Sweet & Spicy Sriracha Sweet Potato Fries

Brown sugar, Sriracha, lime juice, bacon...need I say more?

Bake a  16-20 oz bag of frozen sweet potato fries according to directions... the thinner ones  work better than  crinkle-cut. 
While they're baking, cook 3 chopped strips of bacon in a skillet til crisp, about 8 minutes. Don't be tempted to short-cut by nuking the bacon; you need the drippings.  Drain the bacon and to those drippings, add 1 TB Asian fish sauce, 2 TB packed dark brown sugar,  2 tsp Sriracha sauce,  1 1/2 TB lime juice,  1/2 tsp lime zest.   Stir to dissolve the sugar. No need to heat the sauce.

Move the crisp fries to a serving  platter,  drizzle with the sauce, and  sprinkle with the crisp crumbles of bacon and 2 TB chopped fresh cilantro.  Top with frizzle-fried   onions- green or regular.

I swiped this recipe  - and their photo - from Food Network Magazine a couple years ago. Surprise your favorite diners  by serving  this  delish side with  burgers and all sorts of things.

Caprese Toasts

'Caprese' is being mutilated, verbally, by servers everywhere these days.   I  assume the chefs they work for know better  but  don't bother  to tell them it means 'in the style of Capri' and is pronounced  Ca-pray-say.

These tasty toasts are  a really  quick simple version of the famous Caprese trio --- tomato, basil, and mozzarella . You can make trays of them hours ahead, and they don't need to be refrigerated.

They're terrific appetizers, or accompaniment to  all sorts of  soups, salads, and entrees.  I was told some years ago  that Carrabba's  once served this as 'bruschetta'...

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Cut a baguette or narrow French loaves in thin slices,  a bit diagonally. Barely toast one side in the oven or broiler.  When toasted, flip them over to cool.    Then spread each toast with garlic butter, top with a slice of mozzarella cheese  (or provolone), a thin  slice ( or half-slice) of a Roma tomato, then  slide about 1/2 tsp pesto over each.

Bake 4-5 minutes, until toasty and  a bit browned.  

See? I told you it was simple!