Monthly Archive for September, 2011

Roasted Potatoes with Herbed Cream Dipping Sauce

Published on September 16, 2011 in Appetizer, Quick & Easy, Side Dish and Vegetarian. 0 Comments

Happy Friday!  And a very cool one at that.  Fall is definitely coming, with temps at a high of 65 this weekend.  Brrr.

I’ve got a quick and ridiculously easy recipe for you this morning: Roasted Potatoes with an Herbed Cream Dipping Sauce.  Roasted potatoes are a go-to staple for last minute meals; they’re easy and delicious (but let’s be honest, anything that’s even close to tasting like a French fry is delicious).  The real star here is the herbed cream dipping sauce.  It’s similar to sour cream, herbed veggie dip, etc. but MUCH healthier.  I pair it with roasted potatoes, vegetable crudités, chips, fish and chicken.  The dip makes an appearance at least once a week in my house so I always have the ingredients on hand.  At the beginning of the summer my mom gave me a planter filled with all sorts of herbs, but you can really use whatever herbs you have (although, I would stay away from rosemary).

Give the dipping sauce/dip a go this Sunday for football – your guests will have no idea it’s actually healthy for them :) .  On that note, the Pats are set to play the San Diego Chargers on Sunday and I’m making guacamole and crostini with California fig jam, prosciutto and gorgonzola cheese for my Eat the Enemy challenge.  Stay tuned for the recipes on Monday!

Roast Potatoes with Herbed Cream Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

Roasted Potatoes:

  • Small –med red or fingerling potatoes
  • Garlic salt
  • Cracked black pepper
  • Olive oil

Herbed Cream Dipping Sauce:

  • 2 small containers plain Greek yogurt
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped mixed herbs (basil, chives, mint, thyme, etc.)
  • Garlic salt
  • Black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (more to taste)

 

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 465 degrees.
  2. Cut the potatoes into two inch cuts and place on a baking sheet
  3. Drizzle the potatoes with olive oil, garlic salt and freshly ground cracked pepper.
  4. Toss the potatoes to coat and bake for 20-30 minutes, until easily pierced by a fork.
  5. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix the Greek yogurt, herbs, lemon juice, garlic salt and pepper.
  6. Mix and refrigerate until ready to serve (allows the flavors to meld).
  7. Serve the warm potatoes with the cool dipping sauce.

Bon appetit!

-Christina

Cuban Sandwiches

Published on September 13, 2011 in Eat the Enemy and Sandwich. 1 Comment

Ahh football season, you’re finally here.  Bring on the tailgate foods, (pumpkin) beers and Sunday Fundays.  I’ve been prepping all year; bookmarking recipes, researching teams (maybe a stretch…) and purchasing some sweet gear – I’m ready!  This year I’m implementing two new efforts into my Sunday food schedule: 1.) At least one healthy snack (similar to the Freshman 15, no one likes the Football 5) and 2.) Eat the Enemy.

Eat the Enemy will be a weekly ‘cannibalistic’ approach to Patriot competition.  For each match-up, I’ll make a dish that represents the opposing team and, quite obvious to the title, eat it :) .  Sadistic? Maybe.  Weird? Perhaps.  But delicious? Most definitely.  The challenge of crafting a new dish each week has been issued, and I’m not prepared to lose.

The Patriots’ season began with a big win over the Miami Dolphins…all thanks to my Cuban Sandwiches.  The lifestyle in Miami is heavily influenced by Cuban culture, so I knew these sandwiches would be the perfect start to my Eat the Enemy challenge – not to mention, they’re easy to put together and were a big hit.

I have ideas for the rest of the season match-ups, but if there’s something you think I should make, let me know in the comments.  I’ll be posting my plan for Sundays every Friday, with the full recipe the following Monday.  Cheers to good luck, good food and a winning ’11-’12 Patriots season!

Cuban Sandwiches

(makes 6)

Ingredients:

  • 6 small sub rolls, halved length-wise
  • 12 slices deli ham
  • 6 slices Swiss cheese
  • Yellow mustard
  • 6 dill pickle stackers (if you’re using pickle chips, you’ll need 4 per sandwich)

Directions:

  1. Preheat a grill pan to med-high heat (or a panini press if you have one).
  2. Spread 1 tb. yellow mustard on one side of the sub roll.
  3. Layer 1 slice Swiss cheese, dill pickle(s) and 2 slices of ham.  Top with the other roll half.
  4. Spray the grill pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Place the prepared sandwich on the grill pan and smoosh with the bottom of a frying pan or tinfoil-covered brick (very high tech, I know).  Grill for 3-4 minutes until grill mark form and the sandwich is lightly browned.  Flip sides and repeat.
  5. Serve warm and enjoy!

Bon appetit!

-Christina

Spice Rub Chicken with Mango Salsa

Published on September 1, 2011 in Chicken. 1 Comment

It’s September 1st.  Wait a minute, are you serious?  Where did the summer go?  I swear, the older you get, the faster time flies – it’s scary.  (And I’m about to be one year older…also terrifying…)  But from what I can remember of the blur that was summer, it was all pretty great.  I moved into some new digs (and spent a few months HGTV’ing the place), threw a few dinner parties and BBQ’s with great friends, traveled to Canada, Maine and the Cape, and started a cool new job. Please note, the aforementioned activities can also be subbed-in for my lack of blog posts :) .

Yes, it’s been a great summer, but I still can’t believe it’s over.  With Labor Day weekend on the horizon, here’s a great recipe to savor the last of those summer flavors: Spice-Rubbed Chicken with Mango Salsa.  Go fire up the grill, pub a lime in that Corona and cheers to one last “summer” hurrah!

Ingredients: (Truthfully, I don’t really measure for this recipe, but these are a good gauge.  Feel free to add more/less as you wish)

Spice Rub Chicken:

  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cumin
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • Salt & pepper
  • 4-6 chicken breasts

Mango Salsa

Directions:

1.)    In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper.

2.)    Place chicken breasts on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Coat both sides of the chicken with the spice mixture.  Cover the baking sheet/chicken with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you’re ready to grill (at least 20 min).

3.)    In the meantime, make the mango salsa and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve – this allows the flavors to meld.

4.)    Remove the chicken from the fridge 10 min prior to grilling to allow for even cooking. (Perfect amount of time to pre-heat the grill and open a bottle of wine, beer, shake up a margarita, etc.)

5.)    Grill the chicken for 7 minutes on both sides, or longer depending on thickness.  Let the chicken rest for 10 min.

6.)    Serve with mango salsa and enjoy!

Bon appetit!

- Christina