Four Years Young and Roasted Leek and Potato Salad

Since I was away on my birthday this year, I had some of my friends over for a little get together at Wes’s place a week or so before we headed East.

The older I get, the less I feel the need to celebrate my own birthdays. So I was really trying to get attendees to think of the party as more of a welcome spring type get together and less of an Angela is getting one year older party.

But my wonderful friends pretty much ignored me and managed to make me feel really special for my birthday (I really am the luckiest lady).

My personal favorite new addition is this New Food Tuesday pillow from Lish. It was just in time for NFT’s fourth birthday!

We celebrated this little blogger milestone the best way we know how. Cooking and eating with friends and loved ones.

This is a quirky little salad fitting of a celebration. It is equal parts hearty and refreshing. And is an unexpected crowed pleaser.

You will need…

3 leeks, white and light green parts halved lengthwise

1 lb baby yucon gold potatoes, halved

2 hardboiled eggs, thinly sliced

4 cups mixed greens

¼ cup olive oil plus 2 tablespoons

1 tablespoon whole grain mustard

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by preheating your oven to 425 degrees F.

Drizzle the leeks and potatoes with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season well with salt and pepper.

Lay the leeks and potatoes flat side down until the leeks are starting to brown and are tender. About 20 minutes.

Remove the leeks from the oven and set them aside to cool so you can handle. 

Continue cooking the potatoes until they are golden brown. About 10 to 20 more minutes.

In a mason jar or bowl, whisk together the remaining olive oil, mustard, vinegar and season well with salt and pepper.

Drizzle the dressing over the mixed greens and lay them out on a platter.

Chop up the leeks into bite sized pieces and top the greens with leeks, potatoes and egg.

Serve warm or chilled.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela  

Roasted Leek and Potato Salad

3 leeks, white and light green parts halved lengthwise

1 lb baby yucon gold potatoes, halved

2 hardboiled eggs, thinly sliced

4 cups mixed greens

¼ cup olive oil plus 2 tablespoons

1 tablespoon whole grain mustard

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by preheating your oven to 425 degrees F.

Drizzle the leeks and potatoes with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season well with salt and pepper.

Lay the leeks and potatoes flat side down until the leeks are starting to brown and are tender. About 20 minutes.

Remove the leeks from the oven and set them aside to cool so you can handle. Continue cooking the potatoes until they are golden brown. About 10 to 20 more minutes.

In a mason jar or bowl, whisk together the remaining olive oil, mustard, vinegar and season well with salt and pepper.

Drizzle the dressing over the mixed greens and lay them out on a platter.

Chop up the leeks into bite sized pieces and top the greens with leeks, potatoes and egg.

Serve warm or chilled.

Balsamic Roasted Heirloom Carrot Soup

Lately, I’ve been getting really bold at the grocery store. Sounds enthralling right?

On Tuesdays, five minutes before I’m supposed to leave for the grocery store, I scour the internet for inspiration, throw together ideas of what to get at the store, call my mom to know what we have at the house and then frantically print my grocery list as I run for the door.

But lately I’ve thrown my lists out the window. Not literally. I don’t litter.

Now when I head to the market, I wander the produce aisles and protein counters until I figure out what might work out when I get home. Sure… this new method does cause some misses.

However the successes are great.

Yesterday the heirloom carrots were just screaming to me (they usually are) and I couldn’t resist their sweet, sweet cries.

They inspired this soup that is sure to warm your bones and stomachs during these late winter days. Or if you’re in California and it hasn’t been cold since December, it will just tickle your taste buds.

You will need…

2 bunches heirloom carrots, chopped into 1 inch pieces and tops reserved (about 12 medium carrots)

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 medium onion, diced

1 Yukon gold potato peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes

1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh sage

6 cups chicken stock

¼ cup half and half

Salt and pepper to taste

Good crusty bread for dipping

Start by preheating your oven to 425 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, toss together the carrots, vinegar and 2 tablespoons of oil and season well with salt and pepper.

Spread out the coated carrots on a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes.

About 10 minutes before the carrots are roasted, heat the remaining olive oil in a large pot and add in the onions.

