(Non-Potato) Fries of Goodness

Sometimes a crunchy, salt, soft-on-the-inside fry needs to happen.

And personally, when I decide that this fry business needs to happen, it's more about crunchy, tasty bit than it is about the actual potato. Knowing this... I stepped out the other night and made some fries of a... leftover... yellow bell pepper.



I know, I know. It's brilliant.

Anyway... another thing that sometimes happens (but not too often) is me watching a full episode of Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals. This 3 step batter came from Ms. Ray.

Do I remember what she was battering or what she called this batter? Not at all.

Do I remember what else she was making in that episode? Nope.

Do I have a recipe for you? Again... no.

I'm sorry. I know that's kinda rude. But! The silver lining in this situation is that... well... last week I made and enjoyed some ridiculously good bell pepper fries. Feeling better yet? : )

Alright... If you're the adventurous, make-it-up-as-you-go type (like I am), then perhaps this will be enough to get you going:

Bowl 1: flour
Bowl 2: egg
Bowl 3: seasoned bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.

Oh... and it probably goes without saying, but these fries are baked, not fried.

So... go make fries of something awkward and let me know how it goes. Until I hear from you, I'll just be hanging out over here. Not watching Rachael Ray.

Pizza and a Movie

Those of you who follow me on Twitter might remember my excitement a while back over getting a new neighbor. You might also remember that we had dinner a few weeks back. You might even remember that at this dinner we both confessed to being Twitter nerds and... well... tweeting about each other.

If you don't remember any of that, then I'd say you're either not reading or not retaining. Both things you should work on. Until then... I'll show you some pretty pictures and flashy videos and catch you up on what April, Amanda, and Amanda (mmhmm... we share a name) did last night.

We made Pillsbury's Easy Gyro Pizza and found that it was easy and definitely yum:


(if you're not about to click through that recipe link, I'll give you a heads up on the main ingredients: refrig pizza crust, sour cream, mozzarella, ground turkey, cucumber, tomato, feta, red onion)

While we digested, we gasped and cursed our way through Session 9:



A good time was had by all. We also exchanged Twitter info so that we can be real (internet) friends.

What did you kittens do on Friday night?

Oh, and who wants to be my Twitter friend? ; )

Spaghetti Squash, Shmaghetti Squash

Hey, guys.

*shuffles feet, looks at ground*

Didja... miss me?

*crickets*

Well... whatevs. I missed you suckers.

So I'm back. And I've made you dinner. Alright... fine, I'll be straight with you: I made myself dinner. And I took pictures of it for you.

So what are we am I having?

only Spaghetti Squash!

I forgot to take a picture of the whole squash, but you can probably imagine what it looked like. Annnnd... you can probably imagine the epic struggle that took place when I had to cut that squash in half lengthwise...

I grunted. I strained. I took breaks. I might have even broken a sweat. I don't remember now.

Anyway, this is what I came up with.


Two halves. One gutted, one not. For comparison purposes.

Now, I first thought "this is will be my first and last experience making my own spaghetti squash" when trying to cut the damn thing. The second time I thought that was when I cracked it open and caught sight of what looked an awful lot like pumpkin gunk. Ew.

Luckily it's much easier to rid spaghetti squash of their gunk than it is pumpkins.


Once gutted, the spaghetti squash halves got the spa treatment with some olive oil, salt, pepper and a 350 degree oven.


See how handy I am with a knife? Take note. I had A LOT of control of what was going on with that knife.

*over-dramatic eye roll*


After about 30 minutes, the squash looked like this. Almost falling apart into its spaghetti-ness. I took a fork to it, dumped it into a bowl with a bit of butter (alright, it was vegan "buttery spread" but it worked), parmesan cheese, and bit more salt and pepper.


It was... so delicious.

I do think it was bit overcooked, because I've had spaghetti squash that was firmer. So... ugh... I guess I will have to make another date with the knife in the near future.

This next time, though, I'm going to send out a text to let someone know that I'm taking my life in my own hands. Just in cases.

