Zucchini Pancakes

Photo courtesy Food Network

 

 

Ingredients

2 medium zucchini (about 3/4 pound)
2 tablespoons grated red onion
2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
6 to 8 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Unsalted butter and vegetable oil


Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Grate the zucchini into a bowl using the large grating side of a box grater. Immediately stir in the onion and eggs. Stir in 6 tablespoons of the flour, the baking powder, salt, and pepper. (If the batter gets too thin from the liquid in the zucchini, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour.)

Heat a large (10 to 12-inch) saute pan over medium heat and melt 1/2 tablespoon butter and 1/2 tablespoon oil together in the pan. When the butter is hot but not smoking, lower the heat to medium-low and drop heaping soup spoons of batter into the pan. Cook the pancakes about 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Place the pancakes on a sheet pan and keep warm in the oven. Wipe out the pan with a dry paper towel, add more butter and oil to the pan, and continue to fry the pancakes until all the batter is used. The pancakes can stay warm in the oven for up to 30 minutes. Serve hot.

Crunchy Noodle Salad

photo: Food Network

Ingredients

1 pound thin spaghetti
1 pound sugar snap peas
1 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon honey
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
3 tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds, divided
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded, and thinly sliced
4 scallions (with and green parts), sliced diagonally
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves


Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, bring another large pot of salted water to a boil, add the sugar snap peas, return to a boil, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until crisp tender. Lift the sugar snap peas from the water with a slotted spoon and immerse them in a bowl of ice water. Drain.

For the dressing, whisk together the vegetable oil, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, garlic, ginger, 2 tablespoons sesame seeds and peanut butter in a medium bowl.

Combine the spaghetti, sugar snap peas, peppers and scallions in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the spaghetti mixture. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds and the parsley and toss together.

Recipe courtesy of Ina Garten

Paulette's Potato Salad

I make the best damn potato salad you'll ever eat. Period. Here's the recipe...


2.5 to 3 pounds potatoes*
12 eggs
4 green onions
1 stalk celery
1 c. frozen green peas
3/4 c. mayonnaise
3/4 c. plain greek yogurt
2 T. apple cider vinegar
1/2 c. loosely packed chopped fresh dill or 1 T. refrigerated dill paste or 1 T. dried dillweed
1.5 t each salt and pepper or 1 T. Nature's Seasons

Boil or steam the potatoes until fork tender. Remove from pan and cool to room temp.

Hard boil the eggs, then peel. Cool to room temp.

Dice the potatoes and place in a large bowl. Slice the eggs in half and remove the yolks to a plate. Chop the egg whites and add to the potatoes.

Trim the green onions and mince them, both green and white parts.

Clean and mince the celery. Nobody wants a huge chunk of tough, stringy, overpowering aromatic getting in the way of salad enjoyment. Stop being lazy and mince that stuff. Add to the potato bowl, along with the frozen peas (don't bother to cook the peas or even thaw them). Toss the contents of the bowl.

Finely mash the egg yolks with a fork. Add the mayo and yogurt, the vinegar, dill, and salt and pepper and stir well. Add the yolk mixture to the potato bowl and toss gently until potatoes are coated evenly.

Chill thoroughly. Sprinkle lightly with paprika if you want to make your salad look like Nana's. 

*Potatoes - Buy Yukon Gold or red-skinned potatoes. They don't have to be peeled, but you can if you want. Just scrub them well and cut out any suspicious spots. You can use the large brown russet potatoes if you want, but they need to be peeled and they result in a softer, mealier potato cube.

Gherkin Salut (Creamy Cucumber Salad)

Our current can't-get-enough side dish!

Source: chow.com

3 English cucumbers
1 T. kosher salt
1 small onion
2 T. cider vinegar
4 oz sour cream
1 t. sugar or substitute (optional)
1 t. pepper
2 T. fresh dill (I'm a fan of Gourmet Garden) or use an equivalent of dried

Wash the cukes, peel if desired, then slice very thinly. Toss in a colander with salt; allow to drain for 30 minutes. Shake out the excess juice and pat dry with paper towels, place in large bowl. Peel the onion and slice very thinly; add to bowl. Whisk together vinegar, sour cream, sugar, pepper, and dill; toss with cukes and onion. For best flavor, refrigerate overnight.

The balance of sweet / sour will need adjustment to personal taste (I'm usually pretty heavy handed with the vinegar!).

Tomato Salad with Red Onion, Feta, and Dill

Source: thekitchn.com

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
2 large tomatoes, about 1#
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 English cuke, thinly sliced
1 cup black olives
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped (optional)
1 cup feta, crumbled

Put the sliced onion in a bowl, cover with cold water, and let soak 10 to 15 minutes. 

