Category Archives: Appetizers

September 24, 2012 · 7:44 pm

Quick Bite: Pan con Tomate

You know those days where you forget to set your alarm clock, and when you get out of bed and hour late, your hair is sleep-sculpted into a style reminiscent to Flock of Seagulls?  Then, you can’t find your keys, and when you finally do, you’re running out the door wearing only one earring and stuffing a piece of raw toast (aka: bread) into your mouth?  Well, due to some fun reasons (Amsterdam, anyone?), and some frazzling reasons, this has been a month where I’ve felt like the treadmill is one speed too fast.  So, I’m happy to be back here, cooking and writing in one of my favorite places, with some of my favorite people (you!).

In order to get back into the swing of things, I wanted to share a quick bite with you. The Mister and I first discovered pan con tomate on our trip to Spain last year.  Our bus, from Madrid to Granada, had taken a pitstop in the countryside.  The service station there housed a long, diner-like counter.  The man behind the counter brewed espresso, and fixed quick bites for the travelers to eat.  I watched a girl, sitting at one of the rickety tables in the seating area, pour what looked like fresh crushed tomatoes from a syrup pitcher onto a piece of toasted crusty bread.  She drizzled olive oil over top and sprinkled it with salt.  I jabbed the Mister.  I want that.  That’s what I want!  We saw “Pan con Tomate” written in chalk on the menu board and ordered.

The Mister and I doctored up our bread like we saw the locals do, and crunched into our first bites. I couldn’t believe how simultaneously sweet, tangy and earthy the combination of the tomatoes were when drizzled with good olive oil.  In Spain, pan con tomate is served for breakfast, lunch and as an afternoon snack to hold you over until dinnertime, which is usually quite late by American standards.  Pan con tomate soon became my breakfast of choice.

Now’s the time of year when the tomatoes on my 16 massive plants are ready to harvest.  When I harvested a “Mortgage Lifter” tomato last week that weighed in at a pound, its destiny was already chosen.  I may be running around like the pigeon lady muttering to-do lists, with two unmatched socks, but at least I can rest assured that when I come home, during these early-autumn harvest days, simple soul-satisfying food is just steps away.

 Pan Con Tomate:

Makes 2 main course servings, or 4 side/snack size servings

  • 1 crusty baguette, halved lengthwise
  • 1 large, ripe beefsteak type tomato (about 1 pound), halved
  • good quality olive oil, for drizzling
  • sea salt or kosher salt to taste
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 large cloves garlic, peeled and halved

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

Slice the tomato in half, and grate with the large holes of a box grater, discarding most of the skin.

Cut the baguette halves into serving-size pieces (2 or 3 pieces each half).  Bake the baguette slices in the oven for 4-6 minutes until lightly toasted.  Rub the cloves of garlic on the bread.  Drizzle olive oil onto the bread, then spoon the grated tomato onto the bread.  Drizzle with more olive oil, sprinkle generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

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December 31, 2011 · 10:48 am

Avocado Eggrolls with Asian Ginger Slaw and Sweet Chile-Lime Dipping Sauce

Staying in for the night with your honey, watching Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve in your favorite spot on the couch?  There’s an app for that.  Going to a party at a close friend’s house for some New Years shenanigans?  There’s an app for that.  Hosting a party with small bites to be nibbled on throughout the night, accompanied by a bubbly cocktail?  I’m pretty sure there’s an app for that too.

Earlier in December, the mister and I hosted a pre-Christmas get-together for a small group of friends. I always make enough food to feed not only a small battalion, but an entire brigade as well (a trait directly inherited from my mother.  I don’t quite have mom’s Martha Stewart-like ability to tszuj a table yet, but that will come with time.)  We had coconut crusted gulf shrimp, bacon-wrapped dates, tortilla chips and homemade canned summer salsa, tortilla española with romesco aioli, and these avocado eggrolls, with sweet chile lime dipping sauce.  Oh–and this list doesn’t include the tasty assortment of apps that each guest brought.  Yes, I’d say we went a bit overboard.

