This recipe by Campanile’s Mark Peel helped change my view on meatballs: By using a mixture of three different kinds of meats, he manages to create the most tender and light meatballs I’ve tasted. The sauce isn’t your average bland marinara either. The flavour of the olive oil and the freshness of the basil make for a bright and tangy tomato sauce that tastes like it has been made from fresh tomatoes. This recipe does take a while to make, but is a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon, especially if you have a good glass of wine in your hand. The meatballs and sauce freeze really well for up to 1 month too if you needed an added incentive. This recipe makes enough spaghetti and meatballs for 8 very generous dinners at $2.56 per serving.

Spaghetti and Meatballs, from Mark Peel’s New Classic Family Dinners
For the Sauce:
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 large garlic cloves, halved and thinly sliced
3 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted
about 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
about 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 large fresh basil sprigs, plus 1/2 cup leaves

For the Meatballs:
about 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 ounces mushrooms, chopped
2 teaspoons cracked fennel seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
About 2/3 cup cold dry white wine, divided
4 ounces crusty bread, crusts removed, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
3/4 pound cold ground pork
3/4 pound cold ground turkey, dark meat
3/4 pound cold ground beef
2 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 pounds spaghetti
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

To make the sauce, get a 5- to 6-quart pan and cook the oil and garlic over medium-low heat until the garlic softens, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Cover the sauce and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer it, stirring often, until thick, 45 minutes to 1 hour. If needed, crush the tomatoes with a spoon to break them up. Stir in the basil sprigs and then turn off the heat.

While the sauce is cooking, make the meatballs by heating 1 tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute longer. Add the mushrooms, fennel, salt, and pepper. Cook everything until the mushrooms are tender, 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 cup wine and the bread crumbs until the liquid is absorbed.

Transfer this mixture to a food processor and pulse to finely chop. Scrape everything into a bowl and let it cool. When it has cooled down, add the parsley, meats, and 1/3 cup wine and mix everything together until well blended, 1 to 2 minutes.

Using wet hands, shape the meat into 1 1/2-inch balls. Be sure to use both hands and firmly press the meatballs into shape so they won’t fall apart later. Heat 2 large frying pans over medium heat with 1 tablespoon of oil in each. Brown about a third of the meatballs in each pan, turning once and adding more oil if needed, 6 to 8 minutes per batch. With a slotted spatula, transfer the meatballs to a platter. Repeat with the remaining meatballs and oil.

Scrape all the meat drippings from the pans into 1 pan. Whisk in the flour, then cook it over medium heat until bubbling, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in 2 cups of sauce to loosen up the browned bits then scrape everything into the pan with the rest of the sauce and stir.

Return the sauce to a simmer. Gently stir in the meatballs; simmer, covered, until the flavors are blended, about 20 minutes. Discard the basil sprigs, and cut the remaining basil leaves into fine slivers and stir into the sauce. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti according to the packet directions. Drain the pasta and serve by topping with meatballs and tomato sauce with lots of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

In his book, Bittman details his new eating lifestyle that helped him lose 30 pounds, improve his health drastically, and help him run faster and longer than he had in a long time. Basically his diet boils down to eating a heavy plant, fruit, and whole grain-based diet, especially at breakfast and lunch (he is a flexible vegan during these meals), and then eating whatever he wants at dinner. Whenever we eat like this, we feel much better and sleep like babies every night! Plus the last time I did it before Christmas, I lost 4 pounds in 1 week. So we are starting off the new year following this diet, even though it doesn’t even feel like a diet, just a better and healthier way to eat.

Bittman took over the pages of Runner’s World in October 2009 to talk about his eating style and his running. In this spread, he talks about his diet and its effect on his life and lists 8 easy rules for better eating. I highly recommend reading these articles and if you are still interested to learn more, be sure to check out Food Matters.

Here is a recipe that Bittman included in his spread in Runner’s World. He called it cassoulet, but considering that Carlo and I ate our way through Southwest France when we first started dating and that included lots of cassoulet, I hesitate to call this cassoulet but instead call it Vegetables and White Beans with Sausages. This dish makes a great dinner: you get your fill of tons of veggies and beans with a little bit of meat for some flavour. This recipe makes enough for 4 large dinners at $2.60 per serving.

