Spanish Chicken and Potato Roast

This dish was something I found from food network. I decided to make it because it's a healthier dish and really simple to make. I love the fact that you use very few dishes and the entire meal is cooked in one pan, It made for a great presentation!

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds large Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
4 cloves garlic, smashed and coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs (5 to 6 thighs)
2 teaspoons smoked paprika Freshly ground pepper
4 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley
2 lemons (1 juiced, 1 cut into wedges)
2 large or 3 medium red onions, halved and thinly sliced

Directions
1. Position a rack in the upper third of the oven. Place a large cast-iron baking dish or a rimmed baking sheet on the rack and preheat to 500 degrees.

2. Put the potatoes, garlic, olive oil, 1 tablespoon water and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large microwave-safe baking dish and toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap, pierce the plastic in a few places with a knife and microwave 8 minutes to partially cook.

3. While potatoes are in the microwave, pat the chicken dry and transfer to a bowl. Sprinkle with the paprika, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add 2 tablespoons parsley and the lemon juice; toss to coat. Set aside.

4. Remove the hot baking dish from the oven; carefully add the potatoes with all the liquid and garlic and spread in an even layer. Scatter the onions on top. Roast until the potatoes start to brown, about 12 minutes.

5. Flip the potatoes and lay the chicken pieces on top, adding any accumulated juices from the bowl; return to the oven and roast until the potatoes are tender and the chicken is cooked through, about 12 more minutes.

6. Remove from the oven and top with the remaining 2 tablespoons parsley. Serve with the lemon wedges.

CousCous Side Dish

I decided to whip up this side dish because it's quick and healthy! CousCous can be flavored a million ways using different liquids and stirring in different garnishes like veggies or dried fruit. Below is a super basic couscous so you can understand the method, then feel free to put your own spin on it!

Ingredients
1 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth or water
2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed but kept whole
2 scallions, finely chopped
1 cup plain couscous
2 teaspoons chopped flat-leaf parsley, optional
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
1. In a medium saucepan, combine the oil, garlic and chicken broth or water, and bring to a simmer.

2. Stir in the scallions and couscous and cover the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes.

3. When the couscous has absorbed all the liquid, fluff it with a fork, and add the parsley, if using, and salt and pepper. Serve warm.

Broccolini Side Dish

I've always heard people talking about Broccolini but I had never tried it. It tasted basically like broccoli but a little more delicate. I really liked it and plan to use it more often. The recipe below would be good for most green, hearty vegetables so feel free to experiment. I like to garnish this dish with extra lemon zest and a little parmesan cheese grated on top.

Ingredients
1 bunch broccolini Kosher salt
1 Tbs butter or olive oil
1/2 lemon, zested
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions
1. Blanch the broccolini by putting it in a large pot of boiling salted water for 2 minutes. Drain immediately and immerse in a bowl of ice water. Drain on paper towels.

2. Melt the butter in a large saute pan over low heat. Add the lemon zest and garlic and stir. Add the broccolini to the garlic mixture and heat for 2 minutes.

3. Add the lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper, and toss well before serving.

Inside-Out Burgers

I made up this simple burger recipe for my sister, Beth and her kids Sara and Jack. We had been talking about making food together over skype since we live so far apart and when we did it was a success! We both bought all the necessary ingredients and we went through it step by step. I wasn't sure how well it would really work since we used web cams but we were able to make it work and we both had successful and tasty burgers! Here are some of the tips I gave my sister while we we're talking through it.

Tips-
1. An easy way to make your burgers equal is to score or portion beef in bowl so you know how much you have per patty
2. Cheese on the inside of the burger needs to be sealed well so it doesn’t make a mess everywhere. 3. Burger will shrink while cooking so make slightly wider than bun.

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef (makes 3 big burgers or 4 normal burgers)
Burger buns
Sliced Cheese of your choice- American, swiss, or mozzarella
Canola oil
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
2 Tbs. ketchup
1 egg
2 tsp. garlic powder
Toppings you like on burgers: lettuce, ketchup, mustard, relish, pickles etc.

Directions:
 Make Burger Mix: Put egg into a bowl and whisk with a fork. Add beef, salt, pepper, ketchup, and garlic powder into a bowl. Using your hands, mix until everything is well combined but try not to over mix because meat can become tough.

