Column and photos by Ali Carter, Vice President, WPGA Auxiliary
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I intended to share with you a “romantic” recipe, a delicate and creamy dish with the feeling of something you’d only serve to a love. I contemplated what that romantic recipe could be. And my mind was completely blank … except for French fries!
Seriously, I thought about this for days. Days. And could only dream up fries.
So, to those of you who were hoping for some elegant inspiration to serve on the upcoming holiday of love, I sincerely apologize. All I have for you today are French fries. But, these are incredibly delicious French fries with a spicy dipping sauce that I can almost guarantee will cause you to fall in love!
These fries have a kick to them, so if you prefer to tone down the spice level, just lessen the amount of chili powder and black pepper. I suggest the same for the dipping sauce. My family adores spicy food and I have a son who puts hot sauce and sriracha on everything, so for us this sauce was perfect.
For a less spicy version simply add only 1 or 2 tablespoons of the sriracha to the other ingredients.
For the French fries themselves, a little trick is to use parchment paper to line your baking sheet. I am not sure what it is about this thin little paper, but the parchment truly does help to crisp up the potatoes, and it makes clean-up so much easier!
With the parchment paper, you do not need as much olive oil, being less concerned about the potatoes sticking to the pan. You only need a drizzle of oil to help the spices and seasoning stick to the fries.
