Sweet Potato Fries

I've been really enjoying reading books about cooking. It's something about the way that food is described that excites me. Carrots being cubed, onions sizzled with drips of olive oil, the pizza's crust flaking as you tear it apart. So descriptive to the point where you can hear and see the food in your mind. 

I'm reading a book by Shauna Niequist called Bread & Wine and it is wonderful. It combines all of my favorite things into one book: faith, food, and family. It also has recipes. 

I made these sweet potato fries the other night, and they were a hit. Except I used yams, and to my surprise tasted amazing. They're simple to make and look great as a side dish.  Buon Appetito!

 Ingredients  

Serves 4  

4 sweet potatoes or yams
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for oiling the pans
salt

for the dipping sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon hot sauce of your choice 

 

let's make it

1. Preheat oven to 425° F. Place two rimmed baking sheets in the oven to warm up.  

2. Peel and slice (or you can leave the peel for the yams) into long, thin batons, the thinner the better.

3. Pull the hot pans out of the oven and oil them, being careful not to burn yourself. 

4. Toss the sweet potatoes with olive oil, then line them up on the baking sheets so they're not touching or overlapping.

5. Put both pans into the oven and bake for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes, switch the pans and give them a shake, turning the sweet potatoes.

6. Bake them for another 6 to 10 minutes, depending on how crispy you would like them.

7. Remove them when they begin to golden.

8. Sprinkle them with salt.

9. Mix the dipping sauce ingredients into a side bowl as the sweet potato fries are cooking.