April Fools!!! (Burger & Fries)

I hate April Fools Day. Hate it. More than Valentine's Day (which I don't fully hate, truth be told). April 1st makes me nervous. This year I accidentally scheduled student conferences over April Fools Day and breathed a deep sigh of relief when the day ended and not one of my students did anything stupid.

What does any of this have to do with the burger?

Not much. Only that I made it in April. And there is no meat to be had in this Bacon Cheeseburger. Honest.

Watch. We'll start from the bottom.


One whole wheat English muffin, toasted in the panini press.


One chargrilled Boca burger, fried up in a little bit of oil in a skillet. A piece of pepper jack cheese on top.


Two strips of facon.


English muffin top.

I'm sure you're skeptical. I mean, I was. I'm a fan of the meatless products, but I don't put too much stock in them. They are usually blandish, rubbery, or otherwise just passible as foodstuffs. How-ev-er, this burger was excellent. Frying it up allowed it to brown really well and cook without being tough or soggy. And you all know how I feel about facon. So... as you can see... I started noming on this burger as soon as I assembled it. About 10 minutes later...


the fries were done and made a quick stop on some paper towels before being piled high on my plate. And there is a little April Fools-like twist to the fries too. They aren't potatoes, as you can tell, but they aren't sweet potatoes either. Those are carrot fries. And they are amazingly delicious.

To make them, just cut carrots into fry shapes, toss in olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 425 for about 25 minutes, flipping them once at the midpoint, and then... eat them all. I used three big carrots for this one portion and it was perfect.

Oh em gee. This was a really great meal.


A Note about Vegetarianism: Sunday night when I mentioned this meal to friends, Blair scoffed at it and informed me that our continued friendship hinged on my continued enjoyment of actual meat. Just in case some of you are ready to take your carnivorous ways elsewhere, I'll say that I love animals and I love eating them.

And... as a matter of fact, thanks to Blair, I sucked on my first crawfish head this weekend. And went back for more. So there's that.

Asparagus + Goat Cheese = Pizza?

My kingdom for more counter space!


I guess this will always be the complaint, no matter how much surface area I have to work with. But seriously... I need more room.

Especially when throwing leftovers together to make mini pizzas. Because... one... really can't... have enough... room when building pizzas? Idk... let me just stop here and give you the lowdown.


Allrecipes.com told me to use my goat cheese and asparagus in either a quesadilla (no good without tortillas) or a pizza. So I built my pizzas on some EarthGrains Thin Buns and just tried to use as many of my perishables as possible.

From the bottom:

+ Thin Bun
+ Drizzle of olive oil
+ Parmesan cheese (Might have been a bit moldy... In an I-am-my-father's-daughter moment, I said, "eh... some people would pay more for that" and used it anyway. Judge if you want.)
+ Sliced cherry tomatoes
+ Chopped fresh asparagus
+ Chunks of goat cheese
+ Shake of red pepper flakes
+ Crumbled, fried facon (holla!)

Since the thin buns are already cooked, it's just about heating the toppings through. About 10 minutes at 350 will do the trick.


Mmmmmm... So good. Goat cheese makes my mouth happier than many other things, so I knew I'd like this pizza. What I didn't expect was just how much those fresh tomatoes would step up in a sauce-less situation. And while real bacon might have been a stronger counterpoint to the health stacked on that pizza, the facon was crunchy and close enough for my purposes.

AND today while I was napping on the futon, I think I heard Dr. Oz say something about how meal had to be colorful to be balanced and healthy. And just try to tell me these minis are boring.

That's right. You can't. I win again.

Thanksgiving: A Look Back

I'm sure this doesn't surprise you, but I love when people - usually news anchors or school administrators - develop instant nostalgia. You know... the way people talk about something that happened yesterday or maybe the day before with such awe and reverence that you start to question yourself and your lack of concern over that same, fairly insignificant event.

An example:

The Gosselins: Where are they now?

(Personally... I'd watch that special. I know it hasn't even been a week since their finale on Monday, but I miss them.)

