Homemade Garlic Knots

Recently, it was one of those cold wintery nights when all you want is a large blanket and comfort foods. I made spagetti for dinner; nice, warm comfort food. However, I wanted something more than that to go with it. Something else in the comfort food line, like garlic bread. Alas, no bread in the house despite the fact that I had just gone to the grocery store! I had pizza dough though. I thought about garlic breadsticks and then remembered how much Mike loves good garlic knots from the pizzeria. It couldn't be too hard to turn pizza dough into garlic knots, right? Right.

This was incredibly simple and they turned out really pretty too. These would be a great way to dress up any dinner.

Homemade Garlic Knots

1 pkg pizza dough, room temperature
1/3 cup good olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
salt

Preheat oven to 350. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, garlic and a teaspoon of salt and mix well.

Tear a small egg sized piece of dough off and roll it into a cylinder about 5-6 inches long. Take the two edges, cross them over each other, pull one end through the hole and then pull both ends to make a knot. Tuck both ends under the knot and place on a oiled baking sheet. Continue until you have used all of the dough. (How many knots you get will depend on how big you make each one. I got about a dozen.) 

When you've placed all the knots on the baking sheet, take a pastry brush and  the bowl of garlic oil and brush each knot with the oil. Make sure to get some of the crushed garlic onto each knot.

Bake knots for about 12 minutes or until they are golden brown on top. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Serve with marinara sauce for dipping.

Spring Rolls

If there is one thing I crave about Chinese food, it would be spring rolls. I love them. Sometimes I try to convince Mike that we need to order Chinese just so I can have spring rolls. I have now discovered that that is no longer necessary as I can now make them whenever I want!

Who knew that the local grocery store carried both spring roll wrappers AND bean sprouts?? Okay, apparently a lot of people knew it but I didn't. I made this discovery while grocery shopping with my Mama, who was not nearly as excited as I was about this. Now, if I had discovered really good Thai-style peanut sauce, she would have felt differently. Alas, that seems to be eluding us. I digress.

Anyway, this turned out to be one of those great moments in culinary trials. You know those days where you say, "Okay, I'm going to make this but I highly doubt it's going to work." And then...it turns out to be more spectacularly delicious than you could even have imagined? This was one of those kind of moments. Added bonus: incredibly easy!

disclaimer: These are probably far from authentic. Nor is this probably the right way to do any of this. But it tastes good. 

Spring Rolls

1 package egg roll wrappers
1 shallot, minced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup bean sprouts
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup shredded cabbage
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced and then sliced again (photo below explains what I'm talking about)
about 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
a few tbsp olive oil
a little bowl with about 1/4 cup water and a heaping tsp of flour added to it
a few more tbsp olive oil

In a medium saute pan, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add shallots and garlic and saute till slightly golden, about 1 minute. Add mushrooms and cook for another 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are becoming soft. Add bean sprouts, carrots and cabbage and stir again so everything gets along well.

With the lid to your saute pan ready, pour in soy sauce and immediately cover to trap the steam. Keep covered for 1 minute. remove cover and stir  again. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

Pull out one egg roll wrapper. Lay it diagonally with one cover pointing towards you. Place that little bowl of flour water near you as well.

Add about two tablespoons of filling to the center of the wrapper and spread it out lengthwise.

Lift the corner that is pointing at you, fold it over the filling and lightly stuff the corner under the filling.

Now grab the corner on the left and fold it towards the right side like one side of an envelope, making sure to stuff any escaping filling back in. Also make sure that there isn't a little hole near the bottom fold or there will be filling escape-age later.  Repeat with corner on the right, folding it toward the left, thereby completing the bottom portion on an envelope.

Now, dip a finger in the flour water and swipe it across one side of the flap portion on your envelope. Dip again and swipe across the other side. This will provide a nice seal. Think of it as envelope glue, but tastier. Now take both your hands and grasp the bottom portion of the envelope with filling and roll it towards the flap, all the while making sure to lightly squish all the filling in and creating a roll. Press down the flap to ensure it is sealed and set aside.

success!

 

 

Repeat until there is no more filling left. I usually get about four rolls out the above recipe but it may depend upon how full you make the rolls.

Now to cook them. In a skillet or saute pan, heat a few tbsp of olive oil. (you could probably also use grapeseed oil or other oil with a higher smoke point)  When oil is hot, place your rolls into the oil gently, so as not to splash. Fry about 2 minutes per side or until each side is golden brown (keep an eye on this because they can burn quick). Because this is in a pan and not a deep fryer, the rolls will be slightly rectangular but, oh well.

When all sides are golden brown, remove to a paper towel lined plate. Allow to cool slightly and serve.

