It is always so much fun planning the food for a trailer trip. Maybe it’s because of the challenge of serving great food from a kitchen the size of most people’s guest room closet. But for whatever reason, I can spend hours before a trip figuring out just what I plan to serve. And then things change. And often time for the better. As with this recipe.

While on our latest adventure, we had the good fortune to have lunch at the home of our dear friends Pete and Anne. One of the dishes served was potatoes that had been cooked on their grill. Never one to turn down an opportunity to learn new ways of preparing old standards, I watched very carefully as Pete prepared the potato dish for the grill. The only change I made was cutting up the fresh rosemary instead of just laying a sprig of rosemary on top of the cut potatoes. Other than that, we all have Pete to thank for this delightful recipe. And Mr. C., Craig, Marsha, and I will especially be grateful to Pete because of his recipe. How I had originally planned to serve the potatoes was in no way comparable. In fact, the potatoes would have been, boring, boring, boring!  But cooked this way they were a delight.  

Now, the fun part about this recipe is that it is cooked on a grill. Which of course makes it a great dish to fix while camping or if it’s too darn hot to fire up the oven in your kitchen. Just stir all the ingredients together, wrap tightly in aluminum foil, pop on the grill, and check off the side dish on your meal plan.

And just in case you were wondering what to serve with these potatoes, might I suggest my Quick and Easy Marinated Flank Steak. It too is cooked to perfection on a grill. And while you’ve got the grill going already for the potatoes and steak, you might as well use it to good advantage to cook some veggies. Then your whole meal is prepared without messing up your stove or heating up the kitchen. (Of course, grill racks are no treat to clean, but let’s not worry about that now. Let’s just live in the moment.)

Well, that’s it for today. It’s sunny, but we can’t see the Cascade Mountains because of the haze. (Looks like cumulus clouds on top with smoke underneath.) We read that there is a lot of smoke in the Methow Valley (think Winthrop) and that the smoke will soon be heading our way. Especially towards Whatcom and Skagit counties. And we are close enough to Skagit County to make us vulnerable too. So, it sounds like we are in for forest fire smoke again this year.

But even with that, we are still so much luckier than most. We haven’t lost our homes, our lives, or been adversely affected the way so many have been this summer. And summer isn’t even close to being over.

Just know that my good thoughts and prayers are being freely sent to all who are suffering.

And as always, peace and love to all.

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

¾ tsp. kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary or about a half tsp. of dried rosemary

2-3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1½ lb. mixed baby potatoes (or potatoes of choice) cut in ¾ to 1-inch pieces (no need to peel the potatoes)

In a large mixing bowl, mix the olive oil, salt, pepper, chopped rosemary, sliced garlic, and cut potatoes. Stir everything together. Using a rubber spatula, arrange the coated potatoes in a single layer in a pan that can be set on your grill. Cover with heavy duty aluminum foil or 2 layers of regular aluminum foil. (Make sure the edges are tight so that steam can’t escape.)

Place on a pre-heated grill set at 300 to 350-degrees. If you don’t have a pan that is safe to place on a hot BBQ grill, make a package out of heavy aluminum foil and make sure the package is sealed airtight. Cook either in a pan or foil package for 20-25 minutes or until the potato pieces are fork tender. (Be careful when checking if the potatoes are done. Hot steam can be a nasty surprise.)

This is a great recipe to make and serve when camping. The potatoes are a great side dish with beef, chicken, fish, pork, whatever!

And of course, you don’t have to grill these potatoes. You can bake them in your oven. 350-degrees for 20-25 minutes or until fork tender.