Greek Inspired Turkey Meatballs with Eggplant Yogurt Sauce

I have been on a turkey meatball kick lately.  They are just so versatile that you can combine any number of spices and herbs and come up with a different flavor profile every time.  Being that they are made from that ever so lean turkey, and I bake mine to ensure that no pesky oils or unwanted fats infiltrate them, they end up being a really healthy dinner option!

This week I had a craving for olives and Feta cheese.  I don't know where these things start, but I decided to go for it.  The Greek Inspired Turkey Meatball was born.

Of course a turkey meatball on its own isn't super fun, so I envision a rich and creamy sauce to go along with it.  I wanted something that would be full of flavor, compliment the meatballs, add some excitement but not kill the healthy style of the turkey.  The result?  Eggplant Yogurt sauce.

Meatballs
1 lb ground lean turkey meat
1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup diced red onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Zest of one lemon
1 tsp chili pepper flakes
1 tbsp chopped oregano (dried is fine)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 cup fat free Feta Cheese crumbles
1/2 to 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg
Salt and pepper

In a large bowl combine the above ingredients until will mixed.  Get your hands in there and really work the ingredients together-the result should be visible-an even distribution of the ingredients, not too wet but not too dry either.

Shape the meat into balls- no more than 2 inches in diameter, place on a baking sheet and bake at 400 for about 30 minutes, or until completely cooked through.


Sauce
1 medium eggplant, pealed and chopped into 1 inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp chili pepper flakes
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp oregano
Salt & pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup fat free Greek yogurt, plain
2 tbsp honey

Toss the eggplant with garlic, chili pepper, oregano, cumin, salt, pepper and half of the oil.  Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast at 400 for 20 minutes or until the eggplant is soft and cooked through. When done remove from oven and cool.
Transfer the eggplant to a food processor add the yogurt and honey and turn on the processor to begin blending.  Slowly add in the rest of the oil.  The consistency should be thick, but still loose.

Serve the meatballs over a bed of fresh spinach and Kalamata olives and drizzle with the sauce.

Spicy and Sweet: Apricot Pistachio Crusted Pork Loin

Whenever a holiday comes up, obviously there is much planning to be done.  There are decisions to be made on exactly what will be served, how it will be prepared and what will go with it.  It probably goes without saying that I insert myself into the middle, and often completely take it over an a pretty regular basis.  However, much to my mother's chagrin, I rarely decide on what exactly I want to make for the holiday until just before the day, which makes it difficult for those advance planners in the family.  Unfortunately, for this just past Easter, I caused the same issues.  We decided on pork loin some weeks ago- but in terms of how I wanted to prepare it- well- I was dragging my feet. 

One of the things that I noticed a couple of weeks ago at Taste of the Nation was that our local chefs appear to be using Pistachio's more this year.  These nutty little gems have taken the back seat for years compared to their counterparts in the almond, walnut and peanut, so I was thrilled to see that this year they seem to be standing on their own.  I decided to try my own hand at them and use them as part of a crust for the Easter Pork Loin.  I began to picture orange flavor with the pistachios and maybe something spicy.  I began by marinating the loin in orange juice, crushed red pepper flakes, garlic, parsley and salt and pepper for about 24 hours.  Then I was off to the grocery store!

I had been imagining orange marmalade for the base of the crust I was going to prepare for the pork, but somehow my local store was out- so I opted for Apricot Jam instead, and then also picked up an orange, and Thai Chili Peppers.  Thai Chili Peppers are, by site alone, adorable.  They are tiny green peppers, much smaller than your average Serrano or Jalapeno, and a whole lot hotter.  

Back at home I finely chopped 7-8 cloves of garlic, a handful of parsley and two of the Thai Chilies and stirred this into 1/2 cup of the Apricot Jam, the zest of one orange, salt, and 1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped roasted and unsalted pistachios.  The result was a very chunky crust/glaze- thick and gooey- which had nice distribution for sweet to not sweet.  I will say that this was pretty spicy-so if you're looking for something less powerful, only use one Tai Chili, or a milder pepper.

When we were ready to put the pork in the oven to begin its long cooking process, I quartered three onions and placed them in the bottom of a roasting pan, placed the pork on top of these, fat side up, and then liberally spread the crust on top, careful to make sure that every centimeter of the meat was covered.  We popped the meat into the oven (350 for an hour or so).  

