Tasty Thursday – Oven Baked Fries

Do not be fooled by the title of this recipe, they are not fat free! But, they are DELICIOUS!!! This recipe is from Pixelated Crumb and the results are restaurant quality. I served these with sweet potato burgers so the indulgence felt very justified. Enjoy!!

Ingredients:

    • 3  yukon gold potatoes, washed and dried
    • 5 tablespoons vegetable oil or peanut oil
    • 3 cloves garlic, minced
Seasoning Ingredients:
    • 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
    • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
    • 1/2 tablespoon dried rosemary
    • 1/2 tablespoon dried thyme
    • 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
    • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
    • 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
    • 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
    • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Finishing herbs:
    • 1/2 tablespoon fresh parsley
    • 1/2 tablespoon fresh rosemary
For light aioli dip:
  • 2 tablespoon light mayo
  • 2 tablespoon fat free greek yogurt
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed

Directions

  1. For the aioli, combine the mayo, yogurt and 1 crushed garlic clove in a small bowl and mix with a fork. Set aside or refrigerate until fries are ready to serve.
  2. Place an oven rack at the lowest position and heat the oven to 475 degrees.
  3. Heat the 3 cloves of garlic and 1 tablespoon oil (or 1 tablespoon rendered duck fat) in a small saucepan over medium heat for 2 minutes. Strain the garlic from the oil with a small mesh strainer. Set both garlic and oil aside.
  4. Cut each potato lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices and then cut each slice into 1/4 inch fries (if using a mandolin slicer, attach french fry blade and set thickness to 1/4 inch). In a large bowl, cover potato slices with hot tap water and soak for 10 minutes.
  5. Meanwhile, coat a 18 by 12-inch heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet with 4 tablespoon oil and sprinkle evenly with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and set aside. Use a heavy-duty baking sheet to prevent warping in the hot oven.
  6. Drain the potatoes and then dry them by spreading them out on a triple layer of paper towels. Use additional paper towels to pat them dry. Rinse and wipe out the now-empty bowl, return the potatoes to the bowl and toss with the seasonings and the 1 tablespoon oil used to heat garlic earlier. Arrange the potatoes in single layer on the prepared baking sheet, cover tightly with foil and bake for 5 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the bottoms of the potatoes start to turn golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating baking sheet after 10 minutes for even browning.
  7. Scrape the pan with a spatula and tongs to loosen potatoes from the pan, then turn the fries over, keeping them in a single layer. Continue baking until the fries are golden and crisp, 5 to 15 minutes longer, rotating pan as needed if fries are browning unevenly. Transfer the fries to a second baking sheet lined with paper towels to drain. Toss with garlic, finely chopped parsley and rosemary. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste and serve with light aioli dip.

Dream Girl, Amsale

Happy Friday!

More gorgeous Spring 2013 gowns, this time from our all-time favorite gal – Amsale. We heart her.

Tasty Thursday – Healthy Mac & Cheese

This is another fab find from Pinterest – healthy mac & cheese! The main substitute here is the mac. Instead of using carb-loaded pasta, substitute with power food quinoa! The cheese and veggies (substitute with any veggies you’d like!0 make these just as comforting as the original classic. I served this with chicken on the grill and a homemade BBQ sauce (recipe coming soon!) and a fresh arugula salad.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed and drained
- Halved cherry tomatoes
- Chopped broccoli
- Chopped onions
- Pinch of salt
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup skim milk
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup grated fontina cheese
- Crushed Red Pepper
- Panko Bread crumbs
Directions
  1. Lightly saute broccoli and onions in olive oil
  2. Cook quinoa to packaged instructions until fully cooked. (About 15 minutes)
  3. Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat 13×9 inch dish with cooking spray. Whisk together eggs and milk in large bowl. Fold in quinoa mixture and cheese. Stir very well and let some of the cheese melt.  Transfer to prepared baking dish top with red pepper and Panko bread crumbs. Bake 30-35 mins, until bread crumbs are browned.

Recipe adopted from Around the Table blog; Photo courtesy of Life in Yellow.

The Marriage License

Happy Wedding Wednesday! Today is the day, we are getting our marriage license!

A marriage license is pretty much a permit that is required in the US and shows that two people may marry one another. It shows that they are of legal age, are not married to anyone else, and sometimes deals with bloodline issues (some states care if you marry your cousin, others not so much!). The requirements vary from state to state so it’s important to look into this a few months before your wedding. In most states they are valid for 90 days so for your type A brides like myself you’ll have to wait until at least 3 months before to check this off the to-do list!

You can generally apply for a marriage license at City Hall but again requirements differ. We are getting married in NH so are getting ours in the state of NH but not the town where the ceremony will take place.

The Knot has a great list for state-to-state conditions: The Knot Marriage License Search.

One requirement that tends to be consistent is that both bride and groom must be present at the time of application. 

Items you will probably need include:

  • Birth certificates (proof of age)
  • Proof of citizenship and/or residence
  • Photo identification
  • Parental consent if underage (usually 16-17; you may also need court consent)
  • Death certificate if widowed
  • Divorce decree if divorced
  • Blood test results (if needed; only a few states still require this)
  • Money! Most cost $50

You’ll need to bring your marriage license to your wedding and sign with your officiant present. After the wedding, your officiant will send your signed license to the marriage license bureau, and then you should receive a certified copy within a few weeks or months.

Good luck!

The Physique 57 Bridal Challenge

It’s safe the say the jazzercise of the 2000′s is the barre class. Barre classes are a combo of ballet, yoga and pilates and work your arms, butt, thighs, and abs and engages the core in every exercise. Imagine lunges on relevé (tip toe) and exercises called the “pretzel”. It’s motivating and exhausting but afterward you feel amazing.

There are a lot of different versions depending on where you live – Physique 57, Fluidity, Purre Barre, Bar Method, and more! I started with Fluidity and Physique 57, both while living in NYC. After I moved I purchased the bar (shown below) and a variety of videos so I could workout at home.

There are bars available from many of the studios. I personally love the fluidity one and my sister-in-law-to-be has the ballet bar from Physique!

I now own all of the Bar Method and Physique 57 videos and take a Physique class every time I visit old friends in the city.

I absolutely love this work-out and am now participating in the Physique 57 Bridal Challenge at home. If you’re in NYC it’s a great deal – take 4 classes a week for 4 weeks and receive 15% off the total package. Since I no longer live in the city I am doing a combination of all the videos at home (either a full length or 2 express), 4 times a week for 4 weeks. I started week 2 today and am loving it! I encourage anyone who loves these workouts to try the challenge, bride or not!

I can’t vouch for the book yet but it’s en route from Amazon and supposedly has great recipes and playlists!

 

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