Zucchini Fritters (Kolokithokeftedes)

Zucchini fritters, or kolokithokeftedes in Greek, are something that Mr. S and I have been familiar with since we were children.  Our Yiayias (grandmothers) used to make them and they are a very common appetizer found in the tavernas of Greece and the Greek islands.  They are a delicious and pretty healthy way to consume lots of zucchini and perfect for kids who aren't too keen on vegetables.  Oh, and they are perfect for vegetarians and lent!

Zucchini Fritters

• 2 1/2 pounds zucchini, grated (about 4-4 1/2 cups prior to draining)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt (+ 1/2 tsp to add to mixture)
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 3-4 Tbsp of freshly chopped dill
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2-3 Tbsp canola oil
  

Grate zucchini and place in a colander over the sink or a large bowl.  Toss with salt and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes to drain.  Squeeze zucchini in colander to get out as much water as possible.  Then place zucchini in cheesecloth to drain as much water as possible. Then place the zucchini in a large bowl.  NOTE:  This step is extremely important.  If you do not get the water out, the fritters will fall apart and won't brown in the pan.  It might make it easier to work in batches, draining a cup or so at a time.  A clean kitchen towel can be used if you don't have cheesecloth.

Add flour, Parmesan, garlic, dill, 1/2 tsp salt, pepper, and egg to the zucchini and toss to combine.

Heat canola oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat.  Working in batches, spoon 2 tablespoons of the mixture into the pan to make each fritter and flatten the fritters with a spatula. Cook about 2-3 minutes until golden brown, flip then  cook an additional 2 minutes.  NOTE:  Adjust the temperature between medium and medium high so that the fritters won't burn.  You want them to be gold brown and want the inside to cool sufficiently without burning.

Place on a cooling rack while cooking the other batches.  Serve alone or with tzatziki sauce.

 

Adapted from Damn Delicious.

B.A.L.T.

Our town of Baltimore is a fish/seafood lover's dream.  Baltimoreans know fresh seafood and as a recent transplant to the city, I can tell you, they are often snooty about it!   But, it's a small price to pay to enjoy some of the delicious local fish and seafood dishes available.  Baltimore is most famous for the crabcake sandwich, but this new creation might be our favorite.

INTRODUCING.....

The B.A.L.T. - Bacon, Avacado, Lettuce and Tuna (blackened) + Tomato optional

Many months ago, we created our own version of blacking seasoning and have since used it on many kinds of fish.  We featured two of these recipes on this blog, both with mango salsa - Blackened Tuna and Blackened Mahi.  But this sandwich, takes those flavors to another level.  After all, isn't everything better with bacon?!

B.A.L.T. (makes 4 sandwiches)
4 (4-6oz) Tuna Steaks (we buy wild frozen tuna steaks from Sam's Club)
2-3 Tbsp of homemade Blackening Seasoning 
4 pieces of romaine lettuce
4 slices of bacon (8 if you are a bacon lover)
1 large (or 2 small) avacados
1 large tomato cut into slices (optional)
4 brioche rolls, toasted

Wasabi Citrus Aioli (McCormick Recipe)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3/4 Tbsp Paprika 
3/4 tsp wasabi powder (reduce for less heat, we put 1/2 tsp)
1/4 tsp finely grated lemon peel
1/4 tsp finely grated lime peel
3/4 tsp fresh lemon juice

3/4 tsp freshly grated lime peel
1/2 clove garlic minced OR 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Rub fish generously on all sides with the blackened seasoning.  Let sit for 10-15 minutes or more.

To make the wasabi citris aioli, combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until well combined.  Let sit in the refrigerator until you are ready to put the sandwich together.

Slice avocado, tomato (if desired), and lettuce and set aside.

Cook the bacon in a pan (or microwave or oven) to desired crispiness.   We cooked ours for 3 minutes between paper towels in the microwave and then cooked it in a non-stick frying pan for 1.5  additional minutes on each side.

