Hasselback Potatoes with Garlic, Lemon & Rosemary

We were invited to dinner at a friend's house and I offered to bring a side dish.  I have wanted to make these for a while so this was a perfect opportunity to try.  They are a little labor intensive (not as bad as I would have thought though) to cut them without slicing right through the potato.  A trick that's mentioned on the original site was to cut a small slice off the bottom of the potato so it would sit still on the cutting board and pan...worked like a charm!  These were really good but next time I want to try a little Parmesan cheese on them.

Ingredients: 

4 medium russet potatoes2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil2 tablespoons butter2 cloves garlic, halved

1 teaspoon rosemary leaves, do not chop leaves
zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon melted butter
sea salt
1 teaspoon rosemary leaves , finely chopped for garnish

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 450˚F. Line a baking pan with foil. While oven is heating, prepare potatoes. Cut a small thin slice off one long side of each potato. This will give a flat surface so potatoes will not roll around.Place a potato on a work surface with the cut side down. With a sharp knife cut thin vertical slices from one end to the other, cutting almost all the way through, but being careful not to cut all the way through. You can place small wooden dowels, or chopsticks on either side of the potato to keep your knife from slicing through. For me, it works better to just take a bit of care with each cut and to use a very sharp knife.Combine olive oil, butter, rosemary leaves and garlic in a small microwave safe bowl. Cook on high for 30 seconds, stir and cook another 30 seconds. Remove from microwave, add lemon zest and set aside.With your hands, rub potatoes all over with a bit of olive oil. Arrange potatoes on prepared pan. Place in preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and brush all over with about half of the olive oil/butter mixture, separating the slices slightly with a knife to get some of the oil mixture between the slices. Return to oven for another 15 minutes and repeat brushing with oil.Return potatoes to oven for 15 minutes. At this point you should have used up most of the oil/butter mixture and should have just the rosemary and garlic left in the bowl. Add one tablespoon of butter to bowl and microwave on high for 30 seconds.After the 3rd 15-minute stint in the oven, remove potatoes, brush with the melted butter and sprinkle generously with sea salt. Bake for another 10-20* minutes or until crisp and golden on the exterior and soft of the inside. Remove from oven, sprinkle with chopped rosemary and serve.

Note:* ~ Total baking time is approximate. It will depend on the size and density of your potatoes along with your oven. Total baking time is 55-65 minutes.

Roasted Root Vegetables

I was in the cafe at work a few weeks ago and overheard someone asking if a certain ingredient was parsnips.  I was curious what they even were so I google'd recipes with parsnips and found this one.  Intrigued, I had to try it with my dinner that night!  I had some left over brussel sprouts from the night before so I threw them in too!  The side dish is really nice, colorful and tasted great!  This would be a great Fall dish!

Ingredients:
3 medium carrots, peeled, washed and cut into small bite size pieces
2 medium red potatoes, washed and cut into bite size pieces
1/4 lb brussel sprouts, washed & halved
1 medium parsnip, peeled and cut into bite size pieces
1 medium sweet potato, peeled & cut into bite size pieces
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Dried spices - I used Italian Seasoning
Salt & Pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
In a large bowl, toss vegetables with olive oil, seasoning, salt & pepper
Spread vegetables in a 9x13 pyrex baking dish
Roast in oven for about 40 minutes or until the veggies are tender.  Stir them a couple of times while baking.

Crispy Parmesan Rosemary Potatoes

I'm always looking for different ways to make potatoes.  I think it makes me feel like since I'm making them a different way, it's not so bad that I have them so much!  :-)  What can I say, I love potatoes! 
Anyway, I had a girlfriend over for dinner last night and made my chicken stuffed with spinach & cheese.  I wanted a potato that would go nicely with that.  I found this recipe and thought it sounded perfect.  The potatoes were amazing and had a great texture.  I'm guessing it's the cornmeal that gave it the texture (I've never used it before) but these are worth trying!  Hardest part is remembering to use a hot pad when removing the steaming hot skillet from the oven.  Thankfully, no burns last night! 

