mini corn & cheese dogs (one bowl easy!)

Ever have a dusty box of ____ in the cupboard and look at the expiration date and think "yikes, how did I let that get so old?"
That happens to me a lot,  I have good intentions of using said dusty box soon, and yet all it does it sits there for a year or more.
Said box in question is the corn bread mix from Trader Joe's.
I remember buying two boxes of the cornbread, knowing one box will be used to make corn bread muffins JUST so I can make another batch of my sweet & spicy bacon jam.
And the second box, just sat on the shelf for the longest time, it got moved from one cupboard to another in hopes I'll remember to use it to make something.
Last weekend I finally came up with a use for it:  will it will deep fry?
Yeah, let's deep fry it! (tell me your brain works this way too?).
And yes, it does deep fry, very well in fact.
One bowl easy too.
Just mix, add some cheese, dip hot dogs or mini hot dogs in batter, and deep fry.
It fries up nice and light. The batter is a little bit of a challenge to work with to coat hot dogs, but once you have the hang of it, it gets easier.
Of course if you are still weary of deep frying then make baked corn dogs!
Just pour the batter in a flat pan or brownie pan, top with a few lines of hot dogs and bake!
I made baked corn dogs ages ago, so please ignore the bad photos--it's a really old post, but a great recipe.

So easy to assemble.
Use the Trader Joe's Cornbread Mix.
Mix, add cheese if desired.
Then dip hot dogs.


You can coat the dogs one of two ways: using a small ice cream scoop.

And this will give round corn dogs or fritters.

Or you can just coat them using your fingers.

And this will give you thinner, longer corn dogs.
Of course if you had skewers then that would also work, but alas I didn't.

I served these with corn relish dipping sauce. Any excuse to eat corn relish!


mini corn & cheese dogs (one bowl easy!)
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trader joes cornbread mix (you could try another brand, but I don't know if it will deep fry)
1/2 - 1 cup grated cheddar cheese (use as much or as little as you like)
couple dashes of pepper
mini hot dogs (about 10-15) (or use tofu dogs!)

vegetable oil for deep frying

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
Using a small ice cream scoop or your hands, coat the hot dogs in batter and fry in the oil.
They fry up pretty fast so keep an eye on them, and make sure to turn them over once during frying.
Let cool and drain on brown paper or wire racks with sheet on bottom.
They really don't need to be salted when they come out of the fryer.
Use whatever dipping sauces you like; I loved using corn relish.
One box made about 12-15 mini corn dogs.
Of course you could try baking these if you're uneasy about deep frying.
Since I have not done this, I would use a brownie pan or bigger.
Place the cornbread mix in greased pan, then place hot dogs (large or small) on top of batter.
Then bake at 350 degrees for?? 15-30 minutes (or whatever the directions on the box said??)

wordless wednesday (artichoke melts)

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crispy coated pita chips (with lots of coating!)

Being that we're all foodies here, I'm so sure that you, like me, are very guilty of over-buying groceries, knowing that when you buy them you are MOST certainly going to use them straight away. You get home with all your groceries, happily and proudly placing them in their respective compartments; feeling good about placing them there and then order a pizza. Yes? Happen a few times to me too. The pita bread in this recipe are such a story. And of course pita goes stale very quickly and you have to use it right away or store in the freezer to never be seen again until you start some crazy fad diet and are starving, thus looking into the freezer many months later for FOOD.
The pita was stale a few days later and I was NOT going to throw them out, so the idea of homemade pita chips came into my mind. Never having made them before, I wasn't sure what coating should or should not go on them. And what I found out was literally any coating can go on them---the pita is the sponge to all things spice, sweet, savory, and a combo of any. Excellent.
I had always wanted to REMAKE the pita chip (much like the Dorito chip) that has a LOT of stuff on them. I absolutely hate buying pita chips (new or new/improved flavors!), with great expectations, only to open said bag and realize it's just a pita chip with a gentle coating or salt and some untraceable spice. Where's the coating? I am not going to consume calories for nothing--give me coating or give me death! Ok, not death, but give me my money back so I can go home and make my own.
What learned creating these tasty lil nuggets? I learned that unused salad dressing, and I know you all have at least 4-5 bottles just sitting away in your fridge right now waiting to be used, makes the best coatings. You knew that already though? I didn't. Salad dressing, along with a little garlic, maybe a little cheese, and maybe a little heat too. Easy peasy. BUT the best part? I think most of you will agree here on this one: you can make your pita chips a little on the burnt side. Oh yeah. I LOVE a the occasional burnt chip. Heavenly. Right?







