Roasted Baby Yukon Potatoes with Parsley & Dill

Roasting any vegetables makes then delicious but there is something about roasted baby Yukon potatoes that goes above and beyond the word delicious. Add a small touch of butter and a hand full of fresh herbs and you've hit gold.

That's what this recipe is ... golden little orbs, perfectly roasted to creamy tenderness.

Yeah, they are that good.  And they are so incredibly easy to make ...

Serves 2-4

• 1.5 lb bag of baby Yukon  potatoes
• Olive oil
• Sea salt
• Pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter, cubed
• Palm full of fresh Italian parsley, chopped
• 4-6 fresh dill fronds, chopped

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

1. Wash and dry potatoes, do not peel,
2. Slice in half, lengthwise
3. Place potatoes on a foil-lined, baking sheet
4. Drizzle oil over potatoes to coat - mix with your hand to evenly coat
5. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste
6. Roast 20-25 minutes, turn them over half way through the cooking time
7. Place hot potatoes in a serving bowl
8. Add cubed butter, stir to melt
9. Stir in fresh herbs.

Serve with your favorites side of protein or add a salad and make it a meal. Enjoy!

See wasn't that easy?

Mediterranean Inspired Cavatappi Pasta with Roasted Vegetables

When you are into the winter months and perhaps tiring of all the heavy comfort foods, soups, stews and want a light spring-like meal, consider my Mediterranean Inspired Cavatappi with Roasted Vegetables.

The dressing for this pasta is light and flavored with garlic, zesty lemon and fresh herbs and can be prepared ahead of time.  In fact, it's best that it sit overnight to let the flavors develop. You can even make the veggies a day or two ahead. Then all that's left is mixing everything into the hot pasta and dinner or lunch is ready.

You can easily expand this pasta dish by adding grilled chicken or serving it alongside of your favorite grilled fish.

Serves 4

Dressing:
1 cucumber - seedless, diced
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
Half a palm of parsley
Zest of one lemon, finely minced
Juice of one lemon,
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt & pepper, to taste

Handful of basil, rough chopped
A sprig of mint, rough chopped
3 campari or plum tomatoes, cut in wedges

Place the first 8 ingredients into a jar or zip bag, gently shake to mix. Set aside in fridge for a few hours and allow the flavors to develop. Best over night.

Roasted Vegetables:
3 - 4 - Bell peppers - variety of colors - cut in wide strips
1 - large eggplant, large dice
Olive oil
Salt & pepper

Preheat oven at 375 degrees, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast till veggies are lightly charred about 30-45 or till desired doneness. You can remove the skins of the peppers by placing in plastic wrap for a few minutes and peel them off.  I don't bother because I don't mind the skins.

Pasta:
1 pound cavatappi or corkscrew pasta
Cook pasta according to package direction.

Topping:
Feta cheese, to taste and crumbled over each serving

Bring it all together:
Place hot pasta in a large bowl, add the roasted vegetables, dressing, basil, mint and tomatoes. Mix everything together.  Crumble feta cheese over each serving.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooked Green Beans & Ham Shanks

To me green beans symbolize the holidays, a special ocassion, a celebration, whatever the moment, they are a classic favorite of mine.

I prepare them in so many different ways but hand-down this is my family's favorite way to enjoy these little green wonders.

The key to making this recipe a success is slooooooooow cooking - ten hours worth of slow cooking. Don't try this on the high setting of your slow cooker, the flavor just doesn't compare.

Even though they are simmering away along with meaty ham shanks and smoked ham hock, the green bean flavor is not lost, on the contrary it is enhanced. It's richer, deeper and so incredibly savory.

The best part? Everything gets chucked into the slow cooker, that's it. Nothing more to do than sit back and let the cooking aromas tantalize your taste buds all day. And really how bad can that be?

Give it a try, I think you'll make these green beans a part of repertiore!

2 - 3 pounds fresh green beans, ends trimmed *
1 big meaty piece of ham shank or two medium pieces
1 smoked ham hock, scored
1 large onion, chopped
1 head of garlic, crushed, no need to peel**
2 quarts of ham stock (substitute with chicken stock if not available)
Salt** and pepper to taste

1. Place all the ingredients in a slow cooker.
2. Set for 10 hours on low. (Do not use the high cooking temperature, the results are not the same)
3. Shred ham hock and shank.
4. Remove the garlic or slip the peel off and throw back into the green beans
5. Enjoy!

Serve with anything but especially delicious with a down home southern meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and cornbread.  Fish out the garlic head** or leave it in and serve with the green beans.  I've been known to have this dish on its own as meal with just a wedge (or two) of cornbread to soak up the juices.

Recipe notes:  If you have juices left over, DON'T throw them out! Use them to make another batch or save them to use when you make a batch of split peas or any bean for that matter! The juice freezes well in zip bags.
** Go easy on the salt, since the shank and hocks are fairly salty. Check for seasoning halfway through cooking time and adjust if needed. You can either remove the garlic head and discard (terrible thing to do!) or  gently squeeze out the paste and mix back into the green beans (a great thing to do!).

Slow-Cooked Kale and Ham

A Two for Tuesday Recipe 
I don't know about you but sometimes I may order a meal because of the sides it comes with.  I recently had a delicious kale cooked with ham at a local eatery that was out of this world. So, of course,  I set out to recreate the kale I had and I am really thrilled with how delicious it was. My version has a wonderfully smokey scent and the taste ... hammy with hints of bacon ... is comfort food all the way. Warm, and hammy, it's a perfect side dish.  Because this is a slow cooked kale, the bitterness that turns some folks off of kale, disappears and the kale itself takes on a slightly spicy taste that is simply amazing. If you have your doubts about kale, this recipe may turn you into a fan!


1- 1 pound bag of kale
2 quarts of ham stock*
1- 2 ham hocks
8 ounces of  ham steak, diced
1 package of center cut bacon*, chopped
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 or more Thai chilies (optional), cut in half and lightly smashed