The mister and I are going out dancing for New Year’s Eve this year, but I couldn’t resist making these eggrolls again this week, this time to be eaten as a meal over asian slaw.  My decision was partially inspired by the ending of holiday appetizer party season, and the fact that avocado season is in full swing–three for $1, anyone?    I was inspired to create these after I saw Elissa’s beautifully photographed avocado eggrolls on 17 and Baking.  Hers are absolutely delicious, but I decided to create my own version, packed with tangy lime, ginger, scallion*, and cilantro, with a sweet chile dipping sauce.  Kind of like an asian guacamole fried in a wrapper until crunchy and golden.  I always like eating fried foods with something fresh and healthy to balance out the texture and heat. This time, I tossed cabbage and carrot with a simple ginger-rice vinegar dressing and a squeeze of lime.

In the summer, there are barbeques to be held, and spring will be time for much lighter fare.  This, my friends, is prime time for hot, flavor-packed small bites, to bring people around the table.  Remember, there’s an app for just about anything, so I hope your New Year’s Eve is filled with tasty food and good company.  I’ll see you in 2012!

Ginger-Scallion Avocado Eggrolls with Sweet Chile-Lime Dipping Sauce and Asian Slaw

Makes 8 large eggrolls

The best eggrolls are served golden, crisp and hot, and these are no exception.  Plan on serving them immediately after frying, lest they lose their crispness.  The filling can be made a few hours ahead of time–just be sure to spread a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the avocado mixture to avoid browning.  Oh, and one more thing– Avocados take on a funny taste when over-mushed, so mush gently!

For the Eggrolls:

  • 5 large avocados
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
  • 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger root
  • 2 scallions, chopped (1/4 cup minced red onion works too)
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • 8 eggroll wrappers
  • Small dish of water, to seal
  • Canola or vegetable oil, to fill a medium pot (not nonstick) or dutch oven to 2 inches

Cut each avocado in half and remove the seed.  With a butter knife, score the inside of the avocado (kind of like tic-tac-toe), and scoop out the flesh with a spoon into a medium bowl.  With a fork, gently mash the avocado together with the lime juice and salt, leaving some texture.  Gently fold in the remaining ingredients until evenly combined.

To fill the eggrolls, lay out one wrapper with a corner pointed toward you, and place 1/4 cup of filling in the center.  Fold the corner over the avocado mixture.  Fold the left and right corners toward the center and roll. Dip a finger into the water, and trace it over the inside edge of the last corner, then seal it onto the eggroll.

Fill a medium pot to 2 inches with oil, and heat over medium-high heat until hot.  Test the heat of the oil by dropping a small piece of eggroll wrapper in.  The oil should immediately bubble, and the wonton should float to the top.  Working in batches of 2, gently lower in the eggrolls, and fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown, about 2 minutes.  Remove the eggrolls to a paper towel lined plate to cool slightly before serving.  Serve while hot with sweet chile dipping sauce.

*When I made these to photograph, I had forgotten to buy scallions, so I subbed red onion, which is what you see pictured…no harm done!

Sweet Chile-Lime Dipping Sauce

Really, just a slightly doctored up version of the pre-made Thai sweet chile sauce we all love.  Thanks, Epicurious!

  • 3/4 cup Asian sweet chili sauce*
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.

Asian Ginger Slaw

  • 2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage (from about a quarter of a medium red cabbage)
  • 2 cups thinly sliced green cabbage (I used regular green cabbage, but napa would be good here as well)
  • 1 medium carrot, peeled and julienned or grated
  • 1/4 cup unseasoned rice wine vinegar
  • juice from 1/2 lime
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
  • 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoons salt, to taste
  • 1 tablespoon peanut or canola oil

Place the cabbage and carrot in a medium bowl.  In a separate small bowl, whisk the rice wine vinegar, lime juice, ginger, salt,  and oil together until combined.  Pour into the bowl with the cabbage and carrot.  Stir and toss well until well coated.   Let stand for about 30 minutes to allow the flavors to develop.  Toss again and serve.

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September 18, 2011 · 7:35 pm

Roasted Tomatillo-Chile Negro Salsa for Canning

Every morning, I step into my flowered gardening boots, and take 23 steps to water 14 tomato plants growing along the back fence.  Luca follows me, alternately stretching and shaking out her bedraggled doggy bed-head, collar ringing and ears flapping.  She wanders around the yard, black nose deep in the grass, collecting dew.  She looks at me expectantly as I fill ditches around Brandywine, Celebrity, Cherokee Purple, Sungold, Roma, and Cherry tomatoes.  “Okay, Luca,” I say as I invite her to the hose.  She laps up the cool water happily in a rhythmic triplet pattern:  lap lap lap, lap lap lap.

