Do you remember "The Next Food Network Star" season that ended a while back?

This recipe is from the last season of "The Next Food Network Star". My husband and I really liked the show and thought Melissa d'Arabian's pilot she auditioned with on the last episode was great and I decided to make her recipes from the show.

5 Minute Individual Potato Gratins

Vegetable spray

2 large russet potatoes, roughly peeled and thinly sliced

1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese

2 green onions, finely chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

¾ heavy cream

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Spray 8 muffin tins with vegetable spray. Layer potato slices, cheese, and onions into each muffin cup. Season with salt and pepper and top each gratin with 1 or 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Cover with foil and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, removing the foil halfway through cooking time. Invert gratins onto plate and serve.

Flexible 4-Step Chicken for Family and Company - Rustic Lemon-Onion Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves,

1 teaspoon dried thyme, plus 1 small bunch fresh thyme, leaves chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 red onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup white wine, optional

1 cup chicken broth

3 lemons, juiced

1 to 2 tablespoons butter

Season chicken with dried thyme and salt and pepper. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and add the oil. Dredge the chicken in flour, add to the hot oil and saute until cooked through. Set chicken aside to rest on plate tented with foil.

In same saute pan, over low heat, add onions and fresh thyme and cook until aromatic.

In a measuring cup, measure out wine, if using, and broth, and add the lemon juice. Turn the heat up to high, and deglaze the pan with the broth mixture until starting to reduce.

Remove the pan from the heat and finish the sauce by whisking in butter. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.

Nola Potatoes

These potatoes are amazing! We had these with the ratatouille and some steak. I would definitely make these again!

Corned Beef and Cabbage

My husband and I absolutely love corned beef and cabbage! We used to go to a restaurant in the town where we lived that had amazing corned beef and cabbage. This is my interruption of that recipe (I wish I could have theirs too!). Enjoy!

Heather’s Yummy Corned Beef and Cabbage with Potatoes and Carrots

1 packaged corned beef roughly 2.5-3lbs with spice pack (when you pick up the package of beef you should see the spice pack on the bottom)

1 16oz bag of small carrots

6 (or so) Red potatoes cut into quarters

½ head of napa cabbage chopped into pieces

1 ½ tablespoons of peppercorns

½ cup brown sugar

2-3 sprigs of dill (chopped)

1 can of Guinness

½ cup heavy cream (roughly 2 tablespoons reserved)

Place the corned beef and spice pack in a dutch oven. Cover with water just until corned beef is covered. Follow directions on the package for the corned beef. That being said, after an hour of cooking, add the brown sugar, peppercorns (whole) and Guinness.

Meanwhile, put chopped cabbage in a sauté pan with butter, olive oil and salt and pepper. Keep on medium heat until cabbage softens.

Towards the last 30 mins of cooking time add in the potatoes and in the last 15 minutes of cooking time add in the carrots.

Take the potatoes and carrots out of the dutch oven and put them in a bowl. Add the chopped dill and pour the cream over the potatoes and carrots, just enough to coat them. Mix together and add a pinch of salt and pepper.

Remove the corned beef from the dutch oven and place on a cutting board and slice pieces to about a ¼ of an inch in thickness.

To serve, arrange corned beef, cabbage and potatoes and carrots on a plate. Spread a few dollops of the creamy mustard sauce on the corned beef and serve!

Creamy Mustard Sauce

4 tablespoons creamy Dijon mustard with white wine

2 tablespoons whole grain mustard

2 tablespoons heavy cream

In a small bowl, add the 2 mustards and mix well. Slowly pour in the cream. Only add enough cream so that the consistency is creamy but not soupy.

Dill Fingerling Potatoes

I made these potatoes from Barefoot Contessa. I didn't change anything so I am only going to post the link and the pictures I took.

Also, I have included some pictures of the table last night and our cake. The cake was really good considering it has been frozen for a year, we were quite surprised!