French Fries

Serves 4 4 russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed, left whole, and pricked with a fork 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 quarts peanut or corn oil 5 sprigs fresh thyme Salt, to taste 1. Set the oven at 400 degrees. Toss the potatoes with the olive oil. Spread them on a rimmed baking sheet and cover with foil.

THURSDAY Bon appetit If french fries are your idea of French cooking, perhaps it's time for "A French Affair: Food and Conversation. " You'll learn how to cook French culinary classics and how to speak conversational French. 6-9 p.m. $50, $18 materials (Registration required). Boston Center for Adult Education, 122 Arlington St., Boston. 617-267-4430. www.bcae.org Something's brewing On Dec. 16, 1773, about seven dozen men chucked about 10,000 pounds of tea into Boston Harbor.

Excerpts from the Innovation Economy blog. Producing a crispy french fry without a deep fryer is one of the Holy Grails of food science. This month, a Cambridge research company, DuraFizz, invited me to taste their latest project, fresh from the oven. I met with founder David Soane, formerly a tenured chemical engineering professor at the University of California, Berkeley; Dan Jacques, a former Ocean Spray executive; and Lauren Fortin, a University of Massachusetts-trained food scientist.

The deal: Join both local and international up-and-coming producers tomorrow night at Brighton Music Hall in preparation for this year's Together festival of electronic music. "This event is supposed to gear people up for the weeklong festival in April," said David Day, creative director of Together Boston. "The goal here is to show how art, music, and technology are connected and form a community," he said, "and the warm-up party is to share some of our excitement for the April event.

The deal: Join both local and international up-and-coming producers tomorrow night at Brighton Music Hall in preparation for this year's Together festival of electronic music. "This event is supposed to gear people up for the weeklong festival in April," said David Day, creative director of Together Boston. "The goal here is to show how art, music, and technology are connected and form a community," he said, "and the warm-up party is to share some of our excitement for the April event.

MADISON, Wis. -- Edwin Traisman, a food scientist who created the process for freezing McDonald's french fries and helped develop Cheez Whiz, died Tuesday at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics. He was 91. Mr. Traisman had suffered a heart attack, said his granddaughter Jenna Greene, of Chevy Chase, Md. Born in Chicago on Nov. 25, 1915, to Latvian immigrants, Mr. Traisman was the only one of six siblings to graduate from high school. He earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Illinois in 1937.

The walls of the Wonder Cafe, a minuscule storefront in Watertown Square, practically glow in a vivid and cheery orange. Proprietor Sue Chen picked it herself, says her daughter Elizabeth Eng. “It’s her favorite color,’’ Eng explains — and that’s the same principle that governs the Cantonese and Mandarin specialties that the family dishes out, all with a truly wonderful freshness and quality that’s attracted a loyal fan...

HYATTSVILLE, Md. - Michelle Obama said yesterday that a pledge by the Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants and its sister chains to serve healthier meals is a breakthrough moment for the industry. Darden Restaurants Inc., of Orlando, is pledging to cut calories and sodium in its meals by 20 percent over a decade. Among changes for children, a fruit or vegetable side and low-fat milk will become standard with children's meals unless a substitution is requested. And no more french fries for the little ones unless an adult asks.

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. -- The early reviews are mostly positive at the Universal Studios theme park in Hollywood where the menu changed on Christmas Eve to cut unhealthy trans fats from many junk food favorites. Twelve-year-old Jack Xu noticed something different about his french fry. "It tastes drier and not too salty," he said, then added: "I still like it. " The self-described junk food addict, an exchange student from Beijing who's visited the park before, was on a field trip this week and enjoying a basket of chicken tenders and fries.

THE MUMMY RETURNS (Starz on Demand) Brendan Fraser and company, back in a megabudget replay of the earlier film, taking on that wacky Imhotep - not to mention WWF star Dwayne “The Rock’’ Johnson, making his movie debut as another bad guy, a Scorpion King who already has been lined up for a sequel to this sequel. More sand, more scorpions, more gold, more troops, more everything except originality and imagination; the film is overwhelmed by its special effects.

