Thank You (GASP!) Rachel Ray!

I'm not a big fan of Rachel Ray. Yeah, I can see why she's so popular, but whatever. This week, while on the treadmill at the gym, I watched her 30 minute meals show. She made a beef wellington with blue cheese and watercress. On the side, she had this stuffed tomato, broccolini, and herbed potatoes. Three sides! It was a huge meal.

Anyway, she helped inspire tonight's dinner. Even though it wasn't the same thing, her meal got me thinking of what I can do with stuff I already had (and a few extras I grabbed at the store). So, this is what I made:

-Mini chicken sandwiches with Dinah's Cheese and sliced apples from my parents backyard, on Essential Bakery's potato rolls

-Mini flat iron steak sandwiches with the above ingredients, on Essential's rosemary rolls, with the addition of Oxbow Farm's lettuce (gosh, I can't remember the name of it, but it's deep red in color with long, curly leaves), and sundried tomatoes.

-Oxbow Farm green beans, blanched in salted water until pretty tender (little mouths to feed), and nothing else. So good.

-Mini yellow potatoes from Alvarez Farm with herbs (chives, dill, cilantro and basil) and butter

I know, not much like Rachel Ray. The potatoes was the closest. She made red potatoes with parsely and dill. My 4 herbs were what I had on hand. Thank goodness I had the dill. That was the flavor that stood out, for me, the most. These potatoes were so buttery on their own, they really didn't need the butter, but I added just a tablespoon, cuz, well, it's butter!

Rachel's beef wellington had the strong cheese and peppery greens thing going for it. I didn't feel like using blue cheese, so when I found Dinah's Cheese at Madison Market, I knew that would work perfectly. It's slightly pungent, but not over-powering. I looked for arugula, in place of the cress, but didn't find it.

The steak sandwiches were good, but I think the chicken was better. I marinated the chicken breasts in store-bought balsamic vinaigrette overnight. Before cooking, I butterflied the breasts and sprinkled them with salt and pepper.

My kids, including one who has had a fever all day, ate their meal happily. Well, most of their meal. Nonetheless, I would consider this a winning Hunt Family meal.

A note on Alvarez Farm: I wish I could give you a link to them, but I couldn't find one. If anyone out there has a good link to share, let me know.