Side Dish: Oven Baked Fries

This video on Video Jug shows you how to make everyone's favorite side: french fries!

Side Dishes:How To Make Low Fat Oven Baked French Fries

Now, as you might have guessed, I have a few alterations to make to this recipe. First of all, I really think that the cut of the potato is more important than this video gives credit. To see how to get a great cut, watch this video (the creator disabled embedding, so I had to post a link).

Personally, I like to keep my skins on when making oven fries; they get really crispy, and you get more nutrients that way. But if the skins aren't your thing, just make sure you peel your potatoes before you slice them.

Alright, now that you know how to slice your potatoes (for this recipe, you'll only use two), let's get down to the recipe. Preheat your oven to 450 or 500 (as high as it goes without turning to the "broil" setting). Wash and slice your potatoes while the oven is heating up.

Now, while low-fat is a good thing, we all know it generally doesn't taste as good. So instead of the "homemade cooking spray," we're going to use extra-virgin olive oil. Vegetable oil is cheaper and works just as well, but the olive oil really gives the fries a great background flavor.

Drizzle about a tablespoon of oil onto the pan, and use a paper towel to coat the entire pan. Make sure you get every corner, or your fries will stick. Take your freshly sliced potatoes and spread them evenly over the pan.

Grab a bowl. In it, mix 1/2 tablespoon salt, 1/4 tablespoon pepper, 1/4 tablespoon paprika, 1/4 tablespoon onion powder, 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder, and the secret ingredient...1/2 tablespoon sugar. Adding sugar to oven fries may seem counterintuitive; one would think they might take away from the heat of the fry. But trust me, this is an ingredient you don't want to leave out!

Drizzle a little more oil over the potatoes in your pan and toss to coat. Be careful not to use too much, or the fries will be soggy instead of crispy. Sprinkle the fries with your spice mix, making sure to once again get an even coat.

Your oven has been heating for a while now, so it should be ready. Pop the fries in and let them bake for 10 minutes. And no peeking! Every time you open the oven, it lets the hot air out and slows down cooking time. After 10 minutes, pull those taters out and flip them once, them stick them back in to bake for another 5 to 7 minutes. When you pull them out, make sure you let them sit for a few minutes to cool...those guys will be hot!