extra coated pita chips
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package of pita bread, sliced into triangles
salad dressing (whatever salad dressing you want or oil & vinegar)
2-5 TB chopped garlic (use as much as you desire)
a few dashes of hot sauce, optional but wonderful
2-5 TB Parmesan cheese (or whatever cheese you want), grated fine
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large, but shallow bowl mix all the ingredients well. Take the pita chips and dunk them in bowl one by one or using a thongs many at a time. Make sure to coat them well. You will need to keep stirring the mix since the oil will keep going to the top and the stuff sinking to the bottom. Place them on the baking sheet, leaving enough room in between to let them crisp up.
Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until they are browned; I like mine a tiny bit burnt so I baked them longer. They cook up fast, so don't leave the oven! Let them cool a bit before eating.
They keep a few days in plastic ziplock bag. Have no idea if they freeze well; I doubt it.

smoked gouda and walnut shortbread

Cheez It's. Just say those two words to me and I swoon. I know they are filled with crap and salt, but I love them. I remember reading an article about a local Boston area chef on how she opened her restaurant, how she did it, where did she get her culinary training from, you know all the usual questions, then at the end they asked her "what are your favorite-can't live without comfort foods?" She answered wine and Cheez It's! I said YES, a chef after my own heart. I love to hear what the top chefs like to snack on; most of them are just like us and need that comfort/salty stuff. I try my best to not eat a lot of Cheez It's. The creations I make with them are insane, but good. I got a ton of emails on the infamous cheez it bark and white chocolate cheez it bark. 



Lately I've been on a quest to make my own healthier version of cheeze like crackers. Or are they called shortbread?
Years ago I made a cheddar and cranberry one--super tasty.
These gouda and walnut crackers go so well with the red pepper jelly I recently discovered at Trader Joe's. If you need a good, crispy, tasty, decadent cracker for a new years eve party or for you last minute louies for Christmas appetizers, then give these a go.
They are tasty little critters and pair perfectly with a nice cold glass of white wine.

Make sure to grate the butter and cheese for nice crisp, light cracker.

For the love, use this stuff, makes a world of difference.

Do not over-work the dough. work with your hands till just combined.
It's ok if the loaf is still crumbly--it will firm up in the fridge I promise.

Slice them nice & thin for a crispy crackers, thicker for a chewy cracker.
If knife gets sticky when slicing the dough, just wet the knife in water over and over.

smoked gouda & walnut savory shortbread
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1 & 1/2 sticks butter, grated and kept cold
1 1/2 cups smoked gouda cheese, grated and kept cold
1 1/2 cups white flour
About 4-5 dashes of half & half
1 ts sea salt
1 ts baking powder
½ ts black pepper
7-8 dashes of worcestershire sauce
1 cup toasted walnuts, rough chop

Cook notes: 
You could use another kind of cheese. If you do you might want to reduce the amount of salt added in. If you like crisp cookies then slice these really thin before baking. If you like chewy cookies then slice them thicker; just don’t go too thick.

In a bowl mix the butter and cheese together. Sift the flour, salt, pepper and baking powder together. Combine flour mixture with the butter and cheese mixture. Then add in the nuts. Using your hands (I found this the easiest way to get it all combined) mix it up the dough until JUST combined. Halfway through mixing add in a few dashes of half and half. Turn dough out onto a large piece of waxed paper. Roll the dough into TWO logs.
Cover in wax paper, tightly and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. You can freeze the dough at this stage as well. If you do freeze make sure it’s wrapped really good so air does not get in there. When ready to bake; preheat oven to 375F.
Unwrap the dough log and, using a very sharp knife, slice the log into rounds 1/2 inch thick or as thin as you can. The thinner they are the more crisp; if you want chewy cookies then thicker slice. Place rounds on cookie sheets and sprinkle cookies with just a few pinches of sea salt.
Bake for 13-15 to 12 minutes; you will need to flip the cookies over halfway cooking to get the other side brown.
Bake until the bottoms and tops of the cookies are golden brown. Remove to a cooling rack to cool completely. Serve with red pepper jelly or other savory/sweet jelly. Store in an airtight container. They do not keep that long, maybe 3 days? Should make about 30-35 or more.

hot pepper jelly candied walnuts

Lots of holiday parties this time of year. And while at these holiday parties do you ever find yourself sizing up the all the dishes and trying to figure out which one belongs to which person? Do you see the same old dishes year after year and think "jeez, did that person bring that crappy dish again?". Are you as bad as I am? And put a face to each and every dish and then wait to see which person comes over to the dish to 're-organize it', 'clean it up'? Well, yes I am guilty of that. But I'm also guilty of waiting to see who belongs to the fabulous dishes too. Dying to find out who it is and ask them why this, what made you think of that? Because that means there is another foodie at the party and a good "food" conversation will surely start.
So I made these candied walnuts with the hope in mind that a few people will bite into them and then a few seconds later a gentle expression of "oh, that's different", "what's in this?". I love that part. And of course I love to answer every single ingredient query. Do you?
What's the worst party themed dish you've seen?
What's the best?