I step over the mottled 8 ball zucchini leaves and butternut squash, as Luca zooms in erratic circles around the yard; a self-imposed morning exercise regimen involving sudden changes of direction, and athletic leaps over potted plants.  I breathe in the smells of late summer, tomato stems and fragrant herbs rubbed between my thumb and forefinger.  Luca slides onto the grass, collapsable legs spread frog-dog style while I pop a few cherry tomatoes, a purple green bean, and a baby dino kale leaf into my mouth–a pre-breakfast snack, my morning dose of vitamins.

The leaves on the tree in the front yard already know that it’s almost time.  The tomatoes feel it too–they’re slowing down, not ripening quite as quickly as they once did.  Fall wins me over with its charms year after year, but I always put up a fight. Luca is, as always, spunky and adaptable, happy just to be with her people, watching as I cook and preserve, waiting for tidbits of carrot or other wayward ingredients to fall her way.  Flopped on her belly, peering up through muppet fur, she’s kept me company through pickled cucumbers, peach barbeque sauce, spicy pickled carrots, crushed tomatoes, jam, and most recently, a batch of salsa to rival all my previous salsa-canning attempts.

This salsa bridges summer and early fall.  Tomatillos and tomatoes are at their best, plump and ready to be roasted with a variety of fresh hot chiles and onions.  When the tomatillos and tomatoes have shriveled and charred, filling the house with an irresistible aroma, it’s time to blend.  In go the lime juice, chopped cilantro, torn toasted chile negros, salt, and a couple “secret” ingredients.  My friend Karissa said, “There’s something special about this salsa, but I can’t tell what it is!”.  The clove and allspice aren’t immediately perceptible, but they round out the salsa.  The finished salsa boasts a mole-like complexity which can be eaten with tortilla chips, used as a base for Spanish rice broth, or warmed up over enchiladas or tamales.

Luca appears unamused, but only due to the fact that she doesn’t eat salsa.  She will however, keep following me from garden to kitchen 7 days a week, asking only for the occasional table scrap or belly rub in return for her faithful culinary companionship.

Roasted Tomatillo-Chile Negro Salsa

Makes about 7 pints

I adapted this recipe from my new favorite canning book, Canning for a New Generation, by Lianna Krissoff, and customized it using ***SAFE*** substitutions–that is, substitutions not affecting the acidity of the finished product.  If you’ve never canned before, take a look at a few of my favorite online canning resources here and here to learn how.  If you’d like to make the salsa without canning, or would like to can a smaller batch, the recipe can be halved.  To ensure safe canning, do not alter the proportions of ingredients.  

Ingredients:

•5 pounds tomatillos, papery husks and stems removed, rinsed (halve the larger tomatillos)

•2 pounds tomatoes, cut in half

•1 large white onion (8 ounces), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

•4 ounces hot or mild fresh chiles, including 2 dried chiles negros

•10 medium cloves garlic, peeled

•1 1/2 cups roughly chopped fresh cilantro

•1 1/3 cups bottled lime juice

•2 tablespoons pure kosher salt, or to taste

•8 allspice berries

•2 cloves

Preheat the oven to 500˚F.

1) Prepare for Canning:

Wash and dry the jars and lids. Put the lids and rings in a heatproof bowl and set aside. Put the jars in a canning pot filled with water and bring to a boil to sterilize while you prepare the salsa ingredients.  Once the water in the pot comes to a boil, allow the unfilled jars to boil for at least 20 minutes before filling.  Place a folded towel, a damp paper towel, a canning funnel, and a jar lifter next to the stove.

2) Put the tomatillos, tomatoes, onions, fresh chiles and garlic in a single layer on two large rimmed baking sheets and roast for 25-35 minutes, or until charred in spots.  The tomatillos and tomatoes will be soft, collapsed, and leaking juices.  Allow to cool slightly before blending.

