March Madness

by Jacqueline Segal 
The weather has officially driven me to madness.  I’m now purposefully delusional, removing any sense of realistic meteorology from my train of thought.   No snow, no daily deluge of wet, gloppy muck.  Instead I see March, the month when Spring is born, when maple trees are tapped, and when children play amongst the budding gardens and greening trees.   

Delusion, apparently, has found it’s way in to the kitchen.  Spring themed Maple-tinis and a log cabin of sweet-potato fries are tasty enough to convince you and your guests that warmer weather is just around the corner.  Or, perhaps, they’re just so delicious it doesn’t quite matter. 

Sweet Potato Fries (3 ways)

I recently learned that a touch of egg-white turns typically soggy sweet-potato fries crispy and delicious.  For this recipe I’ve used a combination of equal parts light olive oil and egg-white to coat the fries, with three different seasonings, for taste.  If simple’s your style, I’d suggest just using salt and pepper to add to your fry coating.    

• 3 large sweet-potatoes
• 1/3 cup egg whites
• 1/3 cup light olive oil
• seasoning of choice (see below)
  

Preheat your oven to 450, making sure to leave room on your racks for two large baking trays.  As your oven heats, peel and wash your sweet-potatoes, and cut them in to 1cm batons (give or take a millimeter or two).  The more uniform your fries, the less you have to fuss about undercooking or overcooking the runts in the batch.  Set your fries aside as you prepare your seasoning.    In a small bowl, mix your egg-whites, oil and seasoning of of choice.*

*I tried three:

1. a pinch of crushed, dried rosemary and cayenne

2. a tbsp of Caribbean style hot-sauce for subtle heat

3. a dash of honey mixed with crushed garlic for a classic flavour pairing

4. all were delicious 

Toss your egg-white mixture with the fries, making sure they all get lightly coated, and arrange your fries on a baking sheet (a non-stick mat works wonders here).  Make sure none of the fries are on top of, or touching, each other, to ensure maximum crispiness.  Three potatoes should easily fill two trays.  Your fries should cook for approximately 15 minutes, be removed for flipping, and then finish in the oven for another 15 minutes or so, until they get golden.  (If you find this takes longer, feel free to crisp and brown them under the broiler, making sure to watch them very carefully – this will only take a minute or two, at most. ) When golden brown, remove them from the oven and toss them lightly in a paper-towel lined bowl with a pinch of salt.  This will help to absorb the oil and keep your fries crispy.   All that’s left to do now is enjoy.   Building a log-cabin with your fries is not compulsory.    

Mapletini

This one’s simple, for all you maple-fans out there.   

For each cocktail you’ll need

• 2 oz vodka or rum (either would work, in this case)
• 2 oz maple syrup
• 2 oz water
• a spritz of lemon
  

Add each of the ingredients to a martini shaker with a few cubes of ice.  Shake this one well – 30 seconds or more, to prevent the maple syrup from turning to maple candy amongst the ice.  Pour in to a martini glass, and serve with a lemon wedge, perfect for counteracting the sweetness of the maple.