Recipe Review from 6/17/13

A very short week that started with Father's Day and ended with a trip across the state to Fergus Falls.  We kept it simple for Father's Day, grilling brats at the Folks place and watching Despicable Me.  A great animated movie and I was the only one of the four of us who had seen it.  Now everyone is up to speed on Gru and the Minions and we can go see Despicable Me 2 when it come out later this summer.

The trip to Fergus was to visit the Husband's family and to do some biking on the Central Lakes Trail.  The weather cooperated enough to keep the severe stuff (high winds, deluge rain, tornadoes) to the evening and night time hours and it was sunny and breezy during the day.  We got out on Friday morning for a out-n-back segment from Fergus Falls to Dalton totaling about 25 miles.  Saturday afternoon the Husband dropped me off in Dalton and I biked down to Brandon, a distance of about 21.5 miles.  It seemed like it was uphill into the wind for most of it.  When I plugged the route into the computer, it was uphill for most of it!  And yes, I had a headwind too but that seemed to actually taper off after about 45 minutes for an overall very pleasant ride.

Only one new recipe to remark upon.  As I noted, we grilled brats for Father's Day and I made the tried and true Bourbon Baked Beans and the potato dish below as sides.  Dessert was a Coldstone Strawberry Passion ice cream cake - those cakes could easily become a habit! 

Roasted Potato Salad with Creamy Dijon Vinaigrette (Ckng Lght, July 2013)
This was super simple to make and tasted fantastic.  I simplified the recipe even more by "roasting" the potatoes and onions in an aluminum foil packet on the grill rather than heating up the oven.  My herbs were dried as I refuse to pay for fresh for such small amounts.  The dressing was bursting with tangy flavor, but not overpowering.  This is going to become a regular summer grill side dish.

photo from CookingLight.com

2 lbs Yukon gold potatoes, cut into wedges
(I used large red potatoes)
3 tbsp EVOO, divided
2 tbsp sliced garlic
1 tsp minced fresh thyme
3/4 tsp kosher salt, divided
3/4 tsp fresh ground pepper, divided
1 1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp minced shallots (I used regular onion, cut into thin wedges)
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh tarragon

1) Place a large heavy baking sheet in oven.  Preheat oven to 400* (keep baking sheet in oven while it preheats).

2) Combine potatoes, 1 1/2 tbsp oil, garlic, and thyme in a medium bowl; toss to coat.  Arrange the potatoes on preheated baking sheet and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.  Bake at 400* for 30 minutes or until done, turning at 20 minutes.

3) Combine remaining 1 1/2 tbsp oil, remaining 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper, vinegar, shallots, Dijon mustard and tarragon in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk.  Drizzle dressing over potatoes.