Toast the brioche buns.  This can either be done in the toaster oven, or the buns can be placed in the bacon pan for 1-2 minutes on either side to get the flavor of the bacon drippings.

Heat stainless skillet to medium high.  Add 2 Tablespoons of canola oil and heat until oil starts to shimmer.  Add tuna steaks to skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes.  Flip and cook another 1-2 minutes.  NOTE:  The cooking time is HIGHLY dependent on your desired tuna doneness and the thickness of the fish you are using.  We cooked ours about 2 minutes on the first side and 1.5 minutes on the second side for a medium rare.

Put about a tablespoon (more if desired) of aioli on the bottom of each roll.  Then place the blackened tuna steak on the roll and top with avocado, tomato, bacon, and lettuce.  Serve immediately.  We served ours with a mixed green salad topped with the sandwich toppings - tomato, avocado, bacon, and even a small slice of blackened tuna.

Asian Scallop Pancakes

Way before I was in his life, Mr. S. was a foodie and a fan of Jacques Pepin. While I loved to cook before we met, I hadn't watched many cooking shows and knew very little about the art of food presentation. He has taught me a lot over the past 3.5 years, and we have learned a lot together, particularly from watching some of our favorites - America's Test Kitchen, Jacques Pepin, and even Chopped.

The other night, we watched a DVRed episode of Jacques Pepin in which he made Scallop Pancake served on a Boston bibb lettuces salad. I have to admit, I thought it was a little odd and certainly questioned the potential deliciousness. But, Mr. S was very enthusiastic about it and I knew it would make him happy to give it a whirl. After all, over the course of our relationship, he has put up with a lot of food quirks on my part - mainly my deep hatred for condiments, particularly white ones - that means no mayo, cream cheese, sour cream, relish, and (perhaps the worst) mustard. So, the least I could do is try to make scallop pancakes. I did a little research and found that they are an popular Asian appetizer. From the first bite, I quickly realized that I had completely underestimated the magazines of these simple treat. They are delicious!

Pancakes

1/4 pound scallops, rinsed under cold water (we used small ones)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/3 cups club soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced scallions (or chives)
About 2-3Tbsp canola oil (Jacques used peanut oil, but we didn't have that) for pan frying

Put the scallops, flour, baking powder, club soda, salt, and pepper in a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Stir in the scallions.

Heat about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Spoon about 1 1/2 tablespoons batter per pancake into the pan. It will spread to form a disk about 3 1/2 inches in diameter. Cook about 6 pancakes at a time over medium heat for a total of about 5 minutes, turning them after about 2 1/2 minutes. (NOTE: Turn the heat down or reduce cooking time as necessary - make sure they don't burn). Repeat with the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil and the remaining batter to make about 12 pancakes total. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for a minute before serving. DO NOT put on a paper towel. They will get soggy!

Serve alone or on a bed of lettuce.  Enjoy!

Romaine Salad

2–3 cups torn lettuce, washed and dried
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Dash each salt and freshly ground black pepper

Toss the lettuce with the olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper in a medium bowl. To serve, divide the salad among four plates, arrange 3 pancakes alongside or on top of the greens, and serve.

Source: Jacques Pepin Episode 212

Chicken Cordon Bleu with Prosciutto

As I said in our last post, after our St. Martin vacation, Mr. S and I have a renewed interest for a little French flair in our cooking. In St. Martin, we often saw chicken cordon bleu on the menu, but since we were in the Caribbean, we definitely gravitated towards fresh seafood at most meals. But, ever since, I've been wanting to dig up my mom's old recipe. As a child, my mom used to make chicken cordon bleu and it was always one of my favorites.  She had found the recipe in an old cookbook and over the years had made a number of tweaks.  I took her tweaked recipe and we made some of our own.

Two of the main tweaks we made to this recipe were using prosciutto instead of ham, and adding fresh sage both inside and to the top.

