Sweet potato fries

One of the recipes I most often get requests for is my sweet potato fries. Now, you have to understand one thing first--these are not actually fries. They are simply roasted sweet potatoes in the shape of fries. If you're expecting something with the texture of a fry, this is not where you want to look. Mine melt in your mouth, make you want more, and are generally healthy.

My apologies in advance for the crappy cell phone pictures.

Here's what you'll need:

Tools:

• Paring knife
• Cutting board
• Large bowl
• Oven pan

Ingredients:

• 1 sweet potato (pictured is a large one. That's because my dad bought it. Normally, I use smaller ones. I find them easier to work with and generally a bit softer. It should be bright orange as you cut into it)
• Olive oil
• Spices. Note: this can go several ways, and feel free to make up your own!
• QV's traditional (pictured): parsley, rosemary, thyme, sage, salt
• Autumn: brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg
• Zesty: paprika, pinch of cayenne, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper

Preheat oven to 450.

Cut the gross spots off the exterior of the sweet potato, but leave most of the skin on.

Cut the sweet potato into fry shapes, about half an inch thick all the way around. Length does not matter (seen on right).

Place sweet potatoes in a bowl, add a bit of oil (don't go too crazy! No need to add too much extra fat), and add spices (I tend to go crazy with them).

♪ Shake, shake. Shake, shake-a shake it! ♫

Then, place the fries in your pan and stick them in the oven.

After 12 minutes, take the fries out and turn them. They should be notably dimmer, and some of the bottoms will have brown spots on them. Put them back in the oven for 8-10 minutes.

Take them out. They should be no longer shimmering, and there should be brown spots on all fries. This was pretty hard to photograph with a cell phone...

I paired this with asparagus and zucchini, pan-fried in sesame oil and tossed with sesame seeds. I also ate for about 12 people because I was starving after having a very small lunch. I have no shame whatsoever :)