New Digs! (2.0)

Huzzah!  I have a new kitchen.  Or, ahem, we have a new kitchen--since my lovah and I have moved in together. How exciting!  I have more counter and storage space now, too, which is lovely.  Moving in with the love of my life AND into a new kitchen with tons more space?  Are you serious?  Life does NOT suck, my friends.

Tempura-Battered Zucchini with Hollandaise Sauce

Abandoned Edibles*

Zucchini; Cherry Tomatoes

(additional ingredients: tempura batter, beer, canola oil, spinach, fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, butter, eggs, lemon juice, salt, spices, etc.)

* NOTE: these foods were not 'abandoned', but rather kindly given to me by talented friends who GREW them in their home gardens!  A shout out and MAHALO to Mz. Jackie M and Ms. Emily M for sharing their delicious veggies.

What I did: my oh my, I sure do LOVE the end of summer.  So many delicious fruits and vegetables are in season!  I was lucky enough to be gifted with zucchini and cherry tomatoes from two friends the other day, and I must confess: fried zucchini is one of my FAVORITE foods...especially when you pair it with smooth, luxurious, artery-clogging hollandaise sauce for dipping!  You just can't go wrong!

This was a pretty simple meal to make.  First, I made sure to sweat my zucchini after cutting them up (as I learned when I made my fried eggplant dish last year, sweating veggies such as eggplant, cucumbers, and zucchini make them less soggy) before I started frying.  While the zucs were sweating, I made a batter...and I'll confess something here...I have found the perfect batter balance.  I use this brand of pre-packaged tempura mix, but I substitute 3/4 of the water called for with BEER instead when making it, and let me tell you--the results are delicious.  A tempura/beer battered hybrid.  Oh yeah.  Oh yeeeeeeaaaaaaah!  It IS as good as it sounds...trust me.

At any rate, once the zucchinis were done sweating, I rinsed them (a vital step), patted them dry, dipped them in my tempura batter, and fried them right up.  Once they were done I made a quick 'easy' hollandaise sauce (1 stick of butter melted, add in 3 beaten eggs on super low heat, add in lemon juice, whisk whisk whisk until it thickens!), threw together a salad of spinach, mozzarella, prosciutto, and cherry tomatoes, and viola: dinner was served!

The Verdict

Oh, SO delicious...I could just die!  Seriously I LOVE fried zucchini with hollandaise.  And the salad...those delicious little tomatoes with fresh mozzarella...it was just perfect.  One thing of note, however--since I cheated when I made the hollandaise sauce, and made an 'easy' version, the sauce ended up much lighter and fluffier than a typical hollandaise would normally  be.  This of course is attributed to the egg WHITES that were included in addition to the yolks...and you know what?  It actually worked out better, see as how the hollandaise was used for dipping (and not, say, smothered over a poached egg on an english muffin).  Just look how it coats and clings to the zucchini chip so perfectly:



Nice, right?  I think I'll use this 'easy' hollandaise route from here on out!  I never liked separating eggs much, anyway.

Taste: 9

Apperance: 8

Creativity: 4

Improvements for next time: you can't improve perfection, dahling!  And fried zucchini + hollandaise sauce IS perfection.  Simple, easy, and delicious--and simply the BEST.

Lil' Smokies and Tortilla Chip Casserole

Abandoned Edibles

Tortilla chips; BBQ Lil' Smokies

(additional ingredients: tator tots, cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, cheddar cheese, bag of frozen vegetables, INSANITY!) 

What I did: whoa, nelly!  I've really outdone myself this time.  I brought home a bunch of leftover cocktail wieners and tortilla chips from a catering, and had the INSANE idea to make a casserole out of them.  This project was so effin' ridiculous that I refuse to divulge how, exactly,  I made this dish, in fear that some other crazy mofo will attempt to duplicate it.  Note: please, for the love of all things holy, do NOT.  I'm warning you.

Instead, I'm going to tell the tale of the Lil Smoky Casserole via a pictorial spread.  Without further ado, here we go:

First and formeost, I had to wash the cocktail wieners clean of their sins (AKA, the barbeque sauce surrounding them), which was weird and NO I do not want to talk about it.  If I never have to scour miniature cocktail wieners clean of condiments in my kitchen sink ever again, I will be a happy camper.

Next, I made a casserole.  I will not going into detail how this was done (trust me, it is for your own good).  Suffice to say, I incorporated lil smokies in the filling, which was my main objective (the tortilla chips will come later, don't worry!).  Being a true Minnesota girl at heart, I of course also threw in a bunch of tots.  What's a casserole without tots?  A damn, crying shame--that's what.

After cooking this monstrosity for about 45 minutes, I placed crushed tortilla chips on top, and sprinkled shredded cheese on top of that.  Back into the oven it went, for another 10 minutes or so, until the cheese was melted.  I poured myself a stiff cocktail, pulled the casserole out of the oven, and cut myself a piece to taste.

Here is an up close and personal shot of the casserole, for all you sickos out there.

The Verdict

This.  Was.  SO.  GROSS!  Seriously, I couldn't even finish my piece.  I had three bites.  But what was even MORE disturbing was that when Duggins got home, he ate TWO pieces.  And then brought leftovers to work the next day.  WTF!!  It seriously made me question his palate (not to mention, sanity) in a very serious and profound way.  Then again, this IS the same person who also enjoys eating Jello cones...

So I rest my case.

Taste: 2

Appearance: 7

Creativity: 7

Improvements for next time: stop smokin' crack and cooking with cocktail wieners! 

Leftover Surprise Pad Thai

Abandoned Edibles: fish sauce

Leftover Edibles: veggie assortment

(additional ingredients: rice noodles, shrimp, tamarind paste, brown sugar, chili pepper, garlic, lime, spices, etc.)

What I did:  I'll be honest, folks--it's been a busy week for me, which translates to low fridge content in regards to meat and produce.  That being said, I peered into my refrigerated abyss the other night in search of some dinner, only to find a small container of leftover vegetables (from a spinach & artichoke dip appetizer at a local restaurant), and an arsenal of condiments on the fridge door.  I spotted a bottle of fish sauce, given to me by a friend who purchased it and 'didn't like it', and decided to whip together a leftover pad thai dish using the abandoned fish sauce and leftover veggies.  I had rice noodles and 1/2 bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer, so it was destined to be!  I made a simple pad thai sauce using tamarind paste, brown sugar, fish sauce, hot water, and chili pepper.  The veggies and shrimp I sauteed on high heat with a little bit of olive oil and garlic.  The rice noodles I soaked until they were ALMOST soft enough, and finished them off by combining them with the pad thai sauce and veggie/shrimp mixture.  And lastly, I halved a lime to squeeze over the entire dish, once it was done--a bit of acid goes a long way!

The Verdict

Yummy!  I sure do love me some pad thai.  Okay, okay--I'll confess--this dish wasn't *really* pad thai...more like leftover noodle surprise, with a pad thai 'element' to it.  However.  It WAS delicious, I used up all my leftover veggies (I even found a bit of lettuce in the refrigerator for a small side salad!), I got to use fish sauce (I love that stuff), and I no longer had a growling, grumbling hunger monster in my stomach.  Success!

Taste: 8

Appearance: 7

Creativity: 6

Improvements for next time: celery in pad thai?  Um...I think next time, I'll forgo that veggie, even if it IS leftover and begging to be used.