Daring Cooks Cornmeal Challenge: Mini Corn Dogs

Once more, it's time for the Daring Cooks Challenge!

Rachael of pizzarossa was our August 2012 Daring Cook hostess and she challenged us to broaden our knowledge or cornmeal! Rachel provided us with some amazing recipes and encouraged us to hunt down other cornmeal recipes that we'd never tried before - opening our eyes to the literally 100s of cuisines and 1000s of new-to-us recipes!

I like corn dogs. It's summer. It feels like State Faire time of year. I don't think I need to say any more.

Mini Corn Dogs

Ingredients

• 4 hot dogs (cut in half for mini)
• ¼ cup flour
• ¾ cup corn meal
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp sugar
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ⅛ tsp cayenne
• 1 egg
• ½ cup + 2 Tbsp buttermilk
• oil for deep frying
• flour for dusting

Directions

1. Cut hot dogs in half and put toothpicks in the ends
2. Mix together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, cayenne, egg and buttermilk. Add extra buttermilk for beer if needed to  get the right condistency
3. Roll hot dogs in flour and tap off the excess. Dip in batter and fry in 350 degree oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Once more, it's time for the Daring Cooks Challenge!

Rachael of pizzarossa was our August 2012 Daring Cook hostess and she challenged us to broaden our knowledge or cornmeal! Rachel provided us with some amazing recipes and encouraged us to hunt down other cornmeal recipes that we'd never tried before - opening our eyes to the literally 100s of cuisines and 1000s of new-to-us recipes!

I like corn dogs. It's summer. It feels like State Faire time of year. I don't think I need to say any more.

Mini Corn Dogs

Ingredients

• 4 hot dogs (cut in half for mini)
• ¼ cup flour
• ¾ cup corn meal
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp sugar
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ⅛ tsp cayenne
• 1 egg
• ½ cup + 2 Tbsp buttermilk
• oil for deep frying
• flour for dusting

Directions

1. Cut hot dogs in half and put toothpicks in the ends
2. Mix together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, cayenne, egg and buttermilk. Add extra buttermilk for beer if needed to  get the right condistency
3. Roll hot dogs in flour and tap off the excess. Dip in batter and fry in 350 degree oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

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Daring Bakers "Crazy for Crackers" cheddar rosemary walnut edition

It's time for another challenge from The Daring Kitchen.

Our July 2012 Daring Bakers' Host was Dana McFarland and she challenged us to make homemade crackers! Dana showed us some techniques for making crackers and encouraged us to use our creativity to  make each cracker our own way my using ingredients we love.

I opted to follow one of the recipes she provided because we had all of the ingredients in house. I've also made crackers in the past like wheat thins, so I wanted to do something I had not done before. Hand rolling my wheat thins did not work out so well, as they were never thin enough. This time, I decided to try slicing the crackers like icebox cookies.

The crackers turned out well and I loved the flavor profile, but I was not a fan of making crackers in this style. My cuts were never quite even, and because I used almonds instead of walnuts, it was more difficult to get even cuts. I would make this recipe again though.

Cheddar Rosemary Walnut Crackers

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) softened unsalted butter
• 2 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 1/4 cup AP flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 Tbsp chopped rosemary
• A couple cracks of fresh black pepper

Directions

1. Mix together softened butter with cheese, flour and salt until uniform paste forms. Add in rosemary and walnuts and mix until uniform.
2. Roll dough into a cylinder in plastic wrap and freeze at least one hou
3. Thinly slice crackers (no thicker than 1/5inch) and bake on parchment paper at 325 degrees for about 10-12 minutes

It's time for another challenge from The Daring Kitchen.

Our July 2012 Daring Bakers' Host was Dana McFarland and she challenged us to make homemade crackers! Dana showed us some techniques for making crackers and encouraged us to use our creativity to  make each cracker our own way my using ingredients we love.

I opted to follow one of the recipes she provided because we had all of the ingredients in house. I've also made crackers in the past like wheat thins, so I wanted to do something I had not done before. Hand rolling my wheat thins did not work out so well, as they were never thin enough. This time, I decided to try slicing the crackers like icebox cookies.

The crackers turned out well and I loved the flavor profile, but I was not a fan of making crackers in this style. My cuts were never quite even, and because I used almonds instead of walnuts, it was more difficult to get even cuts. I would make this recipe again though.

Cheddar Rosemary Walnut Crackers

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) softened unsalted butter
• 2 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 1/4 cup AP flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 Tbsp chopped rosemary
• A couple cracks of fresh black pepper

Directions

1. Mix together softened butter with cheese, flour and salt until uniform paste forms. Add in rosemary and walnuts and mix until uniform.
2. Roll dough into a cylinder in plastic wrap and freeze at least one hou
3. Thinly slice crackers (no thicker than 1/5inch) and bake on parchment paper at 325 degrees for about 10-12 minutes

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Arancini - Italian Fried Delicious

Arancini is the most delicious way to eat leftover risotto. Arancini is usually fried and stuffed with a variety of fillings. The most common filling is ragu: a combination of pork, tomatoes and vegetables. It can also be stuffed with mushrooms, eggplant, corn or cheese. I went for the most easy one: the cheese arancini.

The word "arancini" is derived from the Italian word for "little orange", which is an apt description of the color and shape of the fried rice balls. You could call them an appetizer, but I honestly at them as a main dish alongside an arugula salad.

A couple helpful hints:

• If you're making cheese arancini, use block pieces of mozzarella cheese. I use shredded mozzarella cheese and it was a lot more difficult to work with.
• Use fine bread crumbs. I used panko and I feel like it would have been better with fine Italian breadcrumbs.

