A Tasty Summer Dinner with Friends

One of my favorite things to do is cook for people. It brings a little joy into my heart. So last night, we had our good friends Tom and Vanessa over for a little dinner and gaming. I marinated some chicken breast and prepared some corn on the cob, both for Jared to grill. But I also wanted to try out a new side dish recipe, because I lack things to make in that department. So I found this one on allrecipes.com:

Garlic Potato Wedges


Ingredients:

• 4 pounds small red potatoes, cut into wedges
• 1/3 cup olive or canola oil, divided (I used EVOO)
• 16 unpeeled cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary (homegrown!)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup white wine vinegar or cider vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)
• 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 3 teaspoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/3 cup chopped green onions

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, 1 tablespoon of oil, garlic, rosemary and salt. Pour into two 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pans coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 450 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until potatoes are tender, stirring every 10 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, mustard, sugar, pepper and remaining oil until smooth. Squeeze roasted garlic into vinegar mixture (discard skins). Pour over potatoes and toss to coat. Sprinkle with onions.

So here is my criticism of this dish:

1. If you like your potatoes crispy, plan on baking for more like 50-60 minutes. Or that could just be my oven. Just check on them every 10 minutes or so to see how they are browning.
2. The topping you place over the potatoes after cooking, for MY tastes (and Jared's), was a bit much. So much so that the recipe should have been called "Vinegar Dijon Potato Wedges." If you like that flavor, great! It got great reviews on Allrecipes. And Tom and Vanessa really liked it. Here's proof:

The Verdict:

It was super-easy to make. That gets a big YAY! from me. I will definitely make this again with a longer cooking time (for crispy potatoes), and without step 2. The flavor of the potatoes without the step 2 ingredients is fresh and light. More "summer-like" to me. Give this one a try and see which version you prefer!

So Tom gave a "thumbs up," and Jared...



...voted with an ear of corn. Here is what the complete meal looked like on a plate (because I'm cool and photograph my food, ok?):



The chicken and corn were fantastic, by the way. Chicken marinade was Lawry's Herb and Garlic. YUM! I hope you found this helpful and feel free to share your favorite summer meals!