As the meat cooked amazing smells began to waft from the kitchen- the onions gently roasting, the pork saturated in orange juice, and the flavors of the crust all mingled together and filled the rooms with hunger inducing smells.  The crust did brown as it cooked, a product of the sugar in the jam.

When the thermometer finally read 170 degrees, we pulled the loin from the oven and surveyed its beauty.  I let it rest and then finally cut into it.  The crust did fall off a bit as I sliced, but it was easy enough to just scoop those bits back on to the slices and enjoy.  

Now, I'm a pretty tough critic- especially of my own food- but this was pretty fantastic.  The pork had a light orange flavor to it- not overpowering at all, but just a hint of citrus to offset the dense flavor of the pork itself.  The crust though was awesome.  Each bite began with a slow sweetness, blended into the wonderful garlic and orange and ended with real heat.  The pistachios, often an overpowering flavor, was light compared to the other ingredients, and accentuated the dish with its unique crunch for texture variation.  I was really pleased with the levels of flavor present, each one held its own, and then receded as the next took it's place.  

Obviously I love spice and heat, but I do tire often of regulating heat to typical dishes.  This crust played with heat while offering plenty of other flavors.  The result was easy to enjoy without your mouth ever feeling on fire, and still able to enjoy each ingredient to its fullest.    

Veggie Burgers- A Perfect Weeknight Meal

I'll go ahead and state the obvious- I love meat.  Serve me up a nice steak or a juicy hamburger any day and I'll be happy.  I won't daintily pick at it, or feign distaste.  No, I'll dig right in, armed with my sharper than average steak knife, or my bare hands, and chomp hungrily at the carnivorous meal.  I feel no shame in admitting this, no embarrassment for my love.  However, that is not to say that there are some days that I crave a healthy dose of vegetables.  I eat salads on an almost daily basis and I load them up with all sorts of veggies.  I find new ways to fill up on veggies as much as I can.  The other night, I had a craving for a healthy meal, and a spicy one at that, and decided to see what I could make with just the ingredients I had on hand.  A few minutes later, I was laying out the ingredients for some of the heartiest, and tastiest, veggie burgers I've had in a while.

Look at all those veggies!

As I considered the burger, and heard my stomach rumbling, I knew I wanted these guys to really satisfy my hunger.  I wanted a hearty burger.  I took out a can of Cannelloni (White Kidney) beans from my pantry, as well as some bread crumbs, salt, pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and cinnamon.  I turned to my fridge and pulled out spinach, a jalapeno, a red onion, a small zucchini, a bag of corn from the freezer, and um a bag of shredded mozzarella cheese (sue me-I love cheese).

Ok the paste wasn't the prettiest

Playing with the ideas floating in my head, I pulled out my food processor and combined the can of beans (drained), a cup (give or take) of fresh baby spinach, the jalapeno (I used the full pepper, if you want less heat just remove the seeds and the ribs, or use half the pepper), about a 1/4 cup of chopped onion, salt, pepper, and about a teaspoon and a half of the paprika, cinnamon, and garlic powder.  I pulsed these together until a thick paste was formed.

To prep my other ingredients I poured 3/4 of a cup of the frozen corn into a strainer and ran warm water over it until the kernels defrosted.  The zucchini I simply washed and diced.  

I transferred the bean paste into a mixing bowl, added the corn and the zucchini and then slowly added the breadcrumbs.  I wanted to be sure that the breadcrumbs didn't over power the vegetables, but that they did bind together the paste into workable patties.  I probably used between 3/4 cup and a cup.  Then I added a half cup of cheese.  This could obviously be omitted-but come on-its CHEESE!  I mixed these thoroughly together and then formed four good size patties.

I heated a skillet on the stove top and transferred the patties to warm through, melt the cheese, and brown the outsides.  These were fully cooked in about 15 minutes (my patties were kind of huge).

While I waited for the patties to cook, I combined a diced avocado in a small bowl with 1/4 cup red onion, the juice of a lime, 1/2 a jalapeno, salt, pepper and garlic salt- all to taste.  