Arancini

Ingredients

• Leftover risotto (I used mushroom, but plain risotto would work best
• Cheese
• Flour, egg and breadcrumbs for coating
• Oil for deep frying

Directions

1. Pour oil into a wok or deep pot. Begin heating to 350 degrees.
2. Shape risotto in the palm of your hand into a disk. Fill with cheese or desired filling and wrap the rice around it. If necessary, pat rice on the top of enclose the filling.
3. Roll risotto ball in flour, egg, and then breadcrumbs.
4. Fry risotto balls for a couple minutes until the outside are a dark golden brown. Dry on paper towel and serve immediately with a green salad.

Arancini is the most delicious way to eat leftover risotto. Arancini is usually fried and stuffed with a variety of fillings. The most common filling is ragu: a combination of pork, tomatoes and vegetables. It can also be stuffed with mushrooms, eggplant, corn or cheese. I went for the most easy one: the cheese arancini.

The word "arancini" is derived from the Italian word for "little orange", which is an apt description of the color and shape of the fried rice balls. You could call them an appetizer, but I honestly at them as a main dish alongside an arugula salad.

A couple helpful hints:

• If you're making cheese arancini, use block pieces of mozzarella cheese. I use shredded mozzarella cheese and it was a lot more difficult to work with.
• Use fine bread crumbs. I used panko and I feel like it would have been better with fine Italian breadcrumbs.

Arancini

Ingredients

• Leftover risotto (I used mushroom, but plain risotto would work best
• Cheese
• Flour, egg and breadcrumbs for coating
• Oil for deep frying

Directions

1. Pour oil into a wok or deep pot. Begin heating to 350 degrees.
2. Shape risotto in the palm of your hand into a disk. Fill with cheese or desired filling and wrap the rice around it. If necessary, pat rice on the top of enclose the filling.
3. Roll risotto ball in flour, egg, and then breadcrumbs.
4. Fry risotto balls for a couple minutes until the outside are a dark golden brown. Dry on paper towel and serve immediately with a green salad.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Chicken and Pork Gyoza

Gyoza are one of the cheapest snack foods you can make that store well in. I don't remember the last time I bought potstickers at the store but when I price out the cost of these gyoza (using asian market prices), I get something like:

1 lb ground pork: $1.99
1 lb napa cabbage: $0.80
2 bunches scallions: $0.60
2 packs of gyoza wrappers: $1.40 x 2
other costs: negligible.

That's about $6.00 for 100 pieces of gyoza. Is Trader Joes cheaper than that? I think not. And this way, you can make it exactly how you like best with the ingredients you like best. I like mine heavy on the ginger flavor so I would probably add more than this recipe calls for, but that's up to you. You can also swap out the chicken for shrimp if you want and make the least kosher gyoza ever. Delicious.

Pork Gyoza

Ingredients

• 1 lb course ground chicken or pork (I use half and half)
• 1 lb napa cabbage
• 1 cup chopped garlic chives (or chopped scallions and 1 Tbsp added grated garlic)
• 1 ½ tsp white pepper
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp grated ginger
• 2 T sea salt or rock salt
• 2 package gyoza wrappers (50 count, as thin as possible)
• 
  

Directions

1. Add salt to minced cabbage and garlic chives to sweat out of water. Let sit for 20 minutes
2. Squeeze water out of the cabbage and chives. Mix with pork/chicken, pepper and oil
3. Fill gyoza wrappers, pleating one side for form a crescent moon shape. If not using, bag and freeze to cook later.
4. Place gyoza on a heated griddle  or heavy bottom sautee pan on a small layer of oil. Add a little water to the pan and cover to steam the gyoza. Add more water once through the steaming process
5. Remove from heat after 5 minutes or when gyoza or cooked through and golden brown. Serve with chili oil, soy sauce, vinegar and green onions.

Gyoza are one of the cheapest snack foods you can make that store well in. I don't remember the last time I bought potstickers at the store but when I price out the cost of these gyoza (using asian market prices), I get something like:

1 lb ground pork: $1.99
1 lb napa cabbage: $0.80
2 bunches scallions: $0.60
2 packs of gyoza wrappers: $1.40 x 2
other costs: negligible.

That's about $6.00 for 100 pieces of gyoza. Is Trader Joes cheaper than that? I think not. And this way, you can make it exactly how you like best with the ingredients you like best. I like mine heavy on the ginger flavor so I would probably add more than this recipe calls for, but that's up to you. You can also swap out the chicken for shrimp if you want and make the least kosher gyoza ever. Delicious.

Pork Gyoza

Ingredients

• 1 lb course ground chicken or pork (I use half and half)
• 1 lb napa cabbage
• 1 cup chopped garlic chives (or chopped scallions and 1 Tbsp added grated garlic)
• 1 ½ tsp white pepper
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp grated ginger
• 2 T sea salt or rock salt
• 2 package gyoza wrappers (50 count, as thin as possible)
• 
  

Directions

1. Add salt to minced cabbage and garlic chives to sweat out of water. Let sit for 20 minutes
2. Squeeze water out of the cabbage and chives. Mix with pork/chicken, pepper and oil
3. Fill gyoza wrappers, pleating one side for form a crescent moon shape. If not using, bag and freeze to cook later.
4. Place gyoza on a heated griddle  or heavy bottom sautee pan on a small layer of oil. Add a little water to the pan and cover to steam the gyoza. Add more water once through the steaming process
5. Remove from heat after 5 minutes or when gyoza or cooked through and golden brown. Serve with chili oil, soy sauce, vinegar and green onions.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad