Southwest Red Potato Salad

With Memorial Day and the summer fast approaching, the season for cookouts is at hand.  Potlucks and cookouts can be a source of anxiety for a lot of people.  Figuring out what to bring, that people will actually like, and that you can actually cook can be a pretty trying experience.  I’ve noticed that most twenty-somethings opt for the ever popular random-store-bought-item option.  While this is always an option, and if you’re pressed for time it’s clearly your best option, I always encourage people to shy away from it.  Think back to all the cookouts you’ve been to, usually there are way too many bags of chips and loads of plastic containers of cookies.  But what is everyone raving about and gobbling up at the speed of light?  It’s not the chips and dip you picked up on your way over, it’s that homemade 7-layer dip your friend’s mom always makes or Aunt Betty’s famous baked beans.

But you can do that too!  You don’t have to be someone’s mom or aunt to make awesome potluck and cookout contributions that everyone will be begging to have the recipe for.  Try this Southwest Red Potato Salad.  It’s got a lot more interesting ingredients than regular potato salad and isn’t just a mass of potatoes slathered in mayonnaise (so unhealthy!), so it’s something different that people will be intrigued by.  It’s light and the flavors, especially the cilantro, corn, and red pepper combo, are perfect for summer and cookout-type foods.  I’ve made this potato salad for multiple potlucks (including a cookout today) and it’s been a great success at all of them; I rarely take home leftovers and almost always have at least one person ask for the recipe!

Ingredients:

2 lbs red potatoes, cubed

1/4 C olive oil

3/4 tsp salt, divided

1/2 tsp pepper, divided

2 oz cream cheese, softened

1/3 C sour cream

1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies

1 tsp paprika

1 clove garlic, minced

1 (15 1/2 oz) can corn, drained

1 small red onion, finely chopped

1/2 red pepper, finely chopped

1/3 C cilantro, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  On a cookie sheet, toss potatoes with oil, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper; bake for 30-35 minutes and then allow to cool slightly.

2. In a small bowl, stir cream cheese and sour cream until smooth.  Stir in the chilies, paprika, garlic, and the remaining salt and pepper.

3. In a large bowl, combine the corn, onion, red pepper, and potatoes.  Toss with dressing and cilantro and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.

Sweet Potato Fries

I usually suck at making fries.  I have this problem with making them way too thin, and then they end up being fry-chips.  They don’t taste bad…they’re just weird.  My friends make fun of me for it, that’s how bad it is.  I tried to make a really conscious effort to cut these into properly big wedges, and it totally paid off, they were so delicious and not awkward at all.  They made a perfect side for black bean cakes, and for snacking on while watching the Oscars.  I basically just made up this dip, but it turned out quite well.  If you’re not going to use this dip, I’d recommend eating sweet potato fries with honey.

Ingredients (serves 4):

1 tbsp olive oil

2 yams, peeled and cut into wedges

1/2 tsp salt

5 tbsp fat-free sour cream

1 tsp mayonnaise

1/8 tsp chili powder

1/8 tsp cumin

1/8 tsp paprika

 salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the olive oil over a baking sheet.

2. Arrange the yams on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer; season with salt.

3. Bake the yams in the preheated oven until soft, about 25 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, stir the sour cream, mayonnaise, and seasoning together in a small bowl. Serve as a dip for the yams.

Roasted Potatoes with Spinach

Red potatoes are pretty much the best kind of potatoes.  Maybe you noticed that based on the fact that they’re the only kind of potatoes I’ve cooked with since I started sharing my recipes.  I was looking for a different way to make potatoes tonight, and allrecipes delivered yet again with this recipe for red potatoes with spinach!  I suppose you could make this with another type of potatoes if you have them, but obviously I think red potatoes are the best.

Ingredients:

4-6 red potatoes, cubed

2 tablespoons butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp rosemary

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup spinach leaves

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Place the potatoes in a single layer in a baking dish. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, and cook until golden. Stir in the rosemary. Pour over the potatoes in the dish. Season with sea salt and pepper.

3. Roast uncovered for about 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the potatoes are fork tender. Remove from the oven, and toss with the spinach leaves. Return to the oven for 1 to 2 minutes, until the spinach has wilted.

Roasted Red Potatoes and Squash with Apple Juice

Last time I cooked with butternut squash I had quite a bit left over (it was a BIG squash), so when I decided to make a fall inspired meal today (check out the Apple Stuffed Pork Chops) I knew this squash would be the prefect side dish.  Allrecipes.com once again gave me inspiration with this recipe for a delicious apple juice-white wine reduction to roast my squash and some red-skinned potatoes in.  (As a side note, I’m totally making the original recipe with root vegetables for Thanksgiving, yum.)  Delicious.  The apple juice-white wine reduction gave the squash and potatoes an amazing flavor, but the best part of these vegetables was the onions!  They really took on the flavor of the reduction and were amazing…I could have eaten an entire plate of these onions by themselves, so good.

Ingredients:

1 cup apple juice

1/3 cup white wine

1 tbsp butter

2 cups butternut squash, cubed

2 cups red-skinned potatoes, cubed

1 onion, sliced

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.Preheat over to 425 degrees.

2. Boil apple juice and wine in a saucepan until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 2o minutes.  Whisk in butter.

3. Place vegetables in a baking dish and pour apple juice mixture over them.  Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat.

4. Roast until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.