Try it and you'll never serve them straight from the bag again.