(Here are the potatoes after they came out of the oven)

 (Here's the full meal)

Ingredients:

2 lbs red potatoes

2 tbsp cornmeal

2 tbsp grated Parmesan

2 tsp salt, divided

1/2 tsp pepper

3/4 c olive oil

2 tbsp fresh minced rosemary leaves

8-10 garlic cloves, peeled

Directions:

Cut each pototo into quarters and put them in a pot of cold, salted water.  Bring the water to a boil and boil for 8-10 minutes.  Drain in a colander.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425 degrees. 

In a small bowl, combine cornmeal, Parmesan, Salt & Pepper

Remove potatoes from colander and put in a large bowl.  Sprinkle with cornmeal mixture and toss to coat. 

In a large cast iron or heavy bottomed skillet, heat olive oil, garlic and rosemary.  Heat for 1 minute, stirring frequently until fragrant. 

Add seasoned potatoes to skillet and gently stir to coat.  Place skillet on bottom rack of oven for 15 minutes.  Carefully flip potatoes and put back in oven for another 10-15 minutes. 

Remove from pan and serve. 





German Fried Potatoes & Onions

The neighbors hosted a "Blocktoberfest" (thanks Lex for the awesome name!) and everyone brought something.  I wasn't able to attend the original night but thankfully there was plenty of left over so they did it the next night too!  I found this recipe for German Fried Potatoes and they looked good but still easy to make.  I am not sure what makes them German but other people I have shared the recipe with have informed me that this type of potato dish can be found in many German restaurants.  They aren't the healthiest but they are pretty good!  I microwaved the whole potatoes for about 3 minutes each and used my mandolin to slice which helped to speed up the prep process.

Ingredients:
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
4 russet potatoes, sliced thin
2 medium onions, sliced
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:
In a large skillet over medium heat, heat butter and olive oil until butter is melted.  Add potatoes

Cook potatoes, stirring frequently, for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are cooked.  The potatoes should be a crispy brown with some white spots (since the potatoes will overlap a little)

Once potatoes are done, remove and put on a plate with paper towels (to absorb some of the grease)

In the hot skillet, brown the onion for about 5 minutes

Add the potatoes back in, season with salt & pepper and stir to combine. 

Broccoli & Cheese Potato Skins

Another Friday night in Trolley = another fun night with the neighbors!  I made these potato skins this past Friday and I think they were really good!  They take a little bit of time between cooking the potatoes; scooping out most of the potatoes and re-stuffing but it's worth it!  I added some bacon to these and decided to saute the broccoli, garlic and red onion before stuffing the potatoes.  The end flavor was really tasty!

(Not a great picture but by the time I remembered to take 1 - they were already half gone!)

Ingredients:
6 whole Russet potatoes
4 tbsp butter
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 red onion, minced
2 cups broccoli florets
2 cups shredded cheddar jack cheese
5-6 bacon slices
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:
Pre heat oven to 375 degrees.  Pierce potatoes a few times with a fork & cook in oven for about 1 hour.  Remove from oven and place on cutting board to cool for about 15 mintues
Meanwhile, cook bacon and place on paper towels to drain excess grease.
Leave about 2-3 tbsp bacon grease in pan and saute red onion.  Add in broccoli and garlic and saute for about 4 - 5 minutes
Once potatoes are cool, use a serrated knife and cut in half.  Scoop out about 80% of the potatoes - leaving a little in the potato skin
Melt butter then brush insides and outsides of potatoes.  Place potatoes on cookie tray and broil them for about 8-10 minutes until the insides of the potatoes get a little brown
Add some of the scooped out potato to the broccoli; onion mixture.  Chop bacon into smaller pieces and add into broccoli mixture.  Stir to combine everything.
Scoop broccoli mixture into potato skin.  Top with shredded cheese & bake for another 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

Stuffed Red Bliss Potatoes

I'm sure if you read this blog, you know I love potatoes - any kind!!  I mentioned on a previous post that I've found another blog that tries to cut calories in dishes.  So, I went to that site again and found this recipe.  It's so good and you wouldn't know it's low-cal!  These may become my "go to" potatoes!  They are creamy and delicious!

