In Eastern Wisconsin, just over the Illinois border, is a town called Bristol, which has held a large Renaissance Faire since 1972. Living outside of Chicago, we went to the faire many summers growing up. And then later, my aunt owned a permanent booth at the faire for years where she sold her very cool handmade dolls. It's like a small village. And in their food court, they have always sold these cheese fritters which are A-MAZ-ING! During a visit back to the Chicagoland area a few years ago, I took Justin to visit the faire for his first time and he agreed - we needed the recipe for those fritters. We were never successful in getting it.
The other night, Justin was mentioning these evil, addictive fritters again and I started Googling, on a mission to find a similar recipe. I ended up taking some ideas from a few different recipes and then added a few twists of my own to it. They came out awesome! We were so stoked! They were also super quick and very easy. Score!
I think I have the Nekromantix in my head because Halloween was just here... and I dig a little gothabilly/psychobilly sometimes. I'm a sucker for big pompadours and stand-up bass. Nekromantix's "Horny In A Hearse". -jen
FRIED CHEESE FRITTERS Time: 20-30 minutes Difficulty: Easy Makes: about 12 fritters, depending on size
1 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 egg
2/3 cup whole milk
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup Gruyère cheese, shredded
1/4 cup chopped green onions (I used just the green tops)
Preheat peanut or vegetable oil in deep fryer (or use 3 cups of oil in a large pan) to 350 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, chili powder, garlic powder, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Set aside.
In a smaller mixing bowl, add egg and milk. Whisk. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix, just until dry ingredients are combined. Don't over-mix. Fold in shredded cheese and green onion.
Carefully drop a heaping tablespoon of the mixture into the oil. Most fryers or pots will hold about 4-5 fritters at a time. Do not overcrowd. Cook for 3-4 minutes, turning fritters half-way through the cooking time. They should be a deep golden colour.
I made a quick spicy dipping sauce with 3 parts plain Greek yogurt, 1 part mayo, enough Sriracha to give it a spicy kick, and then a dash of Worcestershire, some seasoning salt, chili powder, cumin and tarragon. You could use ranch, mustard or barbecue sauce. Whatever you want. Or no dipping sauce.
Awww yeah! I just made these bad boys a few minutes ago! They're like reverse chile rellenos - the eggs are on the inside instead of the outside. My fingers are still burning from the pasillas (which were spicier than expected, maybe I didn't de-vain them well enough!) - I never wear gloves when I handle chiles and then I regret it. Wear gloves!!! But really, these are only a little spicy, not really "hot".
I was thinking these stuffed chiles are pretty versatile. I used green onion and bacon. You could use jalapeños, cilantro (wish I'd had some!), sausage, chorizo, salsa. Someone gave a shout for more vegetarian recipes - well here's one you can make vegetarian any way you want. I love recipes like this where you can change it over and over and over again and just keep coming up with different combinations. And... low-carb, if you're watching that kind of thing.
What goes with breakfast? Well, naturally, I went straight to crack and dope... so Choking Victim was my only option, singing "500 Channels". Get your skank on. -jen
Wash and dry chiles. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray (I like to line the pan with foil for easy clean-up). Place chiles on baking sheet and broil on one side for 4-5 minutes until charred, then flip and broil on the other side 4-5 minutes until charred.
Immediately place charred chiles in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap or place in a large plastic zip bag and seal. Let rest for 10-15 minutes so that the chiles sweat. Then remove and peel off the charred skins. Cut stem ends off chiles and slice down one side to open them up so that they lay flat. Remove all seeds and ribs from inside of chile. Re-spray the same baking sheet with more non-stick spray and lay chiles flayed open on baking sheet.
While chiles are roasting, you can dice up your bacon and cook in a skillet over medium-high heat until crisp and crumbled, 10-15 minutes. Line a plate with paper towels and place the bacon onto the paper towel to absorb the grease. In the same skillet, saute the diced green onion for 1-2 minutes, just until tender. Mix in with the crumbled bacon on the paper towel plate.
When chiles are done roasting, turn oven down to 350 degrees F.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, salt and pepper, Tabasco, and dash of milk. (We always have some homemade "taco seasoning", and I used some of that to season my eggs, too!) Using the same skillet again (I left a little bit of the bacon grease in it, or you can drain the grease out and use non-stick spray) over medium heat, scramble the eggs. After 2-3 minutes of cooking, add the crumbled bacon and onion into the eggs and cook until just barely wet still. Turn off heat.
On the open-faced chiles, add a layer of shredded cheese, then 1/4 of the egg mixture, then another layer of cheddar cheese. Carefully fold the chile together and use a toothpick to secure it, leaving it seam-side up. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes, until cheese is melted. Remove toothpicks and serve immediately.
I guarantee you that you could serve this to 10 people who claim they don't like cauliflower, not tell them what it is, and at least 9 of them are going to love it. If you're into watching your carbs, this is the PERFECT substitution for mashed potatoes. A little high in fat, maybe, because of all the cheese. But it's great. We made it last night to eat with Fish Piccata and I'm eating the leftovers for breakfast as I type this up. Good way to fool kids into eating their veggies too, if you happen to have that problem.