These candied walnuts came about when that jar lone of peppered jelly was just sitting in the cupboard for a couple months. I did have plans to use it in a cheese/wine roll of some sort, but saw the walnuts and knew immediately what to do with it. I was hesitant at first because it doesn't make it completely candied/hardened but does lend a nice unique flavor. They are sticky but tasty.

hot pepper jelly candied walnuts
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¾ cup hot pepper jelly/jam
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 dashes of Tabasco sauce
2 cups walnuts (pecans would work well too)
1 egg white, room temperature

Cook notes: the nuts will be sticky after baking; they will not form a hard shell; sticky but very tasty. The pepper jelly is not that spicy at all--a gentle heat.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
In a bowl mix the hot pepper jelly with salt and Tabasco sauce. Set aside.

In separate bowl beat egg white frothy but not stiff. Add in the walnuts, and stir to coat evenly. Next add in the pepper jelly mix and toss until evenly coated.

Spread the nut mixture onto a parchment or silicone mat lined cookie sheet.
I gave them a light sprinkle of salt before baking, optional.
Bake for 30-40 minutes; halfway thru mixing up the nuts and/or rotate the pan. Check at the 30 minute mark for doneness.
You will know the nuts are done when they are slightly browned and the jelly coating is firmed up a bit.
Remove from oven. Nuts will be hot, so be careful touching them.
After they’ve cooled a bit, separate and break up any large clumps.

When completely cool, pour the nuts into a bowl, breaking up any that stick together.

pastrami sliders

Food law #2583: all sliders should come with layers of food. A slider is NOT a mini bun and a couple slices of meat--this does not make a slider. From now on if a restaurant is going to serve sliders they cannot serve just a bun with meat. That's not a happy slider. A happy slider is a buttered TOASTED bun with flavored hot meat, (or vegan meat substitute is cool too), a couple of flavored cold veggies, good cheese, and a dressing of some sort, or two dressings. Right? Let's get this passed through the food of congress stat--I'm done with crappy ass sliders. Until then you can use this slider--it was the bomb. And the best part, so easy to pull together. The meats, the veggies are all interchangeable. You can use corned beef, beef, bbq chicken, grilled sausage, grilled tofu, etc....Endless possibilities; it'll get your creative-culinary flowing.





pastrami sliders
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1/2 lb of pastrami (or whatever deli meat, chicken, beef you want)
1/4 lb of baby swiss cheese
broccoli slaw
cole slaw dressing for broccoli slaw
grain mustard
fresh tomatoes
mini buns

Butter and toast the buns, layer on the baby swiss on top of the hot buns,set aside. Mix the broccoli slaw with the cole slaw dressing, set aside. Fry up the pastrami, till crisp. Layer on a thin layer of grain mustard on the bun, then put on the pastrami, tomato, then the cole slaw.

2011 superbowl munchies!

Who is having a superbowl party? Tell me your address so I can show up and eat. I will bring whatever you want. I want to watch football this year. No I don't do I? I'm just there for the food man. It's all about the food. I just want to eat, and Superbowl day is a darn good excuse to pig out silly. Get your stretchy pants on and eat baby.
Well, if you still need some ideas on what to make AND want some easy recipes, I think I can help you. I've put together a few of the good munchies that are easy to create. If I had to choose: artichoke bread with hummus, pimento cheeseburgers, cheesy tater tots (those were gone in minutes so make a ton), and those fudge puddles. Seriously.

clockwise: meatloaf bread, artichoke bread, cheesy tater tots, and sweet potato quesadillas with fig reduction & corn relish.

left to right: espresso cream cheese brownies with salty shortbread crumbs, peanut butter fudge puddles, coconut cream cheese cookies.

clockwise: cheesy reuben calzone, reuben dip, frito salad, buffalo chicken chili with blue cheese drizzle.

left to right: devils food cupcakes with salty mascarpone frosting, pumpkin spice cookie bark, peanut butter and chocolate chunk cookies

left to right: pimento cheeseburger with tomato-balsamic reduction, ham and cheese sliders

reuben dip

Did you just ask if I happen to have a really good reuben dip for your summer parties and/or entertaining? Oh ok, I thought you had. Good, I have just the dip for you then. What a wild coincidence!
So you know I've told you I love my homemade ice creams with lots of stuff in them? And you know I love my cookies with tons of junk in them too. Well, I love my dips the same way--tons of stuff, and tons of flavors going on: A party in a dip.
So I'm proud to say I have this dip down to a science, a mere perfection of taste sensation. The flavor is spot on.
Cook notes: I found that using fried pastrami worked best; you could use fried corned beef as well. If you don't like using meat you can use just the cheese chunks and maybe some finely chopped veggies (red peppers, green peppers, cooked corn, etc.. would go very well). If you can, use round dark russian bread as it states in the recipe below. It really melds well with the flavor of the dip. On my first batch I used the dark bread, but on the second batch they had no more russian bread so I used sourdough. I highly recommend using the russian dark and/or marble breads for dipping as sourdough just doesn't quite cut it. Dig it.