Dipping sauce possibilities: There is of course duck sauce, located usually in the ethnic foods aisle of most groceries. Trader Joe's sells a positively delightful Sweet Chili Sauce that compliments this perfectly. Or, if you want to go completely from scratch and make one yourself, try my recipe for sweet chili sauce that I made to compliment homemade chicken nuggets.

Hope you enjoy these.

Fried Goat Cheese (or why to eat more salad)

As the title implies, fried goat cheese is a great reason to eat more salad and frankly, I need reasons. It's not that I don't love salad, I do...when other people make it for me. I hate making salad. It never tastes as good as the restaurant kinds. Granted, I realize that's because the restaurant kind is full of eight syllable, multi-hyphenated, chemical substances; but it tastes good.

However, after figuring out this recipe, I now make more way salads. Every salad I make tastes unbelievably good as long as there is a medallion or two of fried goat cheese included. This is a great addition to the Spinach Strawberry Salad. These also look super elegant when placed atop salad in their own little salad bowls.

Fried Goat Cheese

1 small log soft goat cheese (not feta)
breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup flour
3 tbsp grapeseed oil or olive oil
a sharp knife
paper towel
bowl of hot water, not boiling, just hot

Place breadcrumbs, egg and flour in three separate small bowls. Dip your knife in the hot water for a few seconds to get the metal warm. Wipe dry. Using the warm knife, slice one 1/4 to 1/2 inch medallion off the goat cheese log. Wipe off whatever cheese stuck to your knife and dip it back in the hot water for a few seconds. Wipe dry. Slice another medallion off the goat cheese log. Repeat the above until you have enough medallions or you use all the goat cheese.

Now treat the medallions like you would bread chicken cutlets....flour first, shake off excess...egg second...breadcrumbs third. Repeat with each medallion and place them all on a plate. Cover and put in the fridge for about 15 minutes.

(While they are chilling, prepare all the rest of your salad.)

Get out your saute pan, add the oil and heat the pan at medium. When oil is nice and hot (I sprinkle a little water in it and if the water spurts and steams, then it's ready) add your breaded medallions. Don't crowd them. Fry on each side for about 2-3 minutes until they are golden brown on each side. Serve immediately, while still nice and hot, atop your favorite salad.

Yum... I'm making this for dinner now.

Jalapeno Poppers

A while ago, we visited my sister-in-law and family. As you've probably noticed, everything in our family seems to revolve around food. In fact most of the things we do seem to revolve around food. Anyway, when we went to visit, we ate at this restaurant called McAllister's that served loaded baked potatoes that are the size of a loaf of bread. Seriously, they were enormous potatoes and they were amazingly delicious. I must go again.

Anyway, onto the jalapenos. My brother-in-law made these awesome jalapenos on the grill. He filled each jalapeno half with cream cheese and cheddar cheese and wrapped each one with a strip of uncooked bacon and then cooked them on the grill somehow. I'm not really certain exactly how he did it but it was quite delicious.

Being that we live in an apartment whose builders did not see the benefit of putting a window in the kitchen, I am unable to cook anything that is going to smoke badly. This unfortunately includes cooking bacon on the stove. (I can cook it in the oven in the Alton Brown method) So how to recreate these delicious morsels without having the fire department called to my house...again?

Apartment Friendly Jalapeno Poppers

warning: I strongly suggest wearing food grade vinyl gloves when making this recipe. There is nothing worse than getting jalapeno juice on your fingers and then itching your eye. Trust me.

5 jalapenos, sliced in half lengthwise and without stem
1/3 cup cream cheese, room temperature
2 handfuls grated Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped pancetta or bacon pieces

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook pancetta or bacon in a small frying pan dusted with a little olive oil spray over medium heat until cooked and fragrant and a little crispy, about five minutes depending on the size of each piece.
(Our local Trader Joe's sells chopped pancetta. Most grocery stores will sell either slices of pancetta or a small hunk of pancetta that you can chop yourself.)

Meanwhile, scoop all of the seeds and the little vein-y things that the seeds attach to out of each jalapeno. (I use the edge of a melon baller for this, it seems to work well) Set jalapeno halves aside.

In a small bowl, mix cream cheese, cheddar cheese and the cooked pancetta together until the ingredients are evenly distributed. The heat from the pancetta will cause the cheeses to melt a little but that's okay.

With a spoon or spatula, fill each jalapeno half with about a tbsp of cheese mixture. Place all halves  on a cookie sheet and bake for about 15 minutes until the jalapenos get a little wrinkly and golden brown on top.  Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.

You could also sprinkle more cheddar cheese on top of each half either before or after they come out of the oven.

