Roasted Potatoes with Creamed Peas

Moving along to another recipe from a Cuisine at Home magazine. I just got the new issue - April 2012 - and couldn't wait to try something.

Last night we had baked haddock and these Roasted Potatoes with Creamed Peas - very yummy!

The recipe calls for mace, which I do not have, so as recommended, I subsituted it with nutmeg. (Mace is the ground waxy red covering of the nutmeg).

Serves 4

Potatoes:
1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 Tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Peas:
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup minced onion
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon ground mace or nutmeg
2 cups milk
2 cups frozen petit peas
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
salt and cayenne pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Toss potatoes with oil; season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a baking sheet; roast until golden, about 20-25 minutes, stirring midway through.

Heat butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic; cook until onion is translucent, 5-7 minutes. Whisk in flour and mace or nutmeg; cook 1-2 minutes, whisking constantly.

Whisk in milk and increase heat to medium. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook until thickened, 3-4 minutes. Add peas; cook 1-2 minutes more. Stir in dill, zest and lemon juice. Season peas with salt and cayenne and serve over roasted potatoes.

Salt and Vinegar Grilled Potato Slices

Love these because they remind me of salt and vinegar chips! From Martha!

1 lb potatoes cut into 1/4 inch slices

2 cups white vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons salt, plus more for sprinkling

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Bring potatoes and vinegar to a boil in a medium saucepan (vinegar should cover potatoes or you can add some water if you don't have enough vinegar). Reduce heat to medium-low until just fork tender, about 5 minutes. Let potatoes cool in vinegar for 30 minutes (this was too long to wait so I skipped this step). Drain well and gently toss with oil, salt and pepper.

Preheat grill to medium- high heat. Grill potatoes in a single layer until evenly browned and cooked through - a grill pan is nice for this or else it is very easy to lose the potatoes in the grill slats. Sprinkle with salt before serving.

Friday Night Dinner

After a long week last week, Adam and I had no plans for Friday evening and we were so excited to do nothing and just stay at home. But we couldn't decide what to have for dinner. We wanted something easy and delicious - like always. So we turned to Mary and asked her for ideas. She suggested grilled steak topped with Boursin cheese. We thought that sounded perfect so we stopped at the store on the way home.

Of course we grabbed some asparagus too - Adam's new favorite vegetable - and potatoes.

Our dinner right out of the shopping bag:



And 30 minutes later on our dinner plates:

We got 2 T-bone steaks, seasoned them with McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning and cooked them on a hot grill. We then ate every bite of the meat with Lite Herbed Bousin cheese - very rich and creamy -which you can find in the specialty cheese department of most grocery stores. The Lite cheese was very tasty! And good thing we got lite because we ate over half of the little tub!

I roasted the asparagus in a 400 degrees oven with salt and pepper and olive oil for about 5- 8 minutes.

For the potatoes, I peeled and cubed 3 potatoes. I put them into boiling salted water and allowed them to cook for 5 minutes. While they were boiling, I heated 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. After 5 minutes, I drained the potatoes and added them to the hot oil in the skillet. Then I just let them fry for about 15 minutes or until they get to be browned to my liking. Then scoop them out of the oil onto a paper towel lined plate and add salt and pepper.

A great go-to potato side dish for all meals of the day.

This was a very yummy dinner a a little splurge to kick off the weekend. I have been thinking about it a lot since Friday... Are you hungry now too??

Oven Fries

Ok, I totally failed on my photography skills here. This photo may not look super pretty but these oven fries are super tasty!

g

This recipe is from the July 2010 Food & Wine magazine. Plan on making more than you think you'll need because they will be gobbled up quickly!

g

2 large baking potatoes, cut into 4-by-1/2-inch sticks

1/4 cup olive oil

1 large clove garlic, minced (garlic powder can be used as a substitute)
1 teaspoon each fresh rosemary, minced & fresh sage, minced (I used only rosemary)

1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

salt & pepper

;

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, toss the potato sticks with the olive oil until evenly coated. Spread the potato sticks evenly on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer and bake in upper third of the oven, turning once or twice with a spatula, until they are golden and crispy, about 30 minutes.

g

Sprinkle the minced garlic and herbs over the fries and toss well. Roast for about 5 minutes longer, until the herbs are fragrant and the garlic is lightly browned. Transfer the fries to a large bowl and toss with the grated Pecorino Romano. Season with salt and pepper.

