One of my earliest food memories is of my grandfather's latkes, which we ate in his kitchen overlooking Miami Beach and what he called "the oyshun." I inherited my brown eyes and my love of latkes from him, and while I doubt any latkes will ever taste quite as good as his hot potato cakes cooled with sour cream and applesauce, I must admit that mine are pretty good, too. These days, when grilling is the preferred method of cooking and many of us fry only when we make latkes for Hanukkah, it's good to be reminded how to do it.

There are two kinds of frying. Pan-frying, which is the same as sauteing, is the technique of cooking food in a small amount of hot oil. Deep-fat frying is cooking by immersing the food completely in oil that's heated to a high temperature, around 365 degrees. Both result in an evenly browned exterior (as in potato chips) or a golden-brown, battered exterior (as in onion rings) and a tender, just-cooked-through interior. And although fried food is absolutely delicious--would anyone eat zucchini blossoms if they weren't deep-fried?--frying has, of course, been a technique non grata in recent years because it sends the caloric content of food into the fat stratosphere and because of the natural fear most of us feel when confronted with a cauldron of bubbling oil. It is, however, a useful technique that should be part of every cook's repertoire. Follow the rules, and you should be able to conquer your fear of frying.

For best results, use vegetable oils such as canola, safflower, corn, soy, or peanut oil. They're inexpensive, readily available, and can be heated to high temperatures without burning or smoking. The food should be uniform in size to ensure even, consistent cooking, and the pan should not be overcrowded. Fry in small batches, a few pieces at a time.

Food to be fried should be at room temperature and its surface made as dry as possible. That's why, after you grate or shred the potatoes for the latkes, you should put them between a double thickness of absorbent paper or a dish towel and press down, squeezing them gently to remove excess moisture. Make sure the pan, too, is bone-dry before you put the oil in. Water will make the hot fat splatter.

Keep the temperature of the oil consistent. It will drop when the food goes in so each time you take a batch out wait until the oil temperature rises before starting the next batch. The best way to check it is with a deep-fat frying thermometer. Don't think you can substitute a meat, candy, or body-temperature thermometer, as it could crack or melt in the hot oil. It you don't have a deep-fat frying thermometer, you can gauge the temperature of the oil by using this simple test, which I learned from THE JOY OF COOKING: Drop a one-inch cube of bread into the oil and count to 60 slowly. If the bread browns evenly in that minute, your oil temperature is around 365 degrees and is ready to use.

As for safety, the first rule is to select the right pot. I like to use a heavy, high-sided pan with a flat bottom that sits securely on the burner, to minimize the likelihood of the pan tipping and spilling hot oil. A Dutch oven works better than a skillet. Put the pan on a back burner to reduce the chance of someone brushing against the pot handle and knocking it over. If there is a handle, turn it away from the stove's edge.

Don't fill the pan more than half-full of oil. You want to be able to immerse the food without having it boil over. Use a slotted spoon or frying basket--never your fingers--both to take food out of the oil and to put it in. Keep a box of baking soda or a kitchen fire extinguisher near the stove. If the oil ignites, immediately smother the fire with a metal lid clamped over the pan or with lots of baking soda. Don't skimp. Never use water to quell a fat fire--it will only spread it. And, of course, never leave hot oil unattended. Children in the kitchen must be well-supervised at all times, but especially when you're deep-frying.

Here are two recipes for fried foods. The first is for my grandfather's memorable pan-fried latkes. The second is for deep-fried homemade potato chips, which are to packaged chips what homemade chocolate chip cookies are to the ones that come in a bag.

CLASSIC POTATO LATKES
1 pound Idaho potatoes, about 3 potatoes
2 eggs
2 tbsp. flour
1/4 cup grated onion
1 tbsp. milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil, for frying
Salt and pepper

1. Wash and peel the potatoes. Grate them. (I prefer an old-fashioned box grater, but if your food processor has a grating or shredding disk, you may use that as well. ) Wrap the grated potatoes in a clean dish towel and squeeze out the water. Put them in a bowl.

2. In a small bowl, beat the eggs to break up the yolks, then add them to the potatoes. Add the flour, onion, milk, salt and pepper to the potato-egg mixture.

3. Heat the oil in a large, heavy pan or skillet until a haze forms on the oil. Drop the batter into the hot skillet, then spread it out a bit with a spatula and flatten it. (I use 3 tablespoons of batter per pancake.) Fry two to three minutes, until the latkes are browned, and then turn them and fry the other side for another two to three minutes. Repeat until you've used all the batter, adding more oil if necessary. Makes eight 3-inch pancakes, which can be served with applesauce and sour cream.

POTATO CHIPS
4 large Idaho baking potatoes
About 8 cups vegetable oil, for deep-frying
2 tbsp. melted butter
Salt and pepper

1. Wash and dry the potatoes, but do not peel them. Slice potatoes 1/8-inch thick. You will have about 8 cups. Put the potato slices in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes. This will wash off the starch, so the potatoes don't stick together in the frying pan. Drain the potatoes in a colander, then spin them dry in a salad spinner and blot them dry on paper towels. Make layers of towels and potatoes; one layer of towels, one layer of sliced potatoes, etc. If you don't own a salad spinner, you can simply repeat the layering several times, until the potato slices are dry.

2. Get everything in place before you start frying the potatoes. You'll need to monitor the temperature of the oil and won't want to leave the stove. Line a baking sheet with several layers of paper towels to drain the potatoes on. Have your deep-fat frying thermometer clipped to the side of the pan; also have a large bowl near the stove to put the cooled and drained potato chips in. Make sure your box of baking soda is handy in case of oil fires.

3.When the oil reaches a temperature of 325 degrees, drop in a couple generous handfuls of sliced potatoes. You'll notice that when food is introduced to hot oil, the oil temperature immediately drops. You're a bit of a maestro here: Raise and lower the heat a little at a time as necessary.

4. The potatoes are done when they're crunchy and golden brown on both sides. Don't be impatient; don't bite into them until they're cool. It took me about 5-8 minutes per batch when I made them, but the time will vary depending on the size of your pan and how full it is. As the potatoes cook, stir them around with a slotted spoon. As they brown, remove them and set them to drain on paper towels. I found it was better to fry several small batches than fewer large ones because the food cooks more consistently when the pan isn't crowded and, if you should overcook a batch, you've wasted less.

5. When the potatoes are all fried, turn off the heat and let the oil cool. Don't strain or discard it until it has cooled completely. Meanwhile, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter and drizzle it over the potato chips, tossing them gently with your hands. Season them with salt and pepper to taste. These potato chips can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container at room temperature, then reheated in a 200-degree oven for five minutes.