Football season is officially coming soon and I am so happy. Football is easily my favorite sport and I was worried that I might not get to watch on Saturday *and* Sunday this fall. I’m probably not the typical girl, especially one that considers herself really feminine, but I can list off many random football facts and trivia that will surprise most who don’t already know me.
One of the best parts about football season is the ability to host football parties and tailgate when I have the chance to actually go to a game. Each year I try to come up with something new to serve guests and since I’m currently obsessed with sweet potato fries, that was going to be my starting point for this year’s creation. The family and I headed out to Sam’s Club to hunt for our best option. You can see our trip and read more about it here.
Once our Ore-Ida Sweet Potato Fries by Heinz were found, bought, and delivered back to our home, I was too excited to wait any longer and they went straight into the oven.
So before I get too much further into it, I would like to give you the Sweet Rose Studio Addendum to the baking directions. The husband and I enjoy our Ore-Ide Sweet Potato Fries by Heinz with a little bit of crunch to them. If that’s *not* for you, please ignore the rest of this paragraph. We always bump up the temperature that’s recommended by 25 degrees and we make sure to cook them for the longest time suggested, if not a few minutes longer. I’ve found this makes them slightly crispy on the outside, but still soft on the inside. Try it this way at least once; I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Also important: make sure that you make enough. It’s no fun to run out of a popular snack when you’re hosting a party. In my opinion, it’s better to have too much rather than not enough.
Here are the finished sweet potato fries with a pulled barbecue chicken sandwich, but don’t the fries look a little lonely? I thought it would be fun to create a dipping buffet to go along with these yummy fries and after consulting with some of my Facebook and Twitter followers, I came up with a few ideas to create as dipping sauces. Quite a few are even regular items that you might already have around your home. I like to keep things simple, so I’m sharing that simplicity with you.
The original dip that I created was super easy and only involved two ingredients (yes, just two!): Sour Cream and Rosemary. I happened to have dry rosemary leaves on hand, but if you have the chance to pick up fresh rosemary, I’d definitely recommend it. I used half the container of sour cream to two tablespoons of rosemary. If you do decide to use the dried rosemary, make it at least a few hours ahead of time so the rosemary flavor has time to work it’s magic.
Other recommended condiments? Ketchup. Classic.
Ranch.
My son’s personal favorite: maple syrup. It brings back memories of sweet potato casserole at Thanksgiving.
Other dipping possibilities: maple butter, fresh honey, pineapple, coleslaw, horseradish, chili lime salt, chili pepper and garlic. So many great, easy choices that would make an amazing addition to any football shin dig featuring #OreIdaFries.
We tested our options and really enjoyed all four that I set out. Honestly, I really don’t think you can go wrong with good sweet potato fries. What other options would pair with your sweet potato fries?
This project has been compensated as part of a #OreIdaFries shopping mission for Heinz with #CollectiveBias, but all opinions and ideas are 100% my own.
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Ok, so you’ll find this story amusing. I too am a fan of sweet potato fries and dying to have them at home got a bag of Alexia brand. Now let me say, I may not have “baked” them properly, but they didn’t turn out great. My husband hated them so much, he immediately went to the freezer, threw the bag on the floor, stomped on them and said to never buy them again. LOL!!!! We cracked up for a week:-)
I’ve had sweet potato fries dipped in a mix of ketchup and sweet chili sauce. This was a fabulous combo…really kicks up the ketchup!