What's been cookin'

So for father's day I made Mario's favorite beer can chicken... which I make pretty much according to the recipe, although I use one of these in addition to the can and I put it on an old cookie sheet covered in tin foil instead of right on the grill. Sometimes I add a bunch of garlic cloves to the beer and stuff half of a lemon in the neck. This time I used smoked paprika, garlic powder, brown sugar, cumin, salt and pepper for the rub and it was delish.

I used our veggies in the following side dishes... (I meant to take pictures but the kid was screaming for food so we needed to eat quickly... not to mention the fact that the dishes were less than pretty.)

1. Napa Cabbage Salad which was basically an asian cole slaw with toasted ramen noodles and almond slivers. I also added some Mandarin oranges. VERDICT: Mario and I loved it... Sydney ate out the toasted ramen noodles and oranges and spurned all other ingredients. I did catch her dipping some chicken in the dressing though.
   
   
2. Celariac and Sweet Potato Rosti - I kind of made this up based on some recipes I saw online when I was trying to figure out what the heck to do with celariac. A rosti is basically a big hash brown pancakey kind of thing. I sauteed some pancetta and then added shredded sweet potato, celariac and onion to the pan, seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic powder and then let it get crisp. VERDICT: Delicious. The celeriac added a nice bite to the sweet potato. Adults enjoyed... toddler would not even allow it to pass her lips.