Once the veggie burgers were done cooking, I slid one on to a plate, topped with the makeshift guacamole, and sat down to enjoy dinner!

These were a veggie burger I can definitely stand behind.  They were absolutely hearty, but they contained really diverse flavor profiles that made them rather addictive.  The spice from the jalapeno offered an initial kick of spice, but then lulled to allow the smoke from the paprika to shine through, coupled with that hint of cinnamon.  The corn gave bursts of sweetness with each bite and the zucchini, not fully cooked through added great textural relief.  I loved the make shift guacamole on top as well- it helped to compliment the spice, but also added that nice rich component from the avocados, and a nice acidic burst. 

I can definitely assure you, these will be a permanent fixture in my week night meal rotation when I tire of salads! 

"Lasagna" Bread Pudding

What has become one of my families favorite memories of me first occurred on an Easter weekend when I was 6 or 7.  We were celebrating the holiday with some of our extended family who were in from out of town, and that meant that my mom was serving up delicious Italian cuisine all weekend long.  Wanting a simple meal one evening my mother decided to have pasta one night and therefore made up big plate of beautiful spaghetti, loaded with hearty red sauce, and served with a side of her famous garlic bread.  This classic meal was one for the books.  One of my chores at that time was to set the table for dinner, and to bring the plates of food to each setting.  One of my self proclaimed roles at that age was also to be a chatty Cathy.  Hours upon hours of useless drivel would pour through my mouth to anyone who would listen.  Often this outpouring of knowledge was particularly exciting, and I would get very involved in whatever it was that I was clamoring on about.  On this particular evening, I was chatting on with full gusto as I had a a larger audience than just my immediate family, and I lost all understanding of what I was doing as I made trip after trip from the kitchen to the dining room with full plates of spaghetti.  About halfway there it occurred to me, the plate I was carrying, for some strange reason, was becoming lighter.  I looked down to find that, in my exuberance, I had tilted the plate and pasta and sauce had found its way off the plate and on to the floor, as well as me, tracing my steps from the kitchen on.  The majority, of course, landed squarely on the area rug in the dining room creating a big red, oily stain.  Needless to say, I'm sure, dinner had to be halted as the mess was cleaned, and I was sternly reminded to keep my brain on the task at hand-again.  

I often recall this story and chuckle, so when Peter from PeteyPumpkin set the tone for a recent pot luck dinner party as Easter or Passover dishes from our childhood, I immediately thought of the pasta incident.  My brain then floated over to lasagna, and then finally I realized that a savory bread pudding would be right up my ally.  

I love bread pudding, I love its hearty-ness combined with its custard like texture.  The real beauty is when the middle is soft and eggy, and the outside edges are a bit crisp from the baking process.  I decided to combine the beauty of lasagna with the wonderful attributes of bread pudding. 

I began by drying out a loaf of Italian bread that came pre sliced.  This can either be done by laying out the bread on cooling racks for a day or two, or by throwing the slices into the oven at a low temperature for 20 minutes or so. You just want them dry, not toasted.  I was short on time so I placed mine into the oven at 200 degrees.  

In the meantime, I thinly sliced zucchini, red and yellow bell peppers, and portobello mushrooms.  I drizzled these lightly with olive oil salt and pepper, and, once the bread had finished drying out, I roasted them at about 400 degrees until the mushrooms were cooked through and the peppers were just getting a little black on the sides.   I set these aside to cool. 

I also, cut off the top of a head of garlic, wrapped the bottom and sides in tinfoil, and drizzled the exposed top with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt.  That went into the same roasting temperature oven for about 20 minutes as well- or until the garlic cloves were soft and fragrant.  Once it was done, I gently squeezed the garlic cloves from their casings and mashed them with a fork.  I then added 3/4 of a cup of low fat ricotta and a few generous handfuls of shredded mozzarella. 

I moved on to the "pudding" part next and combined 3-4 eggs in a bowl with 3/4 cup of milk, a handful chopped parsley, salt and pepper.  I cut the bread into bite size pieces and added them to the bowl with the egg mixture, tossing every so often to allow the bread to fully soak up the egg.