Place the garlic, a pinch of salt, and the vinegar into a large mixing bowl. Drizzle in the olive oil while whisking. Add the red pepper, cucumber, olives, and herbs and let marinate for 10 minutes.

Cut the tomatoes into bite-sized chunks. Drain the onion and pat dry.

Add the tomatoes, onion, and feta, and toss gently to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Hominy Grill's Squash Casserole

This recipe is from the Hominy Grill, a fabulous little restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina. We visited there last summer, had a wonderful late breakfast, and I snatched up a cookbook as we paid our tab (yes, it's autographed by Chef Robert Stehling - aren't you jealous?).

Fairly low in carbs, this has become one of our favorite side dishes. It was a surprise hit when I offered it at our Xmas Eve buffet two weeks ago. Here's the recipe, for those who asked for it. It looks intimidating, but it's easy to put together - read my notes at the end for ways to make it simpler.


Squash Casserole

 2 T. butter

3 zucchini, thinly sliced (about 4 cups)

3 yellow squash, thinly sliced (about 4 cups)

1 cup onion, diced

1/2 cup celery, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

4 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated

1/2 cup parmesan, grated

1 1/2 T. fresh basil, chopped

1 1/2 T. fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 t. hot sauce (Tabasco or Cholula)

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. black pepper

1/8 t. nutmeg

1/4 t. sugar

3 cups dried breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease an 8x8 baking dish, dust with crumbs, set aside.

Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add garlic and cook another minute, add squashes and cook until they're tender and browning slightly, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, cheeses, basil, parsley, hot sauce, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and sugar. Set aside.

Pulse 1/3 of the squash mixture in a food processor until it's chunky-smooth. Add to the bowl with the rest of the squash and the egg and cheese mixture and stir to combine.

Pour the mixture into the prepared dish and top with an even coating of breadcrumbs. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the egg sets and the mixture is puffed slightly.

Serves 6.

My notes:

- I usually don't buy fresh parsley, so I just add a heaping teaspoon of dried parsley instead. I do use fresh basil because that's usually on hand, but you could substitute dried basil, as well. 

- I don't use either nutmeg or sugar in my version.

- For low carb or gluten-free, use crushed chicharrones (pork rinds) in place of breadcrumbs.

- I don't always use the food processor. If you don't want to or don't have one, just roughly mash the squash mixture with a potato masher or fork and it'll turn out just as tasty.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

3 pounds fresh cranberries
3 1/2 c sugar or Splenda or equivalent
2 lemons, zested and juiced
2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
3 1/2 c water
1 t salt

Wash the berries and pick out the ones that are wrinkled or soft. Combine all ingredients in a pot, stir well, and bring to a boil. Simmer until the berries have popped and the sauce has begun to thicken, about 15 minutes. Cool covered at room temp, then refrigerate.

Makes 2+ quarts.

The jalapenos don't add much heat, but they add a wonderful jap flavor.

Almond Flour Cornbread

1 c almond flour
2 green onions, chopped
3/4 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
2 large eggs
2 T butter
1/4 c sour cream

In a bowl, mix together the wet ingredients and green onions, then add the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into a greased 8 x 8 baking dish and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until the edges begin to brown.

8 servings at 1 carb each

Pink Stuff

"Pink Stuff"??

I don't know what else to call it. It's not a salad or a dessert. It's something else entirely, and since I think the best tasting version uses strawberry flavored Jello, "Pink Stuff" it is.

1 small pkg Jello (strawberry is awesome!)
1/2 c boiling water
1 1/2 c cottage cheese
1 1/2 c heavy cream

Stir Jello into hot water until dissolved, then set aside to cool. Whip the cream to stiff peaks. Stir the cooled Jello into the cottage cheese until thoroughly combined, then fold in the whipped cream. Chill thoroughly.

Herb Garden Potato Salad with Spinach and Lemon

2 pounds extra-small Yukon Gold potatoes
1 lemon, juiced and zested
1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
5 ounces fresh baby spinach, well-washed
2/3 cup flat-leaf parsley, leaves only and loosely packed
2/3 cup fresh dill, fronds only and loosely packed
3 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
Flaky salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat a large pot of water to boiling and salt the water generously. Add the potatoes and cook for 15 to 18 minutes, or until they are quite tender and creamy. Slit each potato in half and return them to the pot.

In a measuring cup whisk together the lemon juice, zest, olive oil, and sugar. Whisk until well-combined — it will be thick and opaque yellow. Pour over the hot potatoes and stir gently until the potatoes are coated with dressing.

Slice the spinach leaves into thin ribbons. Mince the parsley leaves (discarding the stems) and the dill fronds as well. Add the spinach, parsley, dill, and shallots to the potatoes, and toss gently. The spinach and herbs will wilt as they are combined with the hot potatoes. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.

Tip! Substitute any herb you like for the parsley and dill. I've used basil and cilantro with great success.