3) Heat a small frying pan over medium-high heat.  When hot, toast the dried chiles in the pan until fragrant and beginning to blister. Flip to toast the other sides.

4) Working in batches, pureé the vegetables and their juices in a blender along with the chopped cilantro, cloves, and allspice.  Hold down the top of the blender with a towel to prevent the hot mixture from spurting.

5) Pour the puree into a large, non-reactive saucepan.  Stir in the lime juice and salt.  Bring to a boil.

6) Ladle boiling water from the canning pot into the bowl with the lids and rings.  Using a jar lifter, carefully remove a jar from the canning pot, and pour out the water back into the pot.  Place the jar on the folded towel, and ladle the hot salsa into the jar, leaving 1/2 inch headspace (empty space at the top of the jar).  Wipe the rim of the jar with the damp paper towel, then put a flat lid and ring on the jar, tightening until just finger-tight.  Repeat with the remaining jars.

7) Return the jars back to the water, making sure that the water covers the jars by at least 1 inch.  Bring to a boil, and boil for 5 minutes to process (at sea level), and an additional minute per 1,000 ft above sea level (I live at 5280, so I boiled for a extra five minutes).  Remove the jars to a folded towel and leave undisturbed for 12 hours.  After an hour, check to see if the jars have sealed by pressing down on the middle of the jar lid.  If it can be pressed down, it hasn’t sealed and should be refrigerated immediately.  Store the jars in a dark area.

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July 1, 2011 · 9:42 pm

Zaalouk (Moroccan Eggplant-Tomato Spread)

“Welcome to Morocco!”

We stepped off the plane, surrounded by the sounds of French and Arabic airport chatter.  The mister and I sticking out like sore thumbs–Peder, 6’4, blue-eyed and German-looking, and fair-skinned me in my very American clothing.  Without a word of Arabic between us, and hardly a word of French between us, we made it through customs and were greeted with a reassuring “Hey Guys!”. We spotted Karissa, looking well-traveled, and completely comfortable in her surroundings.  Following her like two deer in headlights to the snack shop, we watched her chat candidly in French with the workers to buy us three bottles of water.  I felt way out of my comfort zone, and tried to blend in.  Will people accept us here?  This is a Muslim country.  Do they hate Americans, like the news leads me to believe?  In the middle of my musings, one of the shop workers exclaimed, “You’re American?  We love Americans!  Welcome to Morocco!”  

After making our way out of the airport, Karissa immediately started bargaining in French with a taxi driver to settle on a fare.  Being a passenger in a Moroccan taxi is an experience that one never forgets.  It’s the first initiation into Morocco that every traveler must endure.  Drivers squeeze cars, motorbikes and donkey carts into every available slot, and shuffle themselves around like decks of cards.  Lane lines are suggestions, and honking is used as a form of communication as if to say, “I’m here, don’t hit me!.”  Ever played the game Frogger?  Then you know how to cross a five lane Moroccan street.

We rode past fruit carts and run down buildings, flowering bushes and dirty sidewalks, simultaneously taking in the scene around us, and chatting away with Karissa, trying to catch up for the past year she had been abroad, teaching at Casablanca American School.  Next, the interrogation.  The Mister and I fired off questions in rapid succession.  How do we blend in?  You won’t.  You’re going to stick out.  You just are, and that’s okay!  What about eye contact?  I made eye contact with a man at the airport, and he looked very surprised.  How very forward of you, Karissa laughed. Women don’t make eye contact with men.  It is okay for women to make eye contact with other women.  We learned to say “thank you” in Arabic as we exited the taxi, and Karissa began to argue with the taxi driver who insisted that she should give him a big tip because of his nice big car.  From what I gathered, Karissa told him “I am not a tourist, I live here, I don’t have to pay you a tip!”  Karissa gave the driver a smaller tip than he had asked for.  He gave her his business card and said, “Next time you need a driver, you call me, and you can give me a bigger tip!”

A little later, our other good friend Tom joined us, and we set out to eat dinner.  The four of us walked down dirty sidewalks and past flowering bushes, gritty stucco walls, and children laughing and playing soccer outside five story buildings.  We stepped through a keyhole-shaped door and into the restaurant, a pristine tiled courtyard garden, complete with a fountain and a traditional Moroccan band filling the space with beats I had never learned in any of my music education courses.  I thought I’d gone to heaven when the waiter brought us a basket of squat round seeded breads and two bowls full of olives, and reached a state of enlightenment when I had my first taste of chicken tagine with olives and preserved lemons.

