Sometimes when bags of potatoes are on sale buy-one-get-one free at the market, my husband and I have to indulge, even though it leaves us with 6-10 lbs. of potatoes on our hands.  Our worst fear is that we'll decide against it, but then next week we'll need potatoes and feel like total chumps because we missed out on a free bag!  However, that leaves us with a bunch of potatoes, and in need of recipes!

On our anniversary trip Doug and I had escargot en cocotte, which was snails cooked in a small sturdy pot with a wonderfully luscious sauce of olive oil, tons of parsley and garlic.

I was not about to cook snails at home, but I had to come back to Pennsylvania and do something with that amazing sauce, and potatoes seemed like the obvious choice.  But, the question in my mind was, how do I impart tons of flavor into the potatoes, but allow them to retain their great potato flavor? I decided to take a leaf out of the en cocotte book with this one.

Ingredients:
1-1.5 lbs small red potatoes, scrubbed clean with skin left on
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Step 1:
Cut the potatoes into about 1-inch pieces.  Depending on the size of the potatoes this could mean halving them or quartering them.

Step 2:
Add the olive oil and garlic to a cold 10-inch skillet or wide-bottomed saucepan.  Heat it over medium-low heat, and when the garlic starts to sizzle, add the potatoes, parsley, salt, and a tbsp. of water.  Stir to evenly coat the potatoes, cover, and cook for about 10 minutes, until the edges are starting to turn translucent.

The science: One of the culprits of flavorless potatoes is water.  If you overcook potatoes when you are boiling them, they get waterlogged and this flushes out all of the flavor.  If you've ever had flavorless mashed potatoes, that is the culprit.  By basically poaching these potatoes in olive oil and just a tiny bit of water to keep anything from burning, the only liquid they will steam in is their own juices!  You will get potatoes that have tons of herb and garlic flavor, but that actually taste like potatoes.

Step 3:
After the first 10 minutes, give everything a stir, then re-cover and cook for another 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through.  When you can insert a paring knife into a potato piece and it meets no resistance, you are there!

Simply pour the potatoes into a dish and serve!

These yummy, luscious potatoes are the perfect side dish to just about anything from roast chicken to steak.  Eat and enjoy!

~Lauren

This is an easy, filling recipe that has been a go-to for Jay and myself for the past few years. It's also a great meatless meal or side, depending on what you need!

I'm not feeling super great today, so instead of rambling on, I'm going to go ahead and jump right into the recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 large yellow onion, diced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 can Hunt's tomato sauce
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
1 large bunch swiss chard
2 tsp yellow curry powder
1 tsp cilantro
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Step 1. Warm a medium pot or large sauce sauce pan over medium-high eat, then toss in the garlic and onions. Saute until the garlic is fragrant and the onions are translucent.

Step 2: While the onions and garlic saute, dice and blanch your swiss chard by dropping the greens into boiling water for 2 minutes, then cooling immediately (either in ice water, or by running under very cold tap). This will soften the chard and remove some of the bitterness without eliminating all of the awesome vitamins it carries.

Step 3: Once the onions are ready, toss in the chickpeas and the spices, stirring to combine. Saute for a few minutes to allow the flavors to marry.

Step 4: Then, add in the tomato sauce and (drained) swiss chard, again stirring to combine. Saute for 10-15 minutes, taking care to keep the heat low enough that the tomato sauce doesn't splatter everywhere. This will allow the flavors to blend, and the swiss chard to soften further. 

Cooking this dish uncovered also means that the tomato sauce reduces, and you end up with a stew-like consistency in the end. Yum!!

Enjoy!

- Kaitlin

Ah the chicken breast.  One of the greatest gifts to weeknight dinners, and also one of the worst.  There are literally thousands of chicken breast recipes in existence, but a lot of them are really bland or boring.  Yet since this staple is healthy, easy to prepare, and usually relatively inexpensive, I'm always trying to think of ways to keep it interesting in the kitchen. 

Those ways usually involve flour dredges and wine reductions and pan sauces, but sometimes that is too much work and too much of a mess, especially when it's Wednesday night at 6:30 and we haven't eaten yet.  Luckily, I stumbled into this great and easy recipe for Maple Dijon Chicken that takes about 20 minutes from start to finish to prepare, not to mention the fact of how yummy it is.  And paired with a DELICIOUS, no frills, perfectly baked sweet potato (**Which does take 50 minutes to bake, hence the asterisk in the title of this post), this is an awesome quick and easy Autumn Supper!

Ingredients:
Chicken:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of excess fat
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tbsp. olive oil
salt
pepper

Sweet potatoes:
4 medium sweet potatoes
olive oil
1 tsp. salt

(Our readers are smart, so we know you deduced from the ingredients list that this meal serves 4 people.)