reuben dip
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¾ lb. pastrami (fairly lean), finely chopped ½ inch pieces
Less than ¾ lb swiss cheese, finely chopped ½ inch pieces
Almost a ½ cup of yellow or sweet onion, diced finely
¼ cup ketchup
3 TB yellow mustard
¼ cup plus 2 TB sweet pepper relish (not dill)
4 TB hellmans mayo
2 TB creamy horseradish sauce
1 cup sour cream
8 ounces of cream cheese, room temp
A couple dashes of salt & pepper

1 12-inch round dark Russian bread, hollowed out and made into bread chunks
1 large rye bread, cut into chunks for dipping

I like to pan fry the chopped pastrami before adding it into the dip. Just gives it more flavor—this is of course optional but wonderful.
Place everything but the bread in a glass dish, mix well, taste and see if all is good; may have to add more sour cream or mayo. Recipe by dawn finicane. It’s best when the cream cheese is nice and soft, easier to mix.
Let this chill in the fridge at least a couple hours before serving.
When ready to serve place the dip inside the hollowed out Russian bread bowl, serve with the bread chunks on the side on a giant platter, then garnish with chopped fresh parsley or chives.

falafel rollup w/ hummus, tzatziki and tahini-yogurt sauce

Mmmm. Just looking at these photos again I am just starved right now. I love homemade falafel balls. Either fresh from the deep fryer or cold from the leftover storage bin in the fridge--I don't care how, just love them. I can make a pretty good falafel sammie rollup. But you know what I love best about these gems? The fact that they can pretty much go with anything. I've added corn relish, sweet pepper relish, horsey sauce, etc.... But the best I've had so far is to add hummus and tzatziki AND some really good tahini-yogurt sauce. Oh the love of this combo people.
Please try this, I know you'll love it, and do me a favor? Experiment! Add on, take away, try new, etc...that's the best part.

Can we get a close up of the MONEY SHOT? You bet.

falafel rollups with hummus, tzatziki, and tahini-yogurt sauce
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falafel balls (are from mark bittman)

1 3/4 cup dried chickpeas
2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
1 small onion, quartered
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
Scant teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
1 cup chopped parsley or cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn, for frying

For the falafel balls:
Put the beans in a large bowl and cover with water by 3 or 4 inches; they will triple in volume. Soak for 24 hours, adding water if needed to keep beans submerged.
Drain beans well (reserve soaking water) and transfer to a food processor. Add remaining ingredients except oil; pulse until minced but not pureed, scraping sides of bowl down; add soaking water if necessary to allow machine to do its work, but no more than 1 or 2 tablespoons. Keep pulsing until mixture comes together. Taste, adding salt, pepper, cayenne or lemon juice to taste.
Put the oil in a large, deep saucepan to a depth of at least 2 inches; more is better. The narrower the saucepan the less oil you need, but the more oil you use the more patties you can cook at a time. Turn heat to medium-high and heat oil to about 350 degrees (a pinch of batter will sizzle immediately).
Scoop heaping tablespoons of batter and shape into balls or small patties. Fry in batches, without crowding, until nicely browned, turning as necessary; total cooking time will be less than 5 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

hummus
2 cups canned chickpeas, juices drained
Juice of 2 lemons
2 TB or more tahini paste
2 TB or less garlic, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste (It does not need much salt)

For the hummus:
In a food processor, fitted with a metal blade, combine the chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini paste, and garlic. Process until smooth. With the machine running, add the olive oil, a little at a time. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the humus in the center of a large platter. Arrange the black olives, red onion slices and fresh pita bread slices around the hummus.
Yield: about 2 cups

tzatziki sauce
16 oz. Greek style yogurt
1 cucumber, washed and peeled
3 - 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 TB extra virgin olive oil
1 TB lemon juice
1 ½ - 2 TB chopped fresh dill
½ ts salt
A pinch or two of cayenne pepper (optional, but wonderful)

Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with a small spoon. Then coarsely grate the cucumber. Gather the grated cucumber in a cheesecloth or paper towel and squeeze out the excess water, otherwise the tzatziki will be too runny. Get out as much water as you can, then mix the grated cucumber with everything else. It’s good to store this in fridge for about an hour to let all the flavors come together.

tahini-yogurt sauce
1-2 large garlic cloves, minced
3 TB tahini
1 cup plain yogurt
3 TB fresh lemon juice
½ ts paprika
Dash of hot sauce, optional but wonderful
Salt to taste
(I also love to add in a couple teaspoons of grated horseradish, this is up to you—it really tastes good though)

In a bowl, combine the garlic and tahini, then mix in the yogurt, lemon juice, hot sauce, and paprika. Taste, see if it needs salt. Then refrigerate for at least an hour for flavors to come together.

