Now this is a blog hop for one and all – thanks to fellow author Audra Middleton for her relentless focus on things we love, like, you know, food.

Here’s how the blog hop works: You follow the path of links in each post, go to each author’s page, check out their offerings, and enter their contests. At the end of it all, you’ve collected some great recipes, enjoyed some delicious writing, and maybe discovered a new favorite (food or book!) to share.

Oven fries – that’s one helping for me.

My contribution is a recipe for Molly’s Amazing Oven Fries. Who’s Molly? Full name Hugh Mollone, affectionately known as Molly to his bar customers and his dogs. Molly runs the neighborhood bar Jane and her friends frequent in You, Jane, my novel about romance, fables, angels, and writing your own happy endings. When we meet Jane and Molly, Jane’s life is spiraling out of control, as are the fables she writes that somehow make themselves come true in her “real world.” Molly keeps his eye on Jane, as do his dogs, Coke and Dodge. Their pack will be Jane’s safety net… but first, everyone needs some of Molly’s patented French fries.

It would be just like Molly to substitute a healthier version – these Amazing Oven Fries – as a way to take care of Jane without her knowing it. I make them with pre-baked potatoes, to shorten the cooking time. But the great thing about a recipe like this is that you can change it up to make it your own.

MOLLY’S AMAZING OVEN FRIES

• Russet potatoes, scrubbed thoroughly, skins on, about one large potato per person
• Good olive oil, 1/4 – 1/2 cup, depending on the number of potatoes you are using
• Fresh herbs, chopped fine (try a handful of thyme, rosemary, sage, and/or oregano – or your own favorites); or dried spices (I love curry, cumin, lemon pepper, but again, use your own favorites)
• Freshly ground pepper to taste

Pre-heat your oven to about 425F.

Mix the olive oil, herbs, pepper, and salt in a large bowl. Slice the potatoes length-wise, as skinny or chunky as you prefer. Add them to the bowl and stir to coat with the oil mixture.

Spread the potatoes on a baking sheet, not too crowded. If the potatoes are raw, bake for about 15-20 minutes, check for tenderness, turn with a spatula, and bake another 15-20 minutes or as needed. Then turn on the broiler for about 5 minutes (keep an eye on them!) to crisp them up. If the potatoes are prebaked, just use the broiler for about 10 minutes (keep an eye on them!) until they are hot and crisp.

Add a sprinkling of salt after you pull them out of the oven, if you want.

One more tip: I use parchment paper to line my baking sheet – no aluminum to worry about, makes clean-up easy, but don’t get it too close to your broiler.

NEXT UP ON THE BLOG HOP:

From here, visit Celia Breslin. Celia writes captivating, funny, intense paranormal stories. Be wary, her recipe might have some, well, odd ingredients…

And, of course, the contest…

Here’s the link to enter the contest for the giveaway – prizes include books and Amazon gift cards!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

If you have trouble with the Rafflecopter link, just go to Audra’s Blog.