Sweet Potato Fries

Ooh, we'll get to these.

But first, a story.  A story of a Southern girl, some black ice, and a head trauma.  See, I realize that it was pretty quiet on the blog front the latter half of last week, and I feel I must explain.  Wednesday morning, my good friend, Tal, and I were leaving the library on campus.  Chatting and walking, we turned onto the sidewalk to our class building and WHOOSH {POW! KAZAM!} both of us completely flew up in the air and landed in heaps on the ground {thank you giant ice patch}.  Poor Tal had just gotten a full cup of coffee and now he was bathing in it.  I managed to hit both my left hip and right knee {still can't picture how}.  Embarrassed and confused, we jumped up to see about 20 undergrads staring at us open-mouthed.  We hobbled off to class, only to be sent by our professor to Student Health to get checked out.  And good thing we did: I apparently had jostled my brain enough to get a concussion.  So here I am, five full days later and finally allowed to look at a computer and read.  Obviously, the first thing I read was my latest Bon Appetit, and I just had to make these sweet potato fries.

It was a personal challenge.  Both to make food with my shaken brain, and because I have roasted sweet potatoes every way I can think of, and they never really get that french fry essence {which I would like all of my food to have, just to clear that up}.

Plus, these get dipped in a lime sour cream sauce.  It was supposed to be lime mayo, but someone in this house has a distinct mayo aversion.  {ahem, not me, I am pro-fat. especially on bread with tomatoes}  Still a fantastical sauce.  And feel free to use mayo for yourself. {Then invite me over pleaseandthankyou}

Why don't I just fry the sweet potatoes?  Good question.  Because I am afraid of frying things in my own home.  Not afraid of the process {although, let's face it, I got a concussion just from walking, let's not put me and boiling hot oil near each other any time soon}, more afraid of the pandora's box that would most assuredly open. But these fries {almost} eliminate that need: that are completely tasty and very easy!

Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Lime Sour Cream Dipping Sauce
Serves 2-4 as a side dish

3 medium size potatoes
2 tablespoons canola oil
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup sour cream (or mayo)
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 teaspoon lime zest

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Peel the sweet potatoes and slice longways into wedges, about 8-10 wedges per potato. Toss in oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place on a foil-lined baking sheet and into the oven for 25-35 minutes, until potatoes are cooked through and getting just a bit crispy. Meanwhile, mix sour cream with lime juice and zest. Serve hot!

And watch out for that ice, man.