Step 1:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Scrub the sweet potatoes to remove surface dirt and prick all over with a fork.  Throw into a large bowl with a couple tablespoons of olive oil and toss to coat, then sprinkle with the salt.  Place on an oven rack in the middle of the oven and bake for 50 minutes.

The science:  Coating the potato with olive oil helps to regulate the temperature inside while it is cooking, and keeps it from drying out.  The salt on the skin is mostly for if you are eating the skin (which you should, it's really good for you!)  The olive oil might drip and cause smoke in the oven, so I put an 8x8 pan on the bottom rack with a little water in it to catch drippings.

Step 2:
About 20 minutes before the sweet potatoes' cooking time is up, prep the sauce for the chicken by mixing the Dijon mustard, maple syrup, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper in a small bowl.  Set aside.

Step 3:
Blot the chicken breasts with paper towels to remove excess moisture and sprinkle on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium high heat and place the chicken breasts in the pan. Saute for about 6 minutes on one side, then flip.  At this point, you can start brushing the sauce onto the cooked side of the breasts.

Note, if you don't have a nonstick skillet, that's fine, but SKIP this 'basting' step.  The sugars in the maple syrup will burn, burn, burn, and you may not burn down your kitchen but with all the smoke, your family/roommates will think you are trying to.

Step 4:
After another 6 minutes on the other side, just continue to flip and baste the chicken breasts until they are done, and by done I mean, register 160 degrees.  (I use this thermometer.  At only 15 bucks, it takes the guess work out of knowing if your food is cooked, and can save you from tough, dry meat!)

Step 5:
Transfer the chicken to a plate, pour the rest of the sauce on it and cover with aluminum foil and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.  It's around this time that you can probably pull the sweet potatoes out of the oven and let them cool off a bit too!

I don't know about you but I get cranky when I'm served sweet potatoes that are 'candied' or covered in marshmallows.  If you let this potato stand on its own, you will be amazed.  Baking and serving with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper is absolutely my favorite technique.  The flavor and texture of a sweet potato cooked this way is transcendental!  And it pairs wonderfully with the maple Dijon chicken.

P.S. Much like eating the skin, it is a good idea to serve the sweet potato with a little olive oil.  The presence of a healthy fat actually helps to distribute some of those nutrients to your body!

Enjoy!

~Lauren

At the risk of sounding like an imperialist, ranch dressing just may be the greatest invention our country has given to the world.  You're welcome, world.

Somehow in recent history, this humble condiment has gone from a salad staple to an accompaniment of chicken wings, pizza, French fries, you name it.  It's a wonderful blend of tang and creaminess, herbs and onions...well, it should be in theory.  A lot of ranch sauces are insipid and heavy, or pretty bland, and while the original, Hidden Valley, is arguably the best bottled version out there, I'm hard pressed to think of a close second.

But what if you made your own, and not only made your own, but used it as a dressing for that equal of American classics, potato salad?!  I wanted a delicious and easy side dish to cook up for my Labor Day feast, and thanks to the good folks at Cook's Country, I got one in Ranch Potato Salad.

Ingredients:
3 lbs red potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup buttermilk (see our Peach Grunt post with quick steps on how to make your own)
1/4 cup white wine vinegar (if you don't have this, substitute plain white vinegar, or cider vinegar)
1/4 cup drained jarred roasted red peppers, chopped fine
3 tbsp. minced cilantro leaves (substitute fresh parsley if you absolutely don't like cilantro)
3 scallions, chopped fine
1 garlic clove, minced
1/8 tsp dried dill
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard

Step 1:
Put the potatoes in a pot and fill with water, enough to cover the potatoes by about an inch.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes, until the potatoes are tender but firm.  A good test is, slide a paring knife into a potato chunk;  it should go through cleanly and easily but the potato should not be falling apart or crumbling.

Step 2:
While the potatoes are simmering away, prepare the dressing.  Add the chopped peppers, cilantro, and scallions to a large bowl.  Add the mayonnaise, buttermilk, 2 tablespoons (half of the 1/4 cup) of the vinegar, the garlic, dill, 1 tsp of salt, and the pepper as well.  Whisk to combine and set aside.

Step 3:
When the potatoes are finished cooking, drain them in a colander and let sit for a couple minutes so they dry off well.  At this point, pour them out onto a rimmed baking sheet.

Combine the remaining 2 tbsp. of vinegar, and the Dijon mustard in a small bowl, then pour this mixture over the potatoes and toss to thoroughly coat all of them.  Refrigerate the pan until the potatoes are cool, 30 minutes.

The Science:
When the potatoes are hot they are ready and willing to absorb tons of flavor.  This is why partially dressing them when they are still steaming is a good idea.  They will take on the sharp bite of the Dijon and vinegar.

Step 4:
After the 30 minutes are up, simply toss the cooled potatoes in the dressing, cover, and refrigerate until you are ready to serve!

I promise you, it tastes as good as it looks.

Happy cooking, and Happy Labor Day to all!

~Lauren

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