Dinner, Lunch

Feeding Teams!

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Finding our way back to team dinners and gatherings with friends – this recipe is foolproof (from Ina herself), economical, fits most dietary needs, and makes teenagers happy! Baked Potatoes with Chive Yogurt Sauce – classic and timeless. Welcome back to the spotlight!

Our kids enjoy playing sports, and it’s been a while since we have seen everyone gather together for a team dinner.  We knew exactly what to make when this crew joined us – classic baked potatoes for a crowd.  A Barefoot Contessa recipe that is on repeat in our home, served up with yogurt chive sauce, a big Caesar salad and homemade ice cream sandwiches (recipes coming soon!).  The best part is, if you have a large cooler, you have a warming oven to make this ahead!

The chive yogurt sauce is key here – a slightly healthier take on sour cream that brings a thick consistency with the tang of greek yogurt.  Plenty of salt and pepper and fresh chives round it out – this makes a great dip for cut veggies and pita chips as a snack or appetizer too.

I find this recipe is perfect for crowds with differing dietary needs – it’s vegetarian, gluten free, and if you expand your toppings you can satisfy meat eaters with chopped bacon,  sautéed ground beef, or even buffalo chicken and cheese.  It fills everyone up, and is a nice change from the typical pasta and pizza dinners we often use for crowds of athletes.  I think baked potatoes deserve to be back in the spotlight – 80’s style.

Note that the recipe below is meant to feed 20 hungry teenagers – you should scale back for a family dinner – or not?  They make great leftovers!

Baked Potatoes with Chive Yogurt Sauce

Print Recipe
Old school baked russets with a sour cream and yogurt topping, flecked with chives, salt and pepper - a classic that deserves to be back in the spotlight!
Course Lunch, Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword baked potato, potato, sour cream, chives
Servings 20 people

Ingredients

  • 15 lbs Russet Potatoes
  • 1/4 cup Olive Oil
  • 2 Tbsp Kosher Salt
  • 24 oz Sour Cream
  • 24 oz Plain greek yogurt
  • 1 Tbsp kosher salt
  • 3/4 Tbsp cracked black pepper
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh chives

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees, placing two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the space.
  • Scrub the potatoes clean and allow to dry fully. Pierce each potato several times with a fork to prevent explosions, and help with even heating. Place the potatoes on two 1/2 sheet baking pans, allowing for a little space between the potatoes. Drizzle the olive oil between the two pans, rubbing to coat the poatatoes evenly all around. Sprinkle generously with kosher salt. This seems like a lot, and while it doesn't permeate the potatoes, it creates a flavorful crust on the skins.
  • Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, until the potatoes register 210 degrees. Let them rest, covered loosely with foil until ready to use. (See note about keeping warm for longer periods of time below!)
  • While the potatoes are cooking, combine the yogurt, sour cream, salt, pepper, and chives - chill until ready to eat.
  • Dollop each potato generously with the chive sauce - enjoy!

Notes

This is an incredibly easy recipe to multiply or scale back - the cooking times are all the same.  If you need to cook the potatoes well in advance, you can use a large cooler (hard pack not a soft cooler) to keep them warm.  This works for all kinds of foods - consider for Thanksgiving with side dishes!  Simply fill the lower third of the cooler with hot water for 15 minutes, empty the cooler and dry fully, then load the potatoes and close the lid.  Instant warming oven!  Will keep for an hour or two as needed.  
Recipe credit - This is a classic Barefoot Contessa Recipe - CGBC (Cooking Goddess, Barefoot Contessa).  It has become our go-to team dinners for the kids sports gatherings. Thanks INA!
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Dinner

Ultimate Barbacoa Taco’s

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Barbacoa Beef – the best of the taco’s in my opinion, with all the slow cooked flavors of the traditional recipes, but the ease of a slow cooker and simple toppings.  This is the taco you want, but don’t always have time to make – make time for it!  Beef chuck (stew meat) is seared in a skillet and then slow cooked in spices and broth to a finished result that is warming and spicy with the perfect balance of flavor.  And it’s EASY!  Customary Mexican versions of this use goat or sheep meat, cooked long in underground smoke ovens.  The use of chipotle salsa lends a smoky finish to the sauce to mimic this cooking method.  

The cooked beef can be used for days in burrito bowls, quesadilla’s, salads, nacho’s – really anything you can think of.  It reheats great for a thermos to send to school or work for lunch with a bag of tortilla chips.  

Barbacoa Taco's

Print Recipe
Melt-in-your-mouth, shredded slow cooked beef taco's
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword beef, taco, barbacoa
Servings 6

Equipment

  • slow cooker

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs chuck roast beef, cut into 2 in. cubes
  • 2 Tbsp Canola Oil
  • kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
  • 6 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1/2 white onion, chopped fine
  • 3 Tbsp chipotle salsa, or chiles in adobo pureed San Marcos brand offers the puree
  • 1.25 cups beef broth
  • 1 Tbsp Apple cider vinegar
  • 1.5 Tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 Tbsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp cloves or all spice
  • 3 Bay Leaves
  • 1/2 cup lime juice
  • 12 corn tortillas
  • sour cream, sliced avacado, cilantro for topping

Instructions

  • Season the beef well with salt and pepper. Heat the canola oil in a large dutch oven over medium high heat, and sear the beef in 2 batches, to prevent steaming. Remove seared beef to a plate - reserve drippings as well.
  • To the slow cooker, add the beef, drippings, onion, garlic, broth, ACV, cumin, oregano, cloves, bay leaves, and stir ingredients well to combine. Cook on low setting for 6-8 hours, until beef falls apart when shredded. You can do 4 hours on high, but results are better with more time and low heat.
  • Shred the beef, return to the seasoned broth, and stir in the lime juice and check for seasoning. You can add a touch more of the adobo salsa for heat, or salt if needed.
  • Serve the beef in taco's with desired toppings, or make a burrito bowl with cooked rice or quinoa. Beef will keep well to use with nachos or breakfast tacos with scrambled eggs too!