To assemble:
Use large mountain bread wraps other kind, but they should be the large size ones that are good for filling up the wraps with stuff. Spread a layer of the hummus, add in about 4 falafel balls, your choice of veggies (onions, carrots, black olives, lettuce, peppers, whatever you wish), then drizzle on some of the tahini-yogurt sauce. You can add on some tzatziki sauce, but I love to have mine on the side for dipping because I like a lot of on each and every bite.

Cook notes: You can also serve this rollup with fresh tomatoes slices, black olives, yellow onions, peppers, oh the list is endless indeed.
For a change in the flavor of your hummus add more garlic or add in your favorite pepper or onion or scallion (chopped of course and added in during the blending part). You can also add in eggplant or marinated artichokes to the mix for a really tasty mix.

sweet potato quesadillas w/ fig reduction, spicy corn relish and pecans

Aren't quesadillas fun? I mean you can literally put anything and everything in them. Not to mention the vast amount of cheeses out there that can be used in quesadillas is enormous. I have rarely used queso blanco cheese. Not because I don't like it, but because I haven't found what works good with it since it is a very mild cheese, almost like a mozzarella cheese. I just loved the layers of flavors in this sweet potato quesadilla. It has the sweet/saltiness of my fried sweet potatoes, the mildness of the cheese, the sweetness of the fig reduction and then some heat with the spicy corn relish. Of course I had to add my sweet & spicy pecans to it for extra crunch. I got those pecans (as everyone knows who follows me on Twitter) at Trader Joe's. It's gross really how much of those pecans I consume on a weekly basis. Have you tried them? Is there anyone out there that is addicted to them as I?
With these quesadillas, if I was to make them again I might go with a stronger tasting cheese next time, maybe a mild cheddar. Don't get me wrong these were good; I just love to always improve upon my creations the next time, then the next time, and so on.

Also, you may have noticed that my copyright logo/name are getting more bigger and/or prominent on my photos? This is because I have, again, been the victim of someone stealing my photos. But now they are cropping out the copyright stuff. This happened once before and I learned that I should put a visible copyright mark on them. I would hate to have to eventually make a visible watermark in the middle of the food photo. Why people steal others works and photos is beyond me.... If anyone can tell me how to add a visible watermark while retaining the quality of the photo I'm all ears.

Sweet potato quesadillas w/ fig reduction & spicy corn relish
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I used my sweet potato hash for the filling of this quesadilla.

Sweet potato hash
2-3 sweet potatoes, chopped into 1-inch cubes
EV olive oil
A few TB’s of butter
salt & pepper
caramelized onions
a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
couple dashes of Tabasco sauce

Caramelize some onions (about 1 giant sweet yellow onion) after it's done caramelizing add a few drops of the Worcestershire sauce, set aside.
Heat up same skillet with some EVOO and fry up the sweet potatoes until nice & crispy, season with salt and pepper. Towards the end of cooking add a few tablespoons of butter to the skillet to melt into the hash. Then add in a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce, mix until combined. If you want a bit of heat like I do then add in some cayenne and/or Tabasco.

Use some of the hash place it the middle of a large tortilla, add a few chunks of queso blanco or queso fresco cheese, a few dashes of Tabasco (optional). Seal edges of tortilla with egg wash, fold over and seal and then fry up in a non-stick pan. The egg wash will seal up once it gets hot. Serve with fig reduction and/or spicy corn relish (see below).

Fig reduction
Is nothing more than this jam cooked over medium heat till it reduces and thickens a bit. If you’re not into making your own jam, then you can buy some premade and heat up. But I do suggest you try this fig jam recipe as it’s really good.

cinnamon fig jam
from eatingoutloud.com

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 lb. mission figs (about 10-12 figs)
1 3″ strip lemon zest
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 lemon juiced

Add water and sugar to a pan and place on a medium heat to dissolve.
Remove the stems from the figs and cut into quarters. Add to the sugar mixture along with lemon zest, cinnamon stick, and lemon juice. Bring the mix to a light simmer and leave the pan uncovered. Cook for about 1 hour or until the mix thickens. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

The spicy corn relish is from stonewall kitchen. I buy this stuff by the case -- it’s that good.

