Throw Pillows and Magic Potato Pillows

We have a lovely family room in our home. The family room is used primarily by our three resident teenagers and their visiting friends.

This is a good system.

They have their television, music, Guitar Hero, video games, vast assortment of DVD's and a reasonable amount of privacy for entertaining themselves and their guests.

I rarely venture into this room as I have my own favorite places in the house, i.e. the kitchen where I too have my television, my work, my food, my stove and all my beloved kitchen gadgets.

We do all need our space now don't we.

However, it has recently come to my attention that some minor destruction has been going on in the family room. The destruction has taken the form of pillow ripping.

Hmm.. now I'm no genius when it comes to the construction of throw pillows but I am inclined to believe that they did not just self destruct or become suicidal pillows. That is not the brand I bought. Although I did commit the heinous crime of removing the DO NOT REMOVE THIS TAG tag I'm fairly certain that the brand name was not Self Destructing, Suicidal Pillows, Inc.

Let's take a closer look at the mayhem:

Even to my unpracticed eye, these do not look like self-inflicted wounds.

So, like any good mother, I rounded up the usual suspects for some intensive questioning:

Suspect #1:

Jake (19) - good natured college boy, prone to acts of kindness touched by a somewhat scatter brained personality. Lovable and non-violent.

Suspect #2:

Julia (17) - nice girl in the throws of severe monthly hormonal imbalances. Is prone to fits of teenage girl tantrums, random acts of brattiness but basically nonviolent.

Suspect #3:

Zach (15) - somewhat lovable young teen. Loves action video games where someone or something is blown up at least 1421 times within the first few moments of gameplay.

Hmm...

Let's move on:

Suspect #4:

Holly Bear (10 months) - strong silent type, loyal to a fault. Does not typically inhabit family room preferring to stay close to me but can be sneaky AND destructive as evidenced by collection of chewed up beanie babies and flip flops she keeps in crate.

Holly Bear (pictured above) not talking, giving me the "Who Me?" look of innocence.

Suspect #5:

Not Me - frequent visitor to our home. Doesn't stay long but seems to be one of the most unruly and uncooperative of the bunch. Prone to leaving wet towels on floor, dirty dishes in sink and empty milk cartons in fridge.

Suspect #6:

I Don't Know - The most mysterious of all the inhabitants of our home, I Don't Know is behind any number of household infractions. Leaves doors open and unlocked when coming and going (must have been born in a barn), spills things on the rugs, breaks cell phones, dishes, wine glasses, etc.. NEVER cleans up after mishaps - just slides off into the night.. like I said, mysterious.

After lengthy questioning of all the usual suspects it seems that Not Me and I Don't Know are to blame for the pillow massacre.

I spent a rainy afternoon repairing the damage and now all is well in the Family Room once again.

Spending all that time with the pillows reminded me of Magic Potato Pillows.

The way these potatoes puff when you cook them will remind you of Magic AND Throw Pillows, only tastier.

Magic Potato Pillows: (makes about 16 pillows - enough for 3-4 people)

4 large baking potatoes

oil for frying (I like peanut, but canola is fine too)

Salt for sprinkling

This is tricky.

Cut the potatoes (unpeeled) into rectangular blocks, by slicing off each side of the potato.

Then just trim off any remaining skin.

Then slice the potato about an 1/8 inch thick.

Soak these strips in ice water for 5 or 10 minutes.

While the potatoes are soaking, start heating up your oil. Pour about 2 inches into a pan, and heat to 285 degrees.

Pat your potato slices really, really dry on paper towels and add them to the hot oil. Cook them for about 3 minutes, until they are just soft but not browned. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels.

Crank the oil up to 350 degrees. Put the potatoes back into the oil and POOF! The potatoes will puff up like little throw pillows. Cook the potatoes until they are crisp and brown - this will only take a minute or so.

Drain on paper towels, salt while still a bit wet and enjoy! You only need 3 or 4 potato puffs per person.

A Cook's Notes: do not invite Not Me or I Don't Know over - besides being destructive, they are also gluttons and will eat the entire batch while your back is turned and before you can get a picture.