MarcaRelli 2024
I have fond childhood memories of the Jersey shore. Wildwood, New Jersey was where we’d go. My dad has an old Army buddy who lives there. His name is Lou. They served in the Korean War together and like so many young men who endured a war time experience they remained bonded like brothers forever.
Wildwood was a great seaside destination back in the day. It had an enormous boardwalk with just about every ride, game and attraction you could think of. The sun. The air. The water. And all those positive ions churned up by ocean waves pounding down onto the silicone turf. It always made me feel happy. It also always made me feel hungry.
My go-to snack at the beach was french fries. At the Jersey shore they came in checkered cardboard baskets with a little wooden pitchfork. Now when my kids were young they and their friends used to like to dip their french fries into vanilla milkshakes. It always made me a little queasy and it just plain looked wrong. Sorry, but the right thing to do with french fries is Ketchup. I’m quite certain that french fries were invented because of Ketchup. And can we please all agree that it is Ketch-Up and not Kat-Sup. Katsup sounds like something you should not eat.
While the Povertystew cookbook was designed to be budget friendly with a hint of nostalgia there are some things, very few, but some for which there is no substitute – and one of them is Ketchup. Now I can tolerate store brand Mayo when Hellmans is too pricey but for Ketchup it has to be Heinz. There is no viable substitute. I suppose there must be somewhat of a loyal following of Hunts brand ketchup but I don’t understand it. Perhaps it is like laundry detergent or dish soap. You buy the brand your mother used.
Need This
– French Fries (Krinkle cut are the best but any variety will do)
– Heinz Ketchup
Do This
There are a couple ways to go here…
You can drizzle ketchup over your whole stack of fries. I’ve seen people do this. Or you can do what I do and squeeze a blob of ketchup on the corner of the plate and dip those fries in one at a time. This second method ensures ketchup with every bite. Okay, I know, that is double-dipping but hey it’s your own plate … fuhgetaboutit.