Oven-Baked "Fries"

Pulled Pork Sandwich and Oven-Baked "Fries"

There are plenty of things that, excuse my language, really suck about living so far away from our family and friends. We didn't make it "home" for Christmas last year nor will I be able to attend any of my little (big) brother's baseball games this season - his senior year of high school. We've missed everything from large family dinners to impromptu lunch dates with our grandparents. I'm not gonna lie: Sometimes living 796 miles away from our hometown stinks.

The decision to spread our wings and fly south was our decision, though, and, to be honest, has blessed with a number of amazing opportunities. We found great jobs, a sweet home and Stella. The move has also allowed us to open our home to a number of weekend guests and create memories that'll last a lifetime. (Alright, the truth is we've got a journal our visitors write in so we can piece together the visits we can't quite remember.) No one ever called us up and asked if they could visit for the weekend when we lived in our first apartment (in sin, yes). All of our friends lived nearby. That would have just been awkward. But now that we've moved, we get visitors quite often. This weekend, enter our cowboy-hat-wearing groomsman, one of my many cousins, E.




We were so excited - honored, really - that given the chance to take a couple of days off from work E chose to make the long drive to our place. But as soon as the initial excitement settled passed, a little panic set it. What was I going to cook all weekend?! I needed food worthy of company – dishes that'd taste good and be memorable – but wouldn't leave me and the husband feeling like we'd jumped on an all-you-can-eat cruise ship buffet line.

I chose an ol' faithful recipe for tonight's dinner: slow-cooked pulled pork sandwiches with homemade barbecue sauce. This seems to be a common meal when we have company. (It makes too much for just me and the husband!) So my cowboys and I started making the pork the night before we were to have our pork sandwiches.

Is my grandmomma a good seamstress or what? Happy birthday to me!

My homemade barbecue sauce has to simmer for a good hour - at least.

Our pork butt, all rubbed and ready to rest in the fridge overnight

A lot of the prep work for this meal was done the night before, but I still had to find a side to serve with our sandwiches. I know melt-in-your-mouth pork dripping with spicy, sweet barbecue sauce isn't the healthiest option out there, so I thought I better make up for it with a healthier side. And let me tell you what, these oven-fried potatoes were so good I don't think they dragged my score on the Southern hospitality scale down at all.

Oven-Baked "Fries"
Serves 4 (or two hungry men and a lady)

1 lb potatoes
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon mixed-up salt, to taste
cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Wash and peel the potatoes, then chop them into matchsticks. 

Put the potatoes and oil in a ziploc bag to coat the fries. Sprinkle in the seasonings and mix well.

Transfer the potatoes to a lightly sprayed baking sheet and spread them out evenly. Bake for 30-40 minutes, flipping as needed, until the potatoes are cooked and lightly brown. If you like your fries a little crispy, turn the broiler on for a few minutes at the end so they can brown even more. (The husband swears this is the key to good homemade fries.)