Roasted Potato Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette

I found this unique and delicious potato salad online. Our family had a simple BBQ of hamburgers and hotdogs, grilled onions and red/yellow pepper, so I thought that instead of the regular french fries served with this stuff, an updated potato salad would be nicer.

Cut and quarter about 6 large red pototoes. Toss with 1/4 cup of olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. I also added sprigs of "fresh" rosemary. Add pepper and garlic too if you like. Put into a 400 degree oven until done, about 20-25 minutes. Just poke the potato to see that it's the perfect texture. Then take out of the oven and cool a little. Then you make your vinaigrette. I usually add the basic ratio of 1 cup of olive oil to 1/4 cup of (your choice) vinegar. This time I used a red wine vinegar, then added 4 cooked crumbled strips of bacon, two packages of splenda and a tbsp. of Dijon mustard to the oil and vinegar mixture. Stir or shake up well and pour half the mixture over the potatoes, toss, and serve!

PEI Bacon Cheddar Potato Pie

This was a perfect dish to serve for my Easter Brunch. It's impressive looking and tastes as delicious. I was asked for this recipe from many of my guests. It may seem intimidating, but is actually quite easy. You'll need a deeper casserole dish or even a pie plate would be fine.  I've made just a few adjustments from the original recipe, like, no salt!  The bacon I find is salty enough, but adding pepper is perfect.

An important note:  please don't line your potato slices as I did around the edges.  This made the pie, while still lovely and delicious, a little harder to hold its shape when serving.  I've made the adjustment in the 

 Preheat oven to 325 degrees 

1 pound bacon - depending on the size of round casserole dish you are using, you may need more.

4 cups strong cheddar cheese

6 large potatoes, scrubbed clean but left unpeeled, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds

1-2 onions, sliced or diced

1/2 tbsp. garlic powder or 4 cloves garlic, minced

pepper

Line a round casserole dish with bacon slices, arranging them in a radial pattern and starting with one end of bacon in the center of the pan and the other end draped over the edge.

When the entire surface of the casserole has been covered, sprinkle with pepper, squish the center of the bacon down, then add a layer of sliced potatoes, over lapping to cover the bottom. Sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese and add slices of onion and some garlic. Add some more pepper and repeat layers until they are slightly above the top of the pan. Fold the bacon, one slice at a time up and over the potato mound into the center so it looks kind of like a pinwheel or a pouch. Press down and cover with a lid. Now here's the great part. You bake this tart for 3 hours at 325 degrees. Once it's done, take off the lid and let it cool for a while, then carefully put a plate over the top and turn the tart over onto the plate. It will look so cool. It will be a little greasy too so just sop it up with some paper towels and turn out onto another beautiful plate - surround with orange slices and parsley if you like!. You can reheat later on, or serve room temperature.

Greek French Fries

Can you imagine, reading a menu today at a golf course pub and coming upon something so divinely unique, trashy, and delicious? Though I completely fantasized about ordering this fantastic slop, I stuck to a green salad - not that I am skinny or anything - it's just that I only eat slop like this when I am pie eyed in the company of other pie eyeds.....When I'm sober, I only pretend I this stuff.

Take some already cooked French Fries, I'm thinking those delicious crispy fries from Costco would do. Then toss into an olive oiled medium heated frying pan with garlic. Toss around a bit, then add some green onions, slices black olives, keep tossing, then add some chopped tomatoes, feta cheese and cheddar. I'm thinking you could also add lots of delicious herbs if you like. Let the cheese melt a bit and throw onto a serving tray. Bon Appetite!

Easy Gnocchi Dinner

Talk about an easy dinner and perfect for a cold autumn night. I was craving some tomato gnocchi yesterday after seeing a gorgeous Parmesan laden gnocchi dish in my Bon Appetite magazine. I picked up frozen gnocchi at an Italian deli and a magnificent loaf of black olive bread. This olive bread was moist with olives and had been rolled up like a jelly roll. I want to know how to make this, but it was the perfect accompaniment with my gnocchi dish. Simply toss frozen gnocchi in a pot of boiling water, then wait for all of these potato morsels to rise to the top of the pot before draining. I let the gnocchi cool a bit and then baked it plain in the oven for a few minutes to dry it out just a little. I then added 1/2 a jar of Ragu together with 2 cups of ricotta cheese and voila - the most delicious sauce. Then I added a can of whole pitted black olives and two cups of oily artichokes to this dish. Of course then I added a generous sprinkle of black pepper and fresh Parmesan cheese and baked it all in a 350 oven until it was blended and baked perfectly - about 20 minutes.