Cooking easy with preparation, practice

People frequently ask me where I learned to cook, and by their expressions, I imagine they envision a cavern hidden deep under the city. There, a secret, benevolent cabal of home cooks preside, practicing the ancient rites of both spice mingling and time juggling. \n"In the kitchen," I always reply. They eye me with suspicion and disbelief.\nThe "why" of my cooking is equally elusive, but just as easily answered. I like it. Cooking is a creative energy release. I try to pass this basic premise along to kitchen-wary friends. Cooking lets you cut loose, get silly and trifle with folly. Our kindergarten teachers knew such forays were essential, hence the finger-painting and pipe cleaner sculptures. The finger-paints and pipe cleaners might be long gone, but not the need. \nThankfully, learning to cook can be fun from the start. Start by considering every recipe as a set of guidelines, not rules. A recipe is not an organic chemistry lab report. What matters most and least will come to light the longer you cook; none of us learned linguistic theory before learning the alphabet.\nUse your intuition, even at the baby-step stage, to determine whether another dash of Tabasco, 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest or dash of curry will give a dish the zing you are after. Trust yourself. You have been eating all your life, making decisions about what is or is not to your liking since you spat strained peas from your high-chair perch.\nMistakes are common, catastrophes rare; revel in both. It means you have joined the worldwide fray of home cooking. Moreover, while successes make great dinners, disasters make magnificent stories. A squeeze of ketchup or hot fudge sauce will render almost anything edible, anyway. Keep your refrigerator stocked with both. \nContemplate french fries for your next flirtation with culinary empiricism. This particular french fry recipe uses the term "fry" loosely (the "fries" are roasted, bypassing bubbling vats of oil and the accompanying calories). It is also one of those preparations that take no time to make and tastes better than it has any right to taste. Keep it plain, or add some "zing" at will. Vary the zing from a restrained sprinkle of seasoned salt to the occasional frantic mingling of spices, the latter potent enough to terrify an alchemist. Make "no regrets" your motto and keep breath mints nearby.\nMy only words of caution for these excellent spuds are beware of browning. When white potatoes are cut, browning can occur as the result of oxidation. The exact details are technical but the solution is simple: Place the peeled and or cut potatoes in water as you work. Cut loose.\nROASTED FRIES with ZING\n1 1/2 lbs. russet (baking) potatoes (about 3 large), or yams (about 2 large) rinsed and patted dry\n3 tablespoons vegetable oil \n1/2 teaspoon salt\n1/4 teaspoon black pepper\nPreheat oven to 500 degrees. Cut potatoes lengthwise into 1/3-inch-thick slices, then cut into 1/3-inch-wide sticks (if using sweet potatoes, peel off skin; no need to peel skin if using russets). Immediately toss with oil, salt and pepper and optional seasonings in a large bowl, then spread sticks in one layer on a baking sheet. Bake in middle of oven 15 minutes. Loosen potatoes from bottom of pan with a metal spatula, then turn over and spread out again. Bake until crisp and golden brown on edges, about 10 minutes more. Makes four servings.\nTo further reduce fat: Place sliced potatoes in a heavy-duty Ziplock bag. Add the oil and shake until coated. Place coated potatoes on baking sheet and toss with seasonings (leave the extra oil in the bag).\n"Zing" Options\nAll of the following are excellent with either the sweet or russet potatoes.\nTex-Mex Zing: 1/2 package taco or fajita seasoning mix\nRanch Zing: 1/2 package dry ranch dressing mix\nThai Zing: 1/2 teaspoon bottled chili paste, 1/2 teaspoon curry powder, pinch of sugar, grated zest of 1 lime, squeeze of lime juice, 1 and 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves\nMadras Zing: 1 teaspoon Garam Masala (an Indian spice blend), 1 clove minced garlic\nMoroccan Zing: 1/4 teaspoon each cinnamon, cardamom, cumin and ginger, and 2 teaspoons chopped mint or cilantro\nItalian Zing: 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasonings and (optional) 1/3 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese; use olive oil in place of vegetable oil