Vegetables and White Beans with Sausages, adapted from Mark Bittman in Runner’s World, October 2009
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound Italian sausage
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
2 onions, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch lengths
3 celery stalks, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 medium zucchinis, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups canned tomatoes (and juice), chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
2 bay leaves
4 cups canned white beans, drained and liquid reserved in case needed
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the sausages and cook, turning them until they are browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove the sausages from the pan and drain off all but a couple tablespoons of fat.

Lower the heat to medium, and add the garlic, onions, carrots, celery, and zucchini. Season the veggies with salt and pepper, and cook for five minutes, or until everything is softened. Add the tomatoes and their juice, sausages, and herbs. Bring everything to a boil. Add the beans and bring the dish to a boil again, stirring occasionally; reduce the heat so the mixture simmers gently. Let everything cook for 20 minutes, adding the stock or some reserved bean liquid when the mixture gets thick.

When everything is cooked, take out the sausages and chop them up. Return them to the pot and add a bit of cayenne pepper to the dish. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Both Carlo and I love all kinds of Spanish food, in particular tapas, but I’m a sucker for a good stew especially when it has chickpeas AND chorizo in it. The hardest part of this recipe is cooking the dried chickpeas, which is a bit time consuming, but you can do it the day before if you want. The end result is a complex stew with a nice smokiness from the paprika and a good contrast of textures between the soft meatballs and the nutty chickpeas. This recipe makes enough for 4 people at $2.66 per serving.

Chickpea Stew with Chorizo and Meatballs, adapted from The New Spanish Table
For the chickpeas:
1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight or quick-soaked
1 bay leaf
6 ounces Spanish chorizo, sliced

For the meatballs:
2 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
10 ounces ground pork
1/4 cup grated onion
1 egg, lightly beaten
sea salt and pepper
extra-virgin olive oil

For finishing the stew:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon smoked sweet Spanish paprika
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
sea salt and pepper

Prepare the chickpeas by placing them in a large pot and covering them with 2 inches of cold water. Bring the soaked chickpeas to a boil over a high heat. Add the bay leaf and then reduce the heat to low, and simmer, partially covered, for 1 hour. If the water level gets really low, add some extra water to the pot.

After 1 hour, add the sliced chorizo to the chickpeas and continue cooking until the chickpeas are tender but still have a bit of bite to them, around 30 minutes longer.

While the chickpeas are cooking, make the meatballs by putting the bread into a small bowl and covering the slices with cold water. Let the bread soak for 5 minutes, then drain and squeeze out the excess liquid. Finely crumble the bread and place it in a large bowl with the pork, onion, and egg. Gently knead the meatball mixture with your hands until all of the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Season with salt and pepper.

If the meatball mixture is too moist to form into meatballs, stick it in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour. Shape the meat mixture into meatballs the size of a cherry tomato. Heat up some olive oil in a frying pan and in batches, cook the meatballs until they are browned on both sides and pretty much cooked through. Remove the meatballs from the frying pan and set them aside until later.

In the pan with all the meatball drippings, cook the onion, carrots, and garlic over a medium heat until they are soft but not browned, around 5 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes then cover the frying pan, and let everything cook for another 5 minutes. Finish by stirring in the paprika.

By now, the chickpeas should be ready. There will still be some water left in the chickpea pot, and if you think it is too much, remove some of the cooking juice and reserve it in case you need to add it back later to the stew.

Add the tomato mixture to the chickpea pot and cook the stew over a simmer until the chickpeas are very tender, around 15 to 20 minutes longer. Add the meatballs at the end and simmer for another 5 minutes or so. Taste the stew and season with salt and pepper as needed.

To serve the stew, chop up some fresh parsley to sprinkle on top and enjoy.

This recipe with guacamole makes a huge baking dish of enchiladas that easily feeds 8 people at $2.54 a serving, or you can make the full amount just for yourself and have some great leftovers for a few days.

