Southwestern Sweet Potato Oven Fries

I'm always trying to add sweet potatoes to my diet because they're just so darn good for you.  Sunday night I was experimenting in the kitchen and decided to make myself a little appetizer with a Southwestern flair. I had two medium sized spuds (can you call sweet potatoes spuds?) and thought it would be a healthy way to end the weekend. Before I get to the recipe, check out the sweet benefits of this hearty vegetable: Sweet Potatoes help save your eyesight, lift your mood (always a good thing at the beginning of a work week), combat cancer and strengthen bones. I love the benefits and especially the taste of this simple dish.

Southwestern Style Oven Fried Sweet Potatoes
Adapted from Country Living
Serves two

2 medium size sweet potatoes
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 T canola oil

Pre heat oven to 400 degrees.

Wash the sweet potatoes and dry well. I like to peel off the hairy, knobby, not so attractive parts of the skin, but leave on as much skin as possible to take advantage of the nutrients. I also cut off the tips of the taters because they seem to burn in the hot oven.

Cut each potato in half lengthwise, then cut each half into 6 wedges (24 pieces).

In large bowl combine the sliced potatoes, oil, and spice mixture. Toss together (I use my hands and get messy) until potatoes are evenly coated. Arrange potatoes in a single layer on a foil lined baking sheet (easy clean-up) and place in the middle rack of your pre-heated oven. Bake until the edges are crisp and the potatoes are cooked through, about 30-35 minutes. While potatoes are cooking, make some guacamole and get ready to dip away.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip with a Twist

Last week my friend Maryann had a birthday and to help her celebrate, I made what seems to be America's favorite ooey, gooey, munchy, dippy, comfort food- Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip. I added a little flavor booster that really took the dish to a new level- Roasted Garlic. Plus I lightened the ingredients as much as I could so we can all have a few more helpings. Here are the ingredients and simple instructions to roast the garlic, in case you've never done that before.

Baked Roasted Garlic, Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Roasted Garlic
1 small head of garlic
1 T olive oil
1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

The Dip
8 oz neufchatel cheese (lower fat cream cheese) softened to room temp
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup reduced fat shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup lite sour cream
1/3 cup lite mayonnaise
10 oz package of frozen chopped spinach thawed or defrosted in the microwave, then squeezed dry to remove any liquid
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped (any size can will work)
1 head of roasted garlic
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp hot sauce

To roast the garlic: Pre heat oven to 400 degrees. Place a baking sheet in the oven as it pre heats. Remove some of the outer layers of the garlic skin if they are plentiful. Cut the top off the head of the garlic and place on a piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.

Seal the foil and place on pre-heated baking sheet. Roast 30-40 minutes. Allow to cool slightly and squeeze the roasted pulp into your mixing bowl (discard the skin). Doesn't that garlic look perfect?

To make the dip: Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl using a rubber spatula or sturdy spoon. When well mixed, spread into baking dish that's been prepared with cooking spray. Maryann's was baked in a medium sized gratin pan, and mine was done in a small (individual) ramekin. If you want a cheesy top, sprinkle a little more Parmesan cheese over the mixture. Bake 35 minutes and serve with pita chips, grilled Italian bread or raw veggies.

Re-mix: This is a very smooth dip, so if you want a bit of a surprise crunch, add a small can of diced water chestnuts to the mixture (I've done that before). Another thought I had was adding carmalized onions instead of the garlic to the mix.  I will try this and post an addendum to this recipe if the onions are as sweet with this combo as I think they will be. I'll be making this all summer and serving it with raw vegetables (zucchini, summer squash and radishes) and any artisan bread I come across. Hope you'll give this a try!

Crispy Taters

I'm always a fan of baking instead of frying, so tonight I made some mouth-watering, creamy on the inside, crunchy on the outside baked potato wedges that are as delicious (if not better) than their cousins that are deep fried. These are a must try.

Tastes-Like-Fried Potato Wedges
Serves two

cooking spray
1 large Russet potato
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1/2 tsp hot sauce
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup French's Fried Onions crushed
1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking pan with aluminum foil and coat with cooking spray. Set aside. Cut potato into six wedges.

Mix mayonnaise with hot sauce and spices, then coat potato wedges with mixture.

In separate plate combine Panko with Onion crisps. Lightly coat potatoes with this mixture and place on prepared cookie sheet.

Bake 45 minutes. Serve with salsa, sour cream, ranch dressing or any saucy accompaniment you desire. This recipe is simply too good to not try.