greek nachos

So the superbowl is coming up. I'm not a big fan of football, but any event that gives me a reason to eat appetizer-based foods is a reason to celebrate. Right? And I'm hoping that Bravo TV will do us non-football fans a favor and run a couple Top Chef marathons? In my eyes, appetizer-type foods are really the best pig out foods, as long as there are a few to choose from. If you are looking for an easy appetizer to serve for a superbowl party, make sure to add this one to your list. It is very easy to assemble together and has incredible layers of flavors. These greek nachos I stole from my friend over at Macheesmo. (Originally they come from Mark Bittman). With these greek nachos, I pretty much followed the recipe, but used whole wheat pita instead and omitted the mint as I am not a fan of mint unless it's in ice cream form.
I also added in a few more spices to the meat and pita. The sauce for these nachos is OUTSTANDING. Oh heavens was it good. I had some leftover and used it on sammies, as a dip and with my hummus rollup. A very versatile sauce indeed.



Ideas for your superbowl party:

Don't forget those cheesy tater tots I made. You know I can't forget them.

Want to get a little funky and make some pineapple-bacon crackers?

How about some hummus with artichoke bread?

Or maybe some agedd cheddar & cranberry crackers? Savory indeed.

The one dish that would steal the show is my General Dawn's Tso Chicken. Can easily be served as an appetizer.

Do you want fries with that? Sweet potato fries w/ spicy caramelized onion-horsey sauce

Make mini curry chicken burgers w/ tzatziki sauce

Are you a slider fan? Try these tangy capicola & cheese sliders outstanding & very addicting! I warned you.



Greek Nachos
(adapted from mark bittman via Macheesmo)
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12-16 pitas, cut into eights. (I used whole wheat)
1 1/2 pounds ground lamb (I used ground beef)
1 ts cumin
(I used 1 oversized ts greek oregano)

Olive oil, about ¼ cup or so, for the coating on the chips
Salt & Pepper for chips
(I used some garlic & onion powder for chips)
(I sprinkled the chips, just before baking, with paprika)

Feta Sauce:
1 Container (17.6 ounces) Greek yogurt
1 to 1 1/2 Cups Feta Cheese
1 Lemon, juice and zest
3 TB fresh mint (did not use this)
2 TB olive oil

Toppings: (whatever your taste buds crave)
1 red pepper, diced
1/4 Cup sun-dried tomatoes, diced (I used regular tomatoes)
1/2 Cup feta, crumbled
1/4 Cup kalamata olives, diced
1/2 red onion, sliced
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
2 jalapenos, de-seeded and diced

Take a small bowl, fill with ¼ cup (or less) of olive oil, mix in some salt & pepper, and a few pinches of garlic & onions powders, mix well.
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Take your cut pita wedges and place on a baking sheet, make sure not to overlap them. Brush or drizzle the chips with a generous amount of the oil mixture. Just before baking sprinkle them all with a light coating of paprika. Bake until they begin to color, turning once or twice, about 10 minutes or less. When done you may or may not need to sprinkle with salt. Do a taste test and see. Keep the chips warm in the oven until ready to use.

In a blender or food processor, combine feta, yogurt, 1/4 cup olive oil, zest and juice of lemon; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Blend or process until smooth. (You can also mash mixture by hand, with a fork.)

Put two tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook onions until soft, about 5 minutes. Add beef, cumin, Greek oregano, and sprinkle with salt and pepper; continue cooking until meat is cooked through, about 5 to 10 minutes more.
Put chips on a serving plate and top with beef mixture, sauce, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, and whatever else you desire. I highly recommend using the olives, red onions, and cukes. Should serve four.

homemade cheesy tater tots

Cheesy tater tots, now? Yeah yeah new year's resolutions, I got it--everyone is on a diet....blah blah blah. Homemade cheesy tater tots will make you cheat on your new diet. That's it. LOL Kidding. I'm a foodie, it's hard for me to diet, I try I do. I doubt I will ever give up my fatty fried foods and calorie dense sweet treats. Foodie for life--word! I just have to workout more and more, and then again some more.
These fabulous cheesy tater tots I made I got inspiration from Nick over at Macheesmo (love that name). I pretty much followed his recipe, but wondered why he hadn't added cheese to the potato batter. You know? So I added cheese and did a couple other things.
So if you are looking for the BEST superbowl appetizer, oh yeah this is it. Or if you really want to make something for your friends, family or sweetheart and watch them just melt with happiness, this is it! Yes, this will impress. There is no way you can eat just 5, I mean when I made these Christmas day, they were gone in 10 minutes. That friggin good. Deep fried, crispy, cheesy, gooey, salty goodness dipped in sauces baby! Can I get an amen? Food of love people, food of friggin love.