Mavi Bistro 203 Central St., Hudson, N.H. 603-594-9955 www.mavibistro.com Hours: Lunch, Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; dinner, Tuesday-Thursday, 5-10 p.m., Friday-Saturday, 5-10:30 p.m.; brunch, Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Major charge cards Not handicapped accessible We may not be an authority on Mediterranean food, but we know what we like and Mavi Bistro is a Turkish delight. The menu, which combines Turkish and Mediterranean cuisine with a bit of a French accent, provides descriptions of the dishes in English and Turkish.

HYATTSVILLE, Md. - Michelle Obama said yesterday that a pledge by the Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants and its sister chains to serve healthier meals is a breakthrough moment for the industry. Darden Restaurants Inc., of Orlando, is pledging to cut calories and sodium in its meals by 20 percent over a decade. Among changes for children, a fruit or vegetable side and low-fat milk will become standard with children's meals unless a substitution is requested. And no more french fries for the little ones unless an adult asks.

I hope I don't sound slightly disrespectful, but I think maybe our beloved Mayor Thomas Menino has completely lost his mind. To give him the benefit of the doubt, maybe it's just a midlife crisis, politically speaking. How else to interpret his move to dedicate half the parking spaces in the Back Bay to mopeds and motorcycles? What else to think after he's launched this massive bike share program on our famously fragile streets? Yesterday I was driving past City Hall and saw some oversized power outlets at a curb on Cambridge Street.

Excerpts from the Innovation Economy blog. Producing a crispy french fry without a deep fryer is one of the Holy Grails of food science. This month, a Cambridge research company, DuraFizz, invited me to taste their latest project, fresh from the oven. I met with founder David Soane, formerly a tenured chemical engineering professor at the University of California, Berkeley; Dan Jacques, a former Ocean Spray executive; and Lauren Fortin, a University of Massachusetts-trained food scientist.

SUGAR BAKING CO. & RESTAURANT 4174 Washington St., Roslindale, 617-327-4174, www.sugarbakingcompany.com. All major credit cards. Wheelchair accessible. Prices Breakfast and brunch $5-$14; lunch $5-$11; dinner entrees $7-$12. Hours Mon-Sat 7 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5-9 p.m.; Sun 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Liquor None. May we suggest Stuffed French toast, a breakfast sandwich to remember, surf & turf sliders, lemon ricotta pancakes, grits, almond macaroons, fudge caramel brownies.

OLD ORCHARD BEACH, Maine — A Canadian flag flies beside an American one outside the beachfront Friendship Oceanfront Suites motel, beckoning tourists from north of the border. Inside the rooms, the motel’s rules are spelled out in English and French, the predominant language of Quebec. With Memorial Day weekend marking the unofficial start to the summer tourism season, businesses had high hopes that the strong Canadian dollar will bring lots of Canadian travelers to northern New England.

TRENTON, N.J. -- Ordering french fries or hot wings at a McDonald's or a KFC in the United States is more likely to result in a supersized helping of artery- clogging trans-fatty acids than at their restaurants in some other countries, according to a study published today in The New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers said the differences had to do with the type of frying oil used, and the main culprit appeared to be partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. At a McDonald's in New York, a large meal of fries and chicken nuggets was found to contain 10.2 grams of trans-fatty...

Makes 1 quart This recipe, from his mother, Tina, is a favorite of Pino Maffeo's. 3 Chinese eggplants 1/4 cup kosher salt, or to taste 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 2 cups olive oil 1 Thai red chili, thinly sliced lengthwise 1 clove garlic, thinly...

The walls of the Wonder Cafe, a minuscule storefront in Watertown Square, practically glow in a vivid and cheery orange. Proprietor Sue Chen picked it herself, says her daughter Elizabeth Eng. “It’s her favorite color,’’ Eng explains — and that’s the same principle that governs the Cantonese and Mandarin specialties that the family dishes out, all with a truly wonderful freshness and quality that’s attracted a loyal fan...

NEW HAMPSHIRE 1. Which of the following is not a flavor served at Hayward’s Ice Cream Stand in Nashua? a. Polar Cave b. White Mountain Chip c. Appalachian Trail d. Mount Washington Walnut 2. What is the name of the little red horse outside Polly’s Pancake Parlor in Sugar Hill? a. Trot Trot b. Buckwheat c. Little Polly d. Sweet Maple Sue 3. Manchester’s landmark 24-hour Red Arrow Diner opened in what year? a. 1936 b. 1922 c. 1947 d. 1951 4. Seafood lovers flock to which seacoast town for...