Roasted Hatch Green Chile, Black Bean, and Chicken Enchiladas
Enchiladas:
12 tomatillos, husked and rinsed
2 jalapeno peppers, stemmed
1 onion, quartered
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
2 limes, juiced
salt
3 Hatch green chiles, or poblano peppers if you can’t find any
extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups canned chicken stock
1 deli roasted chicken, about 3 pounds, boned, meat shredded
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
Leaves from 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 large corn tortillas
1/2 pound Monterey jack cheese, shredded
1 pint sour cream

Chunky Guacamole:
4 ripe avocados
3 limes, juiced
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 serrano chiles, sliced thinly
1 big handful fresh cilantro, finely chopped
extra-virgin olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Although you can roast your husked tomatillos and chile peppers over an open gas flame or in an oven, it is really easy to also throw them on a hot bbq grill until you get some nice char marks on their skins. Once the chile peppers are roasted, put them in a closed brown paper bag or in a bowl covered with clingfilm and let them steam so it is easier to skin and deseed the chiles under running water. You can also grill the jalapenos and onions for the salsa to add a nice grilled flavour to the dish.

To make the salsa for the enchiladas, put the grilled tomatillos, jalapenos, and onion into a food processor with the cumin. Whiz everything together and then add the cilantro, lime juice, and salt and mix together.

To make the enchilada filling, heat up some olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute it until it is softened and about to caramelize, around 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a minute or so, then add the cumin and cook for another minute.

Add the flour and mix it well into the onion and spice mixture. Slowly pour the chicken stock into the saucepan and stir constantly so the flour doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan or clump together. Bring the mixture to a simmer and let the liquid thicken. Then mix in the chicken, diced peppers, black beans, and cilantro, and season well with salt and pepper.

The end result is a nice soup-y filling. We had some filling leftovers after making enough enchiladas to fit into our baking dish, so I used it is as a sauce the next day in some incredible freestyle Huevos Rancheros.

To assemble the enchiladas, start off by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F and getting a large glass or metal baking dish.

Dip a corn tortilla into the tomatillo salsa and place it on a cutting board. Use a slotted spoon to dollop some of the chicken mixture on to the center of the tortilla. Sprinkle with a little cheese on top and then roll the tortilla like a cigar to enclose the filling. Use a spatula to place the enchilada seam side down in the baking dish, and continue to fill all of the tortillas in the same way and arrange them in the baking dish.

As the above photo demonstrates, it is a bit of a messy process but don’t get too discouraged about non-perfect enchiladas:

as they get hidden by a thick layer of cheese and no one will notice anything when the enchiladas are cooked and served.

Pour the remaining tomatillo salsa over the top of the enchiladas and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top to make a nice thick layer. Bake the enchiladas uncovered for about 30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and cracked on top.

To make the guac, halve and pit the avocados and scoop out their flesh into a mixing bowl. Mash them with a fork to leave them a little chunky, then add the remaining ingredients and gently mix everything together. To prevent the guacamole from going brown before you serve it, place a piece of plastic wrap right on top of the surface of the guac and put it in the fridge until dinner.

Serve the enchiladas hot with a side of the guacamole and some sour cream.

I’m a big fish taco fan and have already posted about our favourite fish taco recipe. However after making these Baja Fish Tacos, me, Carlo, and our friend Mike, who came over for dinner, all agreed that these fish tacos are way better. It is probably the fried fish, which creates a nice crunchy base for all of the flavours from the spicy chipotle mayo and mango-radish salsa.

We normally never fry things at home because hot oil frightens me since I’m a klutz and burn myself all the time, but I would gladly risk a few burns to make these tacos again. Tyler Florence’s fish taco recipe makes enough food for 4 people at $2.81 per serving.

Baja Fish Tacos
1 pound skinless and boned Mahi Mahi, cod, or other firm white fish (I used Pacific cod)
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup panko bread crumbs
salt and freshly ground black pepper
vegetable oil for frying
8 soft flour tortillas
1/4 head of savoy cabbage, finely shredded
1/2 bunch cilantro, leaves picked
2 limes, cut into wedges for garnish

Cut the fish into 1 ounce strips. Create a breading station made up of bowls of flour, beaten egg, and seasoned panko bread crumbs. Using the wet hand-dry hand technique, dredge each piece of fish in the flour, then the egg, and finally cover them with panko.

