Friday, September 14, 2012

Thalia Learns to Cook: Sweet Potato Fries!!

Recipes and examples of dishes I can now make!  Taken from a variety of sources and changed according to my abilities, needs, and dislike of doing dishes.


I have discovered the secret!  After years of trial and error, late night attempts and multiple multiple multiple recipe searches online, I have figured it out.

What? You may ask?

A deeply important, all encompassing, really critical piece of information.

How to avoid totally soggy sweet potato fries.

What? You were expecting the Higgs Boson?

Ok, so I love sweet potatoes. They are delicious. And, better for you than white potatoes, not to mention more flavorful.  Although they are tasty heated up in the microwave, I love making sweet potato fries. And as a bonus, a sweet potato fry is an excellent food to feed a baby. Which I have.

The problem is, most of the time I end up with soggy fries.  I wash the sweet potatoes, toss them with some olive oil and spices, and then put them on a baking sheet in the oven or toaster oven. And they come out soggy. Delicious, but without a nice crisp skin.

Happily, I came across the solution by accident the other night.

As mentioned, I have a baby.  He's 6 months old and therefore starting to eat solid foods.  One tip I've  been given is to use a crinkle cutter to cut up his food.

Crinkle cutter!!
It creates lovely little ridges, making it much easier for his small fingers to pick up something slippery. It works great, so when making him some sweet potato the other night, I crinkle cut up the potato, spiced it, and tossed it in the toaster over.

Surprise! Totally delicious sweet potato fries with a nice crisp skin! I almost didn't give any to the baby.

Recipe: Sweet potato fries with a crisp skin!

Ingredients:

Sweet potatoes
Olive Oil
Spices

Tools:

Crinkle cutter
Knife
Oil brush
Ramekin
Baking sheet

Method:

1) Cut the sweet potato long ways in half.
2) Use crinkle cutter to cut each half into 1/3rds, or whatever thickness your sweet potato loving heart desires.
3) Mix together olive oil and spices. I sometimes use rosemary and garlic. Curry also works really well. Or oregano and thyme. In the end, you get very subtle flavors, so go crazy!
4) Places fries on baking sheet. Make sure they're not touching each other.
5) Brush the fries with the oil and spice mix. Make sure to get all sides.

Brush with oil and spices
6) Put in the toaster oven, 400 degrees, 5 minutes and then flip the fries and 5 minutes more.
I love a good toaster oven.


Eat, making sure you get some on your bib, hair, ears, lap, high chair, floor and under your knee. (I have no idea how it got there).





yup.


Enjoy!