At dusk, we walked along the beach outside the largest mosque in Morocco, the Hassan II.  It was brilliantly lit against the electric blue sky.  I didn’t know what to expect, and wondered if we were intruding on a sacred space that didn’t belong to us. When we reached the front of the mosque, we saw families and friends out for evening walks, dressed in traditional djellaba and hijab.  Children ran and played on the shining marble steps, and birds weaved in and out of the ornate arches.  Women held hands with women, men with men, and I sensed a deep kinship as they socialized and chatted.  The mosque exuded peace, and was a refuge from the speeding motorbikes and honking taxis.  We were met with curiosity and acceptance, as evening strollers glanced at our very different appearance.  I knew then and there that I wanted to step outside my comfort zone, in order to experience Morocco fully.

Join me next time as we eat as the Moroccans eat, cook as the Moroccans cook, and do as the Moroccans do.  We’ll walk through medinas and markets, meet new friends, and learn another recipe from Fatima, a kind Moroccan woman I had the privilege of cooking with.  The first recipe I’ll be sharing with you, is for a warm eggplant and tomato spread/salad called Zaalook.  Just as with most recipes, every home cook has his or her own version.  Here is Fatima’s, as illustrated below.

Eggplant and tomato, fresh from the underground market

Fatima quickly peels the tomatoes and trims the eggplant,

and dices it, with her crazy paring-knife skills.

She chops the parsley, 

and layers everything together on the stove, finely grating the garlic overtop.

Next, Fatima drizzles the vegetables with oil.  Lots of oil.  She cooks the vegetables without stirring until the tomatoes have released their juices, and then stirs everything together.

Now, the spices:  salt, paprika, harissa, and cumin seeds, which she toasts and rubs between her fingers to release the aroma.

She seasons to taste, and adds more harissa paste (to my delight).  Perfect to eat as a spread on bread, or as a salad.  Voila!  Zaalouk!  

Zaalouk

Serves 4-6 as and appetizer or small salad

  • 4 medium tomatoes, peeled, trimmed, and diced
  • 2 medium eggplants, trimmed and diced
  • 4 medium cloves garlic
  • 1 small bunch flat-leafed parsley, finely chopped (stems and all)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
  • 2 teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted until fragrant in a small frying pan
  • harissa to taste*
  • sea salt and black pepper to taste
  • Extra virgin olive oil

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat.  Drizzle olive oil on the bottom of the pan to thinly coat.  Layer the vegetables in the pan as follows:  tomatoes, eggplant, then parsley.  Add another drizzling of oil over the vegetables.  Increase the heat to medium-high.  Cook, shaking the pan back and forth occasionally (to prevent sticking), until the tomatoes have released most of their juices.  Thinly grate the garlic over top, and stir the vegetables to combine.  Add the paprika, salt and pepper, and harissa to taste.  Rub the toasted cumin seeds between your palms to release their aroma, then add to the pan and stir.  Cover the pan, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until the eggplant has softened and the tomatoes have almost broken down completely (The eggplant and tomato will have formed a paste with some remaining texture from the eggplant.)  Serve warm or at room temperature, alone or with bread.

*Harissa is a spicy Moroccan chile paste, which can be found in some Middle Eastern markets and specialty stores.  If you can’t find it, chile-garlic paste (sambal oelek), cayenne powder, or crushed red pepper would make decent substitutions.  

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February 9, 2011 · 9:58 pm

Garlicky White Wine Mussels on an Unsuspecting Tuesday

This past Tuesday, the weather gods shined upon Denver with frigidly cold negative temperatures.  We’re talking below zero here.  School status:  cancelled.  Mood status:  Above average.  After all, who’s not a fan of a stolen day every now and then?

I brainstormed day off possibilities, and arranged them into a priority list, with “cook, eat, and take photos” at the top, and “clean the house” in the “if school is also cancelled tomorrow” category.  When I’m not at work, I’m thinking blog, and this was a perfect opportunity to start thinking about a post for Valentines Day.