I lightly greased a bread pan (bottom and sides) and then began to assemble my bread pudding.  I placed a layer of the soaked bread into the bottom, and then spread the ricotta mixture in an even layer on top of that.  Then I laid out the vegetables across that, topped with more cheese, another layer of the bread, and then a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese across the top.  

I packed this bad boy up (with freezer bags) and popped it into a 375 degree oven once I got to Peters for about 40 minutes to an hour.  I served it with a side of tomato vinegar.  The result was one flavorful bread pudding.  I enjoyed the layers, however I feel that if I were to serve this again I might incorporate the vegetables into the pudding more to really allow the bread to reach that wonderful custardy stage.  I think that here my layers were too thin and that level wasn't achieved.  However, the sweet roasted garlic mixed with the beautiful ricotta, and then the melty mozzarella all paired with the roasted vegetables made for some fantastic flavors.  

This was a tasty and easy pot luck meal- easy to throw together after work, and then a simple heat up at your destination.  I was really pleased with this after a very busy week.

It must also be said that the contributions of the other diners were incredible- spanakopita, gazpacho, pierogies, an incredible chocolate caramel dessert....ridiculous.  Pot lucks may be my new favorite!   

Braised Pork Belly Tacos

As I alluded to yesterday, I have decided to challenge myself more during this year.  Recipes and techniques that I've always wanted to try, I'm breaking them out this year and mastering them!  Well-thats the plan, anyway.  I kicked it all off on New Years Eve by making braised pork belly tacos.  The idea here was two fold, first I don't think I have ever formally braised before though I'm sure I've done similarly without acknowledging it, and second, I got to use pork belly, an ingredient I've been meaning to work with!

Simply put, "Braising" refers to the method of cooking where the meat is seared on the stove top first, and then finished in a covered dish in the oven, about half way filled with liquid.  Pork belly, awww succulent pork belly, is the same cut that bacon is made from- with all of its fatty goodness.  You can see why I was thrilled to use it!

Not sure entirely what to do with the pork belly, I scoured the internet looking for recipes.  I finally decided on pulled pork belly tacos (served in lettuce wrappers) as this recipe sounded like a good introduction to the meat.  Sadly, the outcome was not as I had anticipated.  Rookie mistake I've been told.  The pork belly was heavy on fat and light on meat, so once it had braised for several hours, there wasn't really enough meat to be impressive.  Additionally, the recipe called for a full cup of distilled white vinegar- an ingredient I very rarely use in cooking because of it's very pure vinegar flavor.  I went against my better judgement and followed the instruction for the cup, and kicked myself after.  The meat,  absorbed much of the flavor and resulted in a highly acidic end product.  It was far from inedible, but it was also far from being the tasty treat I had anticipated.

I consulted with a chef friend and I found that my errors were multiple.  First, pork belly is not meant to be a pulled meat.  The location of the fat and meat render it to be a much better meat to be braised and then seared, creating a crispy fat crust topping the tender meat.  Pulling should be left for pork shoulder or butt.  Word to the wise.  Additionally, apparently there are two ends to the pork belly- one is fattier, one is meatier- I should have gone for the meatier.  Finally, though it wasn't spelled out for me, I just trust my judgement- it if seems like too much vinegar-it probably is.  

All in all the tacos formed well (especially with the addition of a black bean salald and some delicious salsa verde I'll be posting about soon), but ever critical, I was disappointed in the flavor of the meat.  I will be trying pork belly again (soon) as this was far from mastering my challenge! 

Thanksgiving, Vegetarian Style

A few weeks ago a Twitter friend asked if I could try my hand at making a vegetarian friendly Thanksgiving entree.  The story was that last year she had made a lemony seafood dish, which while delicious, did not evoke the feelings of Thanksgiving that she had wanted.  I can definitely understand her concerns.  I love seafood, and it pairs beautifully with lemon, but at Thanksgiving, I want something warm and hearty full of the flavors of fall.  

When I started to imagine what would be a tasty Thanksgiving vegetarian option, I started to think about all those wonderful grains that have so many nutrients and can be combined and blended with other flavors to really make them shine.  One of my favorites is Barley.  Barley is chock full of fiber, protein, vitamin B6, calcium, iron and a host of other amazing nutrients.  It also has a great ability to blend with all sorts of herbs and spices and take on a different personality every time.

