Spice up your Fall

The official start of Autumn is only a few days away on Sept 23rd.  It seems that just knowing that Fall is coming seem just  a bit colder. Of course, both recipes featured this week offer just the right of amount of spicy kick to perfectly complement the natural sweetness of our favorite orange spuds. Who could turn down a recipe this full of flavor and packed with all the vitamins A, C niacin and potassium that this superfood offers? No one, that's who. Bon Apetit!

Our first tasty treat was recently featured on NPR and combines classic sweet potato fries with lots of boisterous spices and a creamy sriracha sauce. This heat of this popular Thai sauce adds amazing flavor notes to the crunchy french fry goodness.

Spicy Sweet Potato Fries with Sriracha Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sriracha
2 large sweet potatoes, cut in large batons, approximately ¼-inch-by-2 inches
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Sriracha Dipping Sauce
Makes 1 cup
1 cup sour cream or Greek-style yogurt
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
2 teaspoons sriracha, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Whisk olive oil and sriracha together in a small bowl. Pour over sweet potatoes in a large bowl and toss to coat.

Combine spices in a small bowl. Add spices to potatoes and toss to coat. Arrange potatoes in one layer on an unoiled baking sheet.

Bake on lowest rack 10 minutes. Turn potatoes with a spatula and bake 10 more minutes, or until golden brown on all sides.

While potatoes are cooking, whisk dipping sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.
Remove potatoes from oven and serve with sriracha dipping sauce.

Still looking for a quick way to warm up when the Autumn chilled winds begin to blow? Try this amazing salsa on nachos, or as the perfect side to jazz up any entree.

Sweet Potato Salsa

Ingredients:

4 medium sweet potatoes
4 scallions or one large sweet onion
3 raw jalapenos, remove the seeds
1 red bell pepper, chopped and sauteed
1-2 large tomatoes (optional)
Cumin to taste
1 tsp Chili powder to taste
1 tsp Powdered garlic to taste
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp salt