roasting

Thyme and Brown Butter Roasted Potatoes

It is grilling season, and we’ve been taking full advantage of it on the weekends.  We had dinner from the grill both Saturday and Sunday night.  Last night we even ate outside.  It was wonderful.  I love this time of year.

Saturday night Ben grilled steaks, I made these potatoes and a green salad.  If we ate this every night of the week Ben would be the happiest man on earth.  Around 5 that afternoon my plan for a side dish went about as far as potatoes, but I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do with them.  Mashed is always a good choice to accompany steak, but I didn’t feel like something loaded with butter and cream.  So we had roasted potatoes that had been tossed with brown butter and fresh thyme.  Ben said, “We need to have this meal again.”  I think we will.

When garlic cooks and gets nice and brown it is spectacular and crunchy.  When garlic burns, it turns bitter.  I burned my garlic.  So next time I would throw the garlic in with the potatoes when they had about 20 minutes left instead of at the beginning.

Thyme and Brown Butter Roasted Potatoes

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 2 russet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
  • 4-5 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

  1. Brown butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Watch it closely and swirl the pan periodically to keep it from burning.
  2. Combine warm butter, thyme and salt in a large bowl.  Add in the potatoes and toss to coat.
  3. Pour potatoes onto a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil or parchment (I used Reynolds parchment/foil pan liner with great results).
  4. Bake at 400°F for 40-45 minutes, stirring the potatoes around so that all sides can get nicely browned every 15-20 minutes.  Toss garlic with potatoes when they have about 20 minutes left to cook.
  5. Let cool on the sheet for a few minutes, then serve.

Spicy Asian Roasted Broccoli & Snap Peas

My plan for dinner was a ginger sesame marinated pork tenderloin, basmati rice and steamed broccoli.  Isn’t that awfully easy…and awfully boring?  I found this recipe for roasted broccoli and snap peas made extra delicious with a light sauce of sesame oil, orange zest, cilantro, honey, fresh ginger, garlic and sambal oelek.  So glad I took the extra time to make this side dish.

Living where we do there are limitations on the ingredients I can get my hands on.  I couldn’t find bird chiles, so I didn’t use them and as a result this wasn’t too spicy even with the sambal oelek.  If you really have a problem with spice, then you can leave that out as well.  I also didn’t use the miso, mostly because I was too lazy to look for it!  Since it’s just Ben and I eating dinner, I also like to make just enough for the two of us unless it’s something I know is wonderful left over.  So I changed parts of this recipe to better suit our lifestyle.  Here is the link to the original recipe.

There is something so very special about roasted veggies, and this recipe is no exception.  This is a perfect side for an Asian flavored meal.  Enjoy!

Spicy Asian Roasted Broccoli & Snap Peas

Adapted from finecooking.com

Ingredients

  • 2 heads of broccoli, cut into florets
  • 8 ounces snap peas (1 bag)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 teaspoon sambal oelek
  • 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
  • 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F
  2. Combine broccoli and snap peas in a 9×13 glass dish and drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon sesame oil over vegetables, toss together to coat and sprinkle with salt.
  3. Roast for 20 minutes, checking and stirring about half way through.  Vegetable are done when slightly browned.
  4. While vegetable are cooking whisk the rest of the ingredients together.
  5. When vegetables are done pour sauce over and toss to coat.