Sauerkraut & Potato Balls

Sauerkraut & Potato Balls

I Used Leftovers For This Dish!

Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups leftover mashed potatoes

1 1/2 cups sauerkraut, squeezed & drained of liquid

1 cup shredded Gruyère cheese

3 eggs

1 cup flour

2 cups Panko bread crumbs

vegetable oil for frying

chopped parsley for garnish

salt

pepper

Tools

Deep Fryer or deep frying pan

Small ice cream scoop (optional)

Sheet tray with rack

 

Directions

Place potatoes, sauerkraut, Gruyère cheese, salt & pepper and mix well. Create balls out of the mixture, using scoop allows for consistent size. Make a dredging station, one with flour, one with whisked eggs and one with panko bread crumbs. Dredge each ball in flour, then eggs and lastly the bread crumbs and place on sheet tray to prepare for frying. Heat oil to 350 Degrees F. Fry several balls at a time for 1 to 2 minutes until golden brown. Place on a rack to drain oil and serve hot. Cook's Note: Its important to note that removing the liquid from the sauerkraut is key to having a crispy ball and not have it fall apart in the fryer. If there is too much moisture in the mixture can cause oil splatter when it make contact with the oil while frying, so be very cautious. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Yields 12

Wicked Cowboy Candy Ribs

Wicked Cowboy Candy Ribs

Spicy & Sweet, Sticky And Addictive!

Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 slab Baby back ribs, sliced individual ribs

1 Tbsp Kinder's Buttery Steakhouse Seasoning

1 jar Wickles Wicked Jalapeño Slices

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp apple cider vinegar 

2 garlic cloves, minced

Cooking Tools

Sheet pan

Medium saucepan 

Baking dish 

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 Degrees F. Place cut ribs on a sheet pan and sprinkle generously with the Kinder's seasoning and bake in the oven or outside grill and bake for 1 hour. while the ribs are baking/ grilling, prepare the sauce: In a saucepan, add; Wickles jalapeño peppers, brown sugar, honey, vinegar and garlic.

Simmer sauce to reduce some liquid and the sugar melts. Remove ribs from oven and transfer to a baking dish and pour the sauce over the ribs and place back in the oven for additional 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving.

Serves 2 

 

Burrata With Caramelized Donut Peaches

Burrata With Caramelized Donut Peaches

Makes For A Perfect Summer Appetizer!

Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

2 Burrata

5-7 Donut peaches, ripe, not mushy 

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp apple cider vinegar 

minced parsley, garnish

olive oil for drizzle

Focaccia Bread 

Cooking Tools

Frying pan 

Directions

Cut peaches into cubes and place on heated pan and saute until some juices run out.  Sprinkle in the sugar, vinegar and continue to saute until sugar melts and starts to caramelized, remove from heat and cool.  Place cut open Burrata on a serving dish and place cooled peaches over Burrata.  Garnish with minced parsley, drizzle with olive oil and serve with Focaccia bread.

Serves 4 

Zucchini Scarpaccia

Zucchini Scarpaccia

A Delicious Tuscan Tart!

Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 large zucchini, slice thin

1/2 cup rice flour

1 cup fine cornmeal

1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

2 tsp salt, divided

1 tsp dried oregano 

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 zucchini water

2 eggs

pepper

Cooking Tools

Large mixing bowl

Sheet pan

Parchment paper 

Salad spinner

Kitchen towel 

Directions

Slice zucchini's thin, you may also use a mandolin to get even slices. Place zucchini is a large mixing bowl and sprinkle with 1 tsp of salt and toss to coat zucchini’s, set aside for 15 minutes to draw out water. Remove zucchini and place in a salad spinner, reserve 1/4 cup of the zucchini liquid. Spin zucchini to draw out excess liquid, then remove and place in kitchen towel to squeeze even more liquid. In the large mixing bowl, add; rice flour, fine polenta, cheese, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, dried oregano and mix. Into the dry ingredients add eggs, olive oil and zucchini water and mix into a more like a wet paste (something that resembles wet sand) Toss in zucchini’s and coat well.  Pour ingredients onto a parchment lined sheet pan and flatten down zucchini’s to create almost one layer. Preheat at oven to 425 Degrees F, bake in oven for 30 minutes until golden brown and crisp on top.  Remove from oven and cool, cut & serve.

Serves 4-6

 

Polenta Cakes

Polenta Cake

Perfect For A Light Meal Or An Appetizer!

Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

precooked quick cook polenta, cut into circles.

