Home Fries

In case my son wants to have home made fries.

2-1/3 pounds russet potatoes
1/3 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Kosher salt and pepper
Pinch cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1-1/2 yellow onions
3 tablespoons minced fresh chives

1. Peel your potatoes and dice into 3/4″ pieces, and cut your 2 tablespoons of butter into 8 equal-sized pieces.
2. Set an oven rack to the lowest position, and place a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet on the bottom rack. Pre-heat the oven and baking sheet to 500-degrees.
3. Set a dutch oven over a high burner and boil 8 cups of water. Add diced potatoes and 1/3 teaspoon baking soda. Return water to a boil and cook for just 1 minute.
4. Drain potatoes in a colander and immediately return potatoes to the dry Dutch oven; reduce burner to low heat. Cook for 2 minutes until all moisture has dried from the surface of the potatoes, shake the pot occasionally to ensure complete drying. Remove Dutch oven from burner, and add the pieces of butter, 1 teaspoons salt, and pinch of cayenne.
5. Use a rubber spatula to mix for 30 seconds; the potatoes will become coated with a thick paste.
6. Drizzle foil-lines rimmed baking sheet with 1-1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil, then evenly spread potatoes onto baking sheet.
7. Bake at 500-degrees for 15 minutes. Meanwhile dice your onions into 1/2″ pieces and place in bowl. Add 3/4 tablespoon vegetable oil, and 1/3 teaspoon kosher salt. Toss to combine.
8. Remove potatoes from oven after 15 minutes, then use a thin metal spatula to scrape and turn potatoes.
9. Clear a 8″x5″ area in center of the baking sheet in which you should place your onion mixture. Bake for another 15 minutes at 500-degrees.
10. Using the metal spatula to scrape and turn potatoes again, but this time mixing the onions and potatoes together.
11. Bake for another 5 or 10 minutes until the potatoes become browned and the onions become soft and are beginning to brown.
12. Mix in minced chives and adjust with salt and pepper according to taste. Serve immediately.

Notes:

• Use russets for their earthly flavour, plus their high starch content helps create a substantial golden-brown crust.
• Adding potatoes to boiling (not cold) water cooks them more on the outside than on the inside - just the uneven effect we want.
• Baking soda accentuates the uneven cooking by quickly breaking down the exteriors, leaving the insides nearly raw. (When making potato salad though, adding vinegar to the cooking water creates an acidic environment that slows the breakdown of the pectin that holds potato cells together, resulting in a firm, intact texture.)
• Salt roughs up the drained potatoes, so their moisture evaporates more readily, leading to better crisping in the oven.
• Pretreated potatoes achieve a "fried" texture after oven roasting. This technique yields three times as many servings as frying in a skillet.