Smashed Potatoes

Hello All! I have a tasty side for you today.
I've made these many times in the past and now I have finally taken pictures so that I can share them with you all! They are pretty simple and you need only a few ingredients. I would say that they are also something that has a bit of a wow factor.

Have a look at these:


A little soft and little crispy; they are very unsuspecting. Sometimes the simplest things really are the best. And all you need to do here is choose a bunch of baby potatoes. I used red and Yukon golds for a little variety. Dump them into the hot tub and boil until they are fully cooked and fork tender. Drain and dump them onto a baking sheet. Now comes the fun part, time to let out a little of your aggression with a potato masher! Well.. not to much aggression because you will just want to gently smash the potato to look like the one above. Next drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Toss in a 350 - 400 degree oven until they are crispy!

By increasing the surface area and exposing some of the fleshy inside you really get a lot of crunch while still keeping the soft and fluffy innards of a boiled potato. It would be a great addition to a roast chicken meal. So unsuspectingly delicious.

Fennel and Beet Juice

I thought I would include another juice recipe as January is a great time to cleanse and detoxify after a long season of eating what we please! I made this juice this morning as I have been feeling a little sluggish. By giving yourself; particularly your digestive system a break, it helps to give you a great boost and leaves you feeling light. Plus look at how pretty this one is:


It was so simple and refreshing! Also the fennel is really great for digestion and particularly for upset tummys.

I juiced:

2 bulbs of fennel
1 apple
1 beet

(The fennel bulbs I used were pretty small so if yours was large I would just use one) This juice is primarily fennel which gives it a beautiful licorice flavor with just a bit of sweetness from an apple and a bit of earthiness and color from the fennel. Yum!

Bacon Wrapped Cod

First things first: Happy New Year!
Now onto the goods...

These tasty bites are a little bit of heaven!


Just look at them!

They were actually inspired by an appetizer that I had at a Christmas Eve party that I went to. A friend of mine always has an appy and drinks party of Christmas Eve and it is always a lot of fun. Over the holidays there are always so many parties to attend and everyone is always trying to feed you but a lot of people go for the convenience of pre-made appies and that just doesn't fly with me. Sure they are convenient and a lot of them taste not so bad, but Donna always outdoes herself with a beautiful spread of homemade spanikopita, wontons, dips, spreads, meatballs, pizza bites and this year a little bundle that consisted of a piece of chicken and a water chesnut marinated in ginger, garlic and soy and wrapped in bacon. I decided to seafoodize that tasty little bundle that was gone off the table in mere minutes!

I simply took two fillet of cod and added it to a bowl with some lime zest, ginger and garlic all of which a grated with my new microplane that I got for Christmas. Thanks Mom! I added a bit of pepper and left it in the fringe overnight. Then I just chopped it into bites and wrapped each bit with bacon and secured with a toothpick. Pop those suckers into a 400 degree oven until the bacon is crisp and you have one tasty treat on your hands!!

I would suggest the bites be on the bigger side as not to dry out the fish but if you wish to substitute any other protein, I love scallops, or chicken, even beef would probably be pretty good.