Grilled Potatoes and Veggies with Dill-Lemon Vinaigrette

Last week we got a new bbq grill! It's big and shiny and looks great in the backyard. So to celebrate we had a few guests over so I could test out the big boy.

This is the grill.

While I was in a small grocery store in Pine Grove, a small bag of fingerling potatoes caught my eye. I have always wanted to cook with fingerlings but have found that they are just too pricey at Giant or Wegmans. But at BG's, I got a 1.5 pound bag for $2.70! Can't beat that! So I snatched them up and used Adam's iPhone to find a grill recipe. I found this on Epicurious but it was originally from Bon Appetit Magazine, Aug 2006.

I adapted the recipe a little - it originally called for fresh marjoram but I used dried dill instead because it's what I had.

Photo from www.motherearthnews.com

I didn't have a grill pan for this recipe so I lost a few of the little potatoes through the grill plates. A grill pan is a must for this recipe!!

And unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of the process or finished dish :(

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced shallot
dried dill (2 teaspoons used in total)
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pound small fingerling potatoes, unpeeled, halved lengthwise
1 pound assorted summer squash, cut on diagonal into 1/3-inch-thick slices
1 large red or green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 package baby bella mushrooms, cleaned

Whisk lemon juice, shallot, 1 teaspoon dill, and lemon peel in small bowl. Gradually whisk in 1/4 cup oil. Season vinaigrette with salt and pepper.

Prepare barbecue (medium heat).

Place potatoes in large saucepan; add enough cold salted water to cover. Boil just until almost tender, about 4 minutes. Drain. Transfer potatoes to medium bowl. Add 1/2 teaspoon dill and 1 1/2 tablespoons oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat.

Combine squash and bell pepper in large bowl; add remaining 1/2 teaspoon dill and 1 1/2 tablespoons oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat.

Arrange potatoes in single layer in grill basket. Grill until tender, 5 minutes per side. Transfer to large bowl. Grill squash and bell pepper until tender, turning occasionally, 10 minutes. Transfer to bowl with potatoes.

Add vinaigrette; toss. Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Venison Loin with Red Wine and Cherry Sauce & Sweet Potato Fries

This week I set out to find a venison recipe and when I can across venison loin with red wine and cherry sauce, I thought the combo of ingredients sounded interesting. Thanks to Adam's dad's wonderful supply of venison, we tried the recipe on Friday night.

I found this recipe on myrecipes.com but it was originally printed in Cooking Light, November 2006. Below is the recipe according to how I made, which includes modifications from the original recipe.

5 shallots, peeled and quartered
4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
2 venison tenderloins, trimmed (about 9 ounces each)
kosher salt
5 sprigs fresh rosemary, leave chopped
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 cup cabernet sauvignon or other dry red wine
3/4 cup dried cherries
1 1/2 cups less-sodium beef broth
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine shallots and 2 teaspoons oil; toss well. Arrange shallots in a single layer in a shallow roasting pan.

Rub venison evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt, half of the chopped rosemary and some pepper. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add venison; cook 6 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove venison from pan; arrange on top of shallots in roasting pan. Bake at 400° for 17 minutes or until a thermometer registers 145° (medium-rare, but I cooked it closer to well done and it still tasted good!). Remove venison and shallots from pan. Keep venison warm. Chop shallots.

Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots, wine, and cherries; cook until liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup (about 3 minutes), scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add broth and 1/2 teaspoon salt and the remaining chopped rosemary; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until reduced to 2 cups (about 5 minutes). Combine 1 tablespoon water and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add cornstarch mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in butter and juice. Cut venison across grain into thin slices; serve venison with sauce.

