Potato season is coming soon in Idaho. Prices are falling, and I’m getting excited to start experimenting with different potato recipes this fall (a sudden craving). I bought a big bag of red potatoes at Costco last week and because my house has still been rather warm during the day, I needed to use them up fast. When I was in junior high school my friends and I would make homemade fries ALL the time. We would head to someone’s house (the person with the deep fat frier, of course), peel and cut potatoes, fry them up, douse them in vinegar, and dip them in ketchup. They were SO good, and we consumed pounds and pounds of potatoes at a time — the perks of being a teenager. I don’t own a deep fat frier, but this recipe for oven baked fries caught my eye when I had a hankering for fries last week.

Oven Baked Steak Fries (adapted from Our Best Bites)

Preheat oven to 400.

Cut potatoes into 8 wedges each. Combine oil and spices in a shallow dish. Add potatoes and toss well to coat. Line a baking sheet with a piece of tin foil that’s been crumpled and spread out again. Spread fries on tin foil in a single layer.

Bake for 40 minutes or until browned.

Thoughts:

I used red potatoes for these, and they were scrumptious. They weren’t as firm or crispy as regular fries, but the taste was unbelievable. They would bake better if I had used russets as the original recipe calls for, but I love my red potatoes. The seasoning was perfect. I mixed up equal parts of ketchup and mayo for a quick and easy fry sauce. My husband and I consumed the entire pan . . . by ourselves. I always love to find a great side dish, and this one was perfect along with corn on the cob and homemade elk burgers!