Corned Beef Hash with Poached Eggs

This round of A Taste of Home Cooking's recipe swap had a slightly different set up than usual; rather than being assigned a recipe, we were each given a blog to pick a recipe from.  Yes, that's right, a whole blog's worth of recipes to narrow down to one choice.  I was given The Jey of Cooking, one I already follow and pull recipes from quite often, and let me tell you, it was really hard to choose.  I checked what I already had outlined for our weekly meal plans, and found that what I really needed was an awesome weekend breakfast. 

As I scrolled through Jey's breakfast tag, I saw corned beef hash and how to poach an egg.  It was like the stars aligned- I knew I'd have corned beef leftover from St. Patrick's Day, and I've been looking for an excuse to try poaching eggs.  Perfect!  I didn't change much, just added some bell pepper since I had it, and used thawed bagged shredded potatoes. 

Corned Beef Hash with Poached Eggs

What's in it:

1 c frozen hash browns, thawed
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/4 red bell pepper, diced
2 Tbsp chopped chives
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 c chopped or shredded corned beef
white vinegar for poaching
2 eggs

How to make it:

Mix potatoes, onion, bell pepper, chives, salt (go light on this, the corned beef will add a lot) and pepper to the potatoes and mix well to combine.  Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high.   Add potato-onion mixture and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.   Add the corned beef and stir to combine.   Cook, stirring occasionally, about 10-12 minutes, until potatoes are golden and beginning to crisp.  Keep warm in the skillet until the eggs are ready.

To poach the eggs, fill a saucepan with water, a little more than halfway full.   Add a splash of white vinegar.   Bring to a boil.  Break each egg into separate small dishes.   Swirl the water to create a tornado and carefully guide one egg at a time into the vortex.   Reduce heat to medium high.  Repeat with the second egg.  As each egg cooks, serve the corned beef hash onto a plate or into a shallow bowl so that it's ready to go when the egg is done.

For a soft center, cook for 2 minutes.   For a medium center, cook for 3 minutes.   For a hard center, cook for 4 minutes.  When the egg reaches your desired doneness, carefully remove with a slotted spoon and allow water to drip off.   Gently place on the hash and serve immediately.

Salt and Vinegar Roasted Potatoes

Well, hi there.  Where did January go?  I can't believe it's been over a month since I last shared anything here.  I've still been busy in the kitchen, and even remembered to take some photos, but writing about the food has kind of gotten away from me.  To help me get back in the groove, I signed up for A Taste of Home Cooking's recipe swap again.  The theme for this round was potatoes, which I appreciate since side dishes are often an after thought when I'm planning meals. 

I received Melissa at Delicious Meliscious's recipe for salt and vinegar roasted potatoes.  I was pretty excited, since I've made potatoes with a very similar recipe before and knew they'd be a hit in my house.  I did end up using cider vinegar since the last of the malt vinegar had been used on some fries unbeknownst to me, and while the potatoes were still good, you should definitely stick with the malt vinegar.  These potatoes are really a year-round side, as great with barbecued chicken and a light green bean salad as they are with roast beef and Brussels sprouts.

Salt and Vinegar Roasted Potatoes

What's in them:

10 baby Yukon potatoes
2 Tbsp (or so) of olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Malt vinegar to taste (I used about 3 Tbsp)

How to make them:

Cook the potatoes in salted boiling water for 15 minutes or until fork-tender.   I did this the day before to reduce prep time during the dinner rush.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Drain the potatoes then place them, one at a time, on a paper towel. Fold the paper towel over the potato and carefully smash the potato with the palm of your hand so that is flattened but still in one piece. Repeat with the remaining potatoes. Place the smashed potatoes on a baking sheet lined with foil and drizzle with olive oil, coating well and making sure that it gets into all of the little crannies in the smashed potatoes.  Season liberally with salt and pepper.

Place into the oven and roast for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Carefully flip the potatoes over and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and brush each potato with malt vinegar to taste and sprinkle with a bit more sea salt. Serve immediately.