Baked, Stuffed Weekend

This past weekend was a celebration of two birthdays for me. America's 234th and my friend Sharon's 60th. I love America and am happy to be a part of any revelry that honors the greatest country on earth. And I adore Sharon, whom I've known since 8th grade. We now live about 1,000 miles apart so our visits are few and far between. But this year we celebrated a special birthday in Boston, where so much of our country's history began.

Here we are in our twenties....

And this weekend, during

the first heatwave of the season.

I must say, Sharon looks a lot cooler than I do. Anyway, when Sharon and I celebrate, we do quite a bit of eating. Our weekend was all about the seafood, and if you know Boston, you'll appreciate our adventure. We went to Legal at least twice for snacks of clams on the half shell, fish chowdah, and fresh oysters. Faneuil Hall was around the corner and while we baked in the blazing heat we enjoyed lobster rolls and stuffed clams. In between bites we went on a whale watch and saw at least 30 whales, up close and personal. It was breathtaking. We also took an educational boat ride through the Charles River Locks, and saw a 3D movie at the Imax cinema titled Underwater. We dined in the North End and had to go back for pastries the next day. And let's not forget the room service at the Marriott Long Wharf where we each enjoyed another delectable lobster roll that went beautifully with the complimentary bottle of birthday champagne.

This post is going where, you're wondering? To a recipe I got many years ago when I was married to Lori's dad. His mom is an excellent cook and I never hesitated to ask for any (or all) of her recipes, which I still make and enjoy. While eating the stuffed clams at Faneuil Hall I realized Marion's are better and I'd like to share her recipe. And it's EASY!

Marion's Baked Stuffed Clams

1 can minced clams (about 5 oz)
1/3 cup clam juice- this comes in a bottle, usually near the canned clams
2 T melted butter
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 tsp dried marjoram
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/2 -1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 - 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Grated Parmesan cheese (no amount given)
Paprika (no amount given)
Cleaned, empty clam shells

Mix all ingredients together except Parmesan and paprika. If time allows, let the mixture set a few hours in the refrigerator. Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Fill clam shells with clam mixture, top with cheese and a sprinkle of paprika. Bake on cookie sheet for 15 to 20 minutes.

If you don't have clam shells lying around, (I usually don't) you can buy the oven proof "fake" ones at the supermarket. Or you can fill small ramekins with the mixture and serve individually. I don't remember how many this recipe makes, but Marion's note on the bottom of the recipe card says she doubles or triples the recipe for a crowd. I haven't made these in a while but I remember the last time I served them I added some hot sauce to the mixture. And the canned clams are fine. You still feel like you're seaside in the summer.

Panko Madness

Remember that Panko-coated, oven fried chicken I made a few weeks ago? Well, the Panko bread crumbs have taken over my life and become a new obsession. I feel like that guy on the TV commercial that gets a label maker and labels everything in sight. I just can't stop rolling my food in Panko. The good news is- just about everything tastes great with a coating of these crispy little flakes. However I don't recommend using them in meatballs or as a filler in burgers or casseroles. You don't get the benefit of the crunch. But for coating fish, chicken, or vegetables, they are simply perfect.

Two of my favorite Panko-coated, oven fried veggies so far are zucchini and eggplant. For these two vegetables I used the same coating procedure as I did with the chicken, but I made a few changes in the seasonings. Instead of the paprika and Adobo, I substituted oregano and minced onion. Yeah, minced onion. I'm sure you have some lurking somewhere in your spice cabinet. I know my little jar has been hanging around for years. I admit it was a last minute thought, but it turned out to be a super flavor booster. Another change- I lowered the oven temp to 400 degrees, but stuck with the wire rack to prevent the vegetables from getting soggy. I cut the eggplant in 3/8 inch rounds, but with the zucchini I cut them (1/4 inch) on the bias as well as in rounds. I like the combination of the two shapes piled on the plate.

Oven Fried Eggplant
You can make this recipe using 2 small to medium zucchini- the amount of dredging ingredients will be the same

1 small/medium eggplant cut in 3/8 inch rounds- I semi peeled my eggplant so I had attractive purple stripes running along the sides
1 cup Panko bread flakes
1/4 cup AP flour
1 egg white whisked
1 tsp minced onion
1/2 tsp dried oregano
salt
freshly ground black pepper
cooking spray
marinara sauce

Pre heat oven to 400 degrees. Set up your dredging station: flour, egg white, and Panko. Add a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper to the flour and mix. Stir together Panko, minced onion, oregano, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Dip eggplant slices in flour, then in egg white and then in the seasoned Panko. This can seem rather tedious, probably because it really is. So when I'm dipping and dredging I keep my mind on the end result, and get through this boring task. Lightly coat the dredged eggplant with cooking spray on both sides and arrange on wire rack. Place the rack on top of a baking sheet (lined with parchment or foil) and bake 20 minutes. Turn eggplant over and bake 10 minutes more.

