[1] Homemade potato chips with blue cheese sauce (photos #1 and #2 © Idaho Potato).

[2] Idaho russet potatoes.

[3] Gorgonzola, one of the world’s favorite blue cheeses (photo © Murray’s Cheese).

[4] Top the blue cheese sauce with crumbled bacon (photo © Edwards Virginia Smokehouse).

[5] The final garnish: fresh parsley (photo © Iva Villi | Free Images).

We love homemade potato chips.

We only make them for special occasions, because they’re so irresistible that we have no restraint.

For Father’s Day, we’re going fancy, with a sauce of blue cheese and bacon. You can pour the sauce over the chips, like nachos, or serve it on the side.

You may wish to make a double batch! If there are any leftovers, simply store plain potato chips in an airtight container.

The recipe was created by Chef Julie Reid, Former Vice President of Culinary Development for Ruby Tuesday’s in Maryville, Tennessee; and provided to us by Idaho Potato, a repository of great potato recipes.
 
 
RECIPE: HOMEMADE POTATO CHIPS WITH BLUE CHEESE DIP & BACON

We used a mandoline to slice the potatoes. Instead of buying crumbled blue cheese, we crumbled our own from good-quality gorgonzola.

Ingredients For 4 Appetizer Servings

 
For The Blue Cheese Sauce

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the potato chips: Soak the potato slices in ice water for 30 minutes. Drain well and pat dry with paper towels.

2. HEAT the oil to 350°F in a deep fryer. Fry the potatoe slices until golden brown and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain the potato chips on paper towels; lightly sprinkle with sea salt.

3. COOL to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Once completely cooled, the chips may be stored, airtight, at room temperature for up to 2 days. But they will be best served immediately.

4a. MAKE the blue cheese sauce. Combine the oil, flour, salt and pepper in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is blonde in color, 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk, stirring well to prevent lumps. Stir constantly until the mixture comes to boil, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.

4b. In a small bowl, use fork to mash the blue cheese crumbles into a paste. Whisk it into the sauce, stirring to combine. Reserve, covering to keep warm. (Or, the sauce may be made up to 2 days in advance in the fridge. Reheat over low heat, stirring, before serving. Do not microwave.)

5. TO PLATE: Mound 1-1/2 ounces potato chips on individual plates. Ladle 2 ounces of warm blue cheese sauce over the chips. Top with 1 tablespoon each of Gorgonzola and bacon. Place on the bottom shelf of a melter or broiler to soften the cheese crumbles until they begin to bubble, being careful not to burn the chips.

6. REMOVE from broiler, top with with 1/4 teaspoon parsley and Serve immediately. You can also make a single large portions as a shareable appetizer or party snack.

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*White pepper is called for so that white sauces don’t have black pepper specks. We don’t use enough white pepper to justify having it (before it dries out), so we just use black pepper. We have no problem with the specks.