Roasted Red Potatoes

There was this one time, I needed to make a side dish for dinner with friends and I wanted something fairly easy and healthy.  So I looked up on Weight Watcher's website for an idea, and came across a recipe for Roasted Fingerling Potatoes.  I opted to substitute the fingerlings for red.  Why?  Because they're easier to find and less expensive.  Either way, they were good!

Roasted Fingerling Red Potatoes
Yields about 1/2 cup per serving, serves 4; PointsPlus 2

Ingredients

• 12 oz. uncooked potatoes, fingerling red, well-scrubbed, sliced in half lenghtwise quarters
•  1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup canned chicken broth, divided
• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary, (plus extra for garnish)
• 1/8 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste

Instructions

1.  Preheat oven to 400F.
2. In a small roasting pan, combine potatoes, garlic, and 1/4 cup broth, rosemary, salt, and pepper.
3. Roast for 15 minutes (broth will evaporate); add remaining broth, flip potatoes and roast for 15 minutes more.

Roasted Potato, Garlic, and Red Pepper Salad

I have a friend that is not a fan of creamy, white foods. Like mayo. Yuck! So I made it my personal mission to find a recipe for potato salad that is not mayo or sour cream based. And I found it! And I made it for my little Memorial BBQ. And it was good!

Cast of Characters...
Mid-roast...

Ingredients:
6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
3 pounds small boiling potatoes (white, red, or fingerling)
2 red bell peppers
3 1/2 tablespoons EVOO
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup small fresh basil leaves
optional: olives, pine nuts, goat cheese, grilled chicken, tuna, or prosciutto

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. Wrap garlic cloves together in foil. Halve potatoes and cut bell peppers into 1/2" pieces. In a large bowl toss potatoes, bell peppers, and 3 tablespoons oil with salt and pepper to taste. Arrange potatoes and bell peppers in one layer in 2 large shallow baking pans and roast in middle and lower thirds of oven (simultaneously, roast wrapped garlic on either rack), stirring occasionally and switching positions of pans halfway through roasting time, until potatoes are tender and golden brown, about 35 minutes.
3. In a bowl immediately toss potatoes and peppers with 2 tablespoons vinegar and cool. Remove garlic from foil and squeeze pulp into a small bowl. With a fork mash garlic with remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil and tablespoon vinegar and toss together with potatoes and peppers, salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving, add basil. Serve potato salad at room temperature.

Gourmet
July 1997

And I suck and once again did not get a picture of the finished product. But trust me, it was pretty. Pretty good!

Brandied Carrots

Mom makes this for most big dinners, or during Thanksgiving. I made it for TND last week. It was a huge hit! And why wouldn't it be, look what goes it in.
The carrots are all nice and shiny from the honey...Mom's original recipe!Nuff' said!

I used Brandy instead bourbon.

Brandied/Bourbon Carrots

Ingredients:
baby carrots for 8-10 people
1/4 cup brandy or bourbon
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup butter

Instructions:
Saute all together until tender crisp.

Panzanella Salad

Over the past weekend I was invited to a BBQ. But I was also asked to bring a side dish. Not wanting to make my regular, I decided to branch out and try something new, something different, something I've never made before. And while flipping through some recipes on my computer and online I came across this recipe. I though, hum, well, I don't have a majority of the ingredients, and I don't have time to go to the store (cause I've very last minute like that), I wonder if mom has stuff I could use. And of course, cause mom's always save the day, she did. So to work I went. I chopped and diced and minced and toasted and whisked. And voila, Panzanella Salad (aka Bruschetta in a Bowl)!

Ingredients:

6 cups of day old Italian Bread, ripped or cut into bite size pieces
1/3 cup Olive Oil
Salt and pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup Olive Oil
2 tbs. balsamic vinegar
4 medium ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
3/4 cup red sliced onion
10 basil leaves, shredded
1 cup fresh mozzarella, cut into bite size pieces

Preheat oven to 400 degree F.

(toasted bread chunks, basically croutons!)

In a large bowl, toss bread with 1/3 cup olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic. Lay bread on a baking sheet, and toast in preheated oven until golden, about 5 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.

While bread is in the oven, whisk together 1/4 cup olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Gently toss together the bread, tomato, onion, basil and cheese. Toss with the vinegarette and let stand 20 minutes before serving.

Panzanella Salad
Serves 8

Ingredients:
6 cups of day old Italian Bread, ripped or cut into bite size pieces
1/3 cup Olive Oil
salt and pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup Olive Oil
2 tbs. balsamic vinegar
4 medium ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
3/4 cup red sliced onion
10 basil leaves, shredded
1 cup fresh mozzarella, cut into bite size pieces

1. Preheat oven to 400 degree F.
2. In a large bowl, toss bread with 1/3 cup olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic. Lay bread on a baking sheet, and toast in preheated oven until golden, about 5 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.
3. While bread is in the oven, whisk together 1/4 cup olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Gently toss together the bread, tomato, onion, basil and cheese. Toss with the vinegarette and let stand 20 minutes before serving.

*Good way to use leftover garlic bread.
*Didn't have mozzarella cheese on had, monterey jack worked just fine as a substitute.

Fiesta Corn Casserole

Let's start this out right. This recipe is requested time and time again. So, I always make it, but I always seem to forget how much of what goes into it. So I always have to call my mom and ask, "Is it one or 2 blocks of cream cheese? How much butter again?" That's what I get for never making a regular batch. In fact, I get asked to make this recipe so often that it's no longer "Fiesta Corn Casserole". Everyone refers to it as "Courtney's Corn Casserole".

Ingredients:

2 pkg. frozen petite white corn (about 2 pounds total)
1 cube butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 can diced green chilies (the small can)
1/2 white onion, diced
salsa (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Dump everything in a greased 9x13 pan.

Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes. Stir and serve. Serves 6-8.

Fiesta Corn Casserole

2 pkg. frozen petite white corn (about 2 pounds total)
1 cube butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 can diced green chilies (the small can)
1/2 white onion, diced
salsa (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Bake in a 9x13 pan at 350 for 30-40 minutes. Stir and serve. Serves 6-8.

*For a spicier version, used diced jalapeños in place of the diced green chilies. When I make big batches, I'll use diced jalapeños and diced green chilies.
*And I don't use salsa. I'm just not a fan of the flavor it gives the dish. And it makes it more wet, or runny.