Better Home Cooking Basics: #61 Top Baked Potatoes with Greek Yogurt Instead of Butter or Sour Cream.

If you love to load up a baked potato with gobs of butter or sour cream (like we do at our potato-loving house) this tip is for you. Swap out those fatty condiments for protein rich Greek yogurt instead. You'll get all the creaminess with less guilt & some nutrition to boot.

Want to take your baked potato to the next level? It's easy & tasty. Use this simple recipe to add some fresh & creamy flavor to your next baked potato.

Crispy Oven-Baked Home Fries

Ever wonder how your favorite brunch spot gets their home fries to taste in between creamy & fluffy on the inside with a crispy outside? Well I have, so I made it my mission to find out how.

I feel as though I have found the holy grail of making crispy home fries at home in my oven (that's right oven - no frying) thanks to the kitchn’s post! There is no danger of a deep fryer (so that makes 'em healthier right?) & that in itself justifies eating seconds & thirds of these at breakfast, lunch or dinner.

The key take aways from the kitchn’s method is to cook the potatoes partially in water, toss them in olive oil & salt, & then bake them at a super high temperature in the oven. Et voila, perfect home fries every time.

Roasted Cajun Potato Wedges

I've always been a potato lover. My mom says it comes from her Waspy heritage while my grandmother (my father's Italian mother) says it's because her father loved them.  I have an Irish last name now - so really you be the judge.  I've never really met a potato I didn't like.

I had a bunch of yukon gold potatoes left from what I didn't put into these mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving so I roasted them with some spices for a tasty side dish to crab cakes & shaved asparagus dinner.

Easy Creamy Parmesan Polenta

Back when I used to waitress on Mulberry Street in Little Italy, NYC my boss and I would order dinner from one of the nearby restaurants.  (I know what you're thinking - you were waitressing why didn't you eat the food there - it's because in the evenings we would only serve coffee and cake otherwise we would not go down the block for a meal). We'd usually eat the same things. One of the dishes we'd order was polenta or as what my boss used to reference as peasant's food that was now a delicacy.  It's pretty simple, tasty and hearty so if it was good enough to fill the bellies of Italian peasants it's good enough for me.  If you like mashed potatoes this is like the Italian cousin of it.  It's creamy, garlicky and cheesy.  Perfect. I actually think it may be easier to make than mashed potatoes!

And to go with the common thread of this week I nabbed this recipe from none other than Ina Garten.

Simple Herb & Lime Farro

Farro is a new whole grain to me. After hearing my gal Alice talk about how good it is I thought I should at least try it. I found it in the bulk grain aisle at FairWay & filled up a bag to go.  I have to admit it sat in my pantry for a week or two before I tried it.  I wasn't sure exactly how to cook it & I wanted to give myself ample time to prepare it, which is usually rare on "school nights." I finally had time on my side & gave it a try.  Turns out this is an Italian grain. It looks & tastes more like rice (to me) but you cook it like pasta - go figure.  It's surprisingly easy to make & Chris likes it.  So we'll be having it again soon.

PS: HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to one of the best people of all time,  Maggie! Love ya girl!

Strawberry Salsa

Happy Memorial Day! Hope you're having a fabulous extended weekend.  What are you making for your bbq? Maybe this salsa?

I love fresh salsas made with fruit (like this mango one I made way back when).  Strawberries are everywhere so I used them for the base of this fresh, quick salsa. 

A new tip I picked up about strawberries is that they will only be as sweet & as red as they are the day you bought them. Most other fruits you can stick in a brown paper bag on your counter for a few days for the fruit ripening fairies to take a visit. Not these guys. If your strawberries are greenish - they'll most likely stay greenish, so opt for the bright red ones instead.

Charred Cauliflower with Clementines

I have to admit, I've had a lot more experience cooking & eating broccoli than cauliflower. I like cauliflower  I just forget about it sometimes. I got a friendly reminder while flipping through the January 2013 edition of Whole Living Magazine. I saw the recipe for Charred Cauliflower with Clementines & Olives & needed to try it immediately.  I sadly didn't have any olives in the house so I made a Chris-friendly version sans olives. Next time I'll definitely have to throw some in my dish.

Ingredients:

• 1 head cauliflower, trimmed & cut crosswise into 1/2 inch slabs
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• coarse salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 2 clementines, zested & segmented
• (1/4 cup kalamata olives)
• 1 tsp white vinegar (I only had balsamic, so I used it & it worked great)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Make it!

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Arrange cauliflower in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet & brush both sides with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
3. Season with salt & pepper.
4. Roast, flipping once, until tender & golden, about 25 minutes.
5. Transfer to a serving patter with clementine segments (& olives).
6. Meanwhile, make vinaigrette: whisk remaining oil & vinegar & clementine zest. Season with salt.
7. Drizzle over cauliflower, clementines & olives. Sprinkle with parsley.

Provençal Cherry Tomato Gratin

I've really never met a tomato that I don't like. Ok that's a little bit of a lie, canned stewed tomatoes gross me out but I love all the others.

I came across this recipe in my new go-to cookbook (Barefoot Contessa's FoolProof Cookbook) for provençal cherry tomato gratin. It is a great side dish & if i didn't have to share I'm pretty sure I'd eat the entire casserole dish myself.

Try it yourself & let me know what you think. Read on for the recipe.

PS: there were no leftovers at our house.

Green Beans Gremolata

I've been putting Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa FoolProof recipes to good use lately. I will definitely be making different renditions of these green beans gremolata  again. Next time maybe with asparagus instead of green beans or for a fun summer twist change up the gremolata combo with lime, cilantro & manchego cheese.

These beans are easy to make & great for a crowd because you can prep all of the stuff before you serve them & heat them up right before you want to serve.

Get the recipe & peep more photos after the jump!

Steamed Artichokes

Artichokes were always a treat for us growing up. We probably only ate them a couple times a year.  To me they're so tasty & fun to eat I wish I ate them more.  My favorite fresh produce market, Sosbey's, in Hoboken had some on sale so I seized the moment and bought three!

I didn't remember exactly how my mom used to make them so I hit the interwebs & found a quick recipe for steamed whole artichokes by Tyler Florence.

Click through for Tyler's complete recipe & my photos.

PS: Happy Birthday to my favorite father-in-law, John!