It's been a busy, busy day--and a busy weekend. Following a busy week. I guess they all are. I suppose my life will be happier when I remove the concept of "down time" from my thoughts. Tomorrow is back to work after five weeks off, and I'm just having some trouble gearing up for it.

We went out for lunch at a new neighborhood place today, and after that, really felt the need for some good, home-cooked food. I did cheat a little; I had some Trader Joe's Garlic and Herb "Marinated" Shrimp in the freezer. I say "Marinated" because I think somebody told a little white lie. If they were REALLY marinated, they probably would not have been cardboard dry. Whatever. Note to self: This is why you don't buy things in boxes in the freezer case!

I did make some Broccoli Rabe with Garlic from The Barefoot Contessa at Home (bet you thought she was gone, didn't you?), and had a replay of her Mustard-Roasted Potatoes. I'm pretty sure that roasted potatoes in any form will be what we eat all day in Heaven; yum. I also made some corn on the cob, but despite it's nice, full appearance, it wasn't very good. It didn't pass the fingernail-pop test, so I should've known.

There is cooking planned for tomorrow, again from Barefoot Contessa. In case you're wondering, this cookbook came up on the Sunday Game of the Week over the Cooking Light Bulletin Board. It's number 141 on my book shelf--this week's lucky number. I have a couple more recipes planned from that, then an old stand-by that I haven't seen for years. I found it when I was cleaning out a closet. Stay tuned, and I'll reveal that one on Tuesday.

A deviation from "The Plan"

I started this blog with a plan--to cook from one cookbook until...I did something different! I knew that there would be times that I just couldn't be limited to one cookbook. Tonight was one of those times. I needed to use up some boneless chicken breasts and didn't really feel up to a labor-intensive meal. I asked my friends over on the Cooking Light Bulletin Board for some inspiration. They had loads of good ideas, and I chose Sauteed Chicken with Balsamic Pan Sauce from an old issue of Cooking Light.

In an effort to stay true to the Barefoot Contessa, I included her Sauteed Carrots from Family Style and Mustard-Roasted Potatoes from Barefoot Contessa Cooks at Home. Doesn't it all look good? See how the sauce caresses the chicken? Well, don't believe everything you see. First, I absolve any of my bulletin board friends from responsibility. Operator error resulted in a sauce that was more like vinegar candy than...well...sauce. You don't even want to know what it took to clean the pan!

On a happier note, the carrots and potatoes were excellent. The grainy mustard tossed with the potatoes and onions before roasting lent an intriguing note to the dish. The carrots are "the essence of carrotness" according to Ina, and I have to agree. They saute in a bit of water until crisp-tender, then cook in a sweep of butter for flavor before tossing with the dill and serving.

Today's mail brought yet another cookbook, Stop and Smell the Rosemary, which I scored for a mere $5.00 at the Barnes & Noble online, after-Christmas sale. It looks wonderful, and might be a contender for the next-in-line cookbook for this blog.

Mustard-Roasted Potatoes

Copyright Ina Garten 2006

2 1/2 pounds small red potatoes
2 yellow onions
3 tablespoons good olive oil
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut the potatoes in halves or quarters, depending on their size, and place them on a sheet pan. Remove the end of the onions, peel them,and cut them in half. Slice them crosswise in 1/4-inch thick slices to make half-rounds. Toss the onions and potatoes together on the sheet pan. Add the olive oil, mustard, 2 teaspoons salt, and the pepper and toss them together. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the potatoes are lightly browned on the outside and tender on the inside. Toss the potatoes from time to time with a metal spatula so they brown evenly.

Serve hot sprinkled with the chopped parsley and a little extra salt.