‘Tis the season for SWEET TATER FRIES!

OMGosh, people, it’s almost Thanksgiving! Where has this year gone? Really, now!

But with the autumn and winter, we get some really awesome seasonal foods to play around with–one of my favorites being the sweet potato. Now, granted, before I lived by myself (i.e., a few months ago), I never cooked sweet taters. My mom always did. And they were damn delicious, too.

I would always fall into the trap of Burgerville’s seasonal sweet potato fries, and I was ALWAYS disappointed. They just weren’t special.

So this year, in the absence of both my mother AND Burgerville, I decided to try my hand at scratch sweet potato fries.

First, peel your potato:

Then, if you don’t have super-duper sharp knives, I can tell you right now that you won’t be able to cut these bad boys. I was SHOCKED at how hard they were. I had to stick them in the microwave for a few minutes just to soften them enough to cut.

When you can cut them, cut them into fry-shapes, however thick or thin you want them. Then place them on a baking sheet that’s been greased or sprayed:

What you do next is basically up to you. If you want them super crisp and delicious, toss with a little bit of olive oil. If you want to be nice and healthy, use cooking spray instead. Add some salt and pepper. If you like them spicy, sprinkle with some cayenne pepper.

Bake your potatoes in a preheated 375-degree oven for about 45 minutes.

These sweet potato fries will be different than the ones in restaurants. The high sugar content will make them get a little charred around the edges, but it’s really delicious that way–they get crispy and almost caramelized. You’ll see for yourself!

For a finishing touch, I dipped my delicious fries in some Tribal Moose Cranberry Ketchup. This stuff is freaking AWESOME, and was perfect with the fries. Also, it’s great because 100 percent of the proceeds from this product go to the Salvation Army. So you’re eating something fantastic and healthy (no HFCS, here!) and doing something great for the community.

Mmm!!! Delicious!

I also used this on my spicy black bean burger with provolone, mushrooms, and avocado on a ciabatta roll.

You guys have to try this. It’s one of my favorite meals so far.

Anthropology? Yeah, I do that, too.

School is amazing and scary and hard and very, very rewarding. And part of being back into the academic swing means actually manifesting the role of graduate student. It’s much more serious than undergrad, you see!

About a month-ish back, I had the great privilege to attend a conference at Connecticut College, titled “Undocumented Hispanic Migration.” It was seriously AWESOME and was so relevant to my research. I met lots of people and had a great time.

But when it was time to exchange information, I had my snazzy business cards, but something was off. They’re still pretty snazzy, but the whole writer/editor/designer/photographer label just didn’t fit my role at the conference. Sure, I still actively do all the fun writing/editing/designing/photographing stuff, but now that I’m doing anthropology-related networking, I thought it’d be appropriate to have the proper representation.

More business cards!

After doing some research, I settled on a company called MOO, which works in tandem with Flickr. I was instantly enchanted with their mini cards, and equally smitten that I could choose several photos for card backs, and then design the front portion myself.

And the results?

The box was pretty darned adorable!

They even included little dividers!

Et voila! Here’s a close-up:

I love these, and they’re an excellent representation of my work. On the front is my info, and on the back, one of seven different photographs taken either in Mexico or Arizona, which is the geographic location of where I focus my work. They’re pretty small, but I’m hoping they’ll make a big impression on people when I go to the AAA Annual Meetings this year in Philadelphia!

Crazy-awesome BBQ turkey pizza

Have I told you? The refrigerated pizza crusts that everyone around here sells is one of my favorite things. I keep a few in the freezer, then unthaw them for a delicious, quick homemade meal in minutes. And yes, pizza may not be the best thing to eat all the time, but once in a while, these are great and you can load them with lots of veggies and other goodies to your liking. And it’s all way cheaper than delivery.

A few months ago, I made a barbecued turkey pizza and loaded LOTS of goodies on it. It was seriously awesome, and I’d been dying to make it again. Think classic barbecued chicken pizza, only significantly better.

I was ridiculously excited when I got this package in the mail. The last few months, I’ve had the privilege of working with Tribal Moose BBQ, which is a company based out of Sublimity, Oregon. I’ve read extensively and written about (and read lots of raving reviews) of their cranberry-based sauces, but had sadly never tried them. I was a very sad panda.

So guess how happy I was when the owners sent me a freaking awesome sample pack with all their sauces?! Tribal Moose specializes in four sauces: an original barbecue, a spicy barbecue, a steak sauce, and a ketchup. And yes, they ALL have cranberries in them. (And guess what? ALL of the proceeds from the ketchup go to the Salvation Army. How cool is that?)

In any case, this was a perfect time to do a remake of my utterly fantastic barbecued turkey pizza!

First, grease (or spray) your cooking sheet. Then toss your pre-made pizza dough, and squish it in your pan. Then give a good squirt of Tribal Moose BBQ sauce. I used the SPICY because I’m crazy like that.

Then put a bit of mozzarella on that pie! Cook some ground turkey (yes, I said ground turkey. It works well! And it’s cheap and not greasy!). Then, if you like mushrooms, I highly recommend piling them on like I did. MMMM!!!

Now here’s the GOOD part. The one my mom finds questionable, but I swear to you it’s good. De-cob (or whatever) an ear of fresh sweet corn, and put it on top of everything. If you don’t have a fresh ear of corn, feel free to use the canned stuff, which is what I ended up doing. I’ve had this pizza both ways now, and the fresh, raw stuff has a much better, sweeter, and crisper taste and feel to it. But they both work. Top it off with a little bit of cheddar. Don’t be afraid to just pile it on!

Pop your pizza in the oven at about 400 degrees for approximately 15 minutes.

Et voila! Are you totally jealous? Look at the ooey-gooey-delicious-crispness! OMG, YUM!!

And if that wasn’t enough, take a look at THAT goodness. If you want, eat it with some fresh avocado on top.

So basically, my first brush with Tribal Moose was exceptionally awesome. I don’t make a habit of intersecting work and private life, but I had to let all y’alls know about this stuff, because it is genuinely really, really good. The cranberries lend a really delicious, sweet-yet-tart flavor to the already delicious sauce, and let me tell you–the spicy–it is spicy! Yess!! One of my friends who tried the sauce (she’s a vegetarian, so she had it with some cheese pizza) said that too often you buy spicy barbecue sauce and it just isn’t spicy. This had a FANTASTIC kick, that actually took me off guard. But in a good way. This pizza was so good!

If you don’t live in Oregon and can’t get to the several Safeways and other stores that carry Tribal Moose products, get your butts to their website. Their sauces come in a sweet 20-ounce glass bottle, and go for a very reasonably $3.99. LOVE!!!

Next up: Down-home oven fries and Tribal Moose cranberry ketchup! (Can we say NOM, please?!)

alight.com giveaway winner!

Congratulations, Megan! The numbers have spoken, and you are the winner of my most recent giveaway, sponsored by alight.com.

Please check your email for details!

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