Oven Fried Onion Rings

This is a great recipe! We LOVE LOVE LOVE onion rings here -- and to be honest, those frozen Ore-Ida things just weren't doing it for me. I found this on another food blog (The Bitten Word)and made it within days. This is definately going on the weekly schedule now!

It's from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food, June 2009

Ingredients
* 1 1/2 cups cornflakes
* 1/2 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
* 1 large egg
* 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* Coarse salt and ground pepper
* 1 medium sweet onion, such as Vidalia, quartered crosswise and broken into rings (discard small center rings)
* 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a food processor, pulse cornflakes and breadcrumbs until fine crumbs form, then transfer to a medium bowl. In another medium bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, flour, and cayenne and season with salt and pepper.

2. Dip onion rings in egg mixture (letting excess drip off) and dredge in cornflake mixture; place on a large plate. Pour oil onto a rimmed baking sheet. Place in oven and heat 2 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and tilt to coat evenly with oil. Arrange onion rings on sheet. Bake, turning once, until onion rings are golden brown, about 16 minutes. Season with salt.

Cinco de Mayo Party

So we had a few friends over for Cinco de Mayo... or at least a few days before. The menu:

Chips and salsa and guacamole (avacado smashed up with lemon juice and salt)
Steak Fajitas (skirt steak marinated overnight)
Southwestern slaw (I'd give it a 5 out of 10)
Cheesy Black Beans (my favorite!)
Shrimp with Cilanto and Lime (Gourmet cookbook, also very good)
Sangria (I, personally, don't like fruit in my wine)
Margaritas (yummy)


And a fruit tart for dessert -- not Mexican, not even Spanish but very very very good. Cookie crust, homemade custard on top of that, fresh berries, the apricot jelly -- I made a second one the next day, but because it was so very good.

Everyone left at 10:30, which we thought was weird, because we are used to people staying until 2am. It was almost as if we didn't know what to do with ourselves after eveyone left -- the night was still so young. But that must be how adults do it, right?

I've been cleaning out that darn freezer this week (much to the dismay of my family). I think we're probably getting to the bottom of it now. The rest I should just throw away --

My next challenge: trimming a beef tenderloin the Alton Brown way -- and making all those delicious red meat dishes --

I found video on YouTube -- can't wait!

My freezer

Last night I was overcome with a desire to make ice cubes. Odd as it sounds, I like good old fashioned ice cubes and we're having people over for dinner on Saturday, and thought I should stock up.

That led to me trying to secure freezer space to actually store the trays. Ugh! I have a freezer in the kitchen and one in the basement. The kitchen freezer was PACKED with stuff. Nuts, single steaks, 1/2 jars of spaghetti sauce, fish sticks (no one will eat), sauerkraut (?), hot dog rolls, bread ends -- to make crumbs some day, cool whip, all sorts of frozen vegetables. Some things are older than my children (yikes!)

Rather than actually edit the contents, I moved it all downstairs and will put that chore on my to-do list. We are also going to start eating out of the freezer -- it could be weeks before I have to go to the store again. On the up side -- I have made two batches of ice cubes and feel peace when I open the freezer upstairs.

Home made Sloppy Joes

I think my mom used to make sloppy joes using ground beef and a can of manwich. But it makes me feel like a better mother when I create sloppy joes from scratch. This is from Rachel Ray's book, and it's always a hit with the family...

1 T olive oil
1 1/4 lb. ground beef
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 t. steak seasoning blend
1 medium onion
1 small red bell pepper (I've substituted carrots)
1 T. red wine vinegar
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
2 c. tomato sauce
2 T tomato paste

Heat oil in a large skillet, add beef and break it up. Combine brown sugar and steak seasoning, add the mix to the meat in the skillet. When the meat has browned, add onion and veggies. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes. Add vinegar, stirring to reduce, add Worcestershire tomato sauce and paste, stirring to combine. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for about 5 more minutes.

The Split Pea Soup Experiment

I am vegetable challenged. I can't seem to figure out a way to get the green things into the kids on a regular basis. So, the other night, when my pal Alton Brown told me that split pea soup is a great way to sneak some peas into the unsuspecting little people, I thought I'd give it a shot.

Amazingly, it didn't go over quite as well here in the real world. Son #1 didn't even try it, daughter said it had a funky aftertaste, and son #2 said it was okay. Husband said it was good, but too thick. (I think he was just being nice). I, on the other hand, loved it (of course). I had some left over, and it does get thicker as it ages, to the point where I feel like I'm eating baby food for lunch. The other great thing about this recipe is that I got to use my groovy new emersion blender...

I think I've got to make it a few more times to get the kids on the right track. I'll torture them with vegetables.

Also, I realized I had to serve it with something they would eat, or they would all starve the night I made it -- so I made ham steaks and macaroni and cheese...

Here's the recipe:
Curried Split Pea Soup
Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup chopped onion
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
12 ounces dried green or yellow split peas, picked over and rinsed
5 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon curry powder
Directions
Place the butter into a large (4 to 6-quart) saucepan over medium-low heat. Once melted, add the onion and a generous pinch of salt and sweat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to sweat for an additional 1 to 2 minutes, making certain not to allow onions or garlic to brown.

Add the peas, chicken broth and curry powder. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook at a simmer until the peas are tender and not holding their shape any longer, approximately 45 to 50 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Using care and a stick blender, puree the soup until the desired consistency. Watch out for hot splatters.

Bow Thai Pasta with Shrimp

This has been a family favorite for a very long time. You make a pesto out of cilantro instead of basil, and although it calls for shrimp, I've also used chicken. And, not surprisingly, I rarely have the right kind of pasta (bows) -- so I use whatever is in the cabinet. Lately, I've been using almonds instead of peanuts -- and that works as well.

Bow Thai Pasta with Shrimp
3 large garlic cloves, crushed
2 T. minced fresh ginger
1 bunch fresh cilantro (stemmed)
1/4 c. dry-roasted peanuts
1/4 t. (or less) dried crushed red pepper
1/2 c. peanut oil
8 oz. bow tie pasta
12 oz. cooked,peeled, deveined medium shrimp
4 green onions, chopped
3 T. fresh lime juice

With processor running, drop garlic and ginger through feed tube. Add cilantro, peanuts and red pepper. With machine running, gradually add oil. Season to taste with salt. (Can be prepared 6 hours and up to 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate).

Bring pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta and cook until tender. Place shrimp in colander. Pour pasta into colander. Drain. Return shrimp and pasta to pot. Add pesto sauce, onions, and lime juice. Toss to coat.

Zuni Cafe Chicken = Comfort Food

As I sit here typing away, I can smell the makings of some good old fashioned chicken broth on the stove. It's just starting to snow.. life is good. What's in the pot is the leftovers from a DELICIOUS roast chicken recipe that is fast and easy. I found the recipe at the smitten kitchen

It calls for a bread salad -- absolutely make the bread salad. I couldn't take pictures, it disappears so fast

After you're down to the bones, make chicken broth and freeze 2c. portions for future use....