Cook the onions just till they begin to soften. About 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and sage and cook until the garlic is fragrant. About 1 minute.

Add in the potato, roasted carrots and chicken stock and bring to a boil.

Reduce the soup to a simmer and cook for 20 to 30 minutes. Just until the potatoes are tender.

Remove the soup from the heat and using an immersion blender or a food processor working in batches, blend the soup until smooth.

Pour in the half and half and blend until it is completely combined.

Wash the remaining carrot tops well and finely chop.

Top the soup with chopped carrot tops and some tasty bread and serve hot.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela 

Balsamic Roasted Heirloom Carrot Soup

2 bunches heirloom carrots, chopped into 1 inch pieces and tops reserved (about 12 medium carrots)

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 medium onion, diced

1 Yukon gold potato peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes

1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh sage

6 cups chicken stock

¼ cup half and half

Salt and pepper to taste

Good crusty bread for dipping

Start by preheating your oven to 425 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, toss together the carrots, vinegar and 2 tablespoons of oil and season well with salt and pepper.

Spread out the coated carrots on a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes.

About 10 minutes before the carrots are roasted, heat the remaining olive oil in a large pot and add in the onions.

Cook the onions just till they begin to soften. About 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and sage and cook until the garlic is fragrant. About 1 minute.

Add in the potato, roasted carrots and chicken stock and bring to a boil.

Reduce the soup to a simmer and cook for 20 to 30 minutes. Just until the potatoes are tender.

Remove the soup from the heat and using an immersion blender or a food processor working in batches, blend the soup until smooth.

Pour in the half and half and blend until it is completely combined.

Wash the remaining carrot tops well and finely chop.

Top the soup with chopped carrot tops and some tasty bread and serve hot.

Crispy Potato and Radish Halibut with Pomegranate and Roasted Carrot Salad

Happy Friday Foodies!

Friday. The word is so sweet! And it is made even sweeter this week with only two Friday’s before the Christmas holiday.

It has taken me a while, but I’m finally starting to feel a bit in the holiday spirit. With commercials on like this one, it is hard not too.

Now that I’m feeling the holiday inspiration, it’s carrying through to my cooking.

Mix up your holiday dinner party with this festive and tasty dish.

You will need…

4 halibut filets, about 6 oz each

1 large russet potato, peeled and grated

4 radishes, grated

1 bunch of carrots, ends trimmed and chopped into 1 inch pieces (I used heirloom carrots)

1 cup pomegranate seeds

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

5 tablespoons olive oil, divided

4 tablespoon brown sugar, divided

6 cups arugula

1 cup flour

1 egg

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees F.

In a bowl, toss together the vinegar, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons brown sugar and carrots. Season well with salt and pepper and lay the carrots out on a rimmed baking sheet.

Roast the carrots until they are tender. About 30 to 40 minutes.

While the carrots are roasting, combine the potato, radish and remaining brown sugar in a bowl and season the mixture well with salt and pepper.

Whisk the egg and pour it onto a plate. Lay out the flour on a second plate and season the flour with salt and pepper.

Pat down the fish well with a paper towel and season well with salt and pepper on both sides.

Dip one side of the fish in the flour and then in the egg wash. Top the egg wash with the potato mixture in a thin layer. Repeat until all the fish have little potato tops.

Heat the remaining olive oil over medium high heat in a skillet until it is hot. Sear the fish non potato side down first. Sear it just until it is browned and easy to flip. About 2 minutes. (Yes I realize the photo shows the opposite of my description. Cooking the potato side down first like I foolishly did will not yield as crispy a potato top as doing it the correct way will.)

Flip the fish and continue to cook until the potatoes are golden brown and the fish is cooked through. About 3 to 4 minutes.

Toss together the roasted carrots, arugula and pomegranates and divide it all among four plates.

Top each plate of arugula with a piece of fish and serve hot.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela 

Crispy Potato and Radish Halibut with Pomegranate and Roasted Carrot Salad

4 halibut filets, about 6 oz each

1 large russet potato, peeled and grated

4 radishes, grated

1 bunch of carrots, ends trimmed and chopped into 1 inch pieces (I used heirloom carrots)

1 cup pomegranate seeds

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

5 tablespoons olive oil, divided

4 tablespoon brown sugar, divided

6 cups arugula

1 cup flour

1 egg

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees F.

In a bowl, toss together the vinegar, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons brown sugar and carrots. Season well with salt and pepper and lay the carrots out on a rimmed baking sheet.

Roast the carrots until they are tender. About 30 to 40 minutes.

While the carrots are roasting, combine the potato, radish and remaining brown sugar in a bowl and season the mixture well with salt and pepper.

Whisk the egg and pour it onto a plate. Lay out the flour on a second plate and season the flour with salt and pepper.

Pat down the fish well with a paper towel and season well with salt and pepper on both sides.

Dip one side of the fish in the flour and then in the egg wash. Top the egg wash with the potato mixture in a thin layer. Repeat until all the fish have little potato tops.

Heat the remaining olive oil over medium high heat in a skillet until it is hot. Sear the fish non potato side down first. Sear it just until it is browned and easy to flip. About 2 minutes.

Flip the fish and continue to cook until the potatoes are golden brown and the fish is cooked through. About 3 to 4 minutes.

Toss together the roasted carrots, arugula and pomegranates and divide it all among four plates.

Top each plate of arugula with a piece of fish and serve hot. 

Lemon, Garlic and Rosemary Roasted Red Potatoes

The countdown is on.

When I get home from Dallas on Saturday night, I won’t have to anywhere, ANYWHERE I don’t want to go until twenty-fourteen.

After my trip to Texas on Wednesday, I won’t have another work trip until January of next year.

Yes, I do enjoy traveling for work and seeing new places and meeting new people. Those things are all awesome. But so is spending quality time with family and friends and Wesley. And I’m needing some quality time.

Quality time at home and quality time in the kitchen.

Not that I haven’t been getting it in where I can fit it in. I’ve still been managing at least one day a week in the kitchen. I cooked up this warming dish because I wanted something tasty and low maintenance. Mission accomplished.

You will need…

1 ½ red potatoes, thinly sliced (I used my mandolin to get them about 1/8 inch thick)

3 tablespoons garlic, minced

2  tablespoons finely chopped rosemary

¼ teaspoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by heating your oven to 400 degrees F.

In a bowl, toss together the potatoes, olive oil, garlic, rosemary and lemon zest. Season well with salt and pepper.

Spread the potatoes and seasoning onto a rimmed baking sheet.

Roast the potatoes until they are golden brown and cooked through. About 40 minutes. Stirring about 20 minutes in. 

Serve the potatoes hot.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela 

Lemon, Garlic and Rosemary Roasted Red Potatoes

1 ½ red potatoes, thinly sliced (I used my mandolin to get them about 1/8 inch thick)

3 tablespoons garlic, minced

2  tablespoons finely chopped rosemary

¼ teaspoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by heating your oven to 400 degrees F.

In a bowl, toss together the potatoes, olive oil, garlic, rosemary and lemon zest. Season well with salt and pepper.

Spread the potatoes and seasoning onto a rimmed baking sheet.

Roast the potatoes until they are golden brown and cooked through. About 40 minutes. Stirring about 20 minutes in. 

Serve the potatoes hot. 

Baked Parmesan Potato Chips

Hopefully, when you are reading this here food blog you get some sense that I know what I’m doing in the kitchen and with food. I mean, if you don’t get that sense I am dying to know why you keep reading these crazy ramblings.

While I do have a pretty good sense of what I’m doing when I’m cooking, I never REALLY know what I am doing.

Come on. It’s called NEW food Tuesday. EVERYTHING is NEW. So most of the time I definitely do NOT know what I’m doing.

And every once in a while, this becomes really obvious. It has been a while, but the other day while I was whipping up some tasty home made tater chips, I may have caused a small fire in the oven.

Literally, the oven started chirping at me and flashing the digitized letters for F.I.R.E. FIRE! CHIRP! FIRE! CHIRP! Until I pulled my head out of my bum and figured out the potato chips were burnt to a crisp. Actually, that is incorrect. They were not crisp. They were ash.

However, while I may have caused the oven to be ON FIRE, I did make some really AMAZING potato chips before that. It was pretty devastating to everyone involved that I ruined the last highly anticipated batch.

You will need…

2 large baking potatoes

4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon salt

½ tablespoon pepper

Cooking spray

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F.

Carefully slice your potatoes very VERY thin. You know, potato chip thin. I used my mandolin for precision, but you could carefully slice them.

Combine the cheese, salt and pepper together in a small bowl.

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray until lightly coated.

Spread out the potatoes in a very thin layer. Sprinkle lightly with cheese mixture.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, until your chips are browned and crispy.

Remove from the oven. Using a spatula, remove the chips to a platter or bowl.

Continue this process until all the potatoes have been baked.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela 

Baked Parmesan Potato Chips

2 large baking potatoes

4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon salt

½ tablespoon pepper

Cooking spray

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F.

Carefully slice your potatoes very VERY thin. You know, potato chip thin. I used my mandolin for precision, but you could carefully slice them.

Combine the cheese, salt and pepper together in a small bowl.

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray until lightly coated.

Spread out the potatoes in a very thin layer. Sprinkle lightly with cheese mixture.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, until your chips are browned and crispy.

Remove from the oven. Using a spatula, remove the chips to a platter or bowl.

Continue this process until all the potatoes have been baked.

Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Creamy Spring Onion Soup

We may be well into Spring, but the heat hasn’t really hit us with any consistency in southern California. And I’m pretty sure that it snowed in Minnesota and Colorado last week. That’s right. Snow in May.

So even though I’m headed to ninty degree weather in a handful of days, I’m not ready to say my goodbyes to hot soup season.

This is my hot, deliciously, soupy homage to the onion. It’s featured in multiple forms with decadent additions.

You will need…

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 bunches green onions, white part and tender green parts chopped and reserved, green tops chopped and reserved separately

4 leeks, white and tender parts thinly sliced

1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced

1 onion, roughly chopped

2 medium yellow potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes

2 cups dry white wine

4 cups chicken stock

1 cup heavy cream

2 ounces softened herbed goat cheese

2 cups homemade croutons

2 tablespoons chives, finely chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by heating the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat.

Toss in the white and tender parts of the green onions, leeks, onion, and fennel. 

Season well with salt and pepper and cook over medium heat until the vegetables start to soften. About 15 minutes.

Add in the wine and bring to a boil. Reduce the liquid until barely any remains in the bottom of the pot. About 12 minutes.

Add in the chicken stock and the potatoes and bring it to a boil. Once it boils, reduce to a simmer and season with salt and pepper.

Simmer until the potatoes are tender. About 30 minutes.

As soon as the potatoes are tender, toss in the dark green onion tops and simmer for an additional 2 minutes.

Remove from the heat. Use your emersion blender, blend the soup until completely smooth.

Pour in the cream and continue to blend until the cream is completely incorporated.

Serve the soup hot, topped with a dollop of goat cheese, chives and homemade croutons.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela  

Creamy Spring Onion Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 bunches green onions, white part and tender green parts chopped and reserved, green tops chopped and reserved separately

4 leeks, white and tender parts thinly sliced

1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced

1 onion, roughly chopped

2 medium yellow potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes

2 cups dry white wine

4 cups chicken stock

1 cup heavy cream

2 ounces softened herbed goat cheese

2 cups homemade croutons

2 tablespoons chives, finely chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by heating the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat.

Toss in the white and tender parts of the green onions, leeks, onion, and fennel. Season well with salt and pepper and cook over medium heat until the vegetables start to soften. About 15 minutes.

Add in the wine and bring to a boil. Reduce the liquid until barely any remains in the bottom of the pot. About 12 minutes.

Add in the chicken stock and the potatoes and bring it to a boil. Once it boils, reduce to a simmer and season with salt and pepper.

Simmer until the potatoes are tender. About 30 minutes.

As soon as the potatoes are tender, toss in the dark green onion tops and simmer for an additional 2 minutes.

Remove from the heat. Use your emersion blender, blend the soup until completely smooth.

Pour in the cream and continue to blend until the cream is completely incorporated.

Serve the soup hot, topped with a dollop of goat cheese, chives and homemade croutons.