While the egplant is baking, heat up some marinara sauce for drizzling or dipping. I've been liking Classico tomato and basil. Not just because it tastes good, but it comes in small jars (14 oz) that are perfect for one or two people. Not too much waste.


If you make a double batch of these goodies, you'll probaby have some left over. Cold eggplant doesn't sound very appetizing. But mock pizza does. To your eggplant add a tablespoon or two of marinara sauce and top with shredded parmesan cheese. Microwave until cheese melts (about 1 minute). Instant snack.

Bon apetito.

Unfinished Business

The Beans

The Southern Living white beans were delicious, but I knew after 2 servings the leftovers needed to be morphed into something else- like a dip or hummus, as I mentioned when I first made them. So that's what I did this morning before I headed over to Ruth's to spend the afternoon cooking with her and Sammie in the kitchen. This was simple. Even for me, the incompetent blender.




Hummus/Bean Dip

In a blender, place 2 cups of my cooked Southern Living white beans and 1/3 cup of liquid. Liquid can be water, left over chicken broth (good thing I saved mine, right?), hot sauce, or a combination of the three. The point is you need some liquid to loosen the thickened beans. I used 1 T hot sauce and the rest chicken stock. Whirl away until you just see specks of bacon and the mixture looks smooth. Taste it for seasoning. I didn't need to do a thing. So I headed off to Ruth's, and we ate it like peasants, on lavash bread, nothing else. No garnish, No vegetables. Yes, we are still hippies.

The unfortunate thing was, Sammie could not have any dip.

The Parmigiano Croutons

Remember these? They were delish on their own. But really, how much snacking can you do? I can do plenty, but I'd rather have croutons in my salad, a salad where they are the star of the show.




Roasted Grape Tomato Panzanella Salad

4 cups of prepared Parmegiano croutons
8 oz grape tomatoes
salt
freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cup English cucumbers peeled and diced
1/4 red onion thinly sliced
10 or more Kalamata olives
4 oz Fontina cheese

Dressing
1 tsp Dijon mustard
3 T red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Pre heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly spray with cooking oil. Place grape tomatoes on baking sheet, spray with cooking oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake 15 minutes until tomatoes begin to split. Let cool. In large bowl combine tomatoes, croutons, cucumber, onions, olives and cheese. To make the dressing, combine all ingredients in a small jar and shake or whisk with a fork. Toss salad with dressing and let flavors meld before serving. This also went with me to Ruth's, and was gobbled up as fast as the bean dip.

A few thoughts about the salad. I roasted the tomatoes because I like the earthiness they offer, plus the juices enhance the flavor. However raw tomatoes are fine. If parsley or basil looked good in my market (or any market around here) I would have added some. And if I had capers in my fridge I would have added a tablespoon as well. Also, I usually put some fresh garlic in my dressings, but since the croutons had that lovely hint of garlic, I figured it wasn't necessary. And the cheese- I like Fontina, but goat cheese would be a winner as well.

I still owe an update on the peanut butter granola bars. I recently made them with cherries and chocolate. I think you'll want the recipe.

Roasted

When I waste food I get a case of the guilties. It's most likely generational since I grew up being constantly reminded of the "starving children in China" and my mom was often referred to as "thrifty". As you can imagine, I'm a proud member of the clean plate club and a sympathetic cooker of anything in my fridge that looks like it's on it's last legs. That was the case last week when I noticed my once crisp eggplant and zucchini had almost surpassed their shelf life, and half a Spanish onion was suffocating in the saran wrap it was covered in. I had to put these babies out of their (or my) misery and decided to roast them. Roasted veggies are a great snack and make an interesting accompaniment with sandwiches or AS sandwiches.


Roasted Eggplant, Zucchini and Onion


Pre heat oven to 400 degrees
Line 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil


Peel and slice medium size eggplant into 1/4 inch rounds
Slice zucchini into 1/4 inch rounds
Slice 1/2 of a large sweet onion into 1/4 inch half moons


Prep baking sheets with cooking spray and lay vegetables in a single layer on top. I used one sheet for the eggplant and one for the onions and zucchini. Spritz the top of the vegetables with additional cooking spray and season liberally with kosher salt and lemon pepper. Place in the pre heated oven for 20 minutes. At this point the zucchini and onions should be done. Remove to a dish to cool. The eggplant will need another 10 minutes to finish cooking. Turn eggplant rounds over, to ensure browness on both sides. No need to season the eggplant again. When they are soft, yet browned, remove them to the dish with the zucchini and onion to cool.