1 cup barley, prepared as the package directs

2 cloves garlic

Sage (fresh)

1/3 yellow onion, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 large white mushrooms, sliced

1/2 large zucchini, sliced then halved

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1 cup baby spinach leaves

1 wedge Laughing Cow light Swiss cheese

Salt and pepper

I started by cooking a cup of barley according to the directions on the package, basically to wash it, and then boil it in water.  The only change I made was to add two roughly chopped garlic cloves and a few leaves of fresh sage, also roughly chopped, to the boiling water to help season the barley as it cooked.

While that cooked, I blended a teaspoon of whole fennel seed, garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon in my mortar and pestle, and ground them till most of the fennel was powder, but some seeds remained intact.  If you do not have a mortar and pestle, put the same ingredients in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to grind them.  In a large sauté pan, I added a tablespoon of olive oil, chopped onion, celery, and the ground spice mix, salt and pepper.  As the onions began to become translucent, add the mushrooms and cook until they brown slightly.  Add the zucchini and the cranberries.  Let cook for another 2 minutes or so, then add the barley to the mix.  Once that is fully incorporated, add spinach and the wedge of soft cheese.  Break up the cheese the blend it in with the other ingredients.  Finally stir in about a teaspoon fresh chopped sage.

I am incredibly pleased with how this turned out.  The fennel seeds combined with cinnamon, and sage.  The flavors brought forth all of those great flavors of thanksgiving, but into a dish chock full of vegetables and high in nutritional goodness.  I really enjoyed this as a perfect celebration of fall flavors.

One Pan Meal- Spicy Broccolini with Basil Chicken Sausage

Sometimes, time just isn't as plentiful as we all might want it to be.  Sometimes there are those weeks that slip past and my kitchen stands empty- used only to throw together my lunch in the morning, or to heat up a fast dinner of a frozen leftover, or a veggie burger when time is really short.  Though these weeks happen only sometimes, when they do they make me all the way sad.  A longing glance at my whisk, or at a pan sitting neatly on the drying wrack still waiting to find it's way back home to it's friends in the cabinet.  It is a sad state of affairs when time goes by without using my favorite kitchen supplies.  After a period of about a week and a half of this type of kitchen neglect, I finally charged back into my favorite room in the house yesterday afternoon to take it by storm.  I had some serious cooking to do, and not a lot of time to do it.  So in the short time I spent, I whipped up three and a half dishes, the half being one I made the base for but am still working on it's finishing touches.

The best part of the afternoon though was making a simple, delicious meal for me to enjoy right then and there since much of the rest of the dishes were for other purposes.  I had found some beautiful looking broccolini in the grocery store earlier yesterday and had found one of those delightful packages of chicken and turkey sausage flavored with basil.  When I purchased them I figured they would be an easy meal during the upcoming busy week, but last night as I looked at the broccolini, and I heard my tummy rumble I thought it might be best to break them open.  The result- an easy, spicy almost stir fry of broccolini and the sausages with a LOT of garlic.

1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp to 1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (to your taste)
salt and pepper
1 bunch broccolini, stems trimmed
1 1/2 tbsp red wine- preferably dry
1 package chicken sausage- I used basil flavored, any flavor will do probably
Parmesan Cheese


Heat the olive oil in a large skillet pan (I used a small one- it worked but it was not as easy).  Add garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.  When the garlic becomes soft, add the broccolini and saute until the stems are fork tender, at the last 2-3 minutes add the red win to the pan.  Remove the broccolini from the pan, set aside.  Add the chicken sausage and cook until heated through.  These are super easy to use since they are already fully cooked.  Add the chicken sausage to the broccolini platter, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and viola!  Dinner (and lunch the next day) is served!


I love broccolini.  The smaller stems make them easier to cook than the mammoth trunks on typical broccoli.  I find that they soak up more flavor as well- which makes them a great vehicle for spicy crushed red peppers and that wonderful garlic.  Just be careful that you don't stand too close to anyone after consuming.  You may not be very popular :-).

Garlic&Orange; Baked Chicken, with Fresh Salad and Herb Pancakes

After a weekend of pure indulgence, I was heavily craving a salad for dinner last night. All I could picture as I walked home (after stopping in at the Downtown Crossing Holiday Market -what a great conglomeration of talented folks!) was a tasty chicken breast, a light salad, and some sort of quick starch that could be a bit lighter than the insanely good, but insanely rich roasted garlic and rosemary mashed potatoes I made last week.

