Food for Thought Friday

Friday Food for Thought

TGIF!  On Fridays, I will answer a question on food, cooking, or life in general sent by readers. If you have a question you’d like me to answer in a Friday Food for Thought post, just shoot me an email (cturner1103 [at] gmail [dot] com) with Food for Thought in the subject line.

What is your favorite meal to prepare?

-Connie

I would have to say a general answer of “big dinner.”  I like to make a big meal, or help make a big meal, and then have people over to socialize, play cards or whatever.  Usually a big dinner involves a meat (Ham, Meatloaf, etc.), Mashed Potatoes, Macaroni and Cheese, and whatever other sides are added to the “meat, potato, and cheesy pasta” base.

Simply Salmon Patties

Simply Salmon Patties

What would your last meal be?  My answer always involves salmon patties.  Even people that don’t necessarily love fish can respect fried patties of canned salmon goodness.  Serve with a side of soup beans and some fried potatoes…that’s what I like to call hillbilly food heaven.

What you’ll need:

Simply Salmon Patties

1 box Jiffy© Corn Muffin Mix (BIG SURPRISE!)

1 can salmon (save juice)

1 egg

Salt, pepper

Vegetable oil

First, crack open your can of salmon and lay it out on a plate.  Remember to save your juice in a small container of some sort.

Next, I pick out a few of the bones. Mainly this nasty looking piece you see below.  The other smaller bones break up during the cooking process, so you won’t even know they are there. but I take the larger ones out. 

After you have de-boned somewhat, take a fork and flake your salmon.

Next, add your Jiffy Mix. You can add the whole box for a more cornbread taste, about 2/3 of a box for a nice blend, and 1/3 of a box for more of a salmon flavor.  You can pick (this is about 2/3 of a box)

Remember that saved juice? Here is where it comes in. Take your juice and add your egg. Blend the eggs and salmon juice and add that to your salmon mixture.

Divide your salmon mixture into ¼ cup portions.  Heat oil and fry salmon patties until golden brown.

Place finished salmon patties on plate with paper towel.  The best food must rest on a paper towel before eating J

Copy Cat Chow: Fiesta Lime Chicken

Copy Cat Chow

The infamous copy cat recipe.  Why dine out when you can dine in…on the same food and for less! Plus, creating restaurant favorites at home is a great adventure.  It’s akin to being a detective.  You ask yourself questions like “What taste is that?” and later on, “Wonder how much of this I add?”  I have crafted some copy cat recipes from my favorite restaurants to share with you.  How do you create your restaurant favorites at home?  Experimentation, dedication, and a positive attitude (this is serious business).

Applebee’s Fiesta Lime Chicken

Applebee’s is not my favorite restaurant, but I have to admit I love their Fiesta Lime Chicken dish.  It’s a tangy marinated grilled chicken breast topped with a zesty lime sauce and gooey melted cheese.  I don’t want to burst their bubble, but my neighborhood is just as good as theirs and I can feed four neighbors for the price they charge one neighbor.

What you’ll need:

Fiesta Lime Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breast

1 cup water

1/3 cup teriyaki sauce

3 teaspoons chopped garlic (can use dried)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ginger

1/4 cup mayonnaise

¼ cup sour cream

2 tablespoons salsa

1 tablespoon  milk

1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning

¼ teaspoon hot sauce

2 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese

2 cups tortilla strips

First, prepare your marinade.  Combine 1 cup water, 1/3 cup teriyaki sauce, 3 teaspoons chopped garlic, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon ginger in large bowl. Add chicken. Cover and marinate for at least one hour.

Next, prepare your sauce. Combine 1/4 cup mayonnaise, ¼ cup sour cream, 2 tablespoons salsa, 1 tablespoon milk, 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning, and ¼ teaspoon hot sauce in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate (you'll see the sauce later on)

Grill chicken until cooked through. I use a cast-iron griddle, but you could use an outdoor grill, broiler, or just a regular pan.

Brush chicken with sauce throughout grilling process.

Cover medium size baking sheet with aluminum foil (just shorten clean-up time).  Place chicken on sheet. Cover each piece of chicken with sauce (see sauce below) and then cheese. Broil chicken until cheese is melted. 

Serve on a bed of tortilla strips and top with lime garnish (I squeeze my lime over the top).  I also serve red skinned mashed potatoes on the side.

Friday Food for Thought

Friday Food for Thought

TGIF!  On Fridays, I will answer a question on food, cooking, or life in general sent by readers. If you have a question you’d like me to answer in a Friday Food for Thought post, just shoot me an email (cturner1103 [at] gmail [dot] com) with Food for Thought in the subject line.

What are some leftovers in your fridge right now?