 
Ingredients:
8 small red bliss potatoes
1 tbsp light mayo
2 tbsp fat free sour cream
4 tbsp olive oil
6 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp fresh thyme or rosemary
3 tbsp grated Parmesan
Salt & pepper to taste
Paprika

Directions:
In a medium pot, cover potatoes with water  & add 1 tsp salt.  Bring to a boil & cook until soft, about 12 minutes.  Drain and run under cool water.  Set aside
While the potatoes cook, in a small pan, add oil and garlic and cook on low heat about 10 minutes, until soft.  Remove garlic and discard oil.  Mash garlic
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a medium bowl, combine garlic, mayo, sour cream, thyme or rosemary & Parmesan.  Add Salt and Pepper to taste.
Cut potatoes in half, and using a spoon, gently scoop out the inside of the potato.  Leave 1/4" shell inside the potato
Mix the potato with the other ingredients.  I just "mashed" the potato with a fork into the other ingredients
Scoop the potato mixture back into the potato shells and sprinkle paprika on top
Place in a baking dish and bake for 20 minutes.

New Potatoes with Dill Butter

I subscribe to the Epicurious "recipe of the day" emails and got this one about a month ago.  I pulled it out last night and made the potatoes in dill butter.  The prep was very easy and the potatoes were pretty good.  Next time I make them, I will "crash" them a bit after draining the water and put them in the oven for a few minutes to crisp them up (with the butter on them).  I think that will make them superb!  I served the potatoes with my grilled meatloaf and a Caesar salad with homemade dressing (recipe will be on the blog next).

Edited to add: I made these with 2 kinds of potatoes now and "crashed" them.  To crash potatoes, follow the method listed below but then use a fork to push gently on the tops of the potatoes to gently break open the potatoes.  I then dabbed the dill butter on the tops of the potatoes and baked them for about 20 minutes on 375 degrees.  Really yummy!

(original recipe - "non-crashed" potatoes)

(revised picture with "crashed potatoes" - not the best pic though)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tbsp (packed) coarsely fresh chopped dill (I didn't use the full 2 tbsp but rather eye-balled it for the amount of butter)
Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper
2 lbs new potatoes or another small type potato
1 tbsp crushed toasted caraway seeds (optional - I didn't use these)

Directions:
Mash butter and dill together in a small bowl.  Season the dill butter with salt & pepper (This step can be done ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 1 week)
Place potatoes in a large pot with cold water, covering potatoes 1" above the top of the potatoes.  Season water with a little salt.  Bring pot to a boil; reduce heat and simmer gently until potatoes are tender, 10-12 minutes.  Drain potatoes - reserving a small amount of water
Transfer hot potatoes to a medium bowl, add dill butter and 1 tbsp water (from the pot where the potatoes just boiled).  Toss, adding small amounts of water as needed to ensure butter coats the potatoes.
Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with extra dill and caraway seeds, if desired.

Baked Potato Wedges (Fries)

I have tried to make baked potato wedges (aka - fries) a couple of times and haven't "loved" the outcome.  Last night, I tried yet again and think I've found my new favorite recipe!  I found it here and when I saw that it called for corn starch, I was pretty sure that was going to be the trick that makes them crispy.  They turned out delicious & they are easy to throw together.  I'd like to try grilling them next time but I didn't have room on the grill last night.  I omitted one ingredient from the original recipe (mainly because I'm really not even sure what it is!).  The recipe below is what I used to make the fries.  The measurements are from the original recipe but I probably doubled the batch so use your judgement when making these.

Here are the potatoes in the mixture before baking:

Here they are when they came out of the oven - so crispy!