I settled on marinating the chicken in a quick bath of herbs, garlic, orange juice and champagne vinegar, and then baking them. I decided to throw together a quick salad dressing from with a base of low fat sour cream that I had on hand from making french onion dip for a party over the weekend. And then I decided that the perfect compliment to the meal I was envisioning was pancakes. Several months ago I started playing with making savory pancakes, well I suppose more silver dollars, as a compliment to white meat dishes. I think that they are just so fun, easy, unexpected and SO versatile. A quick stop at the grocery store for chicken, fresh greens and fruit for my lunch for the week, and I was back home ready to make a delicious dinner.

I started by finely chopping about 8 cloves of garlic, I knew I wanted a lot of garlic with the chicken and Id use it in some other items as well-so I just chopped a bunch. Then I moved on to the herbs of choice- fresh oregano and fresh rosemary- both chopped finely. In a small bowl I then blended a sprinkle of salt, a little less than half the garlic, the herbs, and then about 3/4 of a cup of orange juice, and 1/4 cup of champagne vinegar. Once blended, I placed my chicken breasts in a ziplock bag, poured my marinade over the top, squeezed out the air and sealed the bag. They were then set aside to marinade for a good 20 minutes or so.

While I waited for the chicken to soak up all those lovely flavors, I cooked up four slices of bacon, and I made up my pancake batter (Bisquick-I took the easy road this time) and then finely diced a few very thin slices of red onion, and a few sprigs of rosemary to mimic, but alter the flavors in the chicken. I added both to my pancake mix and let the flavors mingle.

I decided that the chicken had soaked up enough flavor, and placed them in to a lightly greased baking dish, covered them with half of the remaining garlic, and then placed thin slices of orange over the top. I covered the dish with tinfoil, and placed into my preheated 425 degree oven.

Then I very simply chopped and sliced some veggies- red onion, green pepper, then very thinly sliced a couple of handfuls of red grapes. As I finished that, I moved on to making my quick salad dressing, about two tablespoons of the low fat sour cream, the remainder of the garlic, orange juice to thin it out, and then champagne vinegar to counter the sweetness. The flavors were really nice in this, slightly sweet from the orange juice, a bit of acid and then the background creaminess from the sour cream. A really nice dressing- and one that doesn't include Dijon mustard as most of my dressings do!

All I really had left to do in this incredibly easy meal as I waited for the chicken to bake was cook the pancakes. I used the same pan that I had cooked the bacon in with the leftover grease to see if I could impart a bit of the smoky flavor into the pancakes. I cooked up little silver dollars, and they looked and smelled so good as they cooked!

Finally, once the chicken had finished baking, and the salad tossed with its dressing, I plated dinner by laying down one pancake in one corner of my plate, spooning a few heaping spoonfuls of salad over it and then placed a second pancake on top. I sprinkled a few crumbles of the bacon I had cooked over the top, and then arranged a sliced chicken breast next to it. Finally I dripped just about two teaspoons of the left over dressing over the chicken to tie it all together.

The final result was really delicious, and completely satisfied my need for a fresh salad. The chicken had wonderful bright orange notes to it, and the addition of the salad dressing highlighted all of those. The salad was fresh and clean tasting, and coupled with the herby and fragrant pancakes-they created a wonderful combination of flavors and textures. The pancakes themselves were really tasty. Strong notes of onion and rosemary, with just a background of smokey bacon. Fantastic. Those little crumbs of bacon added just a bit of crunch, and I thought really rounded out the meal.
Overall this was a great weeknight, simple meal-one of those great recipes to store in your back pocket and pull out when you want to make a meal out of stuff you have on hand (for the most part) and quickly!

