Chris in VA Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 Dh's cousin and hubby and 2 of her 4 kiddos (teens, so they don't need kid food) will be with us for dinner tomorrow night. I have this great salad (bleu cheese, grapes, greens, walnuts, with a balsamic vinegar dressing...mmmm) that I know they will eat, and I want something nice but not terribly expensive to go with it. We had tacos tonight, we don't want to do chili (neither of those things go with the salad, I'm just sayin'), can't afford steak (that would be nice, tho). It's going to be a tough day--dh has a funeral at 2 which my fam will go to--a sweet, 17yog died of an asthma attack while on vacation a couple of weeks ago. Parents donated her organs, are in deep mourning (of course). It's the first child lost in our parish in a long time, and it will be an emotional day, so I'm looking for "rather easy" in the meal dept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 That salad sounds fabulous! Could you add some grilled chicken to the salad and call it done? Or grill some chicken (marinated in the dressing or close to the dressing) and add oven roasted potatoes (or cous cous? or polenta? or maybe even dinner rolls)? And dessert? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted September 19, 2009 Author Share Posted September 19, 2009 Ooo--oven roasted potatoes sound yummy--how do I do that, specifically? Can I make them a little "herbally?" What would I use? I can certainly roast a big chicken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternalknot Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 Ooo--oven roasted potatoes sound yummy--how do I do that, specifically? Can I make them a little "herbally?" What would I use? I can certainly roast a big chicken. I made some for dinner last night - definitely yummy, easy, and a sure crowdpleaser! I coat the potatoes in olive oil, then sprinkle with a dash of sea salt and some dried rosemary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plucky Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 You could also pick up a couple of rotissiere chickens and put them in a pan like you made them. Warm them up in the oven. Yum and easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 I like to use red potatoes. Cut them into, oh, good bite-sized pieces (maybe 4-6 pieces depending on the size of the potato) ... ummm 2-3 potatoes per person depending on the size (actually, I usually just cut up a whole 3 or 5 pound bag and do them all, they reheat beautifully and always get eaten). Dice up some onion, put onion & potato on a cookie sheet(s). Drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper, herbs you like (rosemary is a great choice!) mix it all up with your hands and spread 1 layer evenly on the cookie sheet. Put cookie sheet in oven ... the shelf under the baking chicken is fine. Turn the potatoes over every 15 minutes or so until browned beautifully (this will depend upon the temperature you bake your chicken! The cooler you bake, the longer it'll take ... I usually go 425, so it takes about 1/2 the time I bake my chicken) Hope that helps, I don't really use a recipe, just do it until its done. If there are leftovers, I make roasted potato salad the next day. We don't like mayo so much, so I use the ground mustard, some white wine vinegar and olive oil. Add some celery and the potatoes/onions mixture ... so good. (but strong flavors ... if you don't like vinegar, you won't like it!) Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted September 19, 2009 Author Share Posted September 19, 2009 I LOVE vinegar (addicted to pickles here...) and the roasted potatoes sound PERFECT with the chicken. Thanks, all!! If anyone has another idea, I'd love to hear about it for next time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i.love.lucy Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 I agree. A couple of big 'ol chickens all roasted in the oven would be so good with that salad, and you should be able to cook them low and slow enough to take a big chunk of the afternoon so you are free for your services. I'd go super easy on the side too. Just cause roasting potatoes makes my kitchen SO HOT, and you really need to pull them out and serve them right away. I might consider doing a pretty twice baked potato that you can even do earlier in the day and warm as the chicken is finishing. One time I saw a recipe (in Southern Living so I KNOW it was good!:tongue_smilie:) Where you bake potatoes, scoop out the guts and mix with cheese and herbs, like you would a twice baked, but instead of refilling the shells, they loaded those yummy mashed potatoes into red pepper shells and baked them. It was SO pretty and so easy. I am going to do it for a holiday meal this year. Let me know if you want more details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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