Monthly Archives: July 2012

Garlic and Herb Oven Fries

When it comes to potatoes, I can take them or leave them. Really. I do love a good, creamy, buttery mashed potato from time to time but it’s not something I crave. However, when it comes to French fries, that’s a whole other story. I can eat French fries any day, any time, every day, every meal. I’m obsessed. Shoestring fries, curly fries, wedge fries, sweet potato fries, with or without Old Bay, plain or with cheese, whatever! I love them. So, considering they are truly one of my most favorite foods on this Earth (along with Reese’s peanut butter cups and s’mores), it’s a wonder that I’ve never attempted to actually make them myself. I figured, now is as good a time as any. The result was these Garlic and Herb Oven Fries.

Plain baking potatoes are cut into matchsticks and baked in the oven with nothing but a little canola oil. After baking, they are tossed with melted butter, garlic and fresh parsley. Easy peasy. The longest part of this process is cutting the potatoes into fries. Be patient. I put the matchstick potatoes in a bowl of water to keep them fresh as I cut the rest. I also recommend spraying the pan with non-stick spray because despite the canola oil, many of my fries still stuck. And while these fries aren’t crispy the way restaurant fries are (duh, because they aren’t fried), I still devoured these. Like I said, I love fries. Even bad fries. Not that these were bad. If you are going to make fries at home, this is a good way to go. But if it’s faster or you prefer to order fries in, do it. I won’t judge. I know what it means to have a fry fix.

The ingredients:

Preheat a roasting pan and oven to 450°F. Peel potatoes and cut potatoes into 1/4-inch matchsticks and toss with canola oil.

Arrange potato sticks in pan (in a single layer if possible) and bake at 450°F for 5 minutes. Turn oven to broil and broil for 20 minutes or until browned, turning once.

Melt butter in a skillet and add minced garlic, sautéing for 30 seconds.

Add fries to butter-garlic mixture and cook for 1 minute.

Toss with chopped parsley, salt, and freshly ground black pepper.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions: None

Overall Rating: Like It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Grilled Tomato and Brie Sandwiches

July 16, 2012
Shannon
0 comments
brie, food, sandwiches, spinach, tomatoes

I had both a great weekend and yet a terrible weekend. I finished a terrific book that left me in tears at the end (which I love), went to an exciting and fun concert, hung out with a great friend…and both completely crashed my computer and nearly destroyed my iPhone. While I had come to grips a while ago with the fact that I’m way past due for a new computer, I’m praying the Geek Squad can salvage what is left of my 6-year-old, out-of-warranty-computer, and pull the documents, pictures and music I hadn’t yet backed up to my external hard drive. As I stood in line at Best Buy with my precious computer folded into my arms the way a toddler carries a teddy bear, I was reminded of the episode of Sex and The City where Carrie gets the “sad-Mac” and loses everything. Panic, anger, fear, paranoia and sadness all kick in at the same time which is when one really becomes aware of just how attached to their computer they are. And while I was both freaked out about losing some of my files yet elated that this meant I could get a computer that actually keeps up with me, I wasn’t happy to be turning over my credit card to the very nice boy at Best Buy. To top it off, after bring home said new computer, an error occurred while updating my iPhone and after spending over 45 minutes on the phone with Apple Support, I was told everything was gone. The backup, which iTunes had confirmed happened…didn’t. As I’m about to freak out, looking at my blank gray, foreign-looking iPhone, with no contacts, photos, or apps, I unplugged it and plugged it back in, praying for a miracle, and voilà! Everything miraculously showed up. Even the Apple Support person couldn’t explain it. Oh, modern technology, how I love and hate thee.

That being said, in my computer-grieving, financial-impact-of-buying-a-new-computer, and near-panic-attack-from-almost-losing-everything-on-my-iPhone depression, I wanted – no, needed – comfort food. And a quintessential comfort dish to me is grilled cheese. Since I still had some Brie left from last week, I figured now was as good a time as any to make Grilled Tomato and Brie Sandwiches. Nutty, creamy Brie and Dijon mustard are spread over your favorite bread (I used Oatnut which is my favorite but I only allow myself to buy about once a year), and topped with fresh tomatoes and arugula and/or spinach before being grilled to perfection on a grill pan. While I think Brie is best complemented by something sweet, like fruit, honey, or chocolate, this sandwich settled me down just the way comfort food is supposed to. But I might be needing something a little more comforting when I get my credit card bill.

Like Brie? Check out this and this!

The ingredients:

Brush olive oil onto one side of each bread slice and rub garlic over oil.

Turn bread slices over and spread Dijon mustard on each slice. Top each bread slice with cheese, greens, and tomato slices. Top each with remaining 4 bread slices, oil side up.

Place sandwiches on a grill rack, coated with cooking spray, and heated to high heat.

Grill until golden brown, about two minutes on each side.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions:

Baby spinach

Overall Rating: Like It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Muffins

I’ve been getting into bad breakfast habits again. I find myself getting a calorie-loaded egg and cheese bagel more often than usual or I’ll end up skipping breakfast altogether and be so starving by 10am that I’ll eat handfuls of miniature Reese’s peanut butter cups out of the candy bowl in the office next door. It’s terrible. I decided it was time to make some muffins that I could keep stored away for a quick grab-and-go each morning. Rather than deprive myself of that morning chocolate I’ve been getting used to, I thought these Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Muffins would be a perfect transition back into normal breakfast eating.

A simple muffin batter is jazzed up with a splash of red wine vinegar and chocolate chips, which are also used to top of these puffy cocoa gems. I used regular chocolate chips in place of mini-chocolate chips because I had them on hand but I can only imagine how rich and chocolatey these muffins would be with little bits of melted chocolate in every bite. These muffins satisfy any chocolate urge you get and are perfectly light enough to eat with your morning coffee. Now I can actually feel a little less guilty about eating chocolate for breakfast.

Also, I want to take a moment to wish my cousin-more-like-a-little-brother Ben a very, very Happy Birthday today! Check out his novel, Harvitz, As To War, here.

The ingredients:

Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture.

Combine water, red wine vinegar, canola oil, vanilla and egg in a separate bowl, stirring well. Stir in half of the chocolate chips and add mixture to the well in the flour mixture. Stir just until moist.