Roasted Potatoes

This recipe is for Traveling Tina.



small Red Potatoes
pot of Water
EVOO
s/p
Smoked Paprika or your favorite dry seasonings

Pre-heat oven to 400°.

Clean the potatoes and then drop them into the pot of water.

Bring the water up to a boil, then reduce the heat so that the water goes down to a simmer.

As soon as the potatoes are fork tender, but not fully cooked, remove them from the water.

Cut each potato into quarters. Do this carefully, they will be hot.

Place the wedges on a baking sheet.

Drizzle oil on the potatoes. Sprinkle them with s/p and paprika. Use your fingers to evenly spread the oil and seasonings around.



Place the tray in the oven and cook to your desired crispy/brownness. It wont take too long, so keep an eye on the potatoes!



Serve with gluten freeTarragon Dijon Mustard Cream.



-The potatoes don't have to be parboiled before roasting, I just like the texture it produces and they seem to cook a bit quicker that way.

-You can also roast potatoes and vegetables on the grill outside. Follow the above steps, but put the veggies on the grill, away from direct heat and close the lid. Flip once, if desired. Remove them when they are light in some spots, dark in others. If you're roasting vegetables, they should still be a bit crisp when you remove them from the grill (or oven). Tender crisp, as they say.

You can roast many vegetables by rubbing them with oil, salt and pepper and then baking at a high degree. It's a simple technique that yields great flavor and texture!



A 'How to Roast Garlic' tip will be posted tomorrow. Till then, bon appetit!

Rice and Veggie Balls

I used a combination of left over rice and vegetables from the night before to make these little vegetarian rice balls for lunch. The rice was cooked in apple juice, chicken stock and thyme, but you can use any cooked white rice. You can also use any vegetables that you want, I used these because they were in the fridge.



Oil for frying
Onion
Garlic
Parsnips
Apple
Cauliflower
Carrot
Fresh Thyme
Rice - cooked
1 Egg - beaten
1/8 cup Flour
Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs



Heat the oil over medium high heat.

The onion, garlic, parsnips and apple were cooked in a little olive oil just until the onion became clear. They were left over from another meal. The other veggies were used raw.

Dice all of the vegetables into very small pieces.



Stir the vegetables, herb and rice together.



Mix in one egg and just enough flour to bind the mixture.

Pinch some of the mixture out of the bowl and form it into a ball about the size of a racquetball or golf ball.



Spread the bread crumbs on a plate.

Lightly roll the rice ball in the bread crumbs. Then set it aside, on a plate.



After you have formed one ball, rolled it and set it aside, do another. Continue this until all of the mixture is rolled and breaded.

Chicken Stock

Tony was sick last week and requested chicken noodle soup. It's nice and light and good for your belly, even if you are feeling well.

I started by making chicken stock. I think that in a soup like chicken noodle where the broth is a star it's important to have a lot of flavor in the stock. When you make your own, you can add lots of vegetables. I use left over bits from previous meals. The same veggies that can be used in vegetable stock can be used in chicken stock. Use any that you have on hand. You also have better control over the amount of salt and fat that go into your own stock. But if you must, you can use a store bought one.



1 T EVOO
1 Onion - roughly chopped, peel on
3 Carrots - roughly chopped
4 Celery stalks - roughly chopped
6 Garlic cloves - crushed
Ginger trimmings (peel)
Bell Pepper trimmings (tops and bottoms)
Bay Leaf
s/p
1/2 Chicken* (1 leg, thigh, wing, breast, back, neck)
Water
Green tops of Leeks
Parsley stems
Rosemary stalks

*The neck, back bone, giblets, and wing tips are great for stock. I don't use the kidneys, liver, or heart. I removed the skin from the chicken before I cooked it to lower the fat that I'd have to skim out later. Always rinse your chicken in the sink under cold water, then pat it dry with a kitchen or paper towel. Remember to clean all surfaces that come in contact with raw chicken!

Heat the oil over medium high heat in a stock pot, or any large pot.

Add the next eight ingredients to the pot and sauté for a few minutes.



Salt and pepper the chicken and place it in your pot.



Fill the pot with water, be sure the chicken is covered.



Bring the water to a boil.

Lower the heat so that the stock will simmer and add the rest of the ingredients. (Your herbs and soft vegetables.)