Enjoy!

I'm sorry I didn't take more photos of the process or the finished product. I got busy making them and forgot and then we were too busy eating them to care about photography.

Fried Pickles!

 
The other day, we went out with friends to a restaurant that had fried pickles listed as an appetizer. Now, I love pickles and I, unfortunately, have an affinity for fried things as well. But together, I wasn't really sure about that. But since I've had fried green beans before and loved them, we gave it a shot.

They were rather awesome! The pickle was still crunchy as it should be but now it was covered with a light breading and accompanied by a creamy and slightly tangy sauce. When I got home, I decided to try it and see if I could make them without the need of a deep fryer, which I don't have due to the teeny-ness of my kitchen. (and because fried things are not high on the good-for-you chart)

Success! They were perfect, almost exactly the same as the ones in the restaurant and delicious!! So for all of you who love pickles, this is how you make them even better:

Fried Pickles

1 jar dill pickle spears
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup flour
1 beaten egg
panko breadcrumbs

Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Meanwhile, put flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs in three different shallow plates.

Remove pickle spears from pickle juice and pat dry with paper towels. Coat one pickle in flour, shake to remove excess. Coat in egg and then in breadcrumbs.

Place gently in frying pan and fry about two minutes on each side, or until each side is golden brown.  Repeat with remaining pickles. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

To make the dipping sauce:

1/2 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream

1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh dill
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tbsp olive oil


Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Stir thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Enjoy.

Tzatziki (the most wonderful dip EVER!)

I have a very good friend from Greece that taught me to make this. This 'dip' is fabulous on pork, chicken, veggies, sandwiches, french fries, anything really. But it is especially amazing with pork. I make it often with pork tenderloin and then use the leftovers to make sandwiches the next day. It's a favorite meal in my house. And bonus: it takes 5 minutes to make.

Tzatziki

1 small container very good Greek yogurt (I use Fage)
1 cucumber, peeled and shredded using a cheese grater
1 small bunch of fresh dill (4 -5 long sprigs), chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and stir well. Cover and refridgerate at least one hour but preferably overnight. (You could eat it right away; it is good. But it's much better if you wait) Before serving, taste to make sure it doesn't need a little more salt, pepper or oil. Serve with virtually anything.

Risotto

For years, I have been under the impression that the soft, creamy delightful dish that is risotto is only achieved by spending hours and hours laboriously stirring a large pot of rice thereby slowly coaxing it to give up its perfect texture. I was deceived. Risotto is incredibly easy. Granted you do need to keep an eye on it or the rice will burn to the bottom of your pan in such a way that I strongly recommend you toss the pot into the nearest trash receptacle and go purchase another one. Been there, done that.

However, it still is an easy and delicious dish with a wonderful versatility to it. Try it, you'll never go back to plain old rice.

Basic Easy Risotto

3 tbsp butter, divided

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium white onion, chopped

3/4 cup white wine, I use Cavet Pino Grigio

4 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

In heavy saucepan, combine 2 tbsp butter and olive oil over medium heat. When butter is melted, add chopped onion and cook, stirring occasionally until onion is transparent and slightly golden. Add rice to pan and stir until the rice has soaked up most of the liquid. Immediately add the white wine and stir once. When rice has soaked up most of the wine, about 2 minutes, add 1 cup of chicken stock and stir. Allow to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn heat down to medium low. Add another cup of chicken stock and cook for another 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Add third cup of chicken stock and cook another five minutes stirring occasionally. Add last cup of chicken stock and cook for five minutes stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in 1 tbsp butter and parmesan cheese. Serve.

Note: There will probably be a small amount of burned rice at the bottom. If you can't scrape it off, try filling the pan with water and adding a bit of dish soap to it. Put it back on the stove and bring to a boil. Or, you could fill it with water and dish soap and leave it in your sink for a day. That usually works for me.

Leftover Risotto

I always have leftover risotto since I always end up making more than we can eat. However, leftovers mean quick and easy dinner the next day. Hooray!

I take the leftover risotto and reheat it in a covered saucepan with about a little bit of water or white wine. You could probably do this in a microwave but I don't own one so I don't know for sure. In another saucepan I steam frozen spinach, broccoli, green beans...really whatever frozen veggie I find in the freezer. Generally, I also have leftover meat from whatever I made with the risotto the night before. I cut that meat, (chicken, pork or possibly sausage) into bite size pieces and add it to the reheating risotto. When the frozen veggie is just about done, I strain it and add it to the risotto and meat and stir well. Add a little bit more parmesan cheese and serve in bowls with perhaps a little slice of italian bread. That took probably took all of 15 minutes. Voila.