Mashed Potato Cakes

Be honest, who still has Thanksgiving leftovers languishing in the refrigerator?  As much as I love the initial few rounds of turkey sandwiches, stage where there's a little of this and a little that left, but not enough for a meal can be tough to deal with.  Our delicious smoked turkey had been used up (or set aside in the freezer, designated for a future meal), roasted veggies snacked on, and rolls used for breakfast sandwiches, but we still had about two cups of mashed potatoes hanging out.

Looking for something a little different than another pile of mashed potatoes on the plate with dinner, I looked for a mashed potato pancake recipe that I had everything for, and hit gold when I saw a recipe that called for bacon fat on How Sweet It Is.  Every once in a while I save the rendered fat from cooking a package of bacon, and lucky for me, I had done this recently.  Let's be real; nothing makes a potato taste better than bacon fat.  I didn't change much here, just added a little cheese and some scallions for a little extra flavor.

Mashed Potato Pancakes

What's in them:

2 c mashed potatoes
3 Tbsp flour, more if your mashed potatoes are on the loose side
1/2 c shredded cheddar or colby jack cheese
1 scallion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp bacon grease, butter or olive oil

How to make them:

Sprinkle flour on mashed potatoes, add in cheese and scallions (or any other mix-ins you like) and stir gently to combine.  Form into eight patties that are about 1/2-1" thick.  I like them on the thinner side for a higher crust to mashed potato ratio.

Heat a skillet on medium high heat. Add your fat of choice and let it heat for 30 seconds. Add patties and let them brown on each side, about 3-4 minutes per side.  Don't rush and try to flip them before they're ready, or you'll use that delicious brown crust.

Serve immediately, with more cheese scallion, or even a dab of sour cream.

Cumin-Roasted Carrots

I find that there are two pretty universal challenges for people when it comes to cooking.  First, the assumption that really good food is complicated, time-consuming, and requires exotic ingredients.  Second, that opinion that vegetables are bland, generally made as an after thought, steamed or boiled after the meat and starch have been carefully prepared.

Well, neither of these statements are true.  Good food can be amazingly simple, and vegetables can be delicious with just a little care taken.

The ingredient list here is simple- six total, and half of them, the salt, pepper and olive oil, are things that sit out on my counter all the time.  That just leaves carrots that become caramelized and sweet, cumin that complements the earthiness of the carrots, and a little lemon juice to balance the sweetness with some acidity.  Toss everything together, slide into a hot oven, and you're free to spend as much time and effort on the rest of dinner as you want.

Cumin-Roasted Carrots
adapted from Mark Bittman

What's in them:

1 lb. carrots, peeled and halved or quartered
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Juice of half a lemon

How to make them:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Combine all ingredients but the lemon juice, making sure the coat the carrots evenly with the olive oil and seasonings.  Spread the carrots on a baking sheet, and roast for about 25 minutes, until slightly caramelized.

Squeeze lemon juice lightly over the carrots, and serve hot, warm or cold.

Roasted Winter Vegetable Pizza

Every summer I always forget how much I love winter squash, so fall is always full of pleasant surprises when I rediscover favorites like butternut, acorn and spaghetti squash. They’re hearty and healthy, and I love the caramelly sweetness that comes out when they’re roasted.

As soon as a saw the picture of a pizza with that tell-tale bright orange of butternut squash on Pinterest, I was caught. I glanced briefly at the linked recipe, but ended up just winging it.  This pizza is definitely one of my new favorite ways to eat squash!

Roasted Winter Vegetable and Bacon Pizza
inspired by marthastewart.com

What’s in it:

For a 10", relatively thin-crust pizza,
1 c of any mix of butternut squash, red potatoes, carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, or any other squash or root vegetable that strikes your fancy, thinly sliced (chopped up leftover roasted veggies would be great too)
2 tsp olive oil or bacon fat + 1 tsp olive oil
salt & pepper
1/2 pizza dough
1/3 c ricotta cheese
2 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 c shredded cheese (I used a mix of fontina, gruyere and mozzarella)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 375.  Coat vegetables with 2 teaspoons of olive oil or bacon fat, spread on a baking sheet, and roast until they are completely cooked through and begin to take on some color, about 10-15 minutes.