Here's our meal - cheeseburgers; grilled zucchini and fries

Ingredients:
4-5 medium potatoes (I used Golden potatoes)
1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
1-2 Tbsp Corn Starch
1-1/2 tsp garlic, chopped (I used the jarred kind)
1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 Tbsp olive oil or canola oil
Salt, to taste, I used Kosher Salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Cut potatoes into 1/2" wedges and place in cold water
In a bowl with everything except the potatoes, combine the other ingredients and blend well
Drain the potatoes and mix with the other ingredients, stir to coat
Spread the potatoes in a single layer on a cookie tray (sprayed with Pam)
Cook for 15-18 minutes then flip the potatoes
Cook for another 10-15 minutes until golden brown
Serve immediately

Potato Salad

It's an insanely hot day here so I wanted to get the cooking out of the way early & use the grill for dinner for everything else.  I love potato salad and thought it'd go nicely with the dinner I'm preparing.  I found the recipe here but made a couple of changes.  The recipe as noted below includes my updates.  I just had a quick taste and I think it's pretty tasty.  I'm sure it'll be great after it's chilled for a little bit!

Here are some of the ingredients all chopped and ready to be mixed in:

Here's the final product:

Ingredients:

4-5 medium golden potatoes, washed and chopped

3-4 slices of bacon, cooked & chopped

2 eggs

2 stalks of celery

Onion Powder (I used a few shakes of the powder)

Mayo - I used about 2-3 heaping tbsp (but added a little at a time to ensure it wasn't too much)

1 tbsp dijon mustard

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Directions

Place potatoes in pot of cold water and boil for about 12-15 minutes

While the potatoes cook, place 2 eggs in a pot of cold water.  Bring to a boil and let boil for 1 minute.  Turn off the stove, cover the pot and let stand for 12 minutes

Chop celery and set aside

When potatoes are done, drain and put in refrigerator to cool a bit

When eggs are done cooking, place gently in a pot of cold water.  Let them stand for about 5-10 minutes (making sure the water is cold and replace if needed).  Peel the eggs and chop.  

Pull potatoes out and combine all the ingredients.  Place in bowl and refrigerate.    

Foil Packet Potatoes

I was grilling anyway tonight with beer can chicken and decided to make these foil packet potatoes to go along with them.  They were super easy and turned out really great!!  I did mine with salt, pepper and rosemary but you can season them any way you  like!  The trick is to double wrap the potatoes in foil so the olive oil doesn't drip.  I found the recipe here.

Here's a picture of the finished potatoes (along with the beer can chicken and balsamic roasted beets & carrots):

For fun, here's the beer can chicken.  (I'm hoping to replicate Graul's chicken salad with the left overs!)

Ingredients:

4 white potatoes (you can use any type potato and it turns out great!)

2 Tbsp olive oil

Salt, pepper, rosemary (to taste)

Cooking spray

Directions

Heat grill to 350 degrees, medium heat

Combine cut up potatoes, olive oil and seasonings in a bowl.  Toss to coat

For 4 medium potatoes, I started with 2 sheets of foil.  Coat foil with cooking spray and evenly place potatoes in foil (to have a single layer of potatoes)

Fold foil around potatoes so there are no openings.  Double wrap the potatoes in another layer of foil.  

Place on grill and cook for 30 minutes, turning 1x half way through.

Serve immediately.  

Blue Cheese Mushroom Burgers and Roasted Garlic Potatoes

We made some delicious burgers last night with blue cheese in them.  I make my burgers with a variety of ingredients and when the blue cheese was added - wow, was it good!!  I want to try a slightly milder cheese next time (maybe Gouda) but this recipe has great potential!  I served the burgers with a salad and garlic potatoes.  A great "Spring" meal!

