Necessity is the mother of invention.
As is a determination to use what’s available in the larder.
Tonight, I had probably half a pound roasted pork loin and a nice dish of my favorite barbeque sauce leftover from a birthday dinner for my friend, Lani. I had, however, eaten the side that went with it for lunch. Of course I knew what I was doing, but I love toasted Israeli couscous with vegetables.
If this were in your fridge, you’d heat it up for lunch, too. Along with a nice big shard of parm Lani brought over Friday night as a “coming to dinner” gift. Yow.
Anyway, when it came time for dinner tonight (and we are eating outside every night now), it was kind of, “Well, I know what half of it is.” The rest I had to throw my eyes around the kitchen for. Bad grammar, too. I spy:
- sweet potatoes
- Idaho potatoes
- shallots
- fresh tarragon (out the back door)
- red bell pepper (in the frig)
- broccoli
And what to with it? My first idea was to grill the potatoes and make a salad, but I didn’t want to heat the stove long enough for my big cast iron grill. It was warm. Dave was busy upstairs; I decided to not have him pull out the big Weber grill outdoors for me. My 14″ saute pan was on the stove clean from yesterday’s frittata. A little olive oil, a little chop, and the salad began. Here’s how:
warm two-potato salad with mustard-tarragon vinaigrette 4 servings for a side (2 for a main course)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon each fresh ground black pepper and crushed red pepper
- 1 each: large Idaho and sweet potato, medium diced (peel sweet potato only)
- 1 small head of broccoli, trimmed and cut into small florets (about 1 cup)
- 1 large red bell pepper, small dice
- 1 shallot (slice half for salad; mince the other half for vinaigrette)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons grated aged Gouda cheese or Parmesan cheese
Serve warm or at room temperature.
vinaigrette:
- 1/2 large shallot, minced (see above-you’ll use other half with potatoes)
- 2T white wine vinegar
- 1/2 t Dijon mustard
- 1T minced fresh tarragon (or 1 t dried)
- pinch salt and pepper
- 4T olive oil
Done!
♥
Done just in time to see an episode of Downton Abbey. (I got Season 2 for Mother’s Day.)
And talk to my daughter for a while. I miss her so; she’s out doing her pastor thing in Niagra Falls. Thanks, God.
on the dinnerplace blog right now:
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Cranberry-Blueberry Orange Muffins |
two-dog kitchen and around the ‘hood
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Miss Gab waiting for me to be done cooking. |
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On a walk around Lake Como–heard music. Looked up to see a wedding in process. Stopped yelling at dogs immediately! |
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Another Lake Como View–Can’t see, but a turtle family sunning on rocks. |
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If you liked today’s post, you might like this– French Potato Salad with Vegetables |
Alyce