Yam Fries

Bright orange and tasty to boot, the 99 Cent Chef's Yam Fries are a nice change of pace from typical spud fried fare. You can add a cookie sheet full on the oven bottom rack as the Thanksgiving turkey if finishing up. It's a nice change of pace from a casserole of mushy marshmallow-topped baked sweet potatoes.

Yams are often on sale at most markets, and especially ethnic ones like my local Latin market -- anywhere from 4 to 2 lbs. per dollar. I've fried them in oil like regular russet potatoes, but they usually come out somewhat soggy and limp. A surfire method that is lighter is to simply slice, season, sprinkle with olive oil and bake on a cookie sheet. Yams have a lower sugar content than Sweet Potatoes so they are less likey to burn. Of course you can use sweet potatoes, but watch carefully, and you may need to reduce cooking time by a few minutes.

Ingredients (serves 1-2)

• 1 large yam or sweet potato
• 1 teaspoon of cumin (optional)
• 1 tablespoon of oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel yam and slice into 1/2 inch wide and an 2 inch long spears. Yam are sometimes difficult to slice, so don't worry if "fries" are uneven and broken. Spread out yam fries on a metal cookie sheet, ok if they touch, the heat will shrink them. Sprinkle with cumin, salt and pepper. Lastly drizzle with oil and cook for about 45 minutes. Turn once about half way through to brown fries on both sides. Sweet potatoes have more sugar so cooking time may be shorter; watch them carefully to prevent from burning black.