I spent the first part of the morning curled up with my new cookbook obsession, In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite by Melissa Clark. If you’ve been around this blog for any time at all, you probably know that I quite fervently oppose being cold.  It may puzzle you as to why, on a day with a high of -3˚, I stopped reading my cookbook about halfway through the seafood chapter and left the house in search of a lemon and one and a half pounds of mussels.

Hunger called, and I needed sufficient brain fuel to start thinking about whoopie pies, heart-shaped cookies, and pink cupcakes.  I had already tried to make Valentines pancakes the previous weekend (looked great, tasted sub par).  Then, it dawned on me.  Pink frosting isn’t really my thing, but mussels are exactly the type of dish the mister and I would eat on February 14th.

Valentines Day is the opposite of a stolen day.  Everything is orchestrated, from the jewelry commercials, to the ruffly boxes of filled chocolates.  Just like most other parts of Valentines Day, restaurant food is mass-produced, marked-up, and not quite up to the same standard as other ordinary days of the year.

That being said, the mister and I still celebrate Valentines Day together–in our own way.  We’ve eschewed the need to go out and spend a lot on a prix fixe meal and the requisite molten lava cakes. Instead, we spend a fraction of the cost of going out to buy good ingredients and cook exactly what we want to eat.

On Tuesday, the mister and I enjoyed a “stolen” lunch together. I started with some olive oil, heated until shimmering in the bottom of a saucepan.  The fresh thyme, garlic (of course), and shallots made a satisfying “ksshhh” as I scattered them across the oil.  Next, I poured in the wine and lemon slices, enjoying the heady aroma as it steamed out of the pan.  I threw in the mussels, covered, and 5 minutes later, they had hinged open, revealing their perfect bite-sized morsels.

I whisked butter, parsley, and some dijon mustard into the sauce.  We ate the mussels atop a tangled nest of baked parmesan and parsley pomme “frite”, to soak up all the lemony, garlicky sauce.  I felt privileged to be eating a meal so fitting for a regal occasion on such an unsuspecting Tuesday.

Garlicky White Wine Mussels

Serves 2

Adapted from Melissa Clark’s Ale-Steamed Mussels with Garlic and Mustard

Cooking mussels is not difficult, but you will need to know a few rules in order to prepare them safely.  You can find a helpful tutorial here .

  • 1 1/2 pounds mussels
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 3 large cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 large shallots, finely chopped
  • 1/2 large lemon, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
  • 1 cup dry white wine, such as sauvignon blanc
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. If your mussels are farmed, all you’ll need to do is rinse them under cold running water.  If your mussels are wild, you’ll need to scrub their shells and de-beard them.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add the thyme, garlic, shallots, and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring often, until the garlic and shallots are softened, but not browned.

3. Pour in the wine and lemon slices, and heat to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer, add the mussels, and cover the saucepan.  Steam the mussels for 5-10 minutes, or until all the mussels are open.

4. Transfer the mussels from the pan to serving bowls using a slotted spoon, discarding any mussels that don’t open.

5. Remove the lemon slices from the pan, squeezing the juice back into the broth.  With the heat still on medium-high, whisk the butter, parsley and mustard into the pan juices.  Season with salt and pepper, then pour over the mussels.

Parmesan-Parsley Baked Pomme “Frite”

Adapted from Ellie Krieger‘s Garlic Fries

  • 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes (about 3 medium), cut into 1/4 inch sticks
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons grapeseed or canola oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
  • a splash of champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar (about 2 teaspoons)

1.  Preheat the oven to 450˚F.

2. Heat the garlic in the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.  The garlic will sizzle, but shouldn’t turn golden.  Strain the garlic from the oil with a fine mesh strainer.  Set both the garlic and oil aside.

3. Toss the potatoes with the oil and salt in a medium bowl.  Spray a nonstick baking sheet with additional oil.

4. Spread the potatoes on the baking sheet in a single layer, and bake for about 35 minutes, or until golden and crispy.

5. Toss the potatoes with the reserved garlic, parsley, parmesan, a splash of champagne vinegar, and additional kosher salt to taste if needed.  Serve while hot.

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