By Week 398. Year 8. Tommy is 41. Deer season. The stand at dawn. The coffee in the thermos. The waiting that is not waiting but praying — the silent prayer of a man in a tree, asking the woods for what the woods are willing to give. dirty rice for dinner from what the season provides.
Made dirty rice this week — the kind of food that fills the house with the smell of Louisiana and the knowledge that whoever walks through the door is walking into a home where the stove is on and the food is ready and the welcome is unconditional. The meal was the day. The day was the meal. Both were good. C'est bon, cher.
After a morning in the stand—the coffee gone, the woods still, the whole slow prayer of waiting on what the season is willing to give—you come home ready for something that tastes like fall made it itself. Dirty rice was the heart of that dinner, but these baked sweet potato fries were the soul beside it: earthy, a little sweet, crisp at the edges the way the October air gets around dusk. They’re the kind of side that doesn’t ask anything of you, just does its job and fills the plate the way a good day fills a man up without him even realizing it until he’s already full.
Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch matchstick fries
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, for heat)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch (for crispiness)
- Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven. Set your oven to 425°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Prep the sweet potatoes. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into uniform 1/4-inch sticks. The more consistent the cut, the more evenly they’ll cook—take your time here.
- Season and coat. In a large bowl, toss the sweet potato sticks with olive oil until fully coated. Sprinkle in the cornstarch, garlic powder, smoked paprika, cayenne (if using), salt, and pepper. Toss well until every fry is evenly seasoned.
- Arrange on the pans. Spread the fries in a single layer across both baking sheets, making sure they are not touching each other. Crowding is the enemy of crispy—use both sheets.
- Bake. Roast for 15 minutes, then flip each fry with a spatula. Return to the oven and bake another 12–15 minutes until the edges are golden and the tips are starting to crisp.
- Rest and serve. Let the fries rest on the pan for 2–3 minutes before serving—they crisp up a touch more as they cool. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired and serve immediately.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 180 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 29g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 290mg