I saw part of a episode of Grill It! with Bobby Flay where he was making some grilled potato wedges and both Waldo and I said almost at the same time that we had to make those.  They looked so good and sounded really easy to make.  I was surprised to find out that they were in fact very easy to make, if you don’t burn your oil.

Parboiling taters

My finshed wedges

Grilled Potato Wedges with Hot Garlic and Red Chili

adapted from Bobby Flay’s Grilled Potato Wedges with Hot Garlic, Red Chili, Parmesan and Parsley

• 4 russet potatoes, scrubbed
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup canola oil Sunflower oil
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (which I totally forgot to add)

Put the potatoes in a pot of cold water, add some kosher salt and bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Simmer slowly till soft but firm (about 40 minutes).  The potatoes must be cooked through and fork tender, but still holding their shape. Drain and set aside to cool slightly, then cut each potato lengthwise into 8 wedges.

I carefully covered the wedged (which were on a cookie sheet) with some sunflower oil, salt and pepper, then I wiggled them around to coat all the sides. Grill until golden brown and cooked through, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a serving bowl.

Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan until it begins to shimmer, this is very important, shimmer not simmer.  Do not try to simmer the oil, it doesn’t go well. Remove from the heat and immediately add the garlic and red chili flakes and let sit for 1 minute. Season the oil with salt and pepper, to taste, and drizzle over the potatoes. Sprinkle with the cheese (if you don’t forget) and serve immediately.

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I wish I would have had the parsley that the original recipe called for, but I forgot to grab it at the store. I think it might have added a nice herby flavor.  And I really wish I hadn’t forgotten about the cheese, but you know what, I didn’t notice anything was missing until I saw the cheese on the counter after I was done eating.  Next time I’ll add the cheese for sure.

I am not a fan of mushrooms. I will eat them sliced very thin in our salads, but I don’t want to eat them pretty much any other way.  Waldo however loves mushrooms, he eats them with steak (well he did before he went pescetarian), on pizza, on just about anything he can.

I read in How to Cook Everything Vegetarian that people that convert to vegetarianism have to change the way they think about meals.  Meat eaters have a meal that centers around a main dish (meat usually) and then a side dish or two.  Vegetarians usually eat what amounts to a bunch of sides and that is how its suppose to be.  These grilled mushrooms made a great side to add to Waldo’s plate.

Waldo loved, Loved, LOVED these mushrooms.  They were easy to make and he said it was like eating meat.  He never believed people when they said that mushroom cooked the right way could taste like meat, but he believes it now.  He said that at first he tasted a really good steak and the rest of the bites were pork.  He is a big fan now and says that these mushrooms need to be on our weekly menu.

Speaking of weekly menus we have a very boring selection of food options, this is mainly my fault as I’m the pickiest person you will likely ever meet.  We have about 8 dishes that we rotate through, so our dinners are pretty routine.  I’d like to add options and broaden our menus.  I want eating to be healthy and really enjoyable.  My goal for the next few months is to get a wider array of food options for my family.  If anyone has any suggestions I’d love to hear them.

We made 2 shiiitakes and 1 cremini. I cut the sauce amount in half and it was still a little more then I needed, but not by much. I didn’t get a picture of the finished mushrooms because Waldo was enjoying them too much to let me at them.

Mushrooms waiting their turn

Grilled Mushrooms

adapted from How to cook everything vegetarian by Mark Bittman

1/3 cup EVOO

1 tablespoon minced shallot, scallion, onion or garlic (I used a little shallot and garlic)

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, if available (I only had dried thyme and Waldo was fine with that)

salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 large portobello mushrooms, trimmed and cut in half right down the middle; or 12 to 16 cremini, trimmed and cut in half or left whole; or 12 to 16 shiitakes, stems removed, caps left whole or cut in half

Chopped parsley for garnish (I left this out because I forgot parsley at the store)

Heat the grill until quite hot and put the rack about 4 inches away from the hear source.  Mix the EVOO, shallot/garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Brush the mushrooms all over with about half the mixture.

Grill or broil the mushrooms with the top of their caps away from the heat until they begin to brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Brush with the remaining oil and turn. Grill until tender and nicely browned all over, 5 t 10 minutes more. Garnish and serve hot, warm or at room temp.

We eat salad at least a couple of times a week and we have a standard format for them.  They are always the same: cut up romaine, baby spinach, shredded carrot, sliced mushroom, broccoli, avocado, occasionally hard boiled eggs.  Waldo uses a Parmesan ranch dressing and olives.  I add hemp seeds and 1000 island dressing.  We have both wanted to try different dressings, but I’m picky and have been putting off finding something new.  We haven’t gotten tired of the salad yet, and frankly we are both surprised by that.  Oh well.

So I was going through How to Cook Everything Vegetarian and found a good simple vinaigrette.  I couldn’t wait to try it.  Like I said on the pasta sauce post Mark Bittman makes good base recipes with a lot of variations listed.  We loved the vinaigrette and can’t wait to try some different versions.

I made some changes to fit our likes, but it’s a really good base recipe.  I’ll add my changes at the end.

Vinaigrette

adapted from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

1/2 cup good EVOO

3 tablespoons of a good wine vinegar, plus some to taste

salt and pepper

1 large shallot cut into chunks (optional)

**

Put the EVOO and vinegar in the cup of a immersion blender and spin.  It should get creamy in about 30 seconds or so.  Add salt and pepper and taste.  Adjust with more seasoning and 1 teaspoon of vinegar at a time if necessary.

Add shallot and blend again.  Taste again and serve.

Waldo and I both loved it and I really appreciate that Bittman give a lot of variations for most of the recipes. I can’t wait to try some vinaigrette versions.

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I used:

Sherry vinegar which Bittman recommends and I agree with.

1/2 large shallot

Followup:

A few days after trying this vinaigrette we tried it again with a teaspoon of mustard as was suggested in the variations and we hated it.  Hated. It.