Blue Cheese Burgers

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 egg
3-4 dashes of Worcestershire Sauce
Montreal Steak Spice, to taste
Italian Bread crumbs, start with 1/4 cup.  Add more if needed to make burgers stay together
Blue cheese chunks, to taste

Directions:
Pre heat grill for medium heat
Mix above ingredients together
Form into burger patties and cook until done (about 10 minutes for medium rare)
Serve with kaiser rolls & desired toppings / condiments

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Garlic Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients:
3-4 white potatoes (yukon also work well)
Olive Oil
Pinch of kosher salt
Fresh pepper, to taste
Garlic (1-2 teaspoons of jarred or 1 clove fresh)

Directions
Pre heat oven to 375 degrees
I used a mandolin to slice the potatoes (or just slice thin)
Place potatoes in layers in baking dish that's lightly sprayed with Pam (or cooking spray)
Drizzle with a little olive oil (you don't want oil sitting in the bottom)
Sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic on top
Gently toss to coat the potatoes
Bake for about 45-50 minutes, turning at least 1x during the cooking period.  Potatoes should be golden brown

Grilled Rosemary Potatoes

My oven wasn't working for a few days so I had to get creative with cooking!  I made a 7lb beer can chicken on Friday and decided to make chicken salad last night (that recipe will be posted soon).  I served it with potatoes that I par boiled then finished on the grill.  I recently purchased my early Mother's Day gifts (a mandolin and veggie grill pan).  I put both to use last night.  Loved the results!  The picture isn't great because of our downpours...but, the potatoes tasted delicious!

Ingredients:

Yukon Gold potatoes - sliced

Dried Rosemary

Kosher Salt

Pepper

Olive Oil

Directions:

Pre-heat grill to 350

Par boil potatoes in water on the stove top for about 8-10 minutes (depending on thickness of potatoes)

Drain potatoes and drizzle with olive oil; rosemary; salt & pepper.  Toss to coat

Place in grill pan and onto grill

Grill for about 10 minutes

Serve warm

Au Gratin Potatoes with Gruyere

One of the sides we made for Easter dinner were these Au Gratin potatoes with Gruyere.  Our friend made them for another get together and I knew these would be delish with the other items we had for the dinner.  I found the recipe on Food Network and mixed it with the one our friend made.  They were pretty easy to throw together (a mandolin will be on my "Mother's Day wish list") and tasted yummy!!

Au Gratin Potatoes with Gruyere

Ingredients

1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

1/2 cup grated Gruyere

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan (I omitted this because I was trying to replicate a friend's recipe that calls for just gruyere)

1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon paprika

I added a dash of cayene pepper too

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter a 1 1/2 quart baking dish with about 1 tablespoon of the softened butter.

Arrange a layer of potatoes in the baking dish, and sprinkle some of the cheeses over them. Continue layering potatoes and cheeses until you've used them all, ending with a layer of potatoes.

In a small bowl, whisk the cream with the salt and pepper; cayenne pepper & pour this over the potatoes. Dot the remaining butter over the top and sprinkle with the paprika. Bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until the potatoes are tender and golden brown on top. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Baked Potato Fries

Who doesn't love french fries??  I wanted to find a way to make them that would be slightly healthier than actually "fried".  I found a recipe here that is for baking them.  I added some Old Bay (love fries with Old Bay!) and they turned out pretty good!  We've had them a couple of times.  An easy side for burgers or steak!

Ingredients:

6 Russet Potatoes cut into lengthwise quarters

6 tablespoons flour

2 teaspoons onion powder

2 teaspoons of garlic powder

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper
Old Bay, to taste

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Add your oil to a baking sheet with sides.

Cut each potato into 8 wedges. Combine all dry ingredients into bag–either ziplock or paper,  and add a few potatoes at a time. Shake to coat well. Place the potatoes coated side down into the oil in the pan.

Continue doing this until all the potatoes have been coated and placed in the oil. Bake for about 20 minutes and then pull out and flip over on the other side. Bake for an extra 20 minutes. Pull wedges out of the oven and then sprinkle with alittle kosher salt. Serve hot.