Two servings

I have been playing cards since I was a little kid. I like to play gin and poker, and I love the game casino. Casino was the first game that I was taught when I was a kid. It is very easy to learn but very difficult to master. On the way to and from the races, Jeg Jr. or Jeg Sr. and I will try to get in a little two out of three. “Woody” refuses to learn casino or play the game with me because he thinks that I am cheating the whole time. We can sometimes lure Mitzi or Samantha in for a game, but it is tough to play with them because the competition is sometimes pretty brutal. I love to do card tricks too. (Maybe this is why “Woody” won’t play with me.) Mastering tricks can take years. My brother Andy and I mastered a trick about 10 years ago that we started working on when we were kids.

If I get a chance at night after qualifying or between rounds on race day, I love to take a deck of cards and head into the pits. I meet more racers and fans this way. It usually starts off when someone that I know calls me over to their pit to convince a nonbeliever. By the time I leave, I have usually made some new friends and maybe changed the nonbeliever’s mind a little. I just like to entertain people. By the way, my deck of choice is Jegs playing cards. Jeg and his brothers had the deck of cards designed with a caricature of me as the joker. I decided to develop new tricks just to use the joker. You can get your own deck at www.jegs.com/i/JEGS-Apparel/551/1401/10002/-1&parentProductId=764215.

It’s funny because kids and adults beg me to reveal all my secrets. Mitzi even tried to sneak a clause in our wedding vows that would have me share the secrets with her. (We won’t talk about that now!) I always tell kids that I put the directions for the tricks in the box, and then I tell them that Randy (a guy that I work with) took the directions out of the box. The kids will normally leave me alone and take their frustration out on Randy. It is hilarious to watch. 

How about the recipe? This is a great one. It is simple, but it does take a little time. Don’t worry — it is worth the wait.

Ingredients (for the fries)
1 pound peeled sweet potatoes, cut into 3/8-inch sticks
2 tablespoons olive oil
To taste, salt
To taste, freshly ground black pepper
To taste, coarse sea salt

Procedure (for the fries)
Toss the sweet potatoes with the oil, salt, and pepper.
Lay the sweet-potato sticks on a nonstick baking pan.
Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes. (Be sure to turn them a couple times while they are cooking for even browning.)
Remove from the oven and sprinkle with sea salt.

Ingredients (for the mayonnaise)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon fresh, minced garlic
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
To taste, salt
To taste, freshly ground black pepper

Procedure (for the mayo)
Mix all of the ingredients together and refrigerate until needed.

Putting it all together
You are going to need a couple bunches of arugula as a garnish. I also hollowed half of a lime for the dip. I like to wrap the arugula around the fry and run it through the mayonnaise.

Enjoy!