Increase oven temperature to 525.  Stretch pizza dough out into a 10" round.  Brush lightly with the remaining teaspoon of olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Spread ricotta evenly over the dough, then arrange vegetables and bacon on top.  Add cheese, then sprinkle the rosemary over it.

Bake until cheese starts to bubble and brown, about 10-12 minutes.

Loaded Potato Soup

As fall has set in here we've been getting a lot more cool, rainy grey days and I've been craving warm, comforting soups.  The evening this potato soup came together was no exception, and it was wonderful to watch the drizzle outside from a warm kitchen with a big pot of soup simmering on the stove.

This soup actually comes together quickly enough for a weeknight while still being flavorful and hearty.  I used a potato masher because I like my soup a little on the chunky side, but a regular or immersion blender would give you a smoother texture.  Anything you would put on a baked potato would be a nice topping- I'm looking forward to a ladle of chili stirred in the next time we're using up the odds and ends from the freezer.

Loaded Potato Soup

What's in it:

6 slices of bacon, chopped*
1 medium onion, diced
3 medium carrots, peeled, quartered and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" dice
1 tsp dried thyme
4 c chicken stock or broth*
2 oz cream or neufchatel cheese
1/4 c heavy cream or half & half
1 c shredded cheddar, jack or colby cheese, divided
2 c steamed broccoli
3 scallions, thinly sliced

How to make it:

Heat a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat.  Add the bacon and cook until crispy.  Remove bacon from pan to paper towels to drain, reserving 2 tablespoons of bacon fat in the pot.

Add olive oil if necessary for 2 tablespoons total, and add the onions and season with salt and pepper.  Cook until soft, then add carrots and garlic.  Allow the vegetables to cook until they start to develop some color.

Add the potatoes and thyme, stirring to combine, and season with salt and pepper again.  Add the chicken broth and bring the soup to a simmer.  Cook until potatoes begin to fall apart, about 10-15 minutes.  Break up potatoes with a potato masher to desired texture.  Over low heat, add the cream cheese and cream, if using, and stir until cream cheese melts.  Stir in 3/4 cup of the cheese.

Serve topped with the reserved bacon, remaining cheese, steamed broccoli and scallions.

*This is just as good as a meatless meal.  Skip the bacon, use all olive oil, and sub vegetable broth for the chicken broth.

Lamb Kebabs with Potato Moutabel

What originally caught my attention in this recipe was the potatoes.  I love Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food, but I had never really thought about mashed potatoes as being part of that cuisine.  I was also intrigued by the vegetables and cheese in the lamb, which is pretty different from how I've generally seen and eaten it. 

But basically, the moutabel is like the love child of hummus and buttermilk mashed potatoes.  The nutty tahini and tangy yogurt go so well together here.  I also really liked how the peppers and mushrooms kept the lamb from being too rich.  With cumin-roasted carrots on the side, this was a great dinner that combined some more exotic flavors with familiar foods.  In the future, I think I may prepare the lamb as a meatloaf instead, for a fun twist on the classic meatloaf and mashed potato dinner.

Lamb Kebabs with Potato Moutabel
adapted from Serious Eats

What's in it:

 For the kebabs:
16 oz ground lamb
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 c finely chopped mushrooms
1 c (4 oz) finely chopped mozzarella
1/2 c coarsely chopped walnuts
1/4 c chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper

For the moutabel:
2 large baking potatoes, scrubbed but unpeeled, cut into rough chunks
3 Tbsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp tahini
2 Tbsp yogurt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
Salt and freshly ground pepper

How to make it:

For the kebabs: Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix gently.  Shape the kebabs onto flat metal skewers if grilling, using about 3 tablespoons for each, shaping the meat around the top end of the skewer; alternatively, if pan-frying, form oblong patties.  Grill or pan-fry for 6–8 minutes, turning occasionally, until browned and cooked through.

To make the moutabel: Cook the potatoes in a large saucepan of lightly salted water over medium heat until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and transfer to a bowl. Coarsely mash the potatoes with their skins. Add the lemon juice, olive oil, tahini, yogurt and cumin. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve the lamb kebabs with the potato moutabel.

