Cooking: Who Needs Fries When You Have These?

I confess I'm a hopeless fries fiend. But there was a problem. Actually two problems. One, fries were too fatty. Duh. I knew that. But I needed a good substitute that were just as satisfying. Two, frying at home sucks. Truly. Plus, they never come out quite as crispy as at restaurants, most likely because restaurants may use lard or because they fry the potatoes like three times. Which goes back to the fat problem.

Anyhow, I tried making baked potato wedges a year or two ago and I haven't looked back since -- at least at home. I still order fries (a lot) when I go out, but when I'm home, these babies do the trick for me. And the recipe is ridiculously simple.

Preheat oven to 400-425 degrees depending on the strength of your oven. I use Idaho potatoes as they work well for baking. Peel skin off, cut them in half lengthwise. Place the flat part on the bottom and cut them into six wedges. Repeat with the other half. Place wedges in a bowl and toss with some salt, pepper and olive oil. Lay them out on a baking pan and bake for about 15 minutes. Try lifting the wedges to see if they're browned or toasted and flip them so they're browned evenly, for about another 10-15 minutes. Make sure you check on the oven frequently so they don't burn.

Potatoes must cool off a bit before biting into them as they are piping hot. One thing is these don't heat up well, meaning you "inevitably" have to consume them all in one sitting.