Oven Fries

This recipe was given to me by my stepfather Jim. Jim is a great cook. My mother did well marrying a man who could cook. After 28 years of cooking for a family, my mother was very happy to turn her kitchen over to Jim and he never disappointed. This recipe is pretty much his except I have changed the proportions a little because I like them cheesier.

These fries reheat very well in the oven, toaster over, or the microwave.  I think they are crunchier in the oven, but my kids are very happy to reheat in the microwave. I like to serve them with meatloaf, but they can dress up any sandwich or any leftovers. If you prepare them early in the day, then you can serve them whenever your family shows up for dinner.

We eat the leftovers as snacks all the time, which is why I always make 5 pounds of potatoes because the leftovers are great and very popular in my house.

These fries are also great for breakfast as they make great “home fries” to go with eggs.

Ingredients

5 lbs. baking potatoes – peeled and cut or 5 lbs. red bliss potatoes – washed - not peeled, but cut

2 tbsp olive oil

½ cup flour

3/4 cup parmesan cheese – I use sprinkle cheese

1/2 tbsp pepper

2 tbsp garlic powder

2 tsp salt

1 stick of butter

Preheat oven at 350 degrees.

Wash and/or peel potatoes and cut into fries.  I absolutely love my Vidalia Chop Wizard for cutting potatoes into fries. In the sink or in a large bowl
or pan, add the potatoes and cover them with water so they don’t discolor and so the seasonings will stick to the potatoes.

In a plastic bag, mix the flour, cheese, pepper, salt and garlic powder.

Drain the potatoes and then mix the olive oil into the potatoes. Add the potatoes to the cheese mixture and shake the bag to completely cover the potatoes. You will have to do this in batches and the flour mixture will start to get sticky, but coat the potatoes as best as you can. Put the potatoes on a cookie sheet trying to shake off any excess flour mixture – use a cookie sheet with sides.

I use 2- 17x11 cookies sheets.  This recipe can always be cut in half - the
ingredients measurements are not an exact science, so don’t worry if you don’t cut them in half perfectly.

Cut the butter into tablespoons and put 4 tablespoons on each cookie sheet, spacing them out.

Cook for 25 minutes or so at 350 degrees. After about 10 minutes, mix the fries and the melted butter around in the pan. This will give a more even browning.

If you have a convection oven, this is a great recipe to take advantage of it. A convection oven will decrease your cooking time by about 5-10 minutes and brown the potatoes more evenly.