cheesy homemade tater tots
adapted from Macheesmo
print recipe

4 Russet potatoes, peeled & chopped I used 5 medium)
1 egg (beat well in a small dish)
1/2 Cup milk (I did NOT use this)
3 TB unsalted butter (I used 5 TB)
1 Cup all-purpose flour
(½ cup sharp cheddar cheese grated fine)
Salt & Pepper
2 Large bags, plain kettle cooked chips or a few cups of Panko crumbs. (I used all Panko crumbs)

Deep-fry thermometer

Making the tots. It should be no surprise that these guys start with potatoes.
The first step for these guys is to make mashed potatoes. Now I’m not sure how they make real tater tots. I know it’s closer to a hash brown product, but mashed potatoes are a lot easier to shape and also happen to be delicious. To start, just peel and slice your potatoes.
Boil them for 10-15 minutes in salted water until the potato pieces are fork tender. Then drain them and transfer them to a bowl.
Using a fork, mush up your potatoes and let them cool for a few minutes until they are room temperature or slightly warmer. (Beat egg, well, in a small dish before adding to mix). Then add your butter, flour, egg, and (cheese). Add a good pinch of salt and pepper. Filling mixed.
To make the crunchy exterior of the tot and also give it some shape, I decided to try out two different toppings: crunched up kettle chips and Panko breadcrumbs. Both worked pretty well actually.
You cannot shape these until they are coated with the Panko crumbs. Make them into the size of a teaspoon, yes that small. Just drop a few teaspoons of mashed potatoes in your bowl of crust. Roll them around until they are coated all the way around. Then you can easily pick up each tot and shape it easily in your hand. Just roll them like you would a cookie only not as much pressure. You can try making them into a cylinder shape like Nick did. Then transfer them to a baking sheet and until ready to deep fry.
Cooking the tots. Make sure your oil is at 350 degrees before you do any type of frying. This is crucial. Once the oil reaches 350 degrees then you can start frying; do not overcrowd pan though. Unless you have a large pot you really should do semi-small batches. (I fried about 10 per batch in my 8 quart pot with about 3-4 inches of oil). They should only need about 5-7 minutes per batch. Once you scoop them out of the oil, transfer them to a paper towel and salt them immediately (I did not salt them—they really did not need it). Feel free to add whatever seasoned spices you crave. Serve with sauces--any kind would work actually. Here are a couple that I used.

horsey-blue cheese dip
from vanillasugarblog.com

3 tb of horseradish sauce
2 tb of blue cheese dressing
2 tb of Hellmans mayo
2 tb of sour cream
1 -2 ts of superfine sugar
Dashes of paprika and freshly chopped chives

spicy ketchup

ketchup with a few dashes of spicy chili oil and whatever else you desire.

mushroom bisque w/ crispy shallots

Baby it's cold outside! Too early in the season to say that? But hear me out. I'm freeeezing! I'm not one of those fall-winter type of gals. I'm a summer-babe, I love my sun and love my heat. Well, I don't really like humidity, but I love the dry heat. I don't think I've ever met someone who loves the humidity, have you?
Our summer on Cape Cod was a very very short one. We did not get a spring, instead we got rain--pure rain for a month. Seriously it was a record rainfall and record sun-less days on the history books jotted down somewhere with those weather-fanatics. Our summer was only about a month long, then bam, right into fall. So, I did not get enough sun to warm my bones up enough for winter. You know I'm so looking at the caribbean right now...
Last week I jokingly told my friends that summer was officially over-- I had eaten my first bowl of Ramen.
Another first for this already chilly season is my famous mushroom bisque. It has all the good stuff in it, like booze, mushrooms, cream, and those irrestible little gems I love: crispy shallots. This will warm your bones and your blood, well depending on how much sherry you put in it.
If you have a home in the caribbean and aren't using it I'm here to help. Yes I am. I'm available to go check on it and make sure it's safe & sound. Or if you are there I can easily cook for you. LOL

mushroom bisque
print recipe

2 tb of evoo
1 cup yellow onion, chopped
1 cup portobello mushrooms, chopped large chunks
½ cup shiitake mushrooms, chopped large chunks
¾ cup cremini mushroom, chopped large chunks
¾ stick of butter, unsalted, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 can (14 oz) beef broth
¼ cup of AP flour
½ +/- cup of good quality dry sherry
1 quart of half & half
1 cup heavy cream
salt & pepper to taste