-Susan

I currently have some leftover baked ziti with garlic bread (a recipe you may see in the future) and I have some leftover vegetable fried rice from Lee's Chop Suey, which is my favorite Chinese restaurant.  You can read my review of Lee's and all about their goodies here : http://www.yelp.com/biz/lees-chop-suey-chicago#hrid:MEmbHyJRvQUw1ABac0mqdQ/src:self

Most of my leftovers go to my husband's lunch the next day, so I don't often have  many leftovers in the fridge.   I also have a semi-hidden secret of hating leftovers, so I'm lucky he actually enjoys eating leftovers for lunch.

The Unconventional Sandwich: Corn Muffin Sandwiches

The Unconventional Sandwich

sand·wich noun

1 a : two or more slices of bread or a split roll having a filling in between

    b : one slice of bread covered with food

sandwich verb

: to make into or as if into a sandwich; especially : to insert or enclose between usually two things of another quality or character

Ahh…the Sandwich.  Although they existed long before they were called sandwiches, John Montague, the fourth earl of Sandwich, is credited with naming the tasty invention. Montague, a heavy card player, held his cards in one hand and cheese and meat between slices of bread in the other (This is still a sandwich purpose in my house today!).  Montague’s fellow players started asking for Sandwich’s …and the rest is sandwich history!

The Unconventional Sandwich posts explore a variety of sandwich condiments and toppings, twists on old favorites, and traditional sandwiches with our own unique flare.  From breakfast to dessert, there isn’t anything we can’t try to sandwich.

The Corn Muffin Ham & Cheese

Is there anything I love more than cornbread? Not really.  This is a handy recipe to use up the stuff in your fridge and it's budget friendly because Jiffy corn muffin mix is super cheap and the rest of the ingredients can be anything you already have.   This is what I already had:

Corn Muffin Sandwiches:

1/4 cup mayo

2 Tbsp. Bacos

2 Tbsp. Dill weed

2 Tbsp. Dried Parsley

1 Box Jiffy Mix (prepared according to package directions)

Ham (I had Blackforest Ham)

Cheese (I had Kraft singles, but I usually prefer cheddar or colby jack)

Crisp Veggie (I had cucumbers)

First, prepare your corn muffins using the instructions on the Jiffy Box. They should come out like so:

Next, prepare your condiment.  Combine the first 4 ingredients listed above (mayo, bacos, dill, and parsley) in a small bowl.

Slice each corn muffin in half and set tops aside. Begin to assemble your sandwiches by spreading one half of the corn muffin with your condiment.

Next, layer your meat.

 

And then add your cheese and veggie of choice.

Replace the tops on your corn muffice sandwiches and Enjoy!



Pizza Casserole

Pizza Casserole

Craving Pizza? My husband craves pizza approximately 24 hours a day (yes, even when he sleeps).  This recipe is cheaper than ordering in, easier than making a homemade pizza, and best of all, tastier than any frozen pizza!

What you’ll need:

Pizza Casserole

1 box Jiffy© Pizza Crust Mix (do not follow package instructions)

3/4 cup water

1 8 oz. package pepperoni

1 bag shredded mozzarella cheese

1 15 oz. can pizza sauce

1 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper

1 tsp. Garlic Powder

1 tsp. Onion Salt

First, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Next, prepare your “crust.”  In a medium bowl, combine Jiffy mix and 3/4 cup of water (note package instructions call for only ½ cup). We need the dough to be slightly runny (more like a batter and less like a dough), so we add a little more water.

Lightly grease a 9x13 glass baking dish and begin to layer your casserole.

Drop half of your dough by tablespoons evenly in bottom of glass baking dish (dough will not completely cover bottom of dish).  I usually do 6-12 dots of dough---even drops is more important than number of drops.

Drizzle drops of dough with half the can of pizza sauce. Spread half the of your pepperoni slices evenly over sauce.  Top with 1 cup of mozzarella. Sprinkle with a teaspoon of Crushed Red Pepper, garlic powder, and onion salt. 

(Picture with dough, sauce, and pepperoni layers)

Repeat with second layer of remaining dough, sauce, pepperoni, cheese, and seasonings.

(Picture beginning second layer)
Bake 20 minutes at 375 degrees until top is bubbly and golden brown.

 

Friday Food for Thought

Friday Food for Thought

TGIF!  On Fridays, I will answer a question on food, cooking, or life in general sent by readers. If you have a question you’d like me to answer in a Friday Food for Thought post, just shoot me an email (cturner1103 [at] gmail [dot] com) with Food for Thought in the subject line.

It seems a lot of the chefs on TV and writing popular books are very dismissive of recipe books.  They regularly dismiss cooking out of a cookbook as “sterile” or “unexpressive”.  I was curious on your personal take on recipe books?  Are they useful tools spreading best practices or are they suppressive villains pushing conformity.

