Baked-Potato Style Grilled Potato Rounds for an Easy Appetizer on the Grill. Don’t You Just Love Grillin’ Season?!

June 6, 2011 in Appetizers, Gluten Free

grilled potato rounds square

Grilled Potato Rounds - served baked-potato style

Don’t you just love strolling around the neighborhood on a summer’s eve and occasionally getting a whiff of someone’s barbecue dinner?

There is something magical about heat and smoke and barbecue sauce – slathered on ANYTHING and then grilled. For many years, all I ever cooked on my barbecue grill was meat. In the last few years, I have started to experiment and do grilled pizza, grilled veggies, grilled desserts. I even make a charred salsa verde on my grill. Yum.

Verdict: pretty much anything tastes better when grilled.

First up: appetizers. Yes, appetizers done on the grill. Two luscious bites of baked potato taste on a grilled potato slice. I love summer!

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Meatless Monday: Daring Cooks June Recipe Challenge – Tricolor Vegetable Pâté and Homemade Baguettes

June 14, 2010 in Appetizers, Healthy Fare

The Daring Cooks challenge this month was to make pâté – hosted by Valerie, from The Chocolate Bunny, and Evelyne, from Cheap Ethnic Eatz.

I was seriously worried. I haven’t made pâté since the early 70′s. And I hate liver – any kind of liver. But then I noticed on the challenge post that a vegetarian  recipe was one of the choices – Hey! I thought -This is a perfect Meatless Monday re-do of a formerly meaty dish. I can do this!

I had never even thought of making a vegetarian pâté! It was truly shocking to me how great this recipe was. Layers and layers of flavor. Bright and refreshing. The raw garlic added a nice bite. So good on toasted baguette slices. I just can’t say enough good things about this amazing spread! I would most definitely make this again. I added diced sun dried tomatoes on top for color and another flavor layer.

Now, as for the bread, that was a whole different story. I am a terrible bread baker, apparently. It took me three tries before I got one loaf that was even passable, and only then if drizzled with lots of good olive oil, thinly sliced and toasted.

So, my score this challenge: Pâté a perfect ’10;’ Bread a ’1′ or ’2′ if scored by family members who love me and are being generous. Bring on next month’s challenge!

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