Best Zucchini Sticks ever

Oh my I love fried zucchini, and so does my 9 year old. Being that I was exhausted and needed a pick me up, I asked the hubby to grab two zucchini at the store on his way home and I got to work. In the past, I would simply bread the zucchini in dry bread crumbs that I had seasoned, but today decided I wanted to try a new approach. I scoured the web and looked at all the recipes and decided to do a battered stick. Here was what i did.

Slice a well washed zucchini into sticks (rounds would work as well). I made a bowl of seasoned flour, with salt, pepper and a little cayenne.

I then made the batter using an egg, some milk or half and half and a half cup of flour. I wanted the batter pretty thick, about the consistency of melted premium ice cream or pancake batter. I then seasoned this as well, with salt, pepper, a iittle "complete seasoning" and some tabasco. The first time, I dredged in the dry flour, then put in the batter, then back in the flour. The result was pretty good and the batter held tight to the zucchini, but there was just not a good coating/zucchini ratio. The next time I dredged in the dry flour then into the batter and then into the oil...this was perfect! The batter spreads a bit and creates a case around the zucchini, but there is so much flavor in the batter that I like the extra crunch I get. I cooked over med-high in veggie oil until really super crisp, added a little salt when they were draining and served with blue cheese dressing....oldest child deemed these the best ever and she has eaten a lot of zucchini sticks in her short life :)

Easy Potato Pancakes

I made potato pancakes, or latkes, last night for dinner alongside a delicious brisket in red wine. My neighbor is expecting and indicated that she was craving potato pancakes so I sent some over for her and then she asked if they were easy to make...and well, they are!

Here is the recipe I use, I tend to eyeball it a lot since potatoes come in all sizes.

I use my food processor to grate the potatoes and carrots on the small grate disk. My food processor has a chute, so I have all the shredded material shoot into a huge bowl filled with ice cold water. The water will keep everything from going brown from oxidation.

Last night I made about 25 medium sized potato pancakes. I used 10 potatoes that were medium sized and three smaller carrots. I peeled the potatoes two at a time and then would grate them...I really dislike when my potato pancakes are gray, so small batches are the best trick. Halfway through the potatoes, I shredded the carrots. You can also add in onion and grate just as you do the potatoes and carrots, but my kids don't like it with the onion. For this sized batch, I would use one medium to large onion.

Once all the carrots and potatoes are grated and are happily sitting in the water, get another smaller bowl out and start heating your frying pan. Once warm, add vegetable oil to the pan, enough to coat the bottom well, but you don't want too much, the pancakes need to crisp and fry, but not deep fry! I preheat my pan and oil on a 7 on my stove dial, and then turn it down to 5 when actually cooking.

In your small bowl, beat one egg well. Take two big handfuls of the potato/carrot mixture, squeezing each really, really, REALLY well before adding to the egg. Once both squeezed handfuls are in the bowl, add three or four tablespoons of flour and salt and pepper, stir well. I then always do a small mini test pancake to check for consistency, seasoning, etc. When ready to cook, I use my "tablespoon" from my silverware set to place two or three blobs in the pan, flattening each a bit when they are placed. Don't overcrowd the pan or they won't crisp and watch the heat. There should be some sizzle when placed but make sure they are frying the whole time, and also watch that the heat is not too high. They take a few minutes per side, you want them to get nice and brown and crispy. I then place finished pancakes in an oven that was set to 350 and then turned down to 275 once pancakes were made.

Keep making in small batches until you are done...then eat and enjoy!

Chicken with Two Tomatoes

Oh I cannot express to anyone how much I love tonight's dinner. It is like home, hearth and super deliciousness all wrapped up into one easy meal. I call it Chicken with Two Tomatoes, but really it is with two KINDS of tomatoes. The nice part about this meal is you can add things to it if you like, and it is yummy over pasta or like we are having it tonight, couscous.

OK, here is what I do

For my family, I need 6 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts that I cut into strips. Saute in some olive oil with four big cloves of chopped garlic on a reasonably high heat so the chicken gets a little browned, but be careful not to burn the garlic...if you are worried, wait until the chicken is almost done before adding the garlic. Add in some sundried tomatoes, I used just about half a small jar, and I sliced mine into strips. Then add basil, oregano, salt and pepper to your taste...fresh is best, but dried will work here too. Once the chicken is cooked through, turn the heat off, and add a handful or two of cherry or grape tomatoes that have been sliced in half. The heat from the pan will help warm the tomatoes, but won't make them super mushy. Once the chicken is cooked and tomatoes in, I then make the couscous (or pasta). When the couscous is done and ready to serve, turn the heat back on the chicken, add a few tablespoons of butter and crumbled feta cheese. The goal is to get the butter all melted and the cheese melty and soft, but not all hot and disappearing. Then serve the chicken and tomatoes over the couscous so that it soaks up all the yummy goodness!