-Joe

I think of cook books like I think of math books.  My high school math teacher, Mr. Rick Rigel, always said that  you read a math book with paper and pencil.  Is it possible for anyone to learn from a math book or a cook book? Yes.  Cooking with a recipe is just like learning to work a certain type of math problem.  Following a recipe and using it efficiently is a skill in itself and I do not think it is “cheating” or conforming.  I have a specific method for using recipes--  I highlight the recipes I want to try in green and go over them in pink once I try them.  I make notes in the margins of my cookbooks if I’ve altered the recipe or if I have a different idea to try next time.

The recipe is a base, it’s the math formula…but with practice, you also learn to cook with your gut.  This is an acquired skill; so, if your gut remains silent while following a recipe, it does not mean you can’t cook.   If you have a good recipe base and have hesitations about deviating from that recipe, just stick with it. As you get more comfortable, maybe you can tweak the recipe just a bit. I try to make recipes work for my family, so I often change the type of meat used or add more spice (we like it hot).   

The Unconventional Sandwich: Donut Ice-Cream Sandwiches

The Unconventional Sandwich

sand·wich noun

1 a : two or more slices of bread or a split roll having a filling in between

    b : one slice of bread covered with food

sandwich verb

: to make into or as if into a sandwich; especially : to insert or enclose between usually two things of another quality or character

Ahh…the Sandwich.  Although they existed long before they were called sandwiches, John Montague, the fourth earl of Sandwich, is credited with naming the tasty invention. Montague, a heavy card player, held his cards in one hand and cheese and meat between slices of bread in the other (This is still a sandwich purpose in my house today!).  Montague’s fellow players started asking for Sandwich’s …and the rest is sandwich history!

The Unconventional Sandwich posts explore a variety of sandwich condiments and toppings, twists on old favorites, and traditional sandwiches with our own unique flare.  From breakfast to dessert, there isn’t anything we can’t try to sandwich.

The Donut-Ice Cream Sandwich

What you’ll need (sans picture, I apologize):

Chocolate Donuts, Ice cream (we used devil’s food donuts and peanut butter cup ice cream)

Donut Ice-Cream Sandwich

1 box large, chocolate flavored donuts

Some ice cream (firm, not softened)

(Now is the time to improvise. Mini donuts. Powdered. Your favorite flavor of ice cream…Go for it!)

First, freeze your base (at least six hours).  Get those donuts chilly!

After your donuts are frozen, remove from the freezer and cut each donut in half crosswise (equally). Warning--this is a delicate process. 

Remove your ice cream from the freezer. Scrape the ice cream with a butter knife.  Then, spread the ice cream on one half of the donut, keeping the center hole empty. 

Place the “top” of the donut on the ice cream, and place back in the package.  Keep one out to snack on, and save the rest for later ; )

Freeze your sandwiches at least one hour before serving.

Copy Cat Chow: Pepperoni Rolls

The infamous copy cat recipe.  Why dine out when you can dine in…on the same food and for less! Plus, creating restaurant favorites at home is a great adventure.  It’s akin to being a detective.  You ask yourself questions like “What taste is that?” and later on, “Wonder how much of this I add?”  I have crafted some copy cat recipes from my favorite restaurants to share with you.  How do you create your restaurant favorites at home?  Experimentation, dedication, and a positive attitude (this is serious business).

Ahh, Pepperoni Rolls. College comfort food at its finest. I’ve had several portions of these tasty little rolls at Old Chicago© while talking, laughing, and having a great time with friends.  This recipe is based on the restaurant’s Sicilian Pepperoni Rolls.  Enjoy!

What you’ll need:

Plus a little:

Old Chicago© Sicilian Pepperoni Rolls

1 box Jiffy© Pizza Crust Mix (½ cup hot tap water used as well)

1 package pepperoni

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or more if you desire)

1 block Pepper Jack cheese (1 cup shredded, save the rest)

6 green onions (roughly chopped)

Ranch dressing

First, preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Next, prepare your dough.  Add your ½ cup water, mix with spatula, cover and let stand for 5 minutes.

Knead several times on floured board.

Roll out into a thin, 9 x 13 rectangle. Cut about 6 strips (one pepperoni wide) with a pizza cutter.

Layer each strip: 1) Pepperoni 2) Mozzarella cheese 3) Shredded Pepper Jack cheese 4) Green onions 5) Ranch dressing

Roll strips individually, starting from the end closest to you.

Place one pepperoni on bottom of roll (Note: Bottom of roll is the flatter end)

Place all rolls on greased baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 425 degrees.

Remove rolls from oven. Immediately sprinkle with a pinch of crushed pepper, garlic powder, and onion salt.  Let stand for 5 minutes.  Enjoy with a side of marinara and shaved parmesan or Ranch dressing.