SWEET POTATO FRIES AND PULTE SMART HOMES

Sweet potato fries are easy to make at home using only a few simple ingredients. With tips from Atlanta based Food Network Star, these fries will be something your friends and family will be asking for again and again!

This is a sponsored post from Pulte Homes. As always, all opinions are my own. #PulteHomes #PulteSmartHome

I was so excited when I was invited by Pulte Homes to tour their latest smart home technologies at the Atwater community in Sandy Springs, Georgia. I was even more excited when I found out Chef Tregaye Fraser would be treating us to a live food demonstration with Whirlpool smart appliances.

When I pulled into the neighborhood I was impressed by the beautiful community. It’s in a great part of town located just outside of Atlanta and so close to everything. The home was stunning with amazing natural light coming through the windows. I loved the open concept plan and of course the incredible kitchen with a waterfall island and floor to ceiling cabinets. No joke, I texted my husband that we needed to put our house on the market and move into this one.

The best part about this Pulte home is that it’s smart. Using simple voice commands or the phone you can lock your door, control the lights, turn on the oven and change the thermostat. So amazing! The home buyers also have the flexibility to choose the smart features they want when they want them allowing them to add smart technologies that best fit their lifestyle at any point without cost, disruption or hassle of retrofitting a house.

Every new Pulte home will come pre-wired for connectivity and the ability to add smart technology. They have partnered with companies like Whirlpool, NEST, LiftMaster, Schlage, Amazon Echo and Sonos to name a few. White glove professional installation is also available. This allows homeowners to enjoy their connected home without the stress of setting it up or configuration.

What does this have to do with sweet potato fries? You make them in the smart oven of course!

HOW TO MAKE SWEET POTATO FRIES:

Now it’s time for these tasty sweet potato fries. Chef Tregaye walked us through three of her favorite dishes including black bean burgers, chicken bites topped with guacamole and sweet potato fries.

Chef Tregaye demonstrated her chopping technique along with how she uses the Whirlpool smart oven technology to bake the potatoes. The Whirlpool oven in this smart home can be controlled by touch screen, voice command or an app on your cell phone. How cool is that?! She asked Amazon Echo to turn the oven on to 400 degrees F and voila, it turned on.

CHEF TREGAYE’S TIPS:

To help your fresh herbs last longer, dampen a paper towel and wrap around herbs. Store in a sealed bag in the refrigerator. I used this to keep my parsley nice and fresh.
Toast your spices! This helps bring out the flavor of the spices. Place them in a pan on low for 1-2 minutes before using. I toasted the chili spice for just a minutes before sprinkling on the fries.
Use Himalayan sea salt. Chef Tregaye said she uses this salt for everything, even baking.
Make sure you use a sharp knife. This makes a big difference when cutting the sweet potatoes into strips.
Spread out the fries on the pan and avoid over crowding. This helps them become crispy on the outside.

To make the baked sweet potato fries, cut off the ends of each sweet potato and peel off the skin with either a sharp knife or vegetable peeler. Cut into thin strips or your desired fry thickness. I like mine a little on the thinner side so that they get crispy on the outside.

Place them in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil and then season with salt, pepper and chili powder. Give them a good toss to make sure they are coated. Arrange the fries on a pan and place in the oven. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, flipping them over after 15 minutes.

Finish them with a little sprinkle of fresh, chopped parsley. I served mine with a dipping sauce made with mayonnaise and ketchup.

Let me know how you like these sweet potato fries and what smart features you would love to have in a home.