Barefoot Potato Salad

Shocker...another Barefoot Contessa recipe, from her "Barefoot at Home" cookbook.  We were having my parents over for Fathers Day BBQ and I wanted to make a potato salad to accompany the steaks we were grilling.  Steve really likes potato salad with a mustard taste and I love potato salad with dill.  This seemed like a happy medium for both of our taste buds and I got to use herbs from our garden.  Both Mom and Dad gave their "yum" of approval...and my mom is not a huge dill fan!  

What I also liked about this recipe is that it seemed just about right for 4-6 people.  Sometimes the Barefoot seems like she is making food for a small army, but we only have a small Tupperware left of this!

3 pounds small red potatoes

Kosher salt

1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup buttermilk, milk or white wine (I used 1% milk)

2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 Tablespoons whole-grain mustard

1/2 cup chopped dill

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped red onion (we used shallots)

Place the potatoes and 2 tablespoons of salt in a large pot of water.  Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the potatoes are barely tender when pierced with a knife.  Drain the potatoes in a colander, then place the colander with the potatoes over the empty pot and cover with a clean, dry kitchen towel,  Allow the potatoes to steam for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together the mayo, milk (buttermilk or wine), Dijon mustard, whole grain mustard, dill, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper.  Set aside.

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them into quarters or halves, depending on their size.  Place the cut potatoes in a large bowl.  While the potatoes are still warm, pour enough dressing over them to moisten (as the salad sits, you may need to add more dressing).  Add the celery, onion, 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper.  

Toss well, cover and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend.  Serve cold or at room temperature.

Sunburst Lemon Bars

My co-worker gave me this recipe so I could use my Kitchen Aid for another recipe. It is really easy and I had all the ingredients in the house...an added bonus! This is a great dessert for summer, light and refreshing. It was also the first time I got to use my Williams Sonoma Gold Touch 9x13 rectangle pan and it was everything I hoped for! Ha!

A bit of advice...don't make this too late at night if you want to finish it up before you go to bed. You have to wait for it to cool completely before you frost it. That really bummed Steve out!

Crust:

2 cups flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 cup butter, softened

Filling:

4 eggs slightly beaten

2 cups sugar

1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup lemon juice

Frosting:

1 cup powdered sugar

2 to 3 Tablespoons lemon juice

Heat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, combine all crust ingredients. With your paddle attachment, blend until crumbly. Press mixture evenly in the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 pan. Bake crust at 350 for 20-30 minutes until light, golden brown.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine all filling ingredients, except the lemon juice. Blend well. Stir in the lemon juice. Pour mixture over warm crust. Return to oven and bake an additional 25-20 minutes or until top is light, golden brown. Cool completely.

In a small bowl, combine all the frosting ingredients. Add enough lemon juice to desired consistency and taste, blend until smooth. Spread over cooled bars. Yields about 36 bars.

Basic Yummy Quiche

My mother-in-law gave us this recipe at one of our showers so I decided to make it this past weekend.  We had a big day of yard work planned (specifically, cleaning up tons of helicopters from our front yard), so I wanted a big breakfast to "power us up" for the day ahead.  My girlfriends had gotten me a bunch of baking things, including a quiche/tart pan and I was excited to put it to use!

This was so easy and yummy!  It is even great leftover!  This recipe is meant to be a base.  You can add whatever meats, veggies, etc. in it that you want...I just wouldn't add more than 2 otherwise it might not fit in the pan!

1 pre-made pie crust (my mother-in-law uses the ones already in a dish, you can also put the crust in a pie pan if you do not have a quiche pan)

1 Tablespoon butter, softened

12 bacon slices (I used more like 9) or 1 cup of ham chopped up

1 small can of mushrooms (can also use onions, green peppers, whatever you wish to taste)

4 eggs

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup half and half

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup cubed swiss cheese

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (you can use cubed too)

Preheat oven to 425.

Spread crust out into pan.  Spread the softened butter onto the crust and put in the refrigerator to chill.

If you are using bacon, fry up the bacon, drain and crumble.  Set aside.  

Mix together the eggs, cream, salt and nutmeg with a wire whisk.  Stir in cheese and other desired ingredients (mushrooms, onions, etc.).

Remove pie crust from fridge and spread out the bacon on the chilled crust.  Pour egg mixture on top of that.

Bake 15 minutes at 425.  Turn oven down to 350 and bake for 35 minutes.  When a knife comes out clean in the center, it is done.  Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

At our shower, we got 3 different recipes for a buffalo chicken dip. One of our showers was the same day that my bachelorette party was happening, so Steve was on his own for dinner. He ended up making this dip for himself for dinner! He loved it and I loved the leftovers and have since made it for my brother, sister-in-law and my parents...all who thought it was yummy! An added bonus is that I got to use our new Corningware portable to bake it in! Yay!

We plan on trying out the other two recipes...one of which is for the crock pot! Thanks to Katy for this great recipe...Andrea and Jennifer, yours are on deck!

1 1/2 - 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 oz. Franks Hot Sauce (I used 2 oz. and used the Wing version)

16 oz. Ranch Dressing

1/2 c. chopped celery

2 cups shredded cheese (I used cheddar)

2 8 oz. packages of cream cheese, softened

Preheat oven to 350.

Boil chicken, when completed. Shred the chicken with a fork. Mix with the Franks sauce once shredded.

Over medium heat, combine ranch and cream cheese and cook until cheese softens and mixes.

In a 9x13 size dish, layer the Franks covered chicken evenly. Pour dressing mix over the chicken. Layer the celery and top with the cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips (Scoops work really well).

BBQ Ribs in a Crock Pot

We have been MIA from our kitchen for awhile...reverting back to old standards and frozen quick meals from Trader Joe's! I am anxious for the wedding planning and execution to soon be done so I can dig into all our new cookbooks and try out new recipes!

This recipe is from my grandma. At our showers, we included a recipe card for everyone to bring back completed with them at the shower. We got some great recipes! This one was quick, easy and delicious!!!

3-4 pounds spare ribs

salt

pepper

onion (I just used a medium sized yellow one)

16 oz. jar of BBQ sauce (any flavor you like)

Heat up your broiler. Cut the ribs into serving size pieces. Rub salt and pepper on both sides. Place ribs on broiler pan. Broil ribs for about 10-15 minutes or until they start to brown.

Slice onion, place in the bottom of the crock pot. Pour the entire jar of BBQ sauce on top. Place ribs on top of sauce and onion and then stir all around so the ribs get coated. I kind of stood the ribs up on their sides to maximize the sauce coverage. Cook on low for 10 hours or high for 6 hours. The ribs will be just falling off the bone...delicious!!!