Herby Potatoes

Forgive the hiatus, the past 2 weeks have been extremely busy, and I haven't had a chance to cook or blog much.

This is up there with the top three favorite things my mom ever taught me to cook. They're easy, they're cheap, and they're a crowd pleaser. Here's how:

Ingredients:

• 1 net bag of baby golden potatoes (or regular yukon gold, 3-4 large)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced finely
• 1 tsp fresh ground pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 sprig of fresh dill

Instructions:

1. Cut potatoes so that they are all the same size; roughly 3/4". Put in microwave safe bowl, and cover with water. Cook on high for 11-12 minutes, depending on the strength of your microwave.
2. In large skillet, melt oil and butter together on medium heat. Add garlic.
3. Drain potatoes and add to pan. Add salt and pepper.
4. Toss occasionally. When potatoes are fork tender, and golden brown, remove from heat. Toss potatoes with dill, and serve.

Warm Potato Salad

Yesterday, having been invited to a fantastic cookout, I went on the search for a potato salad recipe that did not involve the use of mayonnaise. I found one that was loosely based on Warm German Potato Salad, and then I tweaked it a little based on the ingredients I had laying around. It is definitely sweeter than your typical potato salad, but I think I ended up liking it. Here's how:

Ingredients

• 1 package tiny potatoes - I used a bag of the mini golden potatoes from the produce dept.
• 3 slices bacon
• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

Directions

1. Place the whole potatoes into a pot, and fill with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 10 minutes, or until easily pierced with a fork. Drain, and set aside to cool. (Note: the potatoes I used were the tiny variety - they did not need to be cut before boiling, but yours might.)               
2. Place the bacon in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Fry until browned and crisp, turning as needed. Remove from the pan and set aside.
3. Add the vinegar, water, sugar, salt and pepper to the pan. Bring to a boil, then add the potatoes and parsley. Crumble in half of the bacon. Keep on heat until sauce thickens a little. Heat through, then transfer to a serving dish. Crumble the remaining bacon over the top, and serve warm.               

As a side note: if you don't eat pork, this probably isn't the recipe for you. I feel like you'd probably have to do a lot of changing to make up for the loss of the smoky saltiness that the bacon adds here. Try it!

Super Summer Salad

I know this isn't technically a recipe, nor is it very creative, but it is my favorite summer salad. Simple, delicious, satisfying! I could eat it for every meal some days.

Ingredients: baby spinach, granny smith apples, strawberries, walnuts, mild goat cheese, balsamic dressing.

Crock Pot Pulled Pork

This was my first try at pulled pork, and I was pleasantly surprised. Be forewarned, this recipe took me 12 hours of cooktime, but it is worth it. Prep is quite simple and easy - highly recommended!

Ingredients:

4-5 pound pork shoulder
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
2 teaspoons liquid smoke

Instructions:

1. Trim pork shoulder. Mix together all other ingredients in a large bowl or dish. Place pork in dish with sauce, make sure all surfaces are covered, and let marinate for an hour or two.
2. Transfer contents of dish (meat AND sauce) into crock pot and cook on low for 10-12 hours, or until meat falls apart.
3. Using tongs, remove chunks of pork, cool, and carefully shred, taking care to remove bone and any fatty bits.
4. Serve on sandwiches, or however you please. Additional bbq sauce optional!

Red, White & Blue Cupcakes

As a patriotic treat, I made red, white, and blue cupcakes for July 4th dessert. Please note my adorable cupcake model in the background. He liked them. Here's how:

1. Bake up your favorite white cupcake recipe. Divide batter into three bowls. Use blue and red gel food coloring in two of the bowls.
                                                                                                                                                                                      2. For the layered cupcake, spread a tablespoon of one color of batter into the bottom of a cupcake liner. Add a second tablespoon in another color on top. Be careful when you spread it around so that the two colors don’t mix. Do the same with the final color. The other option is to place spoonfuls of batter into three different sections. Again, doing your best not to mix the colors.

3. Bake, cool, and decorate!

Balsamic Glazed Chicken

Since we ate like piglets at the Braves game yesterday, we decided we needed some greenery and un-fried chicken. I was really excited to see how pretty the chicken turned out; especially since it was so simple. Here's how I did it:

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless is my preference, but you can do what you please
• 3/4 cup good quality balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a frying pan to medium high heat, and spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray. (I use the olive oil kind.)
2. Salt and pepper both sides of chicken breasts, and place them in the pan for roughly 3 minutes per side. After they have gotten some pretty brown color on each side, place them in a baking dish and into the oven until they are no longer pink. I think this took me 12-15 minutes or so.
3. While the chicken is in the oven, add the balsamic vinegar, sugar, and 1 tsp salt to a small saucepan and simmer until it is reduced by roughly half its original volume.
4. Remove the chicken from the oven, let rest, then slice and top with balsamic glaze.

This goes great with a summer salad. Yum!