QUESTION: I read your column about sweet potatoes and yams. I would like to know if sweet potatoes and regular potatoes can be used interchangeably? — SpeedyANSWER: Calm down, Speedy — potatoes do take a while to cook, and you don't want to rush the enjoyment of eating them. Unless of course, there is a ball game on and you want to get back to the television. Actually, my favorite team is about to play, so I am going to give you a "speedy" answer.Basically, you can substitute sweet potatoes in any recipe that calls for russet potatoes. Sweet potatoes will definitely work in a dish like a stew, a casserole or a roast. Speedy, the other good thing about substituting sweet potatoes is that they won't slow you down because they contain many more nutrients and antioxidants than regular potatoes. Sweet potatoes contain 380 percent of the recommended daily intake of Vitamin A in every half cup! Also, they are extremely high in Vitamin C and E.As a rule of thumb, the paler the sweet potato is, the starchier it is. So if you want to use them to make something that requires a lot of starch (like a potato pancake), look for light colored sweet potatoes. I am glad to see you are giving sweet potatoes their due and not just topping them with marshmallows and lots of brown sugar. You have to wonder, who was the first person to take a bite of mashed sweet potatoes and think, "I wish I had a bag of mini marshmallows?" It was probably the same guy who thought M&Ms should go on steamed asparagus and that Swedish Fish should be sprinkled over Chicken Pot Pie. Now hurry up and get those sweet potatoes in the oven — the game's about to start.QUESTION: I enjoy watching your TV show and reading your column. I have been trying to make sweet potato French fries in the oven, but they keep turning black while cooking. What am I doing wrong? I first wash them, peel them, let them soak in water after cutting, lay out foil on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray, and also give them a spray on top. I bake them at 350 degrees for a few minutes. Result: baked sweet potatoes with black spots. Please help!ANSWER: I want your sweet potato fries to have as good a taste as you do in TV shows and columns. As you know, sweet potatoes have carbs and when you apply heat to complex carbs, they turn to sugar and caramelize. The more heat, the more caramelization, the darker it gets. However, I'm not throwing in the towel. We're going to attack these black spots with all my intelligence.Okay, we'll have to do better than that. ...Here are some things I think could cause the problem from what you're telling me.First, your fries might be too thick. The thinner you cut the fries, the less time you need to cook them. The shorter the cooking time means a smaller chance of them over-caramelizing. Second, you are better off not washing the potatoes, and since you are peeling them, you really don't need to. Also, unless you are prepping them way ahead of time, you do not need to soak your sweet potatoes after cutting. Another tip: be sure not to refrigerate your sweet potatoes. When you put your sweet potatoes in cold storage, this produces a "chilling injury" that hardens them and makes them impossible to cook. Chilled sweet potatoes would have to stay in the oven for far too long, and in the end you'll have "blackened" (and I don't mean in the good Cajun way) sweet potatoes that are still hard as a rock.The other thing you might want to try is to lose the foil and baking sheet and use a glass baking dish. A baking sheet will get as hot as the oven, but the glass baking dish will not because glass does not conduct heat. You can also try preheating your oven to 450 degrees and then turning on the broiler. Place thinly cut sweet potato fries under the broiler on a rack positioned in the top third of the oven. Another thing to consider is to toss the fries in a little olive oil, and use Pam to spray the baking dish.The seasoning you use shouldn't have anything to do with the potatoes turning black, and the type of oven won't matter. The temperature shouldn't make too much difference if the sweet potatoes are cut small enough. Try this recipe and if it works, remember who saved the day. If it doesn't work, you got it from another TV show and column that I have nothing to do with.

2 to 3 sweet potatoes, peeled3 tablespoons olive oil1 teaspoon paprika½ teaspoon red chili flakes¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)½ teaspoon chili powder1 teaspoon kosher salt½ teaspoon white pepperPreheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice the peeled potatoes lengthwise as thinly as you can with a sharp chef's knife and then lay the slices down and cut them into thin French fry sticks.Mix the oil together with the spices in a large bowl. Add the potatoes and gently toss until they are all well coated and seasoned.Place them in a glass baking dish coated with cooking spray and bake for about 20 minutes, shaking them in the pan about halfway through the cooking. Makes 6 to 8 servings.