Browsing Tag

sides

Sides

A Variation on ATK’s Thick-Cut Oven Fries

I like French Fries. I think a lot of people do. I don’t, generally speaking, like frying things though and I don’t have an air-fryer, and I doubt that I will be investing in one. I make oven fries, the kind that you bake in the oven, sort of often and they always turn out ok. Then, the other day, on the first episode of America’s Test Kitchen’s 19th season, they did this somewhat strange thing to make their oven fries better: they coated them in this kinda gross looking (and feeling) corn-starch goo. Here’s a clip of it.

I was skeptical, but decided to give it a go. It’s a lazy Sunday though, and I didn’t feel like going to the shops and only had fingerling potatoes in the pantry so I decided to go with those. Yup, perhaps not surprising, they ended up quite perfect. Golden and crispy outside, nice and fluffy inside. Even though the goo process felt really wrong, it made them definitely lots better than my usual routine. Definitely a keeper method.
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Appetizers/Starters, Savory Snacks

Warm Bacon Cheddar Dip

OK, it’s almost New Year’s Eve and someone invites you to a party. You need a quick and easy thing to bring along. Voila! This dip! Bacon. Cheese and more cheese. A little bit of salsa. And did I mention the bacon. Dip in crackers or tortilla chips. Serve Warm if you can, but also works at room temperature. Enjoy!
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Salads, Sides

Early Summer Picnic Salads

Last Weekend, I went on a picnic to Monhegan Island off the coast of Maine. In typical me fashion, I volunteered to bring the food, and decided to make a few salads, in addition to wraps and fruit and cookies. I’m going to combine them all here into one blog post. The types are:

Walnut Pesto Ditalini Pasta Salad
Springtime Potato Salad
Cucumber Radish and Feta Salad, and
Middle Eastern Barley Salad with Pomegranate and Pistachios

They were all a big hit and I would definitely recommend them for any picnic or BBQ potluck that you might be having this summer. None have mayo, so no chance of them going off, although the Cucumber Radish and Feta Salad does wilt fairly quickly. The Middle Eastern Barley Salad with Pomegranate and Pistachios is a very unique one and may not be to everyone’s taste but we all thought it was yummy.
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Dinner, Lunch, Sides

Charred Sweet Potatoes with Chile-Infused Honey

So, have you guys noticed that I seem to buy random ingredients and then kind of after the fact, think to make something with them? Yep, I have a pantry full of weirdness. And in today’s edition of “what does the CSPS Girl have up her sleeve”, I present my lunch: Charred Sweet Potatoes with Chile-Infused Honey. A few weeks ago, I was in some kitchen specialty shop and they had Mike’s Hot Honey (can he found here and on Amazon also. I had no idea what to do with it when I bought it, but I am guessing that it would go well on pretty much anything where you want that whole sweet and spicy thing: chicken, ribs, stir fry and apparently sweet potatoes. The honey is *really spicy* so keep that in mind (or mellow it out with a bit of regular honey.
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