Baked not fried....

Quite a long time ago, Jeff and I would have homemade french fries quite often and yes, they were deep fried. Since we changed our eating habits a few years ago though, we rarely have them and most likely they are not fried. When we do have them, we typically bake them in the oven with high-heat - they are good, but not quite the same and usually need a little something to pep them up.

For the side tonight, I made Asiago-Parsley Oven Fries. The prep is the same as most recipes - cut into strips, season and toss with a bit of oil before baking. Before putting them on the baking sheet, I do like to heat the pan in a very hot oven (500 degrees) for about 5-7 minutes, so when the fries are thrown on the bottoms start to form a crust and begin to cook. Once golden, we removed them from the oven and immediately tossed the fries with a shower of grated Asiago, fresh parsley and, of course, some salt. The fries have a moist interior with a moderately crisp outside (though, not as crisp as one would like) - the nutty cheese gave them the needed boost without taking over the potato flavor.

While we really enjoyed the fries, I should have probably served tonight's dinner of Chicken with Cider and Dried Plums over rice. This was an interesting combination of flavors - once the chicken is seared, it is cooked in a savory-sweet sauce of onions, shallots, apple cider, golden raisins, fresh lemon juice and hot madras curry powder. After the sauce simmers and thickens slightly, dried plums are added and the after a quick 5 more minutes, the dish was ready to be served. The plumped up dried plums and golden raisins add a pleasant soft texture against the tender chicken breasts with the curry adding a spicy savory component. While we mopped up the delicious fresh-tasting sauce with the slices of chicken breast, there was still a bit leftover. This is why I would suggest serving this over rice so you don't loose out on one drop of the syrupy sweetness.

Recipes
Asiago-Parsley Oven Fries
Chicken with Cider and Dried Plums