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Simple Roasted Sweet Potato Fries

November 7, 2010 by Charles 7 Comments

It’s no secret that I love sweet potatoes. I’ve featured them mashed, baked, and grilled. I’ve also folded them into phyllo dough, and into a bundt cake.

Out of all these variations, one of my favorite ways to prepare sweet potatoes happens to be one of the simplest: sliced and roasted.

As the days start to darker and the weather cooler, these sweet potato fries are a quick remedy. Simple and quick to make, these warm and healthy fries are the quintessential comfort food, a sizzling side, and an awesome appetizer.

Last week, I …

Flan

September 19, 2010 by Charles 3 Comments

There is, apparently, a right way and a wrong way to eat dessert.

When I lived in France, one of my favorite things to get at the Franprix was the flan four-pack. After a hot afternoon, jammed in a metro, one small satisfaction was getting home, pulling back the plastic top, and sinking my spoon into the cool caramel center. Whatever fleeting frustrations I had, melted away. You had to love a country whose grocery stores carried a fifty-cent flan.

Week after week, I enjoyed my flan. Break off a container, pull back the top, sink the spoon in, and enjoy. I might get lost in certain arrondissements. I might not understand the jokes in the movies. I might get frustrated with certain french customs. But I knew my flan. Or so I thought.

One night, I was at a small party, when…

Twice-Baked Potatoes

March 7, 2010 by Charles 2 Comments

When it comes to potatoes, repetition is key.

For the best french fries, it’s essential to double-fry them. It should be no surprise then, that the best baked potatoes, should be twice baked.

On Superbowl Sunday, I invited my friends over to watch the Saints defeat the Colts. I told them to bring their wives and girlfriends, but also to bring their appetites. Given my New Orleans roots, I knew …

Red Beans and Rice

February 4, 2010 by Charles 2 Comments

Memories are a funny thing. I look back at certain events or times, and wonder what it was that made a certain scene memorable, that gave it such staying power.

With childhood memories, the question evokes a stronger response – owing, perhaps, to the idea that a memory resonates with more emotion the more distant it seems. There’s something inspiring and captivating about looking back in your subconscious and finding a picture of yourself at a younger, more exciting age.

There I am, 20 years old, turning a corner outside of a Paris cafe, and bumping into the Prime Minister. There I am, 18 years old, sweating under the bright lights of my high-school…

Vanilla Eggnog Popovers

January 18, 2010 by Charles 4 Comments

As I’ve noted, popovers can be a fickle lot. Sometimes they don’t pop. Sometimes they explode. And sometimes, they simply refuse to come out of their cups.

But when everything comes together, when the popovers pop and glide effortlessly out of their cups, and the warm dough heats your fingertips, the results can be stunning. To give these popovers a winter touch, I used…