Anyway, I'm already getting nostalgic about yesterday's Thanksgiving meal. It was... really quite good. I blame the chef.

Literally, my Thanksgiving meal was made by a friend who is a former executive and then restaurant chef.

We had...


The most moist, delicious, roast turkey I've ever had.

Also on the plate: roasted root vegetables, garlicky asparagus, melt-in-your-mouth onion, creamy mashed potatoes, and baked squash. Not pictured: amazing gravy made from reduced drippings, and cranberry pear relish spiked with orange Stoli.

Sigh.

Luckily, my nostalgia will be calmed a bit when I eat my plate of leftovers tonight.

And stay tuned for dessert. You can look forward to a better picture (and an explanation) of this guy...


And his awkwardly portioned friends.


What'd you eat yesterday? Thanksgiving or not... I'm just curious.

Bet you didn't see THIS coming!

You know that day you reach - after you've been sick for a while - when you are so fully fed up with soups, toast, orange juice, tea and all other sick foods? Well, today was that day for me.

It was also the day before the last day of classes before Thanksgiving break.

Feeling quite a bit healthier and totally excited about the week long school vacay coming up, I was primed and ready for an ambitious dinner.

I did some research in the office today and after school, I attempted to duplicate The Friendly Kitchen's Almond-Thyme Crusted Chicken with Maple-Balsamic Glaze, Pecorino Polenta, and Garlicky Kale.


What made me think I could manage a meal put together by a blogger with a $40,000 culinary education? What encouraged me to take on a dinner that requires two pots, two skillets, one pan, and various prep tools?

Honestly? ...Almond meal.

I'm still trying to use it up.

But... as you can see, my dinner was edible! And pretty good, actually.

I should never have been so scared of polenta. Wilted spinach (no kale at Smalltown Walmart... surprise!) is quite terrific. And almond-thyme crusted chicken is subtly flavored and will be great leftover.

But friends, I'll be honest. The drizzle isn't pictured because I forgot about it and instead of reducing it, I burned it. It turned into a balsamic, maple candy. Very black. Very sticky. And then very quickly very solid. Blech.

When it was all said and done, I learned a very big lesson.

No matter how many pots, pans, aprons (yes, two), whisks (again, two), knives, and measuring cups you use to make your dinner, it will still only take you about 15 minutes to eat it.

And then you'll have to do the dishes.

Dear Reader,

Never live alone.

Love,

Amanda

Sunday Brunch (for Two!)

Yes, yes, I know. Sunday brunch is quickly becoming a habit with me.

But, ya know, there are most definitely worse things.

So here's what I had for brunch today and what I recommend you make for brunch at the next available opportunity (Sunday?).


4 strips of bacon, baked for ease and smoke detector testing (mine's fine, by the way). 4 eggs, slow scrambled with milk, a slice-o-Kraft American cheese, salt and pepper. And a holy mess of fried potatoes.

Mmm... let's spend a minute with those potatoes, shall we?!


My grandmother (mom's mom) made the best fried potatoes. They were perfectly browned in just the right amount of oil. Seasoned only with salt, pepper, and onions, the potatoes were simple and comforting and absolutely amazing. Breakfast-for-Dinner at Mammaw's house was a rare treat that we ALL got excited about. Honestly, boys and girls, I don't even remember the other dishes served at those breakfast gatherings. The potatoes were just that good.

So... that's the nostalgia... now here's the joke:

My aunt (mom's sister, Mammaw's daughter) set out to make these fried potatoes this summer. She reached back into the recesses of her mind and did her very best to recreate Mammaw's fried potatoes. What she ended up with was disastrous and she came to me wondering what went wrong. After she talked me through her process, I asked a question: "Hmm... how much oil did you put in the skillet?"

(Ready yourself for the punchline.)

She replied, "Oh... about this much" raising her right thumb and pointer finger to show about an inch and a half. (O_O)

Too much! Too much!

Anyway... since then I've been trying to make those fried potatoes on my own. And, I think I've got it. Today, I spiced them up Creole-style because I didn't have any onions but the basic idea is the same.


