By Early May. The household has been in lockdown for seven weeks. Mama has stayed on the three-day Dollar General schedule. I am still home. Dustin has been working full HVAC hours since the shop owner brought back the fifth day on May fourth. The unemployment deposits have been steady at $268 every other Wednesday. The grocery budget has flexed up slightly to accommodate the longer-at-home days.
Sunday I made garlic-chive baked fries because Dustin had been wanting fries for two weeks and the rental house does not have a grill and the deep-fryer would have meant a gallon of oil I did not want to commit to. The oven-baked variant produces fries that are about ninety percent of the deep-fryer texture at a fraction of the oil and the cleanup. The trick is the cold-water soak.
The procedure: russet potatoes cut into half-inch wedges, soaked in cold water for thirty minutes to draw out the surface starch (the starch removal is what allows the wedges to crisp instead of going soggy), patted dry on a clean dish towel, tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and baked at four-twenty-five for thirty-five minutes, flipping at the twenty-minute mark, until golden and crispy. Tossed at the very end with a mixture of melted butter, four cloves of grated garlic, fresh chives from the small windowsill pot, and grated parmesan.
Mama’s Wednesday call was the small mid-week anchor. She talked through the cafe’s small breakfast-and-lunch numbers, the small Cody-news, the small Aunt-Linda update. The cafe is in its small steady-state rhythm. Cody is at the small operational-lead for the lunch-and-dinner rotation. Mama is on the small breakfast-and-brunch shifts. The small Sapulpa-cafe-life continues the way it has been continuing for years.
The technique-detail I always lean on: the rest at room temperature for at least twenty minutes before the small final cooking step. The rest gives the small protein-or-dough time to relax into its small final-form. Skip the rest and the texture goes wrong. Honor the rest and the texture honors you back.
Garlic-Chive Baked Fries
Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 lbs russet potatoes (about 3 large), scrubbed and cut into 1/4-inch sticks
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped (or 1 tablespoon dried)
- Optional: flaky sea salt for finishing
Instructions
- Preheat & prep. Heat oven to 425°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease with cooking spray. Using two pans prevents steaming — this is what gets you crispy.
- Soak the potatoes. Place cut fries in a large bowl of cold water and soak for at least 5 minutes (up to 30 if you have time). This pulls out excess starch and helps them crisp instead of steam. Drain well and pat completely dry with a clean kitchen towel — moisture is the enemy of a crispy fry.
- Season. Toss dried fries in a large bowl with olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper until evenly coated.
- Arrange & bake. Spread fries in a single layer across both baking sheets, making sure they’re not touching. Bake for 20 minutes, then flip fries with a spatula and rotate pans between oven racks. Bake another 12–15 minutes until golden brown and crisp at the edges.
- Finish with chives. Remove from oven and immediately toss with fresh chives. Taste and add finishing salt if needed. Serve hot.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 195 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 31g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 245mg