Roasted Vegetable Salad, Dijon Rosemary Chicken, Homemade Potato Chips

Roasted vegetables are one of my all time favorite things. I love the different mixes of veggies that can be put together, and are then bonded with one harmonious flavor, but maintain their own distinct qualities. It is also the best way Ive found for me to enjoy the lovely Brussel Sprout without killing its nutritional value with bacon. Last night I was craving a nice big salad so I decided to make a roasted veggie salad as opposed to my norm of fresh veggies.
I decided to combine thinly sliced brussel sprouts, red peppers, zucchini, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, Kalamata olives, and carrots with chopped parsley, garlic and rosemary. I tossed all of this together in a bag with a little salt and pepper and of course olive oil, spread them out on a pan and popped them into the oven at 400 degrees F.
I decided to serve the salad, as it would come together later, with some baked chicken, and (because I wanted to play with my new kitchen toy) some homemade, baked potato chips. I made a quick marinade of rosemary, Dijon mustard, garlic and white wine, and let the chicken rest in that solution for a couple of hours. Browned quickly on each side, I slid the chicken breasts into the oven at the same 400 the veggies were roasting at. Simple dinner so far!
Now, a few weeks ago I picked myself up a long anticipated, much wanted, kitchen tool. One that I imagined making my life 100 times easier, and opening up many doors to many new recipes. Until last night- I had yet to use it. Finally realizing that I had the ability to use it- I pulled my brand new mandolin from its storage space and reveled in its glory. This handy little device promises to slice vegetables paper thin- far thinner than my clumsy hands could to manually- and it promised to do this in uniform slices-even better! Speaking of clumsy- it even came with a little safety guard designed to keep myself from slicing my finger as opposed to my chosen veggie. Wonderful.
I had some leftover potatoes in the fridge from making mashed potatoes for a friend this past weekend, so I decided to make some fun, baked potato chips for a starch accompaniment for dinner. Lo and behold, the mandolin worked like an absolute charm. Slice after slice of thinner than paper thin potato flew from the blade and made a beautiful pile of soon to be chips. Of course though, stubborn as I am, I had originally refused to use the safety guard and gave myself a nice finger slice as well- so now I have learned my lesson and I pass it on to you- use the safety guard!
Anyway- with a couple of potatoes nicely sliced, I quickly boiled them to get some of the starch out so they would crisp better, drained them, and then tossed them with just a little canola oil, and a couple pinches of salt. I spread them out on a cookie sheet (sadly not completely in a single layer) and popped them into the oven at the same good ol' 400. So far-I was loving the ease of this meal.
With everything coming together so easily, I set to work on my salad dressing of choice for the salad. This summer I started making a salad dressing for seafood salads that I really fell in love with, and luckily I decided that it could really tie together the different components of the meal. A quick chop of a clove of garlic, some rosemary, a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, the juice of a lemon, a pinch of salt and enough olive oil to bind it all together got blended. The outcome is this gorgeous blend of flavors- the earthy rosemary, garlic, the tang of the lemon with the slight spice of the mustard and the richness of the olive oil. Its a perfect combination of flavors for me. Once the veggies had cooled I tossed them with a healthy few handfuls of Arugula, some chopped cucumber, a handful of pecans, the dressing, and a bit of Gorgonzola cheese. Salad was complete.
The chicken took about 40 minutes or so in the oven, and then that got taken out as well, left to rest for a bit, and then sliced. Finally, after turning the potatoes a few times, I got a good batch of potato chips-crunchy and delectable.
The completed meal was a great one- all of the flavors were able to play off of each other in a very harmonious fashion and highlight each other along the way. The star of the show was the salad with all of its different textures. The veggies were nicely tender without being over cooked, and had those wonderful flavors of roasting and rosemary, the olives were nice and salty and perfect with the arugula. The cucumbers and the pecans just added a great amount of crunch, and were so nicely off set by the creamy and tangy Gorgonzola. With the light, citrus tasting dressing-it was a perfect combination of flavors.
The chips were good-I felt that I had definitely over cooked some, and under cooked others-but that can all be worked out with playing with the temperatures and timing I'm sure. They tasted fully of potato though- and weren't overladen with oil, salt and grease which is a big plus in my book.
The chicken was also good- great flavor throughout, tender, but a bit dry as I tend to always over cook chicken for safety sake. But it was a wonderful addition to the plate which I felt was a really nice representation of Fall- a combination of summer and winter- meeting in the middle for one delightful meal. I definitely foresee that salad being made many many times in the future....


Autumn Roasted Vegetables