Baked Garlic-Beer Fries

Though it pains me, Vince is not particularly interested in food.  He likes eating it of course, but whenever I ask what he wants to have for dinner next week, my question is almost always met with a shrug and "whatever you feel like cooking."  So when he sends me a recipe, I do my best to work it into the menu.  Not surprisingly, the recipe that caught his attention involves beer. 

I used a beer made with roasted poblano peppers that Vince had brewed and bottled a few months ago this time around, but any beer that you'd drink with a burger works here.  Use something good though, because a lot of the beer's flavor comes though, despite the short soaking time.  I've also skipped the olive oil and used bacon fat leftover from baking bacon and it defnitely adds a whole other layer to the fries.  Fresh herbs are also delicious here.  These are awesome with any burger- definitely tons of flavor however you make them!

Baked Garlic-Beer Fries
from craftbeer.com

What's in them:

12 oz good beer
3 russet potatoes, about 3/4 lbs
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp olive oil, canola oil, or bacon fat
1-1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4-1/2 tsp black pepper

How to make them:

Preheat oven to 425°F

Scrub and cut potatoes with skin on into 1/2" sticks.  In a large bowl, soak the cut fries in the beer.  Let soak for 15 minutes, tossing a few times so that the potatoes soak evenly.

Drain beer and toss the potatoes with the oil, garlic, salt and pepper, making sure that each one is well coated.

Line a large baking sheet with foil, and spread the fries in a single layer on the pan, using two pans if necessary.  Bake for 40 minutes to 1 hour, depending on how crispy you like them, tossing 3-4 times.

Add more salt and pepper to your liking and serve hot.

Homemade Sweet Potato Tots

There's a restaurant near my office that's popular for retirement lunches, celebrating project completions, and other office events.  The food is primarily your typical pub stuff, but what I consider their standout item isn't even an entree: it's their sweet potato tots.  But there's a catch.  I don't know if they make them in-house or if sometimes their distributor just doesn't come through, but they're not always available.  Maybe it's on purpose, because it just makes me want them that much more.

When I saw a recipe for homemade tater tots on Serious Eats, I was curious about the method, but not enough to make me want to dirty that many dishes and the food processor, and deal with deep-frying.  Until I saw that one of the suggested variations was sweet potato tots. 

They turned out great, and even better with some leftover smoky jalapeno-lime ranch dressing for dipping.  And despite my fear of deep-frying, they weren't too difficult, they just took a lot of undivided attention.  Regulating the oil temp was a little tricky for me, but that could easily be remedied by thinking ahead and frying smaller batches of sweet potato chunks and tots.  They reheated well in the oven, crisping up nicely.

Homemade Sweet Potato Tots

What's in them:

1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into rough 1-inch chunks
1-2 qts peanut, vegetable, or canola oil
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 Tbsp cornstarch or potato starch
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
Freshly ground black pepper

How to make them:

Place potatoes in a bowl of cold water and agitate for 10 seconds. Transfer to fine mesh strainer and allow to drain for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oil in large wok or Dutch oven over high heat to 350°F. Fry potatoes, stirring them with a wire spider until light golden brown and tender, about 4 minutes, adjusting flame to maintain oil temperature. Transfer to a paper towel-lined bowl and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low.

Transfer 1/2 of the potatoes to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until broken down into rough 1/4 to 1/8th inch pieces, about eight 1-second pulses. Be careful not to over-process; the inside texture of the tots may end up on the gummy side.  Transfer to a mixing bowl and repeat with the remaining potatoes.

Add salt, starch, sugar, grated onion, black pepper to taste, and any other flavoring to taste (cinnamon, cayenne, bacon, etc., I used about 2 tablespoons of grated onion). Gently mix with your hands to combine. Shape into cylinders about 3/4-inch wide and 1-inch long.  Don't squish the mixture too much to keep the texture of the cooked tots fluffy.

Bring oil back to 350°F and add sweet potato tots in small batches, avoiding crowding the pan. Allow to fry for 1 minute, then gently agitate with a metal spider to separate them. Continue to cook, adjusting flame to maintain heat, until golden brown and crisp, about 3-4 minutes longer. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Serve hot, or reheat as needed in a 425°F oven.