Adam took this candid of me while slicing the venison. Notice the lovely peony demi apron - a birthday gift from Rebecca!


I am a huge fan of sweet potatoes and this time of the year I have even more cravings for them. Candied sweet potatoes with lots of brown sugar and butter are my favorite but a close second are sweet potato fries. Thanks to Adam's patience and precise chopping skills, we made these delicious. While these oven fries didn't turn out as crispy as we had hoped, they were still tasty!

Sweet Potato Fries from Our Best Bites

2 medium-sized sweet potatoes*
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 t cumin (We did not use)
1/2 t oregano
1/2 t coriander (We did not use)
1 t kosher salt
1 t parsley
fresh ground pepper (about 10 turns of a pepper mill)

*you want 1lb sweet potatoes after they are peeled, sliced, etc. If you weigh them at the store make sure you have a little more than a pound to allow for the peeling, and tossing of small pieces.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Spray a cookie sheet lightly with cooking spray (don't use foil on the cookie sheet).

Slice your sweet potatoes into french fry shape and size - about 1/4 inch thick. Cutting them larger, like steak fries, will sometimes result in a big soggy mess, so stay small to get the best results.

Put the sweet potatoes in a bowl and drizzle the olive oil over them. Use your hands to make sure each one is coated. If you've got more than a pound of sweet potatoes, add a little extra olive oil. Then sprinkle on all of the herbs and spices and continue to toss until well coated.Place the fries on the baking sheet. It's very important that they are not touching.

Place cookie sheet in pre-heated oven and set the timer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes take pan of oven and flip the fries with a big spatula. Make sure they're spaced out again.

Bake for another 15-20 minutes until golden brown

Take them out of the oven and serve immediately. They cool off very quickly so they're best eaten right away. Serves about 4.

Autumn Potato Salad from 101 Cookbooks

I made a delicious fall side dish last night. Adam and I didn't get home until late but I wanted to toss this easy recipe together so we can eat it over the next few days. I have some for lunch today and I can hardly wait to enjoy it!

Unfortunately I left my camera at my parents' house so I wasn't able to take a photo of my Autumn Potato Salad (I also made pumpkin roll on Sunday and I had my camera but my memory card was back at Adam's in his computer, but it's ok because the pumpkin roll was kind of a flop...).

I owe this creation to 101 Cookbooks. Here is the wonderful recipe.

Some things I did differently:

• Because it was late in the evening, I didn't make rice to go with the salad but I was planning on making brown minute rice for time saving purposes.
• I couldn't find parsnips so I used turnips.
• The green onions didn't roast well so I didn't end up putting them in the salad.
• I didn't add cream to the vinaigrette. I didn't have any and was going to use milk but I forgot!

This is a delicious salad! The vinaigrette made the dish! Thank you, 101 Cookbooks!

Ultimate Scalloped Potatoes

This is a recipe my Aunt Bet makes and it's so delicious! She is an excellent cook but it turned out just as well when my mom and I make it - which we've done twice in the past month! A very rich and creamy potato dish! I'm not sure where the recipe came from but it's a winner in my book!

Serves 6

1 teaspoon butter

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup milk

salt and pepper

2 lb russet potatoes, cleaned, peeled and evenly sliced 1/8" thick - use a mandolin if you have one to get the slices even

1 cup Gruyère cheese, shredded

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 2 quart glass baking dish. Mix two cheeses together in a bowl. In a small saucepan, heat cream, milk, garlic and a generous amount of salt and pepper until it begins to bubble around the edges of the pan. Remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Arrange half of the potatoes in the bottom of the baking dish. Pour half of the cream over the potatoes and sprinkle with half of the cheese mix. Repeat. Bake for 60-70 minutes until bubbly and brown on top and potatoes are tender.

This was a big pan of the potatoes my mom made for the Labor Day Party.

Photo by Bec.