Notes

Don't skip searing the beef, as it lends a big part of the deep flavor this dish is known for.  
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Dinner

Easiest Ultimate Chicken Parmesan

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A STAR in the comfort food world, Chicken Parmesan is a cult classic recipe that deserves the spotlight.  A true legend with the volume cranked by fresh basil, burrata, and the best of simple ingredients.  

The cutlet recipe is loosely based on the CGBC (Cooking Goddess Barefoot Contessa) classic Parmesan Chicken – I add red pepper flakes, oregano and increase the grated Parmesan in the breading ratio.  Top it off with Rao’s (the ultimate Marinara that rules out the need for sauce from scratch) and good quality mozzarella or burrata, and you are done.  

This dish is easy to make ahead for lunch or dinner, and goes great with a simple mixed green salad.  

 

Easiest Ultimate Chicken Parmesan

Print Recipe
Homemade cutlets with Rao's, fresh mozzarella, and a touch of basil
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword chicken, parmesan
Servings 6

Ingredients

  • 6 split chicken breasts pound to uniform thickness, about 1/2 inch
  • 2 eggs beaten with 1 Tbsp water
  • 3/4 cup AP flour
  • kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
  • 1 cup italian style breadcrumbs
  • 1 cup grated parmesan plus more for topping
  • 1 Tbsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 Tbsp dried oregano
  • 4 Tbsp olive oil extra virgin
  • 4 Tbsp butter
  • 1 jar Rao's Marinara Sauce
  • 1 lb fresh mozzarella or burrata cheese
  • 1//4 cup torn fresh basil

Instructions

  • Preheat oven with broiler setting, and position a rack several inches below.
  • Sprinkle the pounded chicken breasts generously with salt and pepper. Set up three low shallow bowls for dredging. The first bowl will have flour. Next, combine the 2 eggs with a Tbsp of water and beat. Last, combine the parmesan, breadcrumbs, red pepper flakes and oregano.
  • Start by dredging each breast through the flour, shaking off excess as you go. Then dip both sides into the egg wash, and last, coat the chicken with the breadcrumb mixture. Place the coated chicken breasts on a platter until ready to cook. This step can be done in advance.
  • Heat a large cast iron or non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, and melt 2 Tbsp each of EVOO and butter. Add 2-3 chicken breasts at a time, depending on the size of the chicken. You want to sear the crumbs to golden brown and just barely cook the chicken through - about 5 to 6 minutes per side. Repeat the process with the remaining chicken breasts, adding more oil and butter to the skillet as you go. Place the fully cooked chicken into a 9x13 baking dish.
  • Heat the Rao's sauce over low heat, and pour over the chicken breasts to cover. Split the mozzarella (or burrata) over the top and sprinkle with extra grated parmesan. Broil until the cheese is melted and golden brown in spots. Garnish with freshly torn basil.

Notes

To make ahead, you can assemble the dish fully (hold off on the basil til done cooking), but bake at 350 for 25 - 30 mins instead of broiling the heated dish to melt the cheese.  If desired, set under broiler for 2 minutes at the end to brown the cheese.  
Costco imports fresh mozzarella balls from Italy weekly, and they are the real thing - much better than domestic.  Sold in four packs, they keep for only a week or so.
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Dinner

Brisket Burgers

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Often when you make something over and over again, you learn that less is more.  These burgers are the perfect example of letting a good ingredient shine.  Ground brisket has a richer flavor and a great balance of fat (75/25) that lends itself to make the ultimate burger with little effort.  

Many people pay higher prices for leaner cuts of ground beef, which works well in some recipes, but with a burger can lead to a tough final product.  Much of the fat is released in the cooking process, so it’s best to start with a higher fat content to ensure the burger isn’t dry when finished.  You can “doctor up” a burger patty any way you like, but why go to all that trouble when you don’t need to?  I promise this will be the best, simple burger you’ve ever made!

Brisket Burgers

Print Recipe
The best of the beef burgers - simple and classic.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword burger, beef, brisket
Servings 6

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs ground beef brisket
  • 1 Tbsp kosher salt
  • 1 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 6 slices thic cut cheddar cheese
  • 6 brioche burger buns

Instructions

  • Form 6 equal patties with the ground brisket. It's crucial to not compact the meat, or work it too fit a strict form. I have used a fork for this and it works well. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, and let them sit for at least 30 minutes to come to temp before cooking. The resting time will also allow the salt to permeate the beef.
  • Preheat a gas grill or a cast iron skillet to medium high heat - you want a hot pan or grill to sear the outside of the patties, and leave the inside medium rare. Cook approximately 5 minutes per side, adding the cheese to the last few minutes of cooking.
  • Place the patties on the brioche buns - top as you like! I suggest mayo, pickles, salted tomato slices and lettuce.
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