Comments on: Fries (Baked!)

By: Zoe

Zoe — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 22:49:49 +0000

saw these and decided to make them emidiatly :P had everything but the cayenee pepper lying around. they’re baking right now. fingers crossed \(^-^)/

By: angela

angela — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 13:00:34 +0000

I feel like I have to stick up for ATK/CI. I’m a chemist, and I really enjoy reading their recipe development. Honestly, I learned to cook by reading through all their (delightfully) fussy kitchen explorations, and I also enjoy their curmudgeonly prose.

That being said, they are a little too prone to shortcuts for my taste. How many times do they say , “We tried making this with dried beans, and it was amazing! However, no one cooks with dried beans so we decided to hack it with cans.” Um, I cook with dried beans! Can you include the amazing dried bean option? But they don’t.

By: Gillian

Gillian — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 20:25:05 +0000

Thank goodness for these oven baked fries! I never would have bagged my wonderful sweet boyfriend without them! He now does them once a week for me, and whenever my whole family gets together he makes them then too. You got him in the kitchen! Thank you.

By: cb

cb — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 22:00:40 +0000

these are ABSOLUTELY the BEST baked fries I have ever eaten. no more fried. am gonna try this recipe on sweet potatoes next.

By: christina

christina — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 21:56:51 +0000

Made these a few weeks ago- spoiled everyone’s dinner! They were gone in minutes flat. It was a little embarrassing actually.

By: Bronte

Bronte — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 01:21:05 +0000

Apparently :P Thanks for the speedy reply, I’ll do my research on salt… and I look forward to more recipes!

By: Tim

Tim — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 18:43:47 +0000

Thanks for the friendly comment, Bronte! Kosher salt isn’t that special. And in fact, for baking, regular table salt is usually preferred. I like kosher (or preferable-sea salt) for recipes like these fries because the the larger salt flakes add a little texture. You get little crunchy pops of salt when eating the fries, rather than a sort of all-over saltiness. Kosher can be nice for cooking (corn on the cob, meats, etc) and for finishing dishes, but you can always substitute regular salt, just use less. You should check out Salted: A Manifesto by Mark Bitterman, it is an amazing encyclopedia of salt. He would tell you not to use either. He advocates for us to put away our industrially produced salts and stick to natural sea salts and the like. There is a surprising amount to say on salt. ; )

By: Bronte

Bronte — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 17:48:21 +0000

Hi Tim! Your website is absolutely gorgeous… the photos you take are beautiful, and i’ve archived many of your recipes to try once I have a chance! I wanted to ask, what’s so special about kosher salt? I’m a baker for pleasure and a student, so I usually go with what’s cheaper, but am I missing out on something?

By: Tim

Tim — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 15:06:24 +0000

Thanks for checking in, Sarah! Glad you liked the fries. This is definitely one of my favorite recipes, and an example of why Cook’s Illustrated is so awesome. Next time I make these, I want to try a cheese sauce to dip them in…too much? I hope not!

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 14:23:17 +0000

I know I’m not saying anything new here, but I just HAVE to give my kuddos to these fries. I am a big fan of fries, generally favoring the sweet potato variety, but always, always, requiring them to be as crisp as physically possible. Limp fries are my worst culinary nightmare. Maybe even worse than limp bacon. And I have to say, oven fries generally fall into that I-wish-I-could-get-on-board-but-they’re-just-not-crispy-enough! category. But these! These! They were so divinely crispy! And oh what an occasion to make them garlicky as well. The cornstarch method is genius and stupidly simple with amazing results. I also liked that they were less greasy than a fried fry. Thank you thank you thank you for converting me to an oven-fry lover!

By: mtupyro

mtupyro — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 19:32:31 +0000

Served these with a sour cream based bacon and horseradish dip. Instant hit. Thanks!

By: Tim

Tim — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 04:04:06 +0000

Nice, Rachel! You gotta be careful with these, they go quickly.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 02:35:00 +0000

Just made these and my family rationed them out so nobody could take too many! Haha, they were sooo yummy and delicious. Perfectly crunchy and delicious. Thanks for the recipe Tim!

By: Louise

Louise — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 14:13:19 +0000

These are terrific! I made them last night to go with oven fried cod. I substituted 1-1/2 tsp Tony Chachere for the pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne; and cut the kosher salt to 1 tsp. I want to try the same technique with sweet potatoes and taco seasoning as I’ve never been happy with oven fried sweet potatoes.

“Cook’s Illustrated” is more than annoying. They pretend to start with a clean sheet of paper with their recipes and then have you follow their tedious iterations which do not always result in “the best” whatever. Their fudge is a good example as Maida Heatter had that nailed a long time ago, and her’s doesn’t include condensed milk. Just my two cents.

By: Nicole

Nicole — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 15:39:17 +0000

Tried these last night, fantastic! I was also nervous the garlic would be too much but it was so lovely and fragrant. I realized last minute I did not have corn starch so I used a tablespoon of breadcrumbs (yes, I realize these are totally different), but they still tasted great and looked gorgeous. Thank you!

By: deeba

deeba — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 03:37:49 +0000

On my list of things to do … and asap!

By: Kim

Kim — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 03:23:30 +0000

AMAZING recipe. Best baked fries I’ve ever had! Served with chipotle burgers on brioche. Super. Thanks again for a great blog.

By: Lois

Lois — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 01:52:34 +0000

This is the second recipe in 3 days I’ve made from your site (made the corn pesto 2 days ago with fresh corn that I just brought back from Quebec). I believe that we eat first with our eyes and your food photography makes me so hungry! Thank you for sharing, love your blog.

By: Jeannie

Jeannie — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 17:29:19 +0000

I’ve made sweet potato fries a couple of times. They are not as crunchy and don’t brown all over as nicely. And, they had to be constantly turned because of badly sticking, even with a greased baking pan.

By: Tim

Tim — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 22:38:14 +0000

Hi Kyla, I don’t know. In the sense that it will literally work, yes. I am not sure it would taste that good. I don’t really love yams with strong garlic flavors. They can just get so sweet. Also, you would need to adjust cooking times. Let me know if you try it!