Mammaw's (Creole) Fried Potatoes

Vegetable Oil
Potatoes (red-skinned, cubed)
Minced Garlic
Creole Seasoning (Tastes Great on Everything!)

1. Take a turn of the pan with the vegetable oil. (Just a turn, more than that and you'll be deep frying your potatoes. You just want to brown them. Right, Anita?)

2. Add the chopped potatoes to the hot oil, spread them out, sprinkle garlic and Creole seasoning over them, and walk away. Seriously. Let them brown.

3. Flip them a few times as they brown, but give them several minutes between flippings. This the most important part of the deal. Just do it. After flips, season again if you want.

4. Taste test along the way. Stop when they are perfect.


Finally, take all your food stuffs to the table, share them with your house guest (No? That's just me? Well... aren't I just the lucky girl?), and then please go on to seize carpe the diem day.

Spinach Artichoke Pesto Pasta

Okay, those of you who like your recipes will not enjoy this one. I measured not a thing.

I was inspired by Rachael Ray while I was still in bed this morning, so you might have more luck finding her recipe.

Follow me if you dare! (You can keep up, I promise.)


I started by browning a can of quartered artichoke hearts that I drained the water out of. A little bit of oil helps the process.


In my new food processor (oh, hello!), I pureed probably 2/3 of a bag of baby spinach and a small handful of fresh mint with about a half cup of vegetable stock, a couple of spoonfuls of chopped garlic, a spoonful of roasted almonds, and a handful or so of parmesan cheese. I added salt and pepper to taste. And... let's be honest... I added some more garlic. And cheese.


Once the spinach pesto tasted good, I dumped it in with the browned artichoke hearts and allowed the pesto and artichoke to get to know each other.

Did I mention that I was boiling whole wheat penne at the same time? Well... I was. But I'm sure you weren't surprised.


The last step was to toss the pasta and pesto together. Let me just say that this pesto was fab and really easy to whip together. The artichoke hearts bring a slight bite to the dish and the overall flavor is light and fresh. Paired with Three Rivers, this pasta made my Sunday night.

How did you ring in November? For some reason, I've been asking people about November a lot these days. So... I'll ask you too. How is November treatin' ya?!

Hoisin Turkey Lettuce Wraps or... Ima P.F. Yo' Chang

Cooking for my family is... interesting.

My sister eats low carb/ high protein. My dad wants meat with a side of meat, ridiculously hot and spicy if at all possible. My mom wants only what she's had before, and not as spicy as it was the last time. My brother is quite picky but he's only around for about 20 minutes, 15 of which are spent in the shower. And... I love food!

So trying to figure out what to make for this brood is not unlike a Food Network Challenge.

Last week, however, I found something that made everyone happy.


Everyone. We all loved these Hoisin Turkey Lettuce Wraps.

I started with Rachael Ray's recipe for Chicken Lettuce Wraps,substituted ground turkey for chicken cutlets, and dropped the bean sprouts and sesame seeds for the above mentioned reasons.

Ta Da! The crowd pleasing lettuce wraps!


I even made the lettuce wraps again at a friend's house for a nice light lunch. And guess what?! My friends liked the wraps too! Even baby Isabella ate it!


I'm just sayin'.

The combination of crisp, fresh, chilled lettuce and the warm, browned, hoisin flavored turkey, onion, red pepper, and water chestnut is just too good.

So do yourself, and everyone around you, a huge favor and make these lettuce wraps soon. But just be prepared for everyone and their mother to ask you if you got these wraps (or perhaps the idea for them) from P.F. Chang's. Just smile and slowly back away, delicious lettuce wrap in hand.

Welcome Back Breakfast

There is a word for the mental ability to read words and understand shapes that are partially covered or missing. Sadly... I don't remember that word.

Anyway... how is your that ability?


If you're particuarly jazzy with the fill-in-the-blanks capability, you see that the plate reads "It's Your Special Day!"


My mom picked this plate up somewhere when me and my brother and sister were young. She only bought the one and honestly, one is enough. Special days aren't special if you have to share them with your little brother.


