Ina Garten.  Need I say more?  I just love everything about her.  From her gorgeous (yet rustic) home right down to that cute little hubby of hers.  The food she creates appeals to the masses but still holds a bit of sophistication.  And talk about yummy!

I was hoping to get her new cookbook, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, for Christmas.  I didn’t.  So I went out to the bookstore today and picked it up as a belated present to moi.  It was almost dinner time when we got home and the father-in-law was on his way over for what has become our weekly dinner and a movie (“Tropic Thunder” this week – not sure I’d recommend by the way).  I quickly flipped through the book and decided to add Ina’s Sweet Potato Fries to tonight’s dinner.  And we were not disappointed.

Sweet Potato Fries

I peeled up two rather hefty sweet potatoes, thinking we would have a lot of leftovers.  It turns out that was not a problem.  Two people ate the entire batch.

Baked Sweet Potato “Fries”

(adapted from the Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics)

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled

2 Tablespoons good olive oil

1 Tablespoon light brown sugar

1/2 tsp. kosher salt, plus some extra for sprinkling on cooked fries

1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Halve the sweet potatoes and then slice each half into large fries (Ina says 3 long spears).  Place them on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil, toss to coat.  Spread them all out in one layer.  Combine brown sugar, salt and pepper and sprinkle mixture over potatoes.  Bake for 15 minutes and then turn with a spatula.   Bake for another 5 to 10 minutes or until golden.  Sprinkle lightly with salt.

I would recommend eating these as soon as they come out of the oven.  My potatoes got done before our Reuben Loaf  (recipe coming tomorrow) so I put the fries in a bowl and covered them to seal the heat in.  That was a mistake as it steamed them and the crunch was gone.  But the flavor remained and these babies were gooood.