The peanut oil should impart a different taste, acutally a nutter flavor to the food.

I do not fry much at home, but have deep fried plenty of food in my time. The type of oil can make a difference, but for home use really not to much. Like Clay pointed out the smoke point of oils are important. Most vegetable oils will work fine. A heavy pot (even cast iron) is the best, it will evenly conduct the heat through out the oil. The amount of oil is important as well, depending on how much food is being cooked. The recovery time is lessend with a greater amount of oil. Meaning as you drop cold food into the oil, the oil will drop in temperature, the quicker it recovers to the proper temperature the better. Resulting in a less greasy end result.

Typically the oil can be cooled and filtered for future use. Store in a air tight container. Filter with a funnel and coffee filter.