Today was my sister's Special Day. She's been on a missions trip on the Navajo reservation in Arizona for the last ten days. Last night when she got in she requested a frittata breakfast before she crashed.


I figured that my jobless self could manage getting up at a reasonable hour, grocery shopping, and whipping up a tasty breakfast. To go with the frittata, I picked up some fresh strawberries and my sister's favorite strawberry cream cheese fruit dip. It was... delish. I'm sad it's gone.


A frittata is the easiest cooked breakfast food to pull together in the morning, and you can really put whatever you want in there. Here's what I made today:

Jessica's Pepper and Onion Welcome Back Frittata

1/2 sweet onion
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 green bell pepper
bit of olive oil
6 eggs
splash of milk
salt & pepper
1/3 cup cheddar cheese
1/3 cup mozzarella cheese

Roughly chop half an onion and half of each bell pepper. Heat a medium skillet to Medium High heat, add a turn of olive oil, and then toss in the onions and peppers. Be careful not to let the oil splatter on you when you add in the veg. It can ruin a shirt; I'm just sayin.

While the onions and peppers are browning, crack 6 eggs into a bowl. Sometimes I only use half of the yolks but today I used all of them. It is a special day, after all. Add a splash of milk to the eggs and then beat them a little bit with a fork. Salt and pepper to taste.

Turn on the oven to broil at this point.

When the onions and peppers are browned to perfection, pour the egg mixture over the veg. Leave the egg alone for about a minute to let it start to set up. Drop about half of the cheese into the egg. Then work around the edge with your spatula, letting the liquid egg run under the frittata and set again. I also break through the middle of the frittata so the egg can slide under the bottom there too.

Once the egg looks almost set, still jiggly on top but setting up from the bottom, put it into the oven under the broiler. Remember to wrap the skillet handle with foil if it isn't ovensafe. Now... watch it! It will burn faster than you can blink.

The egg will puff up a bit as it cooks through. Once it looks cooked but just before it browns, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Once the cheese browns, you're done!

Take that baby out, slice it up, and enjoy!

Sometimes I brown my veggies with a little bit of garlic and/or throw herbs into the frittata. You really can't go wrong with a frittata.

And... I like to eat the leftovers with ketchup. There. I said it.


Now go forth and breakfast!

Fiddleheads - Bad, Chicken - Good

I had all the plans to roast brussel sprouts for my visiting family. My aunt and I decided to make some tasty, crunchy, oven-fried chicken, and roasted brussel sprouts would have been the perfect compliment.

But IGA didn't have any brussel sprouts. :(

I stood at the hole where the sprouts should be and that's when I saw them. Fiddleheads.


Pic courtesy of Wiki

I first saw fiddleheads at the American Folk Festival in Bangor. They were... umm... pickled. And even the woman manning the booth couldn't really tell us what was so good about them. They are ferns and only available for a very short period in these Northern parts.

Sadly, I couldn't find any recipes that just deal with fiddleheads straight out. Many of the recipes wanted me to use them in stew or some other dish. So... I just roasted them with a little bit of oil and sea salt.

As far as I'm concerned, needn't bother.


When I first opened the container, the fiddleheads smelled like wet camp. You know the smell... it's all wet and woody and dirty. And the fiddleheads were very wet themselves. They weren't crisp and dry like a brussel sprout or a broccoli floret, but I thought that maybe that would improve.

It didn't.


When they came out of the oven they smelled like hot, wet camp. Ugh. My dad and I ate a few of them. But they were not what one would call... good.

What was good... was the chicken. It was fantastic!


I made a crunchy coating of approximately 2c crushed Parmesan Basil Wheat Thins, 1/2c parmesan cheese, and 1t salt. My aunt stepped up and dipped the chicken fillets in egg and then in the crumbs. The chicken was baked for... about 45 minutes, but I don't remember exactly so check it at 30 minutes and then reassess.



Mmm... the chicken probably didn't need to bake as long as I baked it, but it was soooo tasty. The crackers have a strong parmesan basil flavor but it mellows a bit as it cooks. My mom didn't like the crackers for that reason, but she loved the chicken.

