Fabulous Fries & Perfect Plum Crisp

    Image by bro0ke via Flickr

Who loves french fries and fruit crisps in the Summer? Or...any season of the year?
If you could see me, you'd see me raising both of my arms wildly in the air. Because in my little world, I can't really think of anything better than a juicy bbq'd burger, homemade oven fries, a gorgeous green salad, and a plum oatmeal crisp for dessert.

In fact, that's what just went down in this house. Not too shabby for a Wednesday, eh? (BTW, in case you were curious, Canadians really do end most sentences with "eh?". I'm no expert on the Canadian culture, but I have been there four times- count it- 1,2,3,4- and with each visit I heard at least 5 people use the cute little "eh?" at the end of their sentence. All I'm saying is, why haven't we considered stealing that, and how did they become the nicest people on the planet?). Also, you should probably know that my burger was smothered in spicy roasted green chiles, in honor of our recent trip to Albuquerque, the mecca for all things green chile!

Anyway, I was flipping through my July issue of Food & Wine magazine (which I adore but never have time to read), and I came upon this fantastic recipe for homemade oven fries, which then quickly inspired my whole bbq burger meal into being. And since I haven't posted any recipes in practically FOREVA (who's been wondering: what's up with that? I thought there was supposed to be some passionate food talk on this here blog!) and since I could never deny you anything this delicious, let me go ahead and share them both with you. Mama loves you.


Fabulous Oven Fries w/ Herbs & Pecorino
(adapted from Grace Parisi, via Food & Wine Magazine, July 2010)


2 large baking potatoes, cut into 4-by-1/2 in. sticks
1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. each of minced sage & rosemary OR if you don't have these dried herbs on hand (like me) then you can get in the French spirit and substitute 1 tsp. of Herbes de Provence
1/4 c. freshly grated pecorino romano or parmesan cheese
Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 425. In a large bowl, toss the potato sticks with the olive oil until evenly coated. Spread the potato sticks in a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer and bake in upper third of the oven, turning once or twice with a spatula, until they are gold and crispy, about 30 minutes.
2. Sprinkle the minced garlic and herbs over the fries and toss well. Amazing smells are about to come wafting from your oven! Roast for about 5 minutes longer, or until the herbs are fragrant and the garlic is lightly browned. Transfer the fries to a large bowl and toss with the grated cheese. Season with salt & pepper and serve. Serves 4. (or in our case, serves two really hungry adults & 1 child).

Plum Oatmeal Crisp
(adapted from Everyday Food Magazine)


1/2 c. plus 1 T. all-purpose flour
1 c. plus 2 T. packed brown sugar
2/3 c. old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick cooking)
1/4 c. toasted pecans, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash or two of pumpkin pie spice (optional, but recommended!)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2-1/2 lbs. ripe plums, cut into 1-inch pieces (so, obviously, you can substitute or combine any of your favorite pitted fruits; for example, I did a plum/peach combo and it was heavenly. Apricots would be equally delicious!)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Topping: In a medium bowl, stir together 1/2 c. flour, 1 c. brown sugar, oats, toasted pecans and salt. Pour melted butter over mixture and stir to combine & moisten the other ingredients. This is when things start to get very tasty.
2. In a shallow 2-qt. baking dish, toss plums with remaining 2 T. of brown sugar, 1 T. flour, and couple dashes of pumpkin pie spice, if using. Sprinkle with oat/pecan/butter yumminess crumble topping. Place dish on a rimmed baking sheet (perhaps overly-cautious, but an effort to prevent overflow burn, because no one wants that). Bake until topping is golden brown, 40-45 minutes. Let cool 20 minutes before serving, but I'll bet you can't wait that long to taste it because the smell wafting through your kitchen will put you in a love-sick trance. Serves 6. Enjoy!