The next morning when I was putting together my feed bag for work (that line's for you Carol) I decided to make a sandwich with these good looking vegetables. I took half a slice of lavash (I told you you'd be hearing a lot about this bread), and spread about 1 T of Alouette Light garlic and herb cheese on the bread. Then I layered the vegetables to cover about 2/3 of the bread. When you're making roll ups, you don't want to cover the entire surface with your filling, because as you roll it up, the filling rolls out the back end.





Roll the lavash up, and the creamy cheese acts as a glue on the edges. Now doesn't this look yummy? It was a delicious little snack for me and could easily become a meal with a bowl of soup or a crunchy salad.





And speaking of crunchy, that was the one thing that was missing on this lovely little roll up. Not that it wasn't fabulous as is, but a little crunch would have been nice. So next time I'll try some fresh red pepper slices or a few crisp lettuce leaves. If you have any crunchy ideas, please pass them along.


After tasting and enjoying the flavors of the 3 veggies and the garlic cheese, the next thing to morph out of this combo might to be a roasted vegetable cheese dip or spread. I'll keep you posted.

Nutty for Oats

I've been working on another comfort dish (South Beach inspired Shepherd's Pie) but it's become a problem child at the moment and needs another test run. So in the meantime I thought I'd share a sweet new find with you.

It's a Giada recipe for Peanut Butter Granola Bars from the food network web site. I love that site because, as I've mentioned before, home cooks and enthusiasts offer helpful hints to improve the dish if there seems to be a problem. It's always amazing to me how some recipes get posted in the first place, but looking on the bright side, the comments work for me. Hey- I always like to know the good, the bad and the ugly before I try a recipe for the first time.

So here we go. First off, this is an easy recipe. You probably have all the ingredients on hand. Giada makes her bars in a 7 x 10 inch pan. I don't have one and used the old faithful 8 x 8 inch disposable aluminum. She also lines her pan with parchment paper. I don't since I'm using the flexible aluminum. The biggest problem the commenters/reviewers had was that the bars kept crumbling. The general consensus was that the one stick of butter recommended was too much. Baking time was an issue too. But all ovens are different and I watched mine very closely the first time. I also added an additional egg white to the mixture and can't remember why I did that. Maybe it was to prevent crumbling as well. Giada uses toasted slivered almonds . They were delicious in my recipe, but I have a huge jar of dry roasted peanuts in my freezer that I used on my second go-round. Equally as good and I didn't have to toast them. She also uses brown sugar, but I wanted to stick with zero calorie Splenda, so I used white. I'm sure it's better with the brown. The recipe calls for 2 cups of old fashioned oats. With the first batch I made, I used the oats directly from the container. With the second batch, I ground half the oats in my spice grinder and the end result was a lighter, less dense bar. It depends how oaty and earthy you feel at the time. Either way they were good.



Peanut Butter Granola Bars
Adapted from Giada De Laurentis

Vegetable cooking spray
1/2 stick butter
2 egg whites
1/2 cup peanut butter - I used creamy, Giada used chunky
1/3 cup brown sugar - I used white Splenda
1/4 cup honey
2 cups old fashioned oats
1/4 cup crushed dry roasted peanuts- I crush them between 2 sheets of plastic wrap with a heavy pan (they still fly all over the place)
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Prep pan with vegetable spray. Melt butter and set aside to cool. In large mixing bowl, beat egg whites until frothy. Mix in peanut butter, sugar and honey. Tip: spray measuring cups with veg spray before measuring peanut butter and honey and they'll slide right out of the cups. Add the butter and mix. You'll have a very smooth mixture at this point. Add the oats, peanuts and chocolate chips. Stir to combine. Spread into prepared pan. Bake on middle rack in oven 20 minutes (that worked for me) until edges begin to browm. Let cool at least one hour before slicing. I cut my bars into 12 pieces (4 x 3), not quite square.

Re-Mix: Whenever I find a good recipe with peanut butter I try it using Nutella. You'll need to change the amount of sugar. I used 2 T of sugar instead of the 1/4 cup. You'll also want to sift 1/4 cup of baking cocoa into the Nutella, honey, sugar and butter mixture and incorporate well. I didn't add any nuts, but kept in the mini chocolate chips. These were pretty rich, and not as healthy as the others. And gooier. Much gooier.

Back to healthy-My next re-mix of these bars will be to eliminate the chocolate chips and add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and either raisins or dried apricots to the peanut butter mixture. I haven't tried this yet, but when I do, there'll be an update on the results.