Simple Recipes and Common Sense: Sweet Potato Fries

Hey Fellow Foodies and Readers,

Sorry I haven’t been around for a bit. Between Lollapalooza taking over my life and pretending to clean/pack for college, I’ve been a bit consumed. But! I’ve decided to drop a quick post to let you know I’ll have a great Lollapalooza feature soon; for now, I thought I’d leave you with a recipe.

I love sweet potatoes, mashed, chips, baked, and even in muffins! However, something I’ve been craving lately are sweet potato fries. So, I figured I’d experiment with a recipe/common sense to see if I could come up with a recipe that didn’t require the fries to be fried, but rather baked, you know, to at least attempt that healthy alternative!

I found a recipe in Cook’s Country for regular baked potato fries, a recipe online, and a recipe in a cookbook I own. After reading through each recipe, I decided to use a bit of each. This is a great recipe for all you Georgetowners and college students that want an easy recipe that tastes great and will satiate your craving for fried foods or sweets!

My family decided to grill burgers today. So as my mom and dad grilled, I baked up these fries. The overall result was a satisfactory, soft, sweet fry with a nice crisp. Next time, I may add more seasonings (paprika, garlic salt), and also let the fries dry a bit more before I coat them so that I get a more crispy texture, but overall, they were very tasty!

SO here you go!
3 Large Sweet Potatoes, washed, and thickly julienned (cut into spear shapes)
6 tablespoons of olive oil or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon cornstarch (if you don’t have this, I don’t think it’s a huge deal, but let your potatoes dry a bit after microwaving/blotting)
Seasonings (optional: salt, pepper, garlic salt/powder, paprika)

-Preheat the over to 450 (f)
-Microwave sweet potatoes in large bowl covered with saran wrap for 4-6minutes to slightly cook,
-Remove the sliced potatoes from bowl and blot dry (gives fries a crispier texture), let sit for five minutes if you aren’t using cornstarch,
-As fries dry, use 5 tbsp of the oil to coat a cookie/baking sheet, then place sheet in oven for 5-7 minutes (until the sheet begins to smoke),
-While oil heats, mix remaining oil (1 tbsp) with cornstarch (optional) and, then toss fries in mixture, making sure to coat each, add seasonings,
-Place fries in single layer rows on the heated cookie sheet, place back in oven and cook for 25-35 minutes, flipping fries halfway through cooking time,
-Remove from oven and place fries on paper towels to blot excess oil, lightly salt if desired.
-Enjoy!

Summer Feature-more Cupcake Boutique (Chicago)

Hello my foodie friends! (and I know you’re out there since Blogger is giving me stats now!)

So, the general population seems to understand that cupcakes are “in” right now, meaning every week yields a new cupcake shop, flavor, or TV show. From DC’s Georgetown Cupcake or Baked and Wired, to New York’s Magnolia Bakery or Crumbs, the American public is experiencing cupcake overload! While Chicago has undergone a similar delicious infestation of cupcake shops, there’s one little, pristine “cupcake boutique” in Chicago’s Gold Coast named more, that’s doing the new “it” item a little differently and literally making people say, “more please!”

As I said on the Nightly Noms Twitter, I finally had the chance to sample a cupcake from more, a Chicago cupcake boutique owned by Patty Rothman. After attempting (and failing) to beat out a fierce crowd of Internet foodies to tag myself in a more facebook picture and earn a free cupcake, I decided to leave a comment on the photo. Just a quick “Oh! One MORE please!” Low and behold the next morning I had a facebook message from Ms. Rothman saying she had added my name to the list! Once again, thank you for your generosity!

I selected Saturday morning to make my way to more to pick up my “Cookies and Cream” cupcake; let me say, I was not disappointed. As you can see by the picture, more has a way with assembling aesthetically pleasing cupcakes. The mound of icing covered in delicate cookie crumbles was enough to catch my interest, but as I gently pealed the wrapper away I discovered that cookies were not mixed into the batter (like Georgetown Cupcake’s item of the same name), but rather more’s C’n’C sported a fluffy white cake with a cookie crumble bottom. I used my spoon to ensure that I had each component and took my first bite: delicious. The frosting was creamy, the cake was moist, and the crumble bottom had a soft chew to it, making the overall combination a perfect marriage of flavors and textures. Each bite left a new dimension of taste, which I believe was because of the contrast between the three dimensions of the cupcake. Also, if you’re in a rush and cannot eat your treat immediately, I’m quite positive that more’s C’n’C would taste awesome chilled too!

Overall, my first more cupcake was a delight (I’ve already managed to tag myself for this week to test out Chocolate Chocolate). The modern and chic Gold Coast neighborhood cupcake boutique offers both sweet (Crème Brulee) and savory flavors (foie gras and sour cherry), along with a “Happy Hour” of drink-inspired cupcakes (Mojito, Champagne, etc). more cupcakes are perfect for kids and adults craving a sweet, beautiful treat. Although prices range anywhere from $3.50-$6.00 for a large cupcake, more makes it possible for anyone to experience their flavors by using the facebook tagging process, which often occurs on Tuesdays (Monday around midnight). So start tagging, Chicagoans and visitors!

With catchy taglines like “eat MORE” “taste MORE” “love MORE,” all we can say is:

We want MORE!

Name: More Cupcakes

Meal: Anytime/Snack/Dessert

Location: Gold Coast (Downtown), Chicago

Address: 1 E. Delaware place Chicago, Illinois 60611

Price: $3.50-$6.00

Ordered: Cookies and Cream Cupcake