Fries are one of the easiest things in the world to make.

You do not have to worry about deep-frying. No digusting frier, no frying pan full of snapping oil. Instead, cut the potatoes up and put them in the oven.

Fries.

boiling potatoes
olive oil
salt and pepper
other spices such as cayenne or mustard powder

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Get out more potatoes than you think you want to eat. On this occasion, I used four for two of us; it was almost enough.

Cut the potatoes into appropriate steak-fry wedges. Do not peel, just wash. Peels are great and besides help the fries hold their shape.

Chuck all the fries onto a cookie sheet (maybe two) big enough to hold them in one layer. Salt and pepper and cayenne/whatever them up. Since these are the only seasonings, be damned sure to use the good sea salt and just-ground pepper.

Pour some olive oil onto the fries, then mix everything together with your hands. Get a good coating of oil on all the fries; get the spices well distributed. Spread the fries into one layer.

Wash your hands and put the fries in the oven.

Bake at 375F or even 400F for five or so minutes, then turn the heat down a little. This gets the outside layer crisp, then cooks the inside layer more slowly. If your fries don't crisp up enough you can always stick them on higher heat right at the end of cooking.

It takes maybe twenty minutes total to make perfect fries. Check them every once in a while; shake the pan and rearrange the fries at least once during cooking, so all sides get done.

Then take them out of the oven and eat them.