Form Patties: Take 1/4 of the beef mixture and make a ball of beef using your hands. Make a hole in the center of the ball and place cheese in middle. Then use hands to seal cheese inside, in the middle of the ball. Then flatten out the ball so it is a patty that fits your bun. Cheese needs to be sealed well so it doesn’t make a mess everywhere.

Grill: Heat pan with a little bit of canola oil. Place patties in pan and allow to cook 4-5 minutes UNTOUCHED! Don’t over flip or press down on the burgers. Flip burger and add cheese and cook for another 4-5 minutes until burger is crusted well. I like to cover the burger at this point with a lid or foil so cheese melt better. Remove burgers from pan once cooked through and allow to rest for 3 minutes. Then put the patties on the buns and add all the toppings you like!

Pizza From Scratch

This is a recipe I got from a friend, Susan. The pizza dough uses very common ingredients, takes very little time and equipment, and turns out great every time! Below I've listed the dough recipe and I leave it up to you to create your own toppings. You can go traditional like pepperoni like I did or you could get creative and change up the sauce and toppings.

When making this dough you can use any dry yeast but most stores carry something called pizza crust yeast. Using this yeast makes a much better crust but either yeast will do. I like to keep a few packages of the pizza crust yeast on hand so I can whip up pizzas whenever I have company. This dough recipe make enough for 2 medium size, thin crust pizzas.

Ingredients:
1 tsp yeast
2/3 cup lukewarm water
2 cups AP flour
¼ tsp. salt
1 Tbs olive oil
Cornmeal- about 1 cup for dusting
Pizza Sauce
Mozzarella or cheese of your choice
Pizza Toppings

Directions:
Make dough:
1. Combine the yeast and lukewarm water in a small bowl. Allow to "bloom" for 3 minutes.

2. Combine the flour and salt in the bowl of a kitchen aid mixer that's fitted with a dough hook attachment. Pour yeast mix and olive oil into flour and mix on medium speed until the dough forms a smooth ball. It will look like a smooth dough and will not stick to the sides of the bowl anymore.

3. Take dough ball and place into an olive oil lined bowl. Cover with a clean dish towel and leave in a warm spot. The dough will need to sit and rise until it doubles in size.

Roll out the dough and Bake:
1. Preheat oven to 500. If you have a pizza stone, place in oven and allow to come up to temperature.

2. Take out half of the dough and place on a floured surface. Roll out with a rolling pin to the thickness you like. I like the dough to be about 1/4-1/2 inch thick.

3. Move dough to either a pizza peel or to a baking sheet, lined with a little cornmeal. Place sauce, cheese and toppings onto dough.

4. Move dough into oven and allow to bake for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is slightly browned around the edges. Allow to cool for a minute or two and then slice up using a pizza roller or a large knife!

Fillet of Beef, Arugula, and Artichoke Crostini

This is one of the tester recipes I tried with Susan for some Shea Center catering we need to do in the next few weeks. We wanted to try it in advance to make sure it was delicious and doable! It's simple enough to make the day of but if you have a lot of appetizers you need to make you can do some of this ahead.

We really liked this app when it was at room temp but you could also serve it warm. Do Ahead: make artichoke puree and cook beef but do not slice before hand. On Day Of: slice bread and toast, slice beef thinly, assemble.

Ingredients:
2 1/2-pound trimmed fillet of beef, tied
two 6-ounce jars marinated artichoke hearts, rinsed and drained
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup white-wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil thirty-six
1/2-inch-thick diagonal slices of Italian bread (about 2 long loaves), toasted lightly
2 bunches of arugula, coarse stems discarded and the leaves washed well, spun dry, and cut into shreds (about 4 cups)
36 Parmesan curls formed with a vegetable peeler

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 500°F. Pat the fillet dry, season it with salt and pepper, and in a small roasting pan roast it in the middle of the oven for 23 minutes, or until it registers 125°F. on a meat thermometer for rare meat. Transfer the fillet to a cutting board and let it cool. The fillet may be roasted 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled.

2. In a blender purée the artichoke hearts and the garlic with the vinegar, the oil, and salt and pepper to taste and transfer the purée to a bowl. The purée may be made 3 days in advance and kept covered and chilled.

3. Right before serving, spread each slice of toast with some of the artichoke purée, top the purée with some of the arugula, and divide the fillet, sliced very thin, among the crostini. Top the crostini with the Parmesan curls.