Another Fine Grilling Night

Every food magazine that we've received in the mail over the past several weeks have been featuring burgers. So last night was turkey burger night, and I had wanted some type of grilled potato dish. Matt is never keen on grilling potatoes. Usually I make a foil packet with cut-up potatoes, garlic, rosemary, and olive oil, but they're never done on time. So I searched yesterday for a new recipe. We tried the grilled Hand-Cut French Fries from "Weber's Art of the Grill Deck." Just thin potato wedges, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Matt enhanced them a little more at the end with some cajun seasoning. Finally, a potato recipe that doesn't take an eternity to grill!

And just an aside—we made Spicy Turkey Burgers out of Bon Appetit's "Fast Easy Fresh" cookbook. Also, very fresh and delicious with a some pepper jack cheese melted on top!—CS

BBQ Season Has Arrived

The warm temperatures have arrived in Idaho, and it's time to fire up the grill. Matt made a great Grilled Flank Steak out of Williams-Sonoma's Food Made Fast "Grilling" cookbook on Sunday evening. The flank steak marinated for a couple of hours in a Justin cab, soy sauce, and garlic. And then Matt just tossed it onto the grill, and I have to say he grilled it perfectly—a nice medium rare. We paired it with a grilled corn salad with cherry tomatoes, chopped red pepper, arugula, and a lemon vinaigrette. It was a tasty dinner, but the flank steak made even tastier leftovers. Matt sauteed mushrooms and onions and then reheated the steak. He topped that mixture with some provolone cheese and put it all onto a toasted hoagie roll to create our own Boise-style cheesesteaks! —CS

Rainy Day Cookies

We woke up to a rainy morning today and didn't plan to get out of the house anytime quick, so I decided to make a batch of cookies. I looked through Elinor Klivans' "Big Fat Cookies" and decided I had all of the ingredients to make the Cinnamon Sugar Snickerdoodles. I even just ordered more cream of tartar from Penzey's, so I was in good shape to get started with these giant cookies.

It was a simple recipe to whip up, and the dough was really easy to work with—not too sticky or messy. Oliver and I just tried them. They're crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. A perfect cookie.

Over the past two years I have made other cookies from this cookbook. I especially enjoy the Peanut Butter Cup Cookies and the Big City Black-and-Whites, which really are comparable to what you can get in NYC!—CS