This is also fantastic with fresh baby spinach stirred in when you add the butter and feta, other options are capers or olives, yummy!

Too much bread...and I wish I meant money

I have a ton of leftover bread. I made cinnamon raisin Challah bread for Thanksgiving morning, regular artisan bread for Thanksgiving dinner and hamburger rolls for last nights dinner...needless to say, lots of extra bread.

I needed something for tonight's dinner, something warm and toasty as it had been a long day of hard thoughts, and I also had to use up the bread.

I decided to make a combo bread pudding/baked french toast. I made a cinnamon caramel sauce out of butter, brown sugar, a little corn syrup and dash of salt all brought to a bubble on the stove. I then greased my big Pyrex and added the syrup to the bottom. I cubed up the half loaf of Challah that I had and a half a large boule of bread and pushed it down into the syrup. Then I beat 8 eggs and two cups of milk with a teaspoon of vanilla, two tablespoons sugar, a teaspoon cinnamon and a dash of salt, poured over the bread and pressed down. Refrigerate for two hours then baked for an hour at 375 until a knife came out clean. Then I sprinkled the top with small pats of butter a little more cinnamon and brown sugar and baked ten more minutes. It hit the spot, kids loved it and I used up most of my extra bread!

Dinner evolution

I had no intentions of posting until tomorrow, but then I went to make dinner and had one of those moments that folks who love to cook, but also who cook all the time, have. My plan for dinner was a simple meatless baked ziti, bread and salad. As I gathered the items I needed, I saw them...leeks. I had bought them to use when the in laws were here since they like the veggie lasagna I make. With Thanksgiving looming, I really need to use those leeks up, one can go in the stuffing, but the other...well. Then it happened, dinner evolution. My mind started going and a new plan, and recipe, was hatched.

I had a really nice, big, organic leek to use up. I already had my ziti noodles out, as well as my ricotta and mozzarella. Quick scan of the fridge and freezer, and I pulled out about 4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts.

Here is what is being made.

I sliced my leek and washed it really well, they are very sandy. I put the leeks in a pan with a blob of butter and a few glugs of olive oil. I then sliced my chicken very thing, and then cut into bite sized pieces. This is really easy to do when the chicken is still partly frozen, plus you avoid the slimy chicken feeling. I then cooked the leeks and chicken together until the chicken was cooked through, adding salt and pepper and garlic when almost done.

The ziti noodles were boiled and drained, then the chicken mixture was tossed in the same pot and stirred well. I added one can of diced tomatoes and a half a bag of leaf spinach, stir well. I then made a simple white sauce (flour and butter in equal portions, cook for a few minutes, add milk,salt and pepper and cook until thickened) then added a good handful of grated parm cheese and poured over the pasta/chicken/spinach/leek mixtures. Stirred in a handful of mozzarella cheese and put in a big baking dish. Added a few spoonfuls of ricotta, sprinkled some more parm on top and baked until bubbly.

The trick is to taste it before you bake, especially checking for salt. Everything is cooked at this point, so it is safe, but the parm cheese is salty, so be careful adding salt. I am not sure what to call this, any ideas??

We have been busy....onward to Thanksgiving

I have been cooking and feeding the family the last week, but we had company and it got crazy, so no posts. I will try to do better...but I promise the kids ate :)

Thanksgiving is creeping up on us, and I am hosting this year.


On the menu:

Spinach and Artichoke Dip (it is required at all family gatherings)
Vegetable Crudite
Turkey
Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potato Bake
Sweet Acorn Squash
Gravy
Cranberry Sauce
Bread

I am getting a jump on things and starting the cooking tomorrow so that I can enjoy the day on Thursday. I made the bread today, it is out usual recipe but I doubled it since we will be having fresh bread tonight with dinner. The sheer volume of dough is astounding! I also plan to make Challah tomorrow to be used in Thanksgiving French Toast...we need something to enjoy while watching the parade!

I will post some recipes tomorrow, most likely my Sweet Potato Bake which is a spin off of Sweet Potato Souffle. I also will post my stuffing recipe which is made with white wine and lots of veggies. See ya tomorrow!

Comfort Food

One of my favorite uses for leftover pasta is fried spaghetti...the kids and I love it for lunch, and it jazzes up boring plain pasta.

To make, I take a pat of butter and melt in my cast iron skillet. If you don't have cast iron, you may want to use a nonstick skillet since this can stick pretty badly, or you may want to add a little olive oil.

When the butter is melted, I add some seasoned bread crumbs, for a single serving, this is around a heaping tablespoon. Add a handful of cooked long pasta like spaghetti or angel hair and cook until the bread crumbs are crispy and the pasta is warmed through. Then stir in some hunks of feta cheese or grate some fresh parm on top, sprinkle with a little more breadcrumbs and cook a minute or two more,

It is simply delicious and a wonderful, comforting lunch!