Grilled Salmon and Potatoes with Quick Tomato Chutney

We've been having a heat wave here, but it hasn't stopped us from grilling.  With the outside temps so high, turning on the oven just isn't appealing anyway.  This grilled salmon and potato recipe works perfectly for these summer days when we don't want to heat the house up.  While the original recipe from Cooking Light included a tomato-onion salsa, I wanted something with a little more zing to it.  So sticking with the basic idea, I went with a quick tomato chutney that cooks in just a few minutes and brightens up the meaty salmon and creamy potatoes.  It does mean turning on a burner, but the sweet and sour sauce is worth the brief cooking time.

The potatoes do need to be boiled prior to grilling- I did this the evening before and refrigerated them overnight, but I think that they could also be microwaved.  We grilled the salmon on a sheet of non-stick foil to make sure that it didn't fall apart. 

Grilled Salmon and Potatoes with Quick Tomato Chutney

What's in it:

1/2 lb baby yukon gold potatoes (about 6)
olive oil, salt and pepper
1/4 red onion, diced
1/2 pint assorted cherry tomatoes, halved
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp cumin
pinch red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 6-oz salmon fillets

How to make it:

Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with cold water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 15 minutes or until tender. Drain potatoes, and allow them to cool slightly. Cut potatoes in half. Coat potatoes with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Thread potatoes onto two metal skewers with cut sides facing out.

Heat about a teaspoon of oil in a pan over medium-high heat, swirling to coat.  Add onions, season with salt and pepper, and cook until softened and just starting to brown.  Add tomatoes, garlic, cumin and red pepper flakes, cooking until the tomatoes begin to release their juices.  Stir in the brown sugar, then vinegar, scraping up the brown bits in the pan.  Simmer until a thick, chunky sauce has formed.  Check seasoning and set aside until ready to serve.

Season salmon with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Place fish and potatoes, cut sides down, on grill rack coated with cooking spray or lined with foil.  Cover and grill potatoes 6 minutes without turning. Grill fish 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Serve fish with potatoes; top with tomato chutney.

My Favorite Potato Salad

We are so ready for summer at our house.  Alexa is starting to ask about swimsuits and pools, and we've already taken advantage of warmer weather by grilling and eating out on the deck.  One thing I love about summer is all of the cold salads- pasta, vegetable, potato and so on.  But they're often heavy, with lots of mayo involved.  When it's hot out, I want something lighter and fresher tasting.

This Dijon potato salad is always a hit wherever I take it.  Work picnics, backyard cookouts, tailgates, no matter where, my bowl always comes home empty.  Admittedly, this is the weeknight version- some crispy bacon and fresh herbs of your choice are great additions to dress it up for company.  The quantities below serve 3-4, but it's easily scaled up for bigger get-togethers.

Dijon Potato Salad

What's in it:

1 lb. Yukon gold or red-skinned potatoes, diced into bite-size pieces
2 tsp kosher salt
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 small clove garlic, finely minced
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp herbes de provence
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp olive oil
Pinch sugar
Salt & pepper to taste

How to make it:

Put potatoes in a pot with cold water to cover.  Bring to a boil, and add salt.  Cook until done, about 7-10 minutes.

Place next six ingredients, through mustard, in a bowl large enough to hold potatoes.  Whisk together to combine, then drizzle in oil while still whisking.  Season to taste with sugar, salt and pepper.

Drain potatoes, put in the bowl with the dressing, and stir to coat while still hot.  Serve warm, room temperature, or cold.

Boxty Potato Cake Salad

Yes, this is an Irish recipe, but no, this wasn't for St. Patrick's Day.  Three years ago yesterday, Vince and I had a beautiful wedding day, surrounded by our friends and family, and were then lucky enough to have an amazing honeymoon in Ireland afterwards.

