Garlic "Fries"

We love french fries around here. It's probably one of the very few foods that we can all agree on in my household. Populating my family is a hubby who will eat anything, a picky-ish but increasingly adventurous me, an extremely picky 5 year-old, and a 22 month-old who throws mostly anything besides cake on the floor. Sigh. So when you've struck gold, as I have, with discovering how much everyone loves fries, you've got to capitalize on that.

Unfortunately, they're kinda bad for you. The run-of-the-mill, greasy, restaurant-style ones are, anyway. Delicious, yes. Great to eat daily? Not so much.

Well, thanks to my most-beloved cookbook, Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave, we now have an easy way to enjoy french fries any time we want, without the greasy unhealthiness. Ellie explains in her book that fries are a weakness of hers, so obviously she had to create a way for her to indulge and still eat well. These are a perfect solution.

To be honest, I took the lazy way out with these fries and I did not follow the recipe exactly. In her version, Ellie infuses canola oil with garlic flavor, then uses that oil on the potatoes before baking them in the oven. I just used some oil and some garlic powder and called it a day. I would love to try it with the garlic-infused oil next time because you can totally tell that these would just be delicious on a completely different level. Ellie also garnishes the finished fries with fresh parsley, but I didn't bother with that, either. I told you, I was lazy that day!

I've made oven-baked french fries before, but these were the tastiest I've had yet. It could have something to do with the fact that I had the patience to cut them like actual french fries, I dunno. In the past I've made really big cuts, and they turn out more like roasted potatoes, not that there's anything wrong with roasted potatoes. Hey, that's probably why I was so lazy by the time I got to the seasoning step; I had already used all my energy cutting up the taters! Ha. I'm posting Ellie's version of the recipe below; obviously, it's better than what I did!

Garlic "Fries"
from Ellie Krieger via Food Network.com
serves 4

Ingredients
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. canola oil
3 large baking potatoes, 12 oz. each
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Heat the garlic and oil in a small saucepan over medium heat for 2 minutes. Strain the garlic from the oil with a small mesh strainer. Set both garlic and oil aside.

2. Cut the potatoes into 1/4-inch sticks. In a large bowl, toss the oil, potatoes, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and spread the potatoes onto it in a single layer. Bake until golden and crisp, about 35 minutes.

3. Remove the potatoes from the tray with a metal spatula. Toss with parsley, reserved garlic, and additional salt, to taste. Serve immediately.