So how about a little smooth and creamy singing by Iggy Pop with "The Passenger". (I dug all the clips from classic movies on this video.) -jen
salt and pepper to taste (and any other seasoning)
2 eggs
1/4 cup green onion, chopped (about 3 onions)
3/4 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously coat a 2-quart baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
Cut cauliflower into medium-sized florets. Steam until tender. Times will vary, depending on the size of your florets, 5-15 minutes. You should be able to slide a fork into it easily - "fork-tender". Remove from heat.
Place cauliflower into food processor bowl (if you don't have a food processor, egg-beaters/hand mixer would probably work). Add butter, milk, garlic and cayenne. I added just a pinch of salt, a few cranks of fresh black pepper, and a pinch of Caldo de Pollo (seasoned Mexican chicken bouillon). You can use whatever seasoning you want - thyme, rosemary, dill, seasoning salt. Blend in the food processor until smooth and creamy. At this point taste it to see if it's seasoned to where you want it, add more seasoning if necessary. Then add the eggs and blend those in.
Stir in the green onion and cheeses with a spoon, leaving a little bit of cheese to sprinkle on top; don't use the food processor. Pour into your greased pan. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
As I've stated before, we are always looking for a better mac & cheese recipe as it is, in my humble opinion, the ultimate comfort food. If you were of the poorer persuasion as a child, then you undoubtedly grew up with the store bought stuff in a blue box (we all know what brand I'm referring to, hopefully) and while that is a suitable quick fix, I've got a recipe that doesn't take very long that comes out better by several orders of magnitude. This can be doctored any way you like. I decided to go with bacon and green onions at Jen's request and I believe it worked beautifully. But you could do roasted garlic, or leeks, or add green beans, or sausage or pepperoni, or whatever you like! Incidentally, you can use almost any cheese, or cheeses, you want with this so get creative if you feel like it. Just remember that the harder a cheese is, generally, the more oily it'll be when it melts. I went with some Colby Jack as it's a good all around cheese for flavor and meltiness and also used some Smoked Gouda to stretch the smokey flavor without overpowering the dish with bacon (is there such a thing?).
To accompany this musically, I went with an old favorite, Down By Law. Their album Punkrockacademyfightsong is a classic and one I've listened to so often that I know it by heart. My favorite song on there is without a doubt 1944 so I went with that, though I listened to most of the album again, just to be sure. It's that good.
Mac & Cheese Time: 45 minutes Difficulty: Easy Serves: 4-6
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Pasta
4-6 cups water
1/4 cup salt
1 lb Rigatoni or Rotini pasta (these hold the sauce well but use whatever you like)
In large stock pot or dutch oven, bring water and salt to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and return to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for 12 minutes or until your pasta is al dente. Remove from heat and drain in a colander. Place back in pot and cover till compiling the dish.
Sauce
2 strips thick cut bacon, diced
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup shallot, minced
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 cups heavy cream (if you like a thinner sauce also use an additional cup of whole milk)
12 oz cheese, grated
1/4 cup green onion, diced
In a small skillet, heat bacon over medium high heat until crisp, 4-5 minutes, stirring as needed. Drain off excess grease and set bacon aside. In a 2 qt saucepan, heat butter and olive oil over medium heat and add shallots when the butter has melted. Cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes or until your shallots start to brown a little. Add the flour and stir in thoroughly. Reduce heat to medium low and brown the flour for 2 minutes. Add the salt and pepper and heavy cream (milk as well if you are using it). Return heat to medium high and bring the cream to a low boil. Add 8 oz of the grated cheese, reserving a third for later use, and the green onions and crisp bacon. Stir continuously until cheese has melted completely.
Add your cheese sauce to the drained pasta and mix thoroughly. Spoon the cheese sauce and pasta into a 2 qt, glass baking dish, sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese, and place in the 350 degree oven for 5 -10 minutes or until the top cheese is melted. Serve immediately and enjoy the cheesy creaminess!
We had our good friend Lua over for dinner tonight and wanted to do something that would be simple and fast, but still have a bit of a "wow factor". Justin and I had been talking about a yogurt marinade recently and having company seemed like a good reason to do it (not that we really needed a reason). So we went with a Mediterranean themed dinner.
What I really like about these three dishes is that I used lots of the same ingredients in everything, so everything just stayed on the counter and got used again and again. That's actually how I came up with the green hummus! I had the intention of just making my regular recipe... but then I had the 3 green onions leftover, the mint, and some parsley from when we did our Italian Chopped Salad. I was super stoked about how it came out all herby and delicious. J and I both decided that every recipe listed below was perfect... lots of times we make a recipe, like it, make it the next time, change it a little, make it again, change it a little. With these, we decided there wasn't room for improvement. We liked them all just as they are. (It was a pretty awesome compliment from Justin.)
