Roasted Lemon Potatoes to Kick Off Side Dish Showdown

   Just a simple side dish today to kick off my Side Dish Showdown monthly blogger event. This pairs potatoes and lemons together. A rarity. When I think of potatoes I don't often never think of lemons. So when I saw just this very thing in my new issue of Food Network magazine it immediately sparked my interest. Speaking of: if you've never picked a copy of this magazine up I'm here to tell you to do it. It's full of recipes from start to finish - recipes you really want to make and eat. Some very basic that you can build your own ideas on and others that are more intense. And the best part for me is the lady who shall remain nameless here - you know her for 30 minute meals is nowhere to be found.

 The potatoes are started on top of the stove in an iron-proof skillet by boiling them with lemon, olive oil, garlic and in this case Rosemary (the original used oregano). Then they get roasted in the oven, and Parmesan, my contribution, gets sprinkled over top. I really loved these - the lemon was prominent but not tart, and they went perfectly alongside a whole roasted chicken. And this brings me to one of the reasons why I am starting this side dish event. The potatoes added something special to the meal; the lemon and rosemary are classic flavors for chicken; they were a nice compliment and really rounded out the meal to make it memorable. More so than if I had just eaten a baked potato with it, or even mashed potatoes or steamed up some rice. Not that any of those are bad; just boring; and they don't add much to the meal; just fulfill a purpose. I want to give more attention to sides; the underdog of the meal; the afterthought. My goal is to be a resource for finding fabulous side dishes quickly, whether it be on the spur of the moment while that chicken is roasting, to use up a certain ingredient before it goes bad, to get you out of a rut and find something new and interesting to serve. But most of all I want to put more thought into picking just the right side that is going to work with the flavors of the entire meal. When you think of that delicious chicken dish you made last week I want you to automatically think of the side too, and how much it brought to the meal, because the flavors go hand in hand. I know I'll be doing that with my chicken and lemon potatoes. Remembering them. I ate it on Sunday and I'm still thinking about it. Both of them. Not just the succulent roasted chicken. But those potatoes too, so delicious together.

Now that this has turned into the longest post ever! Let's get to the important stuff.

Side Dish Showdown will be a monthly blogger event that will start on the first or second of each month and run through to the last day of the month. On the 1st or 2nd I will post a round-up and announce that month's theme. Did I mention that? We'll have different themes every month. To kick things off this month we'll have an Anything Goes theme.

Guidelines For Joining:

1. The side dish(es) must be a blogged recipe dated during the month of entry. No oldies. Just for this month it will be from today Feb.10 to the end of the month.

2. You must mention that it is for Side Dish Showdown with a link back to this post or to the side dish showdown page located on my toolbar.

3. The dish has to be a side dish. No mains, soups, etc...

4. Up to two entries per blog per month. Please no more than two.

5. You must add your link(s) to the McKLINKY (link will be below) for it to be included in the round-up. By doing this you give me permission to use a picture of the dish off your post in the round-up. After you add your link please check back and make sure it was added correctly.

6. Any questions e-mail me at cinnamonyspice@gmail.com

7. Have fun, think outside the box, try new flavors, new techniques, and mention in your blog what flavors and main dishes you think would go well with it.

Please Add The Side Dish Showdown Badge to Your Blog Sidebar and to your side dish posts to help spread the word about it - I would greatly appreciate it!

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Roasted Lemon Rosemary Potatoes

(adapted from Food Network Magazine)

4 Potatoes, cut in 1 and 1/2 inch slices

1/3 cup Lemon Juice, fresh squeezed

1/4 cup Olive Oil

4 Garlic cloves, smashed

1 teaspoon fresh Rosemary, chopped

Sea or Kosher salt and fresh Black Pepper

2 tablespoons Parmesan, shredded

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Toss the potatoes, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and rosemary together in an oven-proof skillet. Season with salt and pepper.

Fill with water halfway up the sides of the potatoes. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

2. Roast for 30-35 minutes until potatoes are tender. Remove from oven and sprinkle Parmesan over top.

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