Chicken Cordon Bleu 
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts
8 pieces of prosciutto
20 fresh sage leaves
1 cup of all purpose flour
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 Tbsp of canola or vegetable oil
8-16 oz of mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices or cubes (depending on how much cheese you prefer)
1-2 lemons
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1.  Preheat over to 375

2.  Mix flour, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper in a shallow dish.

3.  Fill a glass backing dish with 1/2 inch of water, squeeze 1/2 a lemon in the water.

4.  Place the prosciutto in a skillet with a tad of oil and fry it for 1-2 minutes to get it a little browned.

5.  Pound the chicken breasts with a mallet until about 1/2 inch thick. (We usually put ours in a open plastic bag so the juices don't get everywhere and we don't ruin the meat.

6. Dredge chicken breasts in flour, covering both sides of them.

7. Place 2 slices of prosciutto and 3 sage leaves on one half of each chicken breast.  Then fold the rest of the chicken breast over.

8.  Heat oil in non-stick skillet on medium high heat until shimmering.  Add chicken breasts and cook on one side until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. (Turn heat down if necessary to avoid burning). Flip the chicken breasts over and cook on the other side until browned. (Chicken should NOT be cooked through).
9. Place the browned chicken breasts in glass baking dish.  Open each chicken breasts and put in mozzarella cheese.
10.  Squeeze the remaining lemon on the chicken breasts.  If you really like lemon like us, you can squeeze another 1/2 or even a whole lemon on top!
11. Place the chicken in the oven and bake until the chicken is cooked through, 25-30 minutes depending on the thickness of the chicken.  IMPORTANT:  As the chicken is cooking use a baster to suck up the liquid and baste the chicken breasts while they cook.  Do this often and the chicken will end up very tender, otherwise it could get dry.  I did this 3-4 times every five minutes while it was cooking and a bunch times after we pulled it out of the oven.

Cooking BEYOND the first year of marriage!

My gosh, it has been WAY too long since we wrote an entry into this blog.  The fall was packed full of weddings, joyous occasions, and fun.  While we wouldn't trade that for the world, it left little time for blogging.  As you will notice...the title of our blog has changed to include .....and BEYOND.  We hope to blog even more in 2015.

Since we last wrote, Mr. S and I celebrated our first anniversary on 1.4.15.  We spent the day and the 10 days surrounding it in the tropical paradise of St. Martin enjoying turquoise waters and lots of French food.  Yes, I said FRENCH food.   If you are a foodie like us and have never been to St. Martin, definitely add it to your bucket list.  Half of the island is French - meaning language, food, and culture is extraordinarily pervasive.  Fresh baguettes, Fine french wines, and gourmet food abounds, particularly in the gorgeous seaside town of Grand Case.  It was by far one of our favorite dining spots on the island and we visited many times over our 10 day visit. Mr. S has been interested in French cooking for quite sometime and our time in St. Martin piqued my interest too.  We were so inspired by the gorgeous presentation and delicious food and hoping to take a French cooking class sometime this year! 

 Anniversary Meal - Fish and Seafood tasting menu at Le Pressoir in Grand Case.

Sunset in Grand Case

Chicken Satay Chopped Salad

With Thai Butternut Soup simmering on the stove top, and the smell of curry, lime, and thai basil filling our house, we wanted to find a salad to compliment the soup.  After looking through many recipes online, but not finding anything quite right, we decided to concoct our own, using elements of recipes we'd seen.  Below, is what we came up with, a salad with a skewer of chicken satay, and a sesame lime dressing.  This could definitely be a meal on it's own, but, combined with the butternut soup, made a fantastic soup and salad dinner combo.