Once all the fish is breaded, deep fry the fish in small batches in hot oil, around 375 degrees F. When I put the fish in, I was surprised how fast the first batch cooked and wasn’t really prepared. So be aware of how fast the frying process is since once the breading reaches a nice brown colour, the fish is cooked on the inside.

Drain the cooked fish on paper towels and season with salt. Keep them warm until you are ready to serve the tacos.

Mango-Radish Salsa
1 lime
1 mango, diced
2 to 3 red radishes, diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1/8 cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Mix together the diced mango, radish, red onion, and squeeze the lime over the mixture. Season with chili powder, salt, pepper, and a bit of olive oil. Add the chopped cilantro and place in the fridge until everything else is ready.

Chipotle Mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 chipotle in adobo, plus 1 tablespoon of adobo sauce
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make this spicy sauce for the tacos, whiz the canned chipotle in a food processor until it is all chopped up. Add the sour cream, mayo, adobo sauce, and lemon juice and whiz further until everything is mixed together and creamy. Season with salt and pepper, and place the sauce in the fridge until you serve the tacos.

To plate the fish tacos, take a toasted tortilla and fill with a few slices of fried fish. Top with the chipotle mayo, mango-radish salsa, shredded cabbage, and chopped cilantro, and then squeeze a wedge of lime over the taco.

I served the Baja Fish Tacos with some really easy and fast to make Mexican Slaw. This side dish recipe serves 4 people at 58 cents each.

Mexican Slaw
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, or to taste
juice of 1 lime
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh chile
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 head green or red cabbage
1 red bell pepper
2 medium carrots, grated
1/4 cup diced green onions
1/4 cup minced cilantro
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Whiz together the mustard, lime juice, garlic, and chile in a food processor, and slowly add the oil. Mix the cabbage, pepper, carrots, and green onions, and toss everything with the dressing. Add the chopped cilantro and season to taste.

Ingredients, from Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentine Way, by Francis Mallmann:
4 lemons, halved
4 medium Hass avocados
8 ozs cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 small red onions, very thinly sliced
1 small bunch flat leaf parsley, leaves removed and minced
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
coarse salt
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 lb cleaned baby calamari, tentacles separated from the bodies

First, make the salad: peel and cut your avocado into 1/2-inch cubes, then put them in a bowl with the tomatoes, onions and parsley. Then add the dressing ingredients (the lemon juice and the oil) and mix. Do this bit by bit, rather than all at once, to make sure you get it right for your taste. Then season and add the chili flakes.

Next, cook your calamari. Mallmann says to use a chapa, a flat piece of metal over a high-heat fire. He recommends a griddle if you don’t have any chapas laying around, so I used one. It worked fine, but I think next time, I’d be inclined to use a grilling basket. The calamari parts were too small just to put on the grill, so the basket would be good. I also think it would cook a little better and char a little more nicely than when cooking it on the griddle.

Once your calamari is cooked, put the salad on a serving platter, and then put the calamari on top and dig in. I’d also recommend squeezing some lemon directly over the calamari while it’s hot!

We have long gotten rid of the cookbook, but we still love to eat this for lunch. Of course, since it was a South Beach recipe, it has no potatoes in it, which of course are the hallmark of a true Tuna Nicoise, but with all that crunchy veggie goodness, I can skip the potatoes. Our remake of Tuna Nicoise serves 2 large lunch portions at $2.78 per serving.

Tuna Nicoise is full of great vegetables: The basics include steamed green beans, cucumber, red pepper, tomatoes, and black olives. Cut everything up into bite size pieces and throw in a can of diced water chestnuts for some extra crunch. You can also mix in some red onion or scallions, but use a light hand so you don’t overpower the other veggies. You could add pretty much any other veggies that you like in the mix and it will still taste good.

To make the dressing, whiz together some white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, and olive oil to taste. Season the vinaigrette with a little bit of thyme, and salt and pepper. When I made the salad this time, I used some tuna packed in olive oil, so I drained that oil and used it as the basis for the dressing. Toss all of the vegetables with the vinaigrette.