The song playing right now in our kitchen, as I was typing this up and deciding what kind of music to post, is Bouncing Souls' "Letters From Iraq". I think it's technically "Fourth of July Weekend", since the 4th is this Wednesday. -jen
In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients (except the chicken - that's hard to whisk). Combine chicken strips and yogurt marinade in a gallon Ziploc and marinate for at least an hour (longer is optimal!)
The chicken would probably be better grilled, but it's a lousy day so we're baking it. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly oil a baking sheet, then line up chicken strips on pan and pour remaining marinade over them. Bake at 350 F for 15-20 minutes (depending on the size of the strips, check with meat thermometer or cook until juices run clear).
Serve on a toasted pita with lettuce, tomato, onion, and cucumber. We like to spread some hummus on the pita and top the pita with tzatziki. Sprinkle with some crumbled feta cheese.
juice of 1/2 large lemon (use other half in chicken marinade)
zest of 1/4 large lemon (use remaining 3/4 in chicken marinade)
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 green onion, diced fine
1/2 teaspoon dill
2 teaspoons fresh mint, chopped fine
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon Accent (optional)
ground black pepper to taste
Place diced cucumber in a strainer over a bowl. Toss evenly with 1 teaspoon salt and let drain for 1/2 hour to 1 hour. Squeeze out excess juice. Discard juice and combine the cucumber with Greek yogurt. Add all remaining ingredients and mix. Serve on pita sandwiches, as a dip with toasted pita, or as a fresh vegetable dip.
GREEN HUMMUS Time: 5-10 minutes Difficulty: Easy Makes: 1 cup (maybe 1.5 cups) Need: Food processor or blender
1 can (14.5oz) garbanzo beans, drained
2 heaping tablespoons tahini
3 green onions, rough chopped
2 tablespoons parsley, rough chopped
1 tablespoon fresh mint, rough chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1/8-1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (depending on taste)
1/4 teaspoon salt
few grinds of fresh black pepper
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar (or lemon juice)
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
Combine all ingredients except the olive oil in the food processor. While blending, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until desired consistency. Blend for 2 minutes on high until completely smooth. Same application as tzatziki - use in pita sandwiches, to dip toasted pita or tortilla chips in, or as a fresh veggie dip.
PITA CHIPS Time: 15 minutes
pitas
olive oil
salt and pepper
Zatar seasoning (optional, but awesome)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut pita into 1/8 sections. Place in a single layer on baking sheet. Brush tops with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and Zatar. Bake for 5 minutes. Turn pieces over and bake another 5 minutes, or until crisp. Can be eaten with both hummus and tzatziki.
In keeping with Justin's summer theme on the last post, I made this fantastic summery vegetable salad with a homemade Italian dressing. I'd been feeling like raw veggies lately, and one thing with veggie salad is that it's usually cut into large pieces that you can fit two, maybe three veggies on the fork. I wanted this salad chopped a little smaller so that I got all the flavours with every bite. It reminds me of a large-chopped relish. But it was really good... especially after it sat refrigerated overnight. And it's versatile! The first night, we just ate it in a bowl. The next night, we sprinkled it onto lettuce greens. I was thinking it might be tasty warmed and served on crustini, too!
When we make olive oil and vinegar based dressings, we usually just whisk all the ingredients together and you get big bits of dried herbs. It's always good, but I was thinking about the dressing packets you can buy at the store, so I took all my dry dressing ingredients and blended them into a fine powder with our herb grinder and then used the stick blender to blend it into the oil. It came out good, so you could do it that way... but for the ease of those without herb grinders or stick blenders, I posted regular blender instructions
As soon as I started thinking about posting this salad as a summer salad, I got The Atari's "Boys of Summer" song stuck in my head. Well really, it's Don Henley's song, I guess, but it's their version that got stuck on repeat. It's a little poppy... but so was the original, and I still like that one too. :P -jen
ITALIAN CHOPPED SALAD WITH DRESSING Time: 15-20 minutes prep Difficulty: Can you handle a knife? Serves: About 6, as a side dish
3 medium zucchinis (about 2 cups), large dice
2 carrots, large dice
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 orange bell pepper, large dice
1 cup crimini mushrooms (about 7), large dice
1 medium shallot, diced
3 green onions, diced
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 and 1/2 cups mozzarella (12oz), diced
1/2 cup rough chopped green or kalamata olives
1 can (15oz) garbanzo beans, drained
1 can (15oz) red kidney beans
3 teaspoons capers, drained
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 and 1/2 cups Italian Dressing (see recipe below)
1/4 cup pepperoni, diced (optional)
Place all ingredients into a large bowl. Toss with dressing. Serve at room temp. Note: I'd have put some fresh herbs in this if I'd had any on hand, but since I didn't, I didn't want to put it in the recipe. Maybe 1/4 cup chopped basil or flat leaf parsley.
ITALIAN DRESSING Time: 7 minutes Difficulty: E-Z Makes: 1.5 cups
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Accent or MSG (optional)
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1 cup olive oil
In a blender, combine all dry ingredients and vinegars. While blending, remove the middle spout of your lid (most blender lids have these) and very slowly drizzle in the olive oil so that ingredients emulsify.
