Scrumptious Sides: Sweet Potato Fries

I often serve sweet potato fries when entertaining because not only are they delish, but they are incredibly easy. I mean, who doesn't love sweet potato fries and after stumbling upon Giada's rendition with garlic mayonnaise, I've fallen in love all over again! Now, I do have a little secret. It's a little something I like to call Emily's Essence (ok, ok, so it's really Emeril's Essence but Emily's Essence has a nice ring to it, don't ya think?) The best thing about this scrumptious side is that it dazzles your guests while being so quick and easy that you can focus on your main course to really blow them away.

Sweet Potato Fries with Garlic Mayonnaise

4 sweet potatoes, cut into about 1 by 5 inch fries
3 tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp lemon juice
1-2 tbsp Emeril's essence

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place fries on foil lined baking sheet and toss with olive oil and Emeril's Essence, enough to lightly coat. Bake until golden, about 30-45 minutes.

In a small bowl combine mayonnaise, garlic and lemon juice. Stir to combine.

When the fries come out of the oven sprinkle with salt to taste and serve garlic mayonnaise along side for dipping. Serves 4-6.

A couple small tips:
1. Keep an eye on the prize, er, fries. I'm not gonna lie, I've burnt a batch or two.
2. Make sure to toss fries about half way through. This way they will cook evenly and are much less likely to burn.
3. Emeril's Essence is a spice mix by, you guessed it, Emeril Lagasse. It's a pretty basic mix of spices- salt, onion, paprika, etc- but it's super delicious and good on many things... sprinkle it on asparagus before you cook it with a little olive oil. You won't be disappointed!
4. Another tasty option that is part of Giada's original recipe is tossing the fries with basil salt after baking. Sometimes I leave this step out depending on if I have fresh basil or not. The recipe is as follows:

Basil Salt

2 tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves

2 tsp kosher salt (sea salt works well too)

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Combine in a small bowl and sprinkle over fries after baking. 

Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentis on foodnetwork.com and modified by moi.