Top the veggies with some canned tuna and a sliced hard boiled egg for a great and filling lunch.

Over the years, I’ve perfected how to best hard boil eggs (or at least how we like to eat them), so I’ll share my cooking method. Place the eggs in a saucepan and cover them with cold water. Put on a timer for 12 minutes and turn on the stove heat to high. Once the timer goes off, scoop the eggs out of the boiling water and place them in a dish filled with cold water. Stick the dish in the fridge and let the eggs cool off. By putting the eggs in the cold water, you stop the cooking process so the egg yolks remain a tad soft and fluffy, and you don’t get that gross green ring around the yolk from over cooking.

On with the food!

We started off with a couple types of bruschetta from Italian Easy: Recipes from the London River Cafe. This is a great cookbook that’s full of fantastic recipes that are, as you would infer from the title, easy to make. It’s got dozens of bruschetta ideas in the front, and I picked mozzarella with chilis and then fennel and salami, both pretty easy. Start with some good bread, and cut it into 3/4 to 1-inch slices. Just before you want to serve, grill the slices, or if you must, toast them some other way, then when they’re done, rub one side with a peeled clove of garlic. Then, add your toppings. I like to put all my slices on a big plate, then put the toppings over them, rather than building each individual piece. It’s a lot easier, and just put a serving utensil alongside the dish, and everybody will figure things out. Each serving only cost 91 cents too.

For the mozzarella and chili topping, first grab some arugula and toss it in some lemon juice (I like to chop the arugula a little bit so it’s easier to eat), and chop up some red chilis (I like Fresno peppers or red jalapenos). When your bread is ready, sprinkle over the arugula, then put your cheese on top (I usually slice the mozzarella, then break it up with my fingers), and then toss some chili over everything.

For the fennel and salami topping, start by putting some water on to boil, and squeeze some lemon juice into it. Next, slice your fennel bulbs horizontally into half-inch or so slices, and break the slices up into their individual pieces, being sure to discard the hard central bits from the slices towards the bottom. Once your water is boiling, put in the fennel and let it boil for just a few minutes until it’s soft, then drain in a colander. If you’re doing this in advance, I’d recommend running cold water over the fennel to stop it cooking, then if you’re doing the bread on the grill, put it on the grill for a few minutes while the bread is toasting to heat it up and give it some color. Once you’re all set, put the fennel over the bread, then top it with some salami and/or prosciutto. Anything is fine to use here; we had some spicy salami we picked up at a farmer’s market in Carlsbad, California last weekend.

Finish both of them by drizzling over a little olive oil and some salt and pepper, then enjoy. By the way, these go really well with a cold glass of Bulleit Lemonade, our official summer drink.

I have to admit, I was a little skeptical of the Lentil and Sweet Potato Salad that Alex got from Gwyneth Paltrow’s site GOOP, because, frankly, it sounded like hippie food. But I actually really enjoyed it, and it got a big thumbs up from both of our guests. It took a little time to cook the lentils and sweet potatoes, and then to let them cool, so definitely do this one in advance. We didn’t have any maple syrup in the pantry, so we used some honey instead and it worked great. This recipe is so reasonable at 57 cents per serving.

You’ll also want to make your salsa verde for the salmon ahead of time, not just to get it out of the way, but because you want the flavors to have some time to meld together and intensify. This is a great sauce that works well with lots of different grilled meats, and it’s pretty easy. I like to chop my herbs by hand, but you could just as easily throw it all in the food processor, just don’t overdo it and get the herbs too fine. First, take a clove or two of garlic, and put them in your food processor or chopper with 3 anchovy fillets, about a table spoon of capers, and a tablespoon or so of red wine vinegar. Add in a little Dijon mustard (start small, you can add more later — I overdid this some in mine, and it was a little overbearing) and whiz it up. Grab a nice handful of flat-leaf (Italian) parsley and about half or a third as much mint. I also but a few basil leaves in, and they weren’t out of place. Then chop these by hand or in your food processor, and mix in your first set of ingredients along with some olive oil. Again, take care with the oil: you want the sauce to be loose, but not overly oily. Tuck it away in the fridge for a few hours, then bring it out and let it warm to room temperature for serving.