In a small bowl take the ¼ cup of flour and mix about 3-4 tb of the beef broth; whisk to make a nice slurry; set aside.
In a large stockpot, heat up the evoo, and saute the onions till translucent. Add in a few pinches of salt. Add in all the mushrooms, add in the chopped butter, and a few dashes of ground black pepper—scattering it about.
Let the mushrooms cook down a bit, about 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring mushrooms. Add in the dry sherry, let that cook down a bit, by bringing it to a boil. Add in the remaining beef broth, add in the half & half, the heavy cream, and then the slurry you previously made (of the flour & beef broth).
Turn up heat a bit and keep stirring. Ideally you want to bring this all to just a boil. Give it a taste and see if it needs any pepper. I doubt it will need salt.
Top with the crispy shallots.
Should make about 4 hearty bowlfulls. It freezes nicely too.

crispy shallots
semi-adapted from Barefoot Contessa

1 cup light olive oil
3 tb unsalted butter
5 to 6 shallots, sliced into medium-thin rings

Heat the oil and unsalted butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat until it reaches about 250 degrees F. Reduce the heat a bit then add the shallots. I did this in two batches. You really do not want to crowd the pan at all. The shallots will brown perfectly if they have plenty of room in the hot oil to swim and get happy. Cook until nice and brown. Make sure to stir the shallots once in a while to get all sides brown. Once down remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon, and drain, then place on paper towels. They should stay at room temp., don't put them in the fridge as they will go soft and lose all that nice crispiness.
Should make less than ½ cup.

feta & raisin dip

That George Michael song: "Too Funky" is playing in my head as I write this. How ironic is that? OK, so this is a funky dish, but it's good-- I mean really good. The feta cheese melded great with the sweetness of the raisins and sun dried tomatoes. Kevin and Peter keep making these wonderful feta dips & salads, so naturally I had to follow with my own take. Plus I'm a huge fan of feta cheese, so salty and rich. Those chips you see in the photo are from Whole Foods, it's deep fried tortillas. You can make them at home if you want, I was lazy and picked up a bag. They go wonderfully with this dip. I think corn chips might work with this or even Ritz cracker, or nothing.
Thank you my sweet friends for all the birthday wishes. My b-day was good, I got spoiled, ate way too much cake(s) <---see the plural oh yeah.

feta & raisin dip
print recipe

6 ounces kalamata olives, pitted & diced
Sun dried tomatoes in oil; drained & diced (about 3 ounces +/-)
2 green onions (tops only), thinly sliced
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Handful of raisins (golden is best)
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
Extra-virgin olive oil, about 1 TB +/-
Salt & pepper

Combine the olives, sun dried tomatoes, onions, lemon juice, olive oil, raisin, black pepper, except feta. Check, taste, and see if you need more lemon juice, olive oil, and salt & pepper. Then gently stir in the crumbled feta cheese.

Note: you can mold it into a ceramic dish, chill for a bit, then place onto dip plate. Serve with crackers (not too salty) or serve with fried tortilla chips.

sweet potato fries w/ caramelized onion-horsey dip

Are you tired of the sweet potato and carmelized onion themes? No? Cool. Seriously, ask any foodie out there, isn't it always all about the sauce, the dip, marinade, the drippings, etc..? Truth be told I am one of those people that when in a restaurant or in my own home I always want extra sauce; have no problem asking for extra sauce on the side. And you know it's nice to meet other foodies out there that share my same affinity for 'extra sauce'. Since I've started blogging, I've noticed and adore how many foodies out there that love extra sauce. In my last post, banana custard tarlettes, I talked about how as a young child I loved my extra sauce--I still do. A good sauce that has depth of flavor, as well as many flavors mingling inside, not just one or two, but many flavors in the beginning of the bite and at the end of the bite. This dip is one I created from my deep love for truly good caramelized onions. You know the kind of caramelized onions that take hours to caramelize and develop? I wanted to try and incorporate these caramelized onions into a spicy horsey creamy dip. I mean come on, caramelized onions and horsey sauce--Onwards I say! This also has fire/heat to it and it has that horsey heat to it as well (double the fun). Of course I need a vehicle to eat this dip, I mean you could use your fingers, but the sweetness of the sweet potato fries does add a really nice contrast to the two types of heat in the dip. I would imagine this dip would taste good with potato chips (might be kind of salty and hide the deep heat), but I prefer the sweetness of the sweet potato fries. Carrots or cukes would go very well with this.

Oh BACON, baaaaaconnn should be added to this! Quick write that down!

caramelized onion & horsey dip
print recipe

¼ cup mayo (Hellmans)
¼ cup sour cream
Couple pinches of cayenne pepper
Couple pinches of chili powder
3 TB or more of horsey sauce
3-4 dashes of hot sauce
2 TB of catsup
3 TB caramelized onions

Mix all together. You might want to puree the caramelized onions if you don't want chunks in the sauce--up to you. Please let this chill at least 3 hours before serving so all the flavors meld nicely together and get all nice and happy.
And add some real, crisp bacon chunks to this; I must try that next time.