Avocado Fries

Recipe Adapted from Sunset Magazine

Canola oil for frying

1/4 cup flour

1 tsp kosher salt

2 large eggs, beaten to blend

1 1/4 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

2 firm-ripe medium avocados, pitted, peeled, and sliced into 1/2-in. wedges

Grated parmesan for serving (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 200°. In a medium saucepan, heat 1 1/2 in. oil until it registers 375° on a deep-fry thermometer.

2. Meanwhile, mix flour with 1/2 tsp. salt in a shallow plate. Put eggs and panko in separate shallow plates.

3. Sprinkle the avocado slices with the remaining ½ tsp salt.  Dip each slice in flour, shaking off excess. Dip in egg, then panko to coat. Set on 2 plates in a single layer.

3. Fry a quarter of avocado slices at a time until deep golden, 30 to 60 seconds. Transfer slices to a plate lined with paper towels. Keep warm in oven while cooking remaining avocados. Sprinkle with salt and a little grated parmesan.

Oh Versatile Calzones – Cheezy Spinach Version

INGREDIENTS
(for 2 large calzones)    

Dough

¼ whole wheat pizza dough recipe
Spinach mixture

325g spinach, chopped
1 small onion, diced
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg
100g extra firm tofu, grated
100g low fat mozzarella, grated
1 cup cottage cheese
1 egg

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 500F
In a non-stick skillet, cook onion, salt and pepper over medium heat until translucent. Lower heat, add spinach and stir until spinach is completely wilted, about 1 minute. Turn off the heat and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, add cottage cheese, tofu, mozzarella, egg and nutmeg and mix until well combined.
Remove excess liquid from spinach and fold into cheese mixture. Mix until well combined. Set aside.
Divide dough ball in 2 equal pieces and roll or stretch each piece into a 6-8 inch disc. I like to use cornmeal when rolling and stretching my dough as it tends to get trapped into the dough and adds a nice little crunch.
Mound half of the spinach mixture on the center of each of the discs. Flatten it just a bit with a spoon, bringing the mixture more towards one side of the disc.
Fold the dough back onto itself and press lightly on the calzone to form a half moon.
Fold the edges, twice if possible, to seal in the filling.
Transfer to a pizza pan or cookie sheet and cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the crust turns crispy, nice and golden brown.
Serve however, wherever and whenever you prefer!

Zucchini Fritters with Mozzarella and Stewed Grape Tomatoes

Today, I'm sharing a recipe that we enjoyed as an appetizer at our last gourmet gathering at the very end of October. The recipe wasn't assigned to us but I finally got around to making them myself just before Thanksgiving. Although this is a wonderful fall harvest recipe, the ingredients are available at most stores year round. Fresh herbs have been also increasingly available and, at my store, I can buy fresh, living basil in the winter when it's most appreciated.

The stewed grape tomatoes in this recipe are actually cherry tomatoes from my garden. I had quite a few tomatoes that I harvested from my prolific Tumbling Tom cherry tomato plant before the first frost that I froze for recipes just like this.

Zucchini Fritters with Fresh Mozzarella and Stewed Grape Tomatoes

1 pound (about 2 medium sized) zucchini, coarsely grated

5 scallions, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

½ cup whole milk ricotta cheese

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

2 eggs

Kosher salt

Ground black pepper

Vegetable or olive oil for frying

Fresh mozzarella (preferably buffalo), and

Fresh basil for garnish

Stewed Grape Tomatoes

2 pint grape tomatoes, rinsed

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Additional Italian seasonings of your choice - I used the Ariosto seasoning for tomato-based sauces which contains salt, so I deleted any additional salt. Dried oregano and basil would also taste good.

To prepare the zucchini fritters, mix the first 10 ingredients together in a large bowl until blended.

Heat oil in a very large skillet over medium heat and cook fritters in two batches. Drop 2 tablespoons of batter into mounds in the skillet. Do not crowd. Flatten slightly. Cook until browned, for 4 to 6 minutes on each side, turning over once. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Sprinkle with salt. Repeat with remaining batter.

To prepare the stewed grape tomatoes, place olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking and continuously stirring tomatoes until the skins begin to break open (approximately 8 to 10 minutes). Add the sugar and vinegar and continue cooking for approximately 5 more minutes. Note: I found this process took longer than stated to thicken the tomatoes.

To assemble, place zucchini fritter on an appetizer plate and top with one slice of fresh buffalo mozzarella, 1 tablespoon of stewed grape tomatoes and fresh basil.

Roasted Parmesan Green Beans

Tender crisp green beans roasted to perfection, topped with shredded parmesan cheese. This is the easiest way to prepare the best tasting green beans, picky kid approved!

I'm getting tons of requests for green bean casserole, and I'm not going to lie, I've never been a fan. I dislike soft, mushy green beans, I much prefer them tender crisp. The easiest way to achieve that is by roasting them, they come out consistently perfect every time!

