Potatoes are the most popular vegetable in the world, and fries ("French" fries) are the most popular way to eat them. Everywhere you go, almost every restaurant has fries. These are usually thin-cut, peeled potatoes, deep-fried in some kind of oil. The oil is often re-used for several batches, sometimes even re-used for several days(!), and eventually discarded.

The traditional method of making fries entails soaking the raw potato strips in ice water, then drying them, then frying them twice. The first frying cooks the pieces but does not brown them, and the second frying browns the outside to the desired golden-brown color and crispy texture. Many fast-food places fry them only once, usually because they buy the potato pieces partially pre-cooked, so they are really just finishing the cooking there. Properly-cooked fries are crispy outside and soft inside. Poorly-made fries are soggy or greasy.

The downside of fries is the huge number of calories that the oil adds to an otherwise respectably low-fat vegetable. There is also a concern with the oil itself. The oil used for frying is often partially-hydrogenated, and the high cooking temperatures used can lead to the formation of dangerous trans-fat with these oils.

Baked potatoes are free of this oil burden. However, they are often stuffed with butter, margarine, or cheese, which puts them back into the high-fat category. And as tasty as a baked spud can be, it lacks the comforting crispiness of a portion of fries. Remember, "crispy" and "creamy" are the universal comfort textures.

There are a few things you can do to a baked potato that would give it "crispy" or "creamy" status. To make it crispy, top it with some chopped nuts. To make it creamy, remove the inside of the baked potato, put it into a bowl, add 2 - 3 Tbs yogurt or low-fat sour cream, and whip until creamy. Add a little salt and pepper. Put this back into the skin, and serve!

For those of you for whom only crispy potatoes will suffice, here is a method to make them as yummy as fries, without all that fat.

WonderTaters

3 medium red potatoes
1 Tbs vegetable oil
Pan spray
Salt
Pepper
Cayenne pepper (optional)
Ketchup (optional)

Using a shredder (mandoline, etc), shred potatoes.
(Use a knife if you have no shredder or grater.)
Put in a bowl, and add oil. Mix well using your hands until shreds are well-coated with oil.
Spray a baking pan with pan spray.
Arrange shreds on the baking pan in one layer, pressing down.
Spray shreds lightly with pan spray.
Bake in preheated 425 F oven for 30 - 45 minutes, until golden brown and there are no raw spots.
Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne (optional).

Serve as a side dish with burgers, sandwiches, etc.