One of our favorite parts of our trip was our time in the southeast, in County Wexford, where we stayed at the Dunbrody Country House.  Part luxury hotel, part cooking school, and set on a gorgeous country estate, Dunbrody is certainly an experience.  As part of our visit, we had a fabulous dinner at the Harvest Room, run by award-winning chef Kevin Dundon, who happens to own Dunbrody with his wife Catherine.

While I didn't get to participate in a cooking class (it was our honeymoon after all, and Vince is not an enthusiastic cook), I did buy Dundon's cookbook, Full on Irish, while we were there.  To celebrate our anniversary this year, I decided to make the boxty potato cake recipe from it.

What I love about this recipe is that this is pretty common pub food in Ireland, but dressed up with a few special touches.  Dundon suggests serving with balsamic vinaigrette-dressed baby lettuces and a slice of pancetta, while I prefer to dress greens with his mustard vinaigrette, also in Full on Irish.  I also like to sprinkle the final potato cake and salad with crispy crumbled bacon and sliced scallion, finished with a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche, instead of the pancetta.

Boxty Potato Cake Salad

What's in them:

1 lb. potatoes, scrubbed
4 oz. bacon, finely chopped
3 scallions, sliced
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup flour
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
1-2 cups chopped salad greens (I used crunchy romaine, delicious with the creamy potato cakes)
1-2 Tbsp balsamic or mustard vinaigrette
2-3 Tbsp sour cream

How to make them:

Cover the potatoes with cold water in a pan and add a pinch of salt.  Bring to a boil, continuing to simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until tender.  Drain well, and set aside to cool.  This can be done the day before.

Once potatoes have cooled, peel away the skins and grate into a bowl.  (I used the grater on my food processor, and didn't bother to peel the potatoes.)  Heat a pan over medium-high heat and cook bacon until crispy, 2-3 minutes, draining away most of the excess fat.  Remove 2-3 Tbsp of bacon crumbles from the pan, and reserve for garnish.  Add scallions, again reserving some for garnish, and cook for another minute, until soft.  Transfer bacon and scallions to the bowl with the grated potatoes.  Add the egg yolk and flour, season well with salt and pepper, and mix until just combined.

Divide potato mixture into four and shape into patties, dusting with more flour if necessary.  Lay on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for 1-24 hours.

Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan, add the butter, and then add boxty cakes once butter has stopped foaming.  Cook for 2-3 minutes per side, until cooked through and golden brown.

Place one cake on serving plates, and dress greens with dressing.  Arrange greens on plate, and top with reserved bacon and scallions, and sour cream if desired.

Sunday Supper

Normally I don't mind putting a lot of effort into a Sunday dinner.  I usually have most of the afternoon to work, and there's something very comforting for me about puttering in the kitchen on the weekend.  But last weekend, we finally had a hint of spring, and I really didn't want to be closed up inside with sunshine and fresh air were right outside my window for the first time in what felt like months.  I wanted something worthy of Sunday supper, but fairly hands-off so I could hang out on the deck with a beer.

So to balance the hearty foods of winter with the brighter flavors of summer, I went with Marcella Hazan's Lemon Roasted Chicken and Potatoes (I originally saw this on Serious Eats a couple years ago), and since the spring-like weather had me craving green veggies, I left out the carrots and made balsamic roasted brussels sprouts instead.

As I should have realized, sometimes simpler is better.  It doesn't take hours in the kitchen to produce a delicious, and fairly impressive meal.  The chicken was flavorful and bright from the lemon, the potatoes crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside, and the brussels sprouts had just enough crunch to round out the textures of the meal, with some acidity to cut through the other rich flavors.  All for about 20 minutes of hands-on time, and most of that in chopping ingredients.

Lemon Roasted Chicken and Potatoes
Adapted from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

What's in it:

1 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces
1 three- to five-pound chicken
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1 small lemon
1 small onion

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Dry chicken thoroughly with paper towels.

Season the chicken with lots of salt and pepper, both inside and out.

Using light pressure, roll the lemon across a board with your hands and prick about 20 times with a toothpick or sharp knife. Cut the onion in half.  Stuff lemon and onion in the chicken's larger cavity.

Place chicken breast-side down into a large (ungreased) roasting pan. Roast in the upper third of the oven for about 30 minutes. Turn chicken over, so now the breast side is up.

