Friday, April 30, 2010

Jay's Special Seasoned Fries

My thrifty and health conscious sides both love these fries. Even though these might require a bit more work than stopping by a McDonalds or opening up a bag of pre-fried, frozen, bake-able fries, these are way tastier, cost less, and you actually know they're made of real ingredients. High five to that!

Jay and I seem to go through food craze phases. At one point I think we had these fries 6 times in a total of 12 days. Granted, we varied the slicing style of the potatoes, and the seasoning may have been slightly different, but generally we couldn't deny that we were a bit smitten with our spuds. Our frequent consumption of these babies has made us experts in their execution... at least we seem to think we're experts. Generally, I will be the designated slicer, while he's the head spicer; together we make one dynamic duo.

We've also perfected the greasing and baking aspects of making these fries. For easy clean-up, we like to line our baking pan with aluminum foil. To prevent your fries from sticking to it, generously spray it with olive oil spray. I prefer the spray over regular olive oil because I feel like it provides more assurance that it has indeed fully covered the entire surface. If I've sliced the fries wedge shaped, I've found that placing the fries skin-side-down really helps the potato flesh (non-skin sides) cook to perfection.

And the key to making yourself a plate of crunchy fries with soft centers? Low and slow. These zesty fries have to be romanced.
The Stuff:
  • baking pan
  • aluminum foil
  • olive oil cooking spray
The Edibles:
  • potatoes (any kind will do, but I'm partial to Yukon Golds and sweet potatoes)
  • garlic powder
  • paprika
  • onion salt
  • dried chives
  • pepper
  • salt (if desired)
  • additional options: oregano, coriander, cumin, chili powder, red pepper flakes, nutmeg... feel free to experiment!
The Making:
  1. Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking pan with a sheet of aluminum foil. Generously cover with with olive oil non-stick cooking spray.
  2. Slice potatoes to your hearts contents. Rounds, wedges, thick, thin, the options are endless! Line potatoes on foiled, sprayed pan and lightly spray with more of the olive oil spray.
  3. Now for the zesting! Sprinkle the spices over the potatoes. With most spices I am pretty heavy-handed, but I cautiously add those with salt incorporated, as more salt can aways be added later.
  4. Place in the oven and bake 30-45 minutes, or until the tops of the fries are brown and crispy. If desired, you can flip them halfway through, although I never do!

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