The Grilled Zucchini with Mint and Red Chili is pretty straightforward: grill your zucchini, then top it with some chopped mint and red chili and a bit of olive oil. For this, we just sliced the zucchini in half, but next time, I’ll slice it a bit thinner. This zucchini recipe equals 95 cents per serving.

The salmon is pretty simple, too: put some salt and pepper on it, then grill it, and squeeze some lemon juice over it. You don’t want anything fancy, since you’re going to use the salsa verde you made earlier. The salmon and salsa verde was the most expensive dish of the night, but still only cost $2.81 per person.

I was really pleased with how everything turned out. None of the flavors were too heavy, so it was nice for the hot weather, but everything was quite filling. Plus the whole meal cost only $5.24 per guest. Next time you’re facing the prospect of another barbecue full of uninspired meat and side dishes, try this menu for something a little different.

These Beef Skewers Marinated in Harisa and Yogurt feed 4 people at $1.96 per serving, and the Cucumber Salad featured in the recipe costs an additional 60 cents per serving for a full meal at $2.56.

The recipe calls for you to marinate the beef for at least half an hour, but I recommend that you try to get the meat into the harissa and yogurt goodness as early as you can so the flavours can really soak into the beef. If you don’t have any harissa in the fridge, you could also use some Thai red curry paste instead. If you make this switch, you may want to decrease the amount of curry paste used in case your marinade gets a bit too spicy.

The tri tip at the store was super fatty, so I ended up buying some sirloin for the skewers. Carlo had to cook the beef a bit more on the grill than the recipe called for to make sure that they were cooked all the way through, especially since he had threaded the beef strips onto the skewers and they were quite thick. Next time I make this, I would just cube the beef so it is easier to skewer and then a bit easier to eat in the pita.

This Cucumber Salad was a great addition to the skewers, especially when stuffed inside the pita with the beef and hummus. It was really easy to make: just cut up a cucumber, and throw in some olives, red onion, and mint. The recipe doesn’t call for any kind of acid in the salad, but I ended up squeezing in some lemon in there for extra zing.

The whole meal was great and all of the flavours worked really well together. Next time I make these skewers, I think I will make some of Minty Yogurt Sauce that goes with the Red Curry Chicken Kebabs so it can provide a nice coolness to the heat of harissa and play off nicely with mint in the Cucumber Salad.

I had no idea what to make for the dinner party, especially since I had wheat, dairy, and red meat dietary restrictions to take into account. I decided that I would go to the Austin Farmers’ Market on Saturday morning and check out what was in season and let the produce shape my menu. Wow, after attending the Las Vegas Farmers’ Market, the Austin Farmers’ Market looked like produce heaven. There were tons of stands filled with incredible looking produce, cheese, meat, and eggs, so I was totally spoiled for choices.

I decided to head to our old favourite stand of Tecolote Farm because not only did they grow beautiful produce, but it was always sold with a smile and friendly recipe suggestion. After reading last year that they were perhaps going to close down due to their well drying up, I was very relieved to see that the farm was still in business, and still growing their wonderful produce.

They had some really nice looking beets and baby carrots, which I bought even though at that point, my mind was still racing as to what exactly I should do with them all. Thankfully the previous night I had eaten a great dinner at Texas French Bread, partly cooked by my grad school friend Stephanie, of a roasted beet salad with goat cheese and chicken chasseur with polenta. I had really enjoyed this dinner, so I decided that this was the perfect meal to recreate for my friends.

The Recession Recipe Dinner Party’s official menu would start with Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese with a main course of Chicken Chasseur with Crunchy New Potatoes and Roasted Carrots.

The Beet Salad cost $1.50 per serving, and the Chicken Chasseur cost $2.85 per serving. The Crunchy New Potatoes cost 99 cents per serving, and the Roasted Carrots cost only 33 cents per serving. The total cost per guest for the dinner party was $5.67, which clearly shows that you don’t need lots of money to entertain well.

