Grilled Potatoes with Garlic Aioli

Grilled potatoes are one of my FAVORITE side dishes to serve year-round. The grill gives them a smoky crispiness that you won't find from any other method. The garlicky sauce becomes fragrant and warm as it is drizzled over the hot potatoes. So yummy!

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients:

2 medium sized russet potatoes

1/3 cup olive oil

1 tsp. paprika

Kosher salt

For the aioli:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

juice of 1 lemon wedge

black pepper

kosher salt

1-2 cloves of garlic (I usually use two), minced

Assembly:

Slice the potatoes into 1/2 inch thick rounds. Add them to a pot of water and bring to a boil (put the potatoes in when the water is cold, not hot, to ensure even cooking). Cook 5-7 minutes until a fork goes in with a little resistance (they should not be cooked through at this point). While the potatoes are cooking, combine aioli ingredients (I actually like to do this step ahead of time. Allowing the flavors to combine for an hour or more makes for an even more pronounced garlic flavor throughout). Drain and place potatoes back in the pot to evaporate the remaining water. Add the oil, paprika, salt and pepper and toss to coat. Grill over medium high heat for 3-5 minutes per side until cooked through and crispy on the outside. Spoon aioli over the potatoes while they are still hot. 

Make 'Em Feel Loved Balsamic Chicken Sandwich

A month or so ago I posted a sandwich recipe that had marinated steak and veggies on a hoagie roll with melted cheese and aioli. I mentioned in that blog post that I make a million different sandwiches that are a variation on this theme: chopped veggies, marinated meat, melted cheese and aioli on a toasted bun. The possibilities are endless! These sandwiches are a great idea if you're short on time or want to make a super cost effective meal to share with friends and family. This sandwich in particular pairs chicken breast (one breast magically serves 2 adults!) marinated in a balsamic vinaigrette, veggies sauteed in a balsamic-brown sugar reduction, melted provalone and fragrant aioli. Delicious!
Ingredients:
2 hoagie rolls, split
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
3 slices of provalone
1/2 cup balsamic vinaigrette http://happiestbelly.blogspot.com/2009/04/honey-dijon-balsamic-vinaigrette.html
3 tbsp. basic aioli http://happiestbelly.blogspot.com/2009/05/technique-tuesday-messing-with-mayo.html
6 button or baby bella mushrooms, quartered
1/2 sweet red pepper, diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. light brown sugar
1 tbsp. olive oil
salt, pepper

Assembly:
Marinate chicken in vinaigrette for 15 minutes-3 hours. Grill over medium high heat until juices run clear (4-6 minutes/side depending on thickness). Let chicken rest for 10 minutes before dicing. While chicken rests, saute vegetables in olive oil over medium-high heat. Add vinegar and brown sugar then reduce heat to low. Add salt, pepper to taste. Cook until liquids are almost absobed (about 10 minutes). Add chicken and mix. Add mixture evenly to split rolls. Top with 1 1/2 slice provalone per sandwich. Bake, open-faced, for 5-7 minutes at 375 degrees. Drizzle aioli, press sandwiches closed and serve.

Grilled Potatoes with Aioli

The potato is such a versatile vegetable; it makes wonderful fries and is delicious mashed, roasted or baked. It's also fabulous when cooked on a gas or charcoal grill. Grilled potatoes are soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. Finished with a drizzle of aioli, grilled potatoes are a spectacular accompaniment to ribs, steak, chicken or chops. The garlic in the aioli becomes incredibly fragrant when it meets the warm potatoes. Grilled potatoes with aioli is another one of those dishes that I have to closely monitor so it doesn't disappear from the serving plate before it makes its way to our table!
Ingredients:
3 small potatoes, 1/4 inch slices
salt
pepper
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup prepared aioli (see search function on upper right side of page to find this recipe)

Assembly:
Parboil potatoes until barely fork tender (Begin with cold water and bring to a boil. Add 1 tsp. of salt, reduce heat to medium-low and cook approximately 10-15 minutes). Drain potatoes and return them to their original pot. Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika. Place potatoes over medium heat (about 350 degrees) on a gas grill. Cook for 3-4 minutes then flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Potatoes should be crispy on the outside and have nice grill marks on both sides. Remember not to move potatoes once you've flipped them. Remove from grill and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Drizzle with aioli and serve warm.

Save-a-Buck Marinated Steak Sandwich

This is a great sandwich for a casual get-together with friends! It seems more complicated than it actually is and really maximizes the amount of steak you need. The other ingredients are pretty basic and are most likely items you already have on hand in your kitchen. The only extras are a good baguette or hoagie roll and some sliced provalone cheese.

You can make this sandwich completely on the grill, using a heat-proof pan to cook the onions and mushrooms or you can use an indoor grill pan and your oven.

The finished sandwich (with aioli):

The Veggies:

The Steak:

Marinade:

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup cabernet
1 clove minced garlic
2 tbsp. light brown sugar
1 tbsp. tomato paste

Other ingredients (makes two large sandwiches):
1 3/4 lb. steak (I recommend strip)
6 white or baby bella mushrooms, quartered
1 small yellow onion, sliced
1 head of roasted garlic (opt.)
salt, pepper
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. light brown sugar
4 slices of mozzarella or provalone
2 pieces of baguette or 2 hoagie rolls
basic aioli (use search function to find this recipe)

Assembly:
Marinate meat up to 2 hours (15 minutes is sufficient for a strip or T-bone; longer for flank or London broil). Pat dry and allow meat to come down to near-room temperature. Grill over med-high heat for 4-5 minutes; flip and grill 3-4 additional minutes. Remove from grill and allow meat to rest for approximately 5-10 minutes. While the steak is on the grill, saute mushrooms and onions over medium-high heat until golden. Add salt and pepper, balsamic vinegar and brown sugar. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. Stir in roasted garlic. Cube steak into bite sized pieces and stir into mushroom/onion mixture. Slice baguette or hoagie roll and add a generous amount of the steak/vegetable mixture. Top with slices of provalone or mozzarella and bake for 5-10 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove from oven and drizzle aioli over the top of each sandwich. Serve with a knife and fork!

Technique Tuesday: Messing with Mayo

There are a million different ways to make mayonnaise exciting~ you can add just about any herb or flavoring to make a delicious spread for a sandwich, sauce for grilled potatoes, or a dipping sauce for veggies, chips or fries. I'm not a big fan of making mayonnaise from scratch; I think it's because I don't a) want to go through the trouble for as often as I use mayonnaise and b) I'm not so fond of raw eggs. I tend to just buy the big old jar of full-fat Hellman's and add all sorts of things to it so that it complements whatever I'm making for dinner. The key ingredients for me are a hint of citrus, salt, pepper and an additional element such as garlic, chipotle, or cumin. I will post on some of these recipes as I go (for example, chipotle mayo that is great on fries and chipotle chicken sadwiches), but I will start with my recipe for the fancy, shmancy mayo below...otherwise known as aioli, or a savory, garlic-infused mayonnaise.

Basic Aioli:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 lemon wedge
ground black pepper (you can use white, but I kind of like the speckled look of black pepper)

a pinch of salt
2 garlic cloves, minced (use the technique from last week to ensure you're not actually biting into garlic when you eat this)

Mix all ingredients together and chill. I recommend making this a few hours in advance so the garlic really soaks into the mayonnaise mixture. This aioli is great on a sandwich, as a dipping sauce for fries (and you can definitely justify dipping your fries into mayo if you make my oven-baked fries!) or thinned with a little extra lemon and drizzled over asparagus or roasted potatoes.