I'm definitely going to make this chicken again. I'm going to experiment with all the other Wheat Thin flavors, but then I might just go crazy with all crackers. Why not?!

Best. Broccoli. Ever.

I love broccoli. And this recipe brocc-ed my world.

No dice? It worked with people used it for Obama!

Anyway, whatever you are having for dinner tonight, please have broccoli with it. Or in place of it. It's really that good.


Roasted Garlic Lemon Broccoli (c/o AllRecipes)

What You Need:
2 heads broccoli, separated into florets
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

What You Do:
Cut the broccoli into manageable bits. I keep florets and stems. They are both delicious in their own ways.

Toss broccoli with EVOO, sea salt, pepper, and garlic.

Roast in 400 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Until the broccoli equivalent of 'fork tender.'

Right after you remove the broccoli from the oven, squeeze lemon juice over the top of the green beauties.

Now eat the entire batch and debate about another trip to the grocery store to start the whole process again.

Fondue Prep

Bite-sized things are so hard to walk away from.


Especially when they are roasted brussel sprouts and broccoli florets. And, of course, pound cake.

In the invite to this fondue party, the gracious host made the following missteps.

R. and K., you are, of course, allowed to bring partners (it would be nice to not be the only male). If the rest of you suddenly find a partner, you may bring him/her, as well. Amanda, I'm sorry, but you may have to come to an event and not bring cupcakes. A damn shame.

As it turns out, I didn't "suddenly find a partner," silly me. And since cupcakes were clearly forboden, I'm going to be partnered to these gorgeous specimens.


And I'm really okay with that. :)

Orange Chicken with Broccoli and Onion

Mmmm... lunch.

As school gets increasingly busy and stressful, I find myself cooking with increasing frequency. It makes sense, right?

It does.

Anyway, today I dusted off a package of Lee Kum Kee Mandarin Orange Chicken Sauce that has been on my shelf for over a year. The package told me that it would be best before August 2007. Umm... we're a bit past that but that sauce was hermetically sealed. I'm not worried.


The back of the package had directions for a chicken, pepper, and onion stir-fry, but I just did my own thing.


I started by chopping up an onion


and about this much broccoli.

Then I (horrors!) pulled out the thawed chicken.


On the hierarchy of my kitchen dislikes, chicken reigns supreme. It grosses me out. Chicken = deadly diseases. Every time. I don't even feel this way about ground beef, and I've read Fast Food Nation.

Back to it... I cut up the chicken for easy stir frying. I salted and peppered the pieces on one side, because I'm odd like that, and carefully placed them in a little bit of hot EVOO in the big skillet. (I say 'the' big skillet, because the roommate and I have a big skillet and a little skillet. We are very advanced.)

After they (finally) browned, I tossed the broccoli and onion into the skillet and lidded that jazz. I let the veggies sweat it out for a few minutes and then opened her up, stirred everybody around, and walked away. I did this three times, I think.


When I was quite pleased with the texture of the vegetables and, honestly, beginning to worry about burning the goodness on the bottom of the pan, I poured a fair amount of the Mandarin Sauce over the whole shabang. Turns out I added a bit too much sauce, but I just served the stuff with a slotted spoon and everything was fine.


About this time, I remembered the rice and set that to boil. I let the chicken and such simmer at a low temp for the 10 minutes it took the rice to cook. I don't know if this did anything to the flavor, but I will do it this way from now on just in case it did.


This dish was fantastic. One of my favorite restaurants in VA is the Red Star Tavern. I have had a few things that I liked there, but the reason I think about the Red Star on slow days is because their Orange Chicken is absolutely amazing. It's saucy and spicy and served on the most gloriously fluffy rice.

I'm pleased to report that this Mandarin Sauce was eerily similar to the Red Star dish. It wasn't quite as spicy as the Red Star variety, but it's as close as it needs to be to make me really really happy.

Now if only I could remember where I bought this sauce two years ago...