Usually when we roast beets, we just cut them up and put them in a roasting pan and throw some olive oil over them. While this gets the job done, the beets always end up looking a little bit dessicated after the roasting process. To prevent this, I found this recipe on how to roast beets by wrapping up each individual beet in tin foil and roasting them in a 375 degree oven for an hour or so. Not only was this method incredibly easy, it used no olive oil, and the beets were perfectly roasted and sweet while still looking beautiful. After discovering this method, I don’t think I will go back to pan roasted beets unless it is for a recipe that includes multiple roasted veggies.

I bought two kinds of beets from the Farmers’ Market, your regular red beet and the fancy Chioggia beet. The Chioggia beet not only looked fantastic with its alternating pink and red rings, but it was slightly sweeter and more delicate in flavor than the regular red beet to provide a nice complexity to the salad.

To assemble the Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese, I let the beets cool and then sliced them up. I put down a bed of local arugula also grown by Tecolote Farm and placed the beets on top. I then drizzled some olive oil and white wine vinegar over the beets and arugula plus added salt and pepper. In retrospect, I should have tossed the salad with the olive oil and vinegar first and then placed the beets on top with just a dash of oil to top off the dish, but such is life.

Last but not least, I sprinkled some of the most delicious and fluffiest goat cheese that I’ve tasted over the beets. I bought this plain goat cheese from the Maid in the Sky farm stand, which basically consisted of an old guy in a cowboy hat with a small cooler, but damn, that old guy can make some goat cheese!

Anyway, this Beet Salad was a huge hit and devoured by everyone, especially Ashley M who had somehow never eaten a beet before but quickly became a convert. And all for $1.50 a serving!

One of the best things about this Chicken Chasseur recipe is that you could split up the cooking process and make the sauce before your guests arrive. Then all you need to do is warm it up and place the chicken breasts in to simmer right before you are ready to eat. This is a huge help for when you are throwing a dinner party because there is nothing worse than stressing out in the kitchen instead of hanging out with your guests.

I ended up buying chicken breasts with the skin on, but without the bones because the bone-in chicken breasts included the rib bones which looked a little scary. I think you could easily use chicken legs, thighs, or even a whole chicken cut up to save on the cost of the chicken and it would hold up well in this recipe.

The end result was delicious, and all of the tomato and mushroom sauce proved to be even tastier when eaten with hands down the BEST roasted potato recipe I’ve tried.

I ended up buying some small Dutch Cream potatoes for this easy recipe. Basically, you boil the potatoes for 10 minutes, drain, put them on a baking tray, and then lightly smash them with a potato masher. Yes, I know it sounds bizarre, but the smashing will help produce the crispiest potatoes you have seen. Drizzle them with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, and then stick them in the oven at 400 degrees.

The recipe says to roast the potatoes for 20 minutes, but I just kept them in the oven pretty much the whole time that I was cooking the Chicken Chasseur. I didn’t have to worry about them over cooking because they just became even more crispier and awesome. Seriously, if you love potatoes, please be sure to make these Crispy New Potatoes this week. You won’t be disappointed.

Another super easy side dish were these Roasted Baby Carrots. Chop the tops off of the carrots and trim the roots. Put them on some tinfoil and drizzle a bit of olive oil over them with some salt and pepper. Wrap up the carrots in the tinfoil like a present, and pop them in the oven. I just stuck them in with the potatoes at 400 degrees, but you can cook them at pretty much any temperature and just adjust the cooking time accordingly. I left these in for around 35 minutes or so until they were tender.

The dinner party was a huge success with the food pairing brilliantly with passionate conversations over wine. Thanks to everyone for making my last night in Austin so special, and thanks to Ashley G for letting me take over her kitchen, and more importantly being the photographer for the night.

Here are some more photos of the beautiful decor she created for dinner party.

Ashley G loves everything vintage and has been assembling an eclectic collection of antique plates that served as a pretty focal point for the dinner table.

For a sweet but cheap floral arrangement, buy a big bunch of baby’s breath and place them by themselves in a vase.

Ash made these favors for each of the guests to take home by placing a flower in a vase made from reused bottles of Mexican fizzy water.