Ugly fries

No photo this time for this recipe for Rachael Ray's Texas chili cheese fries. They look absolutely nasty on the plate. Chili cheese fries are not a glamorous looking food. Even the photo on Ms. Ray's site looks like something the dog regurgitated. While I do believe you eat with your eyes first, there is always an exception to that rule. This is one of them.

I got hooked on A&W chili cheese fries back in college when I worked retail. I absolutely loved them even though they looked disgusting, the fries were soggy, the cheese was processed goo, the chili was sparse, etc. This version is everything the A&W version is not. The fries are oven baked so you can make them as crispy as you want. The cheese sauce is made from...REAL cheese. The mustard somehow makes the cheese in the sauce taste more cheese-y. (I don't know how that works, but I'm glad it does.) The chili sauce is uber meaty. I mean 2-2.5 lbs of ground beef???? That's more than I use when I make a pot of ordinary chili. Plus you cook it in beer. I don't even like drinking beer. It's nasty to me. Cooking with beer, on the other hand, always results in a tasty meal.

The Blockette only ever tolerates this meal, and will never ever eat it for leftovers. Which, let's face it, is tragic. Good thing I am such a loving mother who is willing to make the sacrifice and eat her portion.

Texas style chili cheese fries from Rachael Ray
4 very large Idaho potatoes, cut lengthwise into 6 wedges
2 Tgrill seasoning
2 T plus 1/4 c EVOO, plus additional, divided
2 to 2 1/2 pounds lean ground sirloin, turkey or chicken
1 large onion, chopped
3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
2 T chili powder
2 t ground cumin
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons tomato paste
Hot sauce, to taste
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 bottle beer
3 T butter
3 T flour
3 T yellow mustard
1 cup milk
1 cup chicken stock
1 1/2 to 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 450ºF. Place potatoes onto sheet. Sprinkle with grill seasoning and a good drizzle of EVOO. Toss to coat, then transfer to the oven and roast, until crispy golden brown, 40 min. Turn them once halfway through cooking time. While potatoes roasting, place large pot over med-high with 2 T EVOO. Add meat to pan. cook til brown, 6-7 min. Push meat to one side  and add onion, garlic, chili powder and cumin. Cook til veggies soften, 5-6 min. Season with salt and pepper. Add tomato paste  and cook 1 min, til smells sweet and caramelized slightly. Add hot sauce, Worcestershire and beer. Bring everything up to a bubble, then reduce heat and simmer chili til thickened, 10 min. While chili is simmering, place a med pot over med-high heat and melt butter. Sprinkle flour over melted butter and cook it for about a minute. Stir mustard into butter-flour mix, then whisk in milk and stock. Continue whisking sauce til thickened up, then remove pot from heat and stir in cheese til melted. Season cheese sauce with salt and freshly ground black pepper and reserve. To serve, divide the fries between four plates and top each one with some chili-cheese sauce.