Roast chicken for another 30 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 400°F and roast for another 20 minutes or longer, depending on the size of your chicken.  Plan on about 20 or 25 Calculate between 20 and 25 minutes total cooking time for each pound.  A meat thermometer comes in very handy here.

Remove the chicken from the oven and let sit 5 or 10 minutes for juices to redistribute. Carve and serve with the potatoes, and drizzle the juice at the bottom of the pan over everything. 

Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts
I don't even know where to begin with this one... basic roasted veggie with some extras

What's in it:

1 lb. brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved or quartered
1-2 slices of pancetta or bacon
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
1-2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

How to make it:

Combine all ingredients except vinegar in a shallow baking dish, stirring until everything is well coated in oil.  Roast at 400 degrees for 25 minutes, until brussels sprouts begin to caramelize.

Drizzle with balsamic vinegar, and put back in the oven for another 5 minutes.  Serve hot.

Roasted Chicken Thighs with Spicy Root Vegetables

Vince finally came home on Tuesday after a week and a half overseas.  Since he'd been living on restaurant food while he was there, I wanted to welcome him home with some homey comfort food.  Initially, I thought about roasting a whole chicken with all the trimmings, but making that happen on a weeknight was unlikely.  Besides, Vince would be getting in just before dinner time, and I wanted to be able to enjoy his company, not be fussing with dinner, so something a little more hands-off was in order.

Then I remembered seeing roasted chicken thighs with root vegetables at The Way the Cookie Crumbles.  All of the good parts of a chicken dinner, but in half the time.  I did spice it up a little, since spicy is pretty much Vince's favorite food group, and add a sweet potato since there was one languishing in the pantry.  This was a great dish to reconnect as a family over. 

Roasted Chicken Thighs with Spicy Root Vegetables

What's in it:

3 medium carrots, scrubbed, cut into spears
3 medium parsnips, scrubbed, cut into spears
5-6 small Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed, quartered
1 small sweet potato, cut into wedges
2 small onions, quartered
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
pinch cayenne
4 large chicken thighs with skin and bones
2 tsp kosher salt
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 450°F.  Mix the olive oil, smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, and half the salt and pepper in small bowl.  Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with nonstick spray or olive oil.  Place the carrots, parsnips, potatoes, and onions in the pan and toss with the spice mixture.  

Lay the chicken, skin-side up, over the vegetables. Rub the oregano and the remaining salt and pepper on the chicken and under its skin.  Bake until the chicken is golden and cooked through, 35-45 minutes. Serve.

Roasted Sweet Potato Coins with Caramelized Onions and Bacon

Last Friday, I was able to go home for lunch when a meeting ended and I didn't need to be back in the office.  Since I usually pack leftovers in some form for lunch, it's pretty exciting for me to actually get to cook myself lunch on a weekday.  I started daydreaming about what I could make as soon as I pulled out of the parking garage.

A few days earlier, I had seen a recipe on The Jey of Cooking for a fancied-up spin on potato skins.  The combination of sweet potatoes, bacon and sour cream, with orange juice and chives to provide some brightness, grabbed me right away.  Luckily, I had the ingredients, or at least items that could stand in, plus some caramelized onions, hanging out in the fridge.  Thank goodness, because these little sweet potato stacks were as tasty as I'd hoped!

Roasted Sweet Potato Coins with Caramelized Onions and Bacon

What's in them:

1 small sweet potato
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 clementine, juiced
2 slices of bacon, diced
1/4 cup caramelized onions
1/4 cup sour cream
1 scallion, sliced

How to make them:

Preheat oven to 350.  Cut sweet potatoes into thick rounds and toss with clementine juice and brown sugar.  Spread the potato slices in a glass baking dish, and bake until soft, about 45 minutes, flipping once halfway through.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon over medium low heat until crispy.  Set on paper towels to drain.

When potatoes have about 5 minutes left, top each slice with some of the caramelized onions and return to the oven.

When potatoes are done, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool slightly.  Transfer to a plate, and top each with a dollop of sour cream, and sprinkle with bacon and scallions.