I make these quite often, you can season them however you like, add some crushed red pepper for a little kick or even leave the parmesan off. If you want to double the recipe, I suggest using two baking sheets. Serve them immediately out of the oven for best results.

Roasted Parmesan Green Beans

Skinnytaste.com

Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 1 cup • Old Points: 1 pts • Points+: 2 pts

Calories: 62.4 • Fat: 2.9 g • Carbs: 8.0 • Fiber: 3.8 • Protein: 2.7 g • Sugar: 0

Sodium: 38.4 mg (without salt)

Ingredients:

12 oz green beans, trimmed (make sure they are dry)

2 tsp olive oil

kosher salt + fresh cracked pepper to taste

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 1/2 tbsp shredded parmesan

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum for easy clean-up.

Lay green beans out on the baking sheet and drizzle oil over them. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder and toss to evenly coat.

SALT AND VINEGAR BROILED FINGERLING POTATOES

Sometimes when I get too busy, I end up assigning a lot of tasks to my pretend intern. She is not super-effective. Sometimes I think her lack of effectiveness stems from my own carelessness in having hired the wrong Myers-Briggs personality type for the job. (She’s a total INFP.) Sometimes I think her lack of effectiveness stems from the fact that she is pretend. Either way, today she has only one thing to do. She is clearing my calendar so I can sit at home and eat potatoes.

This isn’t the way the day was supposed to go. I woke up before six, because babies do not appreciate the subtleties of Daylight Savings. (They do not fall back, and they do not fall back to sleep.) I went to the gym. I did weighted walking lunges. This was not a day to mess with me. But since June I have had one of those irresistible little Martha Stewart Living pull-out recipe cards in my files. The kind with the dappled lighting they pretend is filtering through the trees and onto your perfectly adorned picnic table. The kind it is not a day to mess with. And that’s not all. Since July I have had a large bottle of white vinegar in the pantry. And since Sunday’s farmers’ market I have had several pounds of perfect little fingerling potatoes burning a hole in my concentration. Something had to give.

Something gave. It was my schedule.

The recipe below serves four in typical circumstances. Under certain conditions, however, it serves one. And that is all I plan to say about that.

The original recipe calls for finishing these beauties on the grill. Since we’re headed toward colder days, I’ve broiled them instead, which worked out nicely (but feel free to grill them on medium-high heat for the same amount of time if you’re one of those types). I won’t lie—they’re a little intense. In fact, I’d guess that Myers-Briggs would classify them as an ESTJ. They could probably finish my chores in less than half the time my current intern takes. In both of these situations, intensity can be a very desirable characteristic, and I will definitely be hiring back these little extroverts in the near future. For example, at dinnertime.

SALT AND VINEGAR BROILED FINGERLING POTATOES

Ingredients

1 pound fingerling potatoes, sliced lengthwise to 1/4-inch thickness*

2 cups white or malt vinegar

Extra virgin olive oil

Kosher Salt

Pepper

Method

1. In a small pot, combine the potato slices and vinegar. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until fork-tender, about 8 minutes. Let cool in liquid for 30 minutes. Then drain well and pat potatoes dry with paper towels.

2. Preheat the broiler with a rack about 6 inches below the heat source. Dump the potato slices onto a sheet pan, sprinkle very generously with olive oil, salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Arrange the potato slices in a single layer. Broil until lightly browned on top, about 7 minutes. Then flip the slices and broil until the underside is lightly browned, about 5 minutes more. Serve warm.

*Please be careful with your own fingerlings when slicing. The potatoes can be a little slippery.

Honey Yogurt Berry Pops

Bring on the fireworks, slather on that sunscreen and party hardy with family and loved ones. And if you’re experiencing the same sweltering hot weather as we’re having in Texas you’ll appreciate this recipe for Honey Yogurt Berry Pops. It’s a healthy way to stay cool and it literally takes a few minutes to make. I used the Norpro popsicle molds and they worked great, I recommend letting the pops defrost for 3-5 minutes before trying to pop them out.

Ingredients

2 cups 0% Greek Yogurt, I used Fage (Chobani will work as well)
1/2 cup raw honey
1 cup mixed berries, washed (blueberries, strawberries, blackberries)

Instructions

1. Blend yogurt and honey together in a large bowl. Fold mixed berries in. Transfer into a container with a spout so the mixture can be poured into popsicle molds. Fill popsicle molds close the top and put in popsicle sticks. Freeze for 3 hours or overnight.
2. You can use any of the remaining mixture and blend it with some ice for a yogurt berry smoothie!

HOW TO make onion-ring eggs

The Apron Strings cooking blog continues its run of excellent ideas for making molded eggs by frying them inside vegetable cross-sections with this lovely recipe for onion-ring eggs: just half-cook rings of sliced onion, turn over, and crack in an egg. Add some water to the pan and cook covered over low heat. Be sure to click through for links to other variations, including some perfectly lovely flower-power eggs cooked in sectioned, floral-looking sweet peppers.