All American Night

Tonight we had my parents and Dr. James (a close family friend) over for dinner. Dr. James is an incredible cook who treats my family to the best Christmas Eve dinner every year. His cooking is amazing and usually involves gourmet recipes. So, what do Russ and I serve my parents and him.... hamburgers!

We decided to go casual and since the weather has been so nice we wanted to grill out. We decided to do burgers with goat cheese, a salad, and Ina Garten's baked fries. Russ did the burgers and they were wonderful (like always!). We added a little goat cheese (from the local farmer's market) in the middle and it really made a nice twist on the burger. For the salad I did chopped romaine with sliced pears, toasted pecans, crumbled feta, and a homemade balsamic dressing (my mother-in-law's recipe). As for the fries... I have tried baked fries in the past and have only thought they turned out okay. Everyone always eats them, but they just don't have the texture that I am wanting. Since I am a BC fan I thought I would give her recipe a try. It is the best I have had, but it still didn't quite turn out as I had hoped. I think with a few minor changes though that I could get the baked fries I am wanting. Next time I will spray the pan with Pam prior to baking and I will lightly brush the oil on the fries and then toss them with the other ingredients. The recipe has you toss them with olive oil, kosher salt, fresh cracked black pepper, minced garlic and fresh rosemary. The rosemary really did add good flavor and I hoping that next time with the technical changes that they will turn out even better.

Unfortunately we forgot to take pictures of the meal tonight, but we did get one of Cash playing with (aka destroying) his new hamburger toy. Russ rates tonight's All American meal a 9.

Baked 'Chips'*
(Ina Garten, "Barefoot Contessa Family Style")

4 large baking potatoes, unpeeled
4 tablespoons good olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
Yield: 6 servings

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Scrub the potatoes, cut them in half lengthwise, then cut each half in thirds lengthwise. You'll have 6 long wedges from each potato. Place the potatoes on a sheet pan with the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and rosemary. With clean hands, toss all the ingredients together, making sure the potatoes are covered with oil. Spread the potatoes in a single layer with one cut side down.
Bake the potatoes for 30 to 35 minutes, turning to the other cut side after 20 minutes. Bake until they are lightly browned, crisp outside and tender inside. Sprinkle with salt and serve immediately.

*She calls them chips instead of fries as they are a part of her recipe for Fish and Chips.