When it comes to potatoes, I can take them or leave them.  Really.  I do love a good, creamy, buttery mashed potato from time to time but it’s not something I crave.  However, when it comes to French fries, that’s a whole other story.  I can eat French fries any day, any time, every day, every meal.  I’m obsessed.  Shoestring fries, curly fries, wedge fries, sweet potato fries, with or without Old Bay, plain or with cheese, whatever!  I love them.  So, considering they are truly one of my most favorite foods on this Earth (along with Reese’s peanut butter cups and s’mores), it’s a wonder that I’ve never attempted to actually make them myself.  I figured, now is as good a time as any.  The result was these Garlic and Herb Oven Fries.

Plain baking potatoes are cut into matchsticks and baked in the oven with nothing but a little canola oil.  After baking, they are tossed with melted butter, garlic and fresh parsley.  Easy peasy.  The longest part of this process is cutting the potatoes into fries.  Be patient.  I put the matchstick potatoes in a bowl of water to keep them fresh as I cut the rest.  I also recommend spraying the pan with non-stick spray because despite the canola oil, many of my fries still stuck.  And while these fries aren’t crispy the way restaurant fries are (duh, because they aren’t fried), I still devoured these.  Like I said, I love fries.  Even bad fries.  Not that these were bad.  If you are going to make fries at home, this is a good way to go.  But if it’s faster or you prefer to order fries in, do it.  I won’t judge.  I know what it means to have a fry fix.

The ingredients:

Preheat a roasting pan and oven to 450°F.  Peel potatoes and cut potatoes into 1/4-inch matchsticks and toss with canola oil.

Arrange potato sticks in pan (in a single layer if possible) and bake at 450°F for 5 minutes.  Turn oven to broil and broil for 20 minutes or until browned, turning once.

Melt ­butter in a skillet and add minced garlic, sautéing for 30 seconds.

Add fries to butter-garlic mixture and cook for 1 minute.

Toss with chopped parsley, salt, and freshly ground black pepper.

Additions:  None

Omissions:  None

Substitutions:  None

Overall Rating:  Like It

Source:  Cooking Light Magazine