Recipe Thursday: Sweet Potatoes on the stove

Have you ever ordered "home fries" or breakfast potatoes at a restaurant? Even though these terms can cover a whole slew of things, every time, they have been delicious. So much so that I've cubed, seasoned and cooked potatoes on the stove (in my giant frying pan) several times. (Even mixed potatoes and turnips to sneak in said turnips.)

I was thinking about those the other day when trying to figure out something to eat for dinner. It was one of those nights where we were fending for ourselves. And we still don't have a working oven. And we still haven't restocked the kitchen since the move. And the kitchen is still in disarray. I can only blame the move for so long, at some point I'm either busy or lazy. Wager it is a combination of both.

The thought of venturing out into the tornado warning weather to spend money on fast food was disheartening, both to me and my stomach. The idea of polishing off a bag of Ritz chips was slightly more appealing until I thought about it. A sandwich sounded like a good idea, but I held off on that, just in case we needed that bread later on.

Then it struck me. I still had those farmer's market sweet potatoes (from a while ago) that had never been cooked! Fleetingly, I dared dream about sweet potato fries before I remembered that the oven doesn't work. Slight let down. But, wait! I saw my big frying pan sitting on the stove, and thought, "Why not just do the potato-turnip thing with just sweet potatoes?" So, I did.

The recipe goes a little something like this:]

wash and prepare your sweet potatoes

slice thinly or cube, trying to keep the pieces uniform

heat a bit of oil or butter in a skillet over medium high heat

add potatoes

stir

let it sit

stir

add more oil/butter if needed

stir...

(turn off stove to leave the house to get necessities. Turn it back on...)

stir...

cook until potatoes are soft, or desired tenderness.

I like to at least start on a medium-high heat to get a few crispy edges, but often end up fiddling with the heat, and letting everything sit on the stove over a medium heat for a while.

The cooking time is somewhat longer than you would think (or at least longer than I always expect). I would say you should figure on at least a half hour of time on stove.

I realize that you can do this with pretty much any root vegetable, and any combination of said veggies. I was just rather pleased with myself that night. Especially since I didn't have to eat yet another sandwich.

Recipe Thursday: Sweet Potato Fries

I love sweet potatoes. They are so rich in flavor, and generally good for you, too. There are a few mid-range steakhouses where sweet potatoes are a regular side, and sweet potato fries are popping up on more and more menus, substitutable for regular fries.

Fried food is still fried food, so you do need to consider that if you are out and considering your side options. At home, though, you have more control. Personally, I don't have a fryer, and don't really ever have enough oil, or the right kind of oil on hand for frying. But, no bother, fries can be made in the oven.

The first time I did sweet potato fries, I followed a recipe from the Food Network's website. Since I didn't print it out, I've been dredging my memory, and cobbling together recipes from other sources to create a workable sweet potato oven fry.

In this quest, I've burnt more than a few sweet potato sticks...

Here's a basic recipe upon which you can build and with which you can play:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wash two sweet potatoes (or however many you want, since I'm generally cooking for 2, two potatoes works), and cut into roughly sticks. (think thick carrot sticks)

Toss in up to 1 tbsp. olive oil. Salt to taste, if desired. Spread on a backing sheet. You want one layer of sweet potato sticks, so if you have a smaller oven or more potatoes, you may need to do this in batches.

Bake 30-40 minutes, tossing the fries occasionally. My oven doesn't heat very evenly, so at 40 minutes, I've been burning a few of the thinner pieces.

Several recipes I saw say to pat excess moisture off the fries before baking. This will help the exterior to crisp up. I've often neglected this step, and ended up with soft, tasty, and slightly crisp fries that are more reminiscent of roasted veggies than fries I'd get at a restaurant. Still very tasty.