3 cups assorted grape tomatoes, roasted

1 can cannellini, rinsed & drained

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 

1 tbsp chives, minced

3/4 cup Parmesan shavings

1/2 cup olive oil

salt

pepper

Cooking Tools

Baking tray

Non-stick frying pan

 

Direction

Cook's Note: The cooked polenta was leftovers from the previous night, the leftover cooked polenta was placed in a gallon size plastic freezer bag, flattened and spread out to about 1/2 thickness. The polenta was placed in the refrigerator on a flat surface to retain its shape. Once you are ready to use, I cut the plastic to expose the polenta and used a 3" round cookie cutter to cut the polenta.

Preheat oven to 400 Degrees F. In a baking dish add; tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt & pepper, evenly coat.  Bake tomatoes in oven for 20 minutes, remove and toss in cannellini beans. Once cooled mix in chives. In a non-stick frying pan on medium high heat, add a drizzle of olive oil, fry the polenta rounds a few minutes on each side until nice and golden & crispy. To plate; Lay rounds, slightly overlapping and spoon the the tomatoes and juices over the fried polenta.

Serves 4

Caramelized Fig Burrata

Caramelized Fig Burrata

Caramelized Fruit Is The Perfect Accompaniment To Burrata

Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

1 Burrata

4-5 Black Mission Figs, halved

dozen grape tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup sugar

Aged Balsamic Vinegar, drizzle

EVOO, drizzle

crusty baguette, sliced

Cooking Tools

Non-stick frying pan

Directions

Take the halves of figs and dip cut side down into the sugar to coat.  Preheat frying pan to medium-hot and once screaming hot, place halved figs in pan.  Sear figs until caramelization occurs, 1-2 minutes, sear in batches. Cut Burrata in half on serving dish and place cut tomatoes on top, also the caramelized figs. Drizzle with olive oil and Balsamic vinegar  on top.  Serve with crusty baguette .

Pomegranate Balsamic Chicken Wings

Pomegranate Balsamic Chicken Wings

Sweet & Sour With A Bit Of Crunch!

Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

Dozen cooked plain chicken wings; store bought

1/2 cup green pepper, diced

1/2 cup red /yellow pepper, diced

1/2 cup onions, diced

2 Tbsp Avocado oil

1/2 stick melted butter

1 Tbsp Alessi White Balsamic Reduction

1 cup  Mae Ploy Chili Sauce

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 cup Pomegranate seeds 

salt to taste
pepper to taste

 

Cooking Tools

All Clad deep pan/wok 

Directions

On medium heat, add; Avocado oil until heated.  Add in Sweet chili sauce, diced onions & peppers and cook for 1 minute, stir to prevent burning.  season with the garlic & onion powder, then add the White Balsamic Reduction.  Salt & Pepper to taste, reduce glaze until slightly thickened and sticky. Pour in butter and mix before adding the cooked chicken wings. Toss the chicken wings in the sauce and add in the pomegranate seeds and cook for a additional few minutes until the glaze thickens and the chicken is evenly heated through.  Garnish with a few pomegranate seeds.

Serves 2

Burrata With A Pomegranate Glaze

Burrata With A Pomegranate Glaze

Serve With A Peach Preserve & A Crusty Baguette! 

Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 small French baguette

1 large Burrata cheese

10 oz.  Pomegranate juice

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp peach preserve

pomegranate seeds for garnish

arugula greens for garnish (optional)

olive oil

Cooking Tools
Grilling Pan
Small sauce pan 

Directions

In a small sauce pan, add; juice, sugar and vinegar.  Reduce liquid to almost half on low heat, remove from heat to cool to room temperature. Heat grilling pan on high heat, while the pan is heating split the loaf in half and drizzle with olive oil.  Grill bread for about a minute until toasted and have grill marks. Pour some glaze to a serving bowl, place a burrata on top, Cook's notes: Pat excess moisture of the burrata before placing onto the glaze. Dollop of peach preserve on top of burrata, toss some arugula in olive oil before placing on top.  Garnish with some pomegranate seeds and serve with grilled baguette.

Serves 2

 

 

Burrata & Tomatoes with EVOO

 Burrata & Tomatoes With EVOO

A Lovely Starter Of Creamy Cheese And Fresh Tomatoes!

Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time:15 minutes

Cooking Time: No cooking required

Ingredients

1 loaf Italian bread

1 large Burrata cheese

2 cups cherry & grape tomatoes, sliced

1/4 cup EVOO

4-5 basil leaves, minced

salt

pepper

Cooking Tools

Small mixing bowl

Directions
Place Burrata on a serving platter and slice open, in a mixing bowl add; sliced tomatoes, olive oil, basil, salt & pepper and mix. Place tomatoes and juices around Burrata cheese. Serve with hot crusty bread.
Serves 2

 

Egg Salad Cups

Egg Salad Cups

How Cute Are These To Serve Up!

Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

4 sliced bread

5 eggs, hard boiled

2 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tsp grain mustard

2 tbsp minced celery

2 tbsp minced onion

1 tsp Mirin

pinch of celery seed

pinch of Harrissa

butter

olive oil for drizzle

minced parsley for garnish

salt

pepper

Cooking Tools

Small pot

Small mixing bowl

Muffin pan

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter one side of bread and place bread in muffin pan shaped like a cup. Bake in oven for 15 minutes, remove and cool bread cups. Cook eggs, chill and peel. Chop or slice boiled eggs, can leave some slices for garnish on top. Place chopped eggs in mixing bowl and add; mayonnaise, mustard, celery, onion, mirin, celery seed, Harrissa, salt & pepper.  Blend well and place egg salad into bread cups.  garish with egg slices, minced parsley, fresh pepper, Harrissa,then just a small drizzle of olive oil.

Serves 4

 

Roasted Tomatoes & Ricotta Bruschetta

Roasted Tomatoes & Ricotta Bruschetta

Fresh Garden Tomatoes From Jennifer's Garden!

Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

Tuscan or Ciabatta bread, sliced 1/2" thickness

4-5 cups sweet grape tomatoes

2 cups ricotta cheese

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp minced parsley

olive oil

Balsamic glaze

salt

pepper

Cooking Tools

Sheet pan 

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 Degrees F.  Place tomatoes on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil to coat the tomatoes. Season with oregano, garlic powder, half the minced parsley, salt and pepper. Roast tomatoes for 15 minutes and remove from oven. Remove the tomatoes to a bowl and leave behind the juices in the sheet pan.  Place slices of bread on sheet pan to absorb the juices, then flip over the bread and place the sheet pan back in the oven with the bread and bake for 10 minutes. Slightly cool the bread before spreading on the ricotta cheese.  Top the bread with ricotta with the roasted tomatoes, drizzle with some olive oil and garnish with the rest of the minced parsley.  Drizzle some Balsamic glaze right before serving if you so desire.

Serves 4-6

 

Hummus & Fried Flatbread

Hummus & Fried Flatbread
You Will Never Eat Store Bought Hummus Again!
Difficulty: Moderate
Prep Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

14 oz. can Garbanzo beans, drained

1/2 cup reserved bean liquid

2 tbsp. Tahini

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1/2+ cup extra virgin olive oil

juice of half lemon

zest of half lemon

3/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp Harissa

minced parsley for garnish

salt 

Cooking Tools

Food processor

Directions
Place all ingredients in food processor except salt.  Puree until smooth, salt to taste at the end. Plate hummus and garnish with extra garbanzo, drizzle with olive oil, Harissa and minced parsley.
Yields 4 

Fried Flatbread

Ingredients

3 cups All Purpose Flour, sifted

APF for dusting

1 cup warm milk

1 cup warm water

1 tbsp active yeast

1 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp olive oil+ greasing

1 tsp salt

vegetable oil for frying 

Cooking Tools

2 large mixing bowls

Plastic wrap

Flour sifter

Rolling Pin

Cast iron Pan

Directions
In one mixing bowl sift together flour and salt. In another mixing bowl add; warm milk, warm water, sugar and yeast and mix. Cover with plastic wrap and place somewhere warm for 15 minutes to activate the yeast. Once yeast is activated, mix in flour and oil to the active yeast and mix to form into ball. Knead dough for about 5 minutes, you can add more flour if its too wet or sticky. Make a large ball and and drizzle with a little oil on top of dough ball.  Cover with plastic and allow to rise in a warm location.  Once risen, punch down and remove from bowl.  Place on lightly floured surface. Cut into eight pieces and roll into balls. Use a rolling pin to roll out your flat bread. Heat cast iron pan with a 1/4 inch of oil on low heat. Fry each flatbread one at a time for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, drain excess oil on paper towels.
Yields 8  

Pimento Potato Poppers

Pimento Potato Poppers
A Southern Twist!
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
2 cup leftover cooked mashed potatoes (cold)
1/2 cup Vidalia onions, small dice
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 cup green, red or yellow peppers, small dice
1/2 cup Pimento cheese spread
2 tbsp butter
1 cup flour
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
2 eggs, whisked
vegetable oil
salt
pepper 

Cooking Tools

3 bowls

Deep fry pan

Medium mixing Bowl

Small skillet 

Directions
In a skillet, melt butter and saute onions, peppers and garlic until tender. In a mixing bowl, mix mashed potatoes, the sauteed vegetables with the butter and Pimento cheese and blend well. Make small potato balls.  Make a dredging station with bowl: flour, whisked eggs and Panko. Dip each ball into flour, then eggs, then Panko.  Heat oil to 350 Degrees F. Fry each ball until golden brown.
Serves 4