Thursday 13: Recipe round-up

The Swedish version of baked potatoes, these sliced up spuds rock! Crispy on the outside and soft inside, with garlic, butter and salt, oh my. Try a range of flavors like rosemary, parmesan or thyme.

Crispy skin, tender meat, simple recipe. To avoid over-browning the skin, I stick with medium-high heat. Be warned, the frying can be messy so wear an apron.

Not the prettiest picture, but this lemony, pistachio-infused green bean pasta salad is perfect picnic food. I added cayenne to the vinaigrette and subbed golden balsamic for the pricey champagne vinegar. Make the night before to allow flavors to meld, reserving some of the vinaigrette in order to "refresh" it the next day. (The pasta will suck up the liquid over night.) Add sliced grape tomatoes for extra color and flavor. I incorporate these just prior to serving so the tomatoes don't get soggy and mealy in the fridge.

Holy cow, this ranks in the top 10 of tasty dinners I cooked all year. Creamy, flavorful sauce with tender chicken and broccoli without too much trouble. I used half-and-half instead of heavy cream, and packaged sun-dried tomatoes which weren't as tender as I wanted but added good flavor. Of course, I incorporate a smidge bit of cayene.

Chicken breasts, salsa, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, chopped onions, chopped bell pepper, and a smidge of salt in a crockpot on low for 4-5 hours. Next time I'll use thighs instead of breasts since the texture was a little weird. Great flavor though!

Soooo, I overcooked these. Twice. (Which is highly irritating because the recipe is quite involved.) I want to blame that on the slightly rubbery texture which did not taste like bread to me, despite what the original recipe author claimed. Howeeeeever, the flavors were DELISH. If you have a gluten allergy, this could be a go-to recipe.

Spicy, creamy, yummy soup that is fabulous on a rainy day, please make this dish soon! I despise plain, over-creamed tomato soup, so know that this recipe packs a flavor punch. In fact, you may want to dial down the red pepper flakes to avoid burning your face off. Oh, and don't skip the gruyere toasts!

I'm new to cooking fish, but this one turned out well. Pan-fried, the crust stayed crispy while the flesh was perfectly tender. A few notes- I skipped the zucchini ribbons due to the hassle factor. To cut down on fat and calories, I omitted a bunch of butter from the sauce and used corn starch to thicken. Annnnnd, I didn't grind up the panko enough so the breading was a bit thick and crumbled off in parts. But overall, flavorful and worth the effort.

Be still my heart, these treats turned out AMAZINGLY good. And I say that in all seriousness. I've never had such a delicious rice krispy treat. Make them. Immediately. Please. And then send me some.

For the record, I've harbored a life long hatred of Brussels sprouts. Nasty, icky, sour Brussels sprouts. So color me shocked when one day, I see this recipe on Pinterest and I just have to try it. Garlicky, lemony, cheesy sprouts. Tasty! Note: I've "overbrowned" these twice. Keep them moving in the pan to avoid burned bits.

I've had Julia Child's recipe on my to-do list for years but it always seems so damn daunting. When I saw this homage, I felt inspired. I served the rich stew with crusty Boudin sourdough and salad. To lighten it up a touch, I used two pounds of stew meat (instead of three), double the mushrooms and extra carrots. Yum!

Two-for-one time. With flavors of A-1 and Worcestershire, tender mushrooms and melty Swiss, this sure was a tasty burger. T said it reminded him of Jonesey's, sigh. Pair with oven baked garlic fries that taste startlingly similar to their deep-fried friends.

Need a go-to chicken recipe? Try Emeril's chicken Marsala with extra mushrooms, of course. I skip the last bit of butter and use cornstarch/water to thicken. Serve with baked asparagus (chopped asparagus plus sliced onions, shaken with some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, baked at 375 for 10-12 minutes).

Labels: Brussels, chicken, Cooking, crispy, dessert, dinner, Food, Food and Wine, fries, garlic, halibut, hamburger, Marsala, pasta, personal, potato, Recipes, salad, sprouts, Thursday 13