Ingredients

Chicken Satay
1/2 can of coconut milk
zest from 1 lime
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp minced ginger
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sweet thai chili sauce
1 pound chicken breasts, cut into one inch pieces
wooden skewers 

Salad
2 cups organic baby mixed field greens
1 cup chopped cabbage (purple is great for color)
1/2 small red onion finely sliced
2 carrots chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
2 cucumbers, chopped
3-4 tablespoons of fresh chopped thai herbs - we used thai basil and cilantro
1/4 cup peanuts, chopped/crushed

Dressing
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 inch piece of ginger, grated
1/2 clove of garlic, minced
Sriracha or red paper flakes to taste (optional)

Directions:
Make marinade for the chicken satay (coconut milk, lime zest, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and sweet thai chili).  Mix well.  Add chicken pieces and marinate for at least 30 minutes, 1-2 hours if possible.  Place marinated chicken pieces on wooden skewers and grill until cooked through.  Be sure to oil your grill grates and watch chicken carefully, as it has a tendency to stick.

Combine ingredients for the dressing in a small food processor.

Mix the cabbage and field greens together to form the base of the salad.  For beautiful presentation,  arrange the colorful chopped vegetables in sections around the salad.  Add peanuts and fresh herbs.  Put the skewers of chicken satay on top.

Serve with dressing, extra peanuts, lime wedges and cilantro.  Or like us, serve a small salad with the bowl of thai butternut soup!

Thai Butternut Squash, Sweet Potato, Carrot Soup

Fall is, by far, our favorite time of the year - cool weather, nights by the fire pit, apple cider, and the beginning of fall/winter comfort food.  Butternut squash soup has always been a fall favorite of mine, and when Mr. S brought home some butternut squash from a local farm, I knew I had to make some.  As much as I love traditional butternut soup with cinnamon and nutmeg, we wanted to try something new!  A long time ago, I came across a recipe for Thai Butternut Soup on Pinterest, and have been waiting for butternut season to give it a whirl.  I'm not sure what we were expecting, exactly, but we couldn't get over how delicious this recipe turned out.  Not only was it super flavorful, it was healthy, filling, and beautiful! 

Thai Butternut Squash, Sweet Potato, Carrot Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil (can use coconut or canola)
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 1/4 cup Thai Kitchen red curry paste (more at the end to taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 6-7 cups uncooked butternut squash, peeled, cut into 1”cubes, seeds separated
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled, cut into 1”cubes
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 (14 oz.) can Thai Kitchen coconut milk (we used light)
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped Thai basic
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• Sriracha/Asian hot chili sauce to taste (optional)
  
  Honey Sriracha Butternut Squash Seeds
• Reserved butternut squash seeds
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Sriracha/Asian hot chili sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon McCormick ground cumin
  
  Garnish
• Freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped (optional)
• Sriacha hot chili sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Rinse squash seeds and pat dry. In a small bowl, whisk together honey, Srirach, oil, salt, and cumin; add seeds and stir until evenly coated. Spread seeds out evenly on baking sheet in a single layer. Cook for 15-20 min (watch closely so they won't burn).
2. Meanwhile, heat oil over medium heat in a dutch oven. When oil is hot, add, onions and sauté until onions are soft, about 3 - 5 minutes. Add red curry paste, red pepper flakes, ginger and garlic; stir to combine with onions; saute for 3 minutes. Add squash, sweet potatoes, carrots and chicken stock. Season with 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, then reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are soft.
3. Pour  vegetable mixture into blender/food processor (you will have to do this in batches unless you have a giant blender). Puree soup in batches until it is smooth.   Return to pot, or to a new pot.  *** Make sure that your blender is properly vented so it doesn't explode from the heat ***
4. Add coconut milk, fish sauce, and basil to the soup and cook until soup is heated through (2-5 minutes). When ready to server, stir in 2 tablespoons lime juice. Taste soup and add desired amount of Sriracha, salt and pepper to taste.
5. To serve, squeeze fresh lime juice onto individual bowls for a fresh pop and garnish with roasted seeds and cilantro.

This soup is very filling.  So, a couple bowls could be a meal by itself.  But, to up the freshness factor, we decided to have it with a thai chopped salad!  Recipe to follow to soon :)

Adapted from the fabulous Carlsbad Cravings blog!