More Dinner Party Recipes

Here are the other things I made to go with the chicken recipe posted previously. Some of them aren't really recipes, but I will tell you what I did.

We had a salad first, and there are tons of great salad recipes out there. My favorites are posted here. I made the greek salad with creamy garlic vinegarette.

With the chicken, I served roasted potatoes and green beans. You can use any kind of potatoes... russets, red-skinned, yukon gold... whatever you like. I used russets this time because that is what I had. Red-skinned are my favorite.

1) Wash and scrub skins; quarter potatoes by slicing length-wise (or slice again if they are very large potatoes... finished wedges should be less than one inch at widest edge). Toss with olive oil and crushed garlic. To do this easily and coat them evenly, I put the potatoes in a plastic bag, add the oil and garlic, close the bag and shake until they are coated well. Or toss in a large bowl.

2) Spread potatoes evenly in a baking dish large enough that the potatoes won't be too crowded (I use a jelly roll pan... make clean-up easier by lining it with foil). Season with whatever you like; I usually just use seasoned salt and parsley. Bake at 450 degrees for about 25-30 minutes until they reach desired doneness... I like them tender on the inside and crispy on the outside.

I love the french green beans, but I have found that the frozen green beans from Trader Joe's are almost as good... and much cheaper and easier since you don't have to wash or trim them. I either saute them in some butter and toss with garlic salt, or steam them and then toss with butter and garlic salt.