Bewitchin' in the Kitchen

3 Salsas

Ahhhh... it's been a long time. A long time since I was excited about watching Titan's football. And Saturday evening they were on TV, ushering in a new era. We have a new coach. We have a new quarterback. We have a new feel. And we won! Yes, it's pre-season and doesn't really count. Or does it? The stats looked good, the players looked good, even the 2nd and 3rd strings, and the heart of the Titans was back.

I celebrated by inviting some folks over to watch the game with me and we grilled burgers. Burgers and Football. The only thing that could have made the evening more perfect was a nip in the air and the leaves beginning to change color. I love Autumn.

 
It seemed like the perfect time to throw together a variety of salsas and chips I've been wanting to make. I've been told it only takes 3 criteria to define salsa: fruit, heat, and spices. If that is true, then the following are all salsas. One is traditional with tomatoes. The next is my favorite. It's basically the same recipe only using watermelon instead of tomatoes. And the third uses avacado. (It's salsa with heat added. It's guacamole without.)

How do you like your salsa?? 

Fresh Tomato Salsa

3 large tomatoes, seeded, chopped (3 cups), or equivalent from whatever tomatoes are just picked from the garden

4 medium green onions, sliced (1/4 cup), or diced white, yellow or other onion

1 small green bell pepper, chopped (1/2 cup), optional

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 jalapeño chiles, seeded, finely chopped (1 tablespoon), to taste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, to taste

2 to 3 tablespoons lime juice

1/2 teaspoon salt to taste

Mix and let chill for as long as you can stand it, about an hour will do. Serve with warm tortilla chips.  

 

 

Watermelon Salsa

• 3 cups finely diced watermelon, seeds removed
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro, (about 1/2 bunch), to taste
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/4 cup minced red onion, (about 1/2 small)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

 

Guacamole

2 ripe avocados (about 6 ounces each), operative word is RIPE

3 tablespoons  chopped fresh cilantro or to taste

2 tablespoons minced red onion, or white or green

2 tablespoons chopped Roma tomatoes

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice; more to taste

Kosher or Sea salt to taste

And lots of tortilla chips!!!

 

Zucchini Fritters

 
The first time I even heard of a zucchini was at my friend Lee's house when we were 10. Her dad had a big garden in the back yard, and he had fried up some zucchini fritters to go with dinner, with zucchini he grew in the garden.

Mr. Dean was always introducing us to new and exotic culinary treats. They seem ordinary today when everyone is a foodie, but back in the mid-1970s, Mexican food was hardly thought of, let alone available. One of his culinary treats was Nachos. Except in the mid-1970s it didn't occur to us to melt the cheese and pour it over the chips. Lee and I would lay out individual tortilla chips on her mother's cookie sheet, place a piece of cheese on each one and a piece of bell pepper on top of the cheese, and run it under the broiler until the cheese was melted. Yum!!!

If we were being very adventurous, we'd use goat cheese. Mr. Dean always had a variety of cheeses in the fridge.

It never occurred to me to ask Mr. Dean for his fritter recipe and I regret I don't have it to share with you today. It seems to me he may have dusted it with a little powdered sugar, but he may have done that just to get us girls to try it. Anyway, when I ran across this recipe from Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide it reminded me of Mr. Dean, his fritters, and the great times we used to have hanging out at their home on Brookside Drive.

If you have any zucchini coming in, I highly recommend Zucchini Fritters.

 

 

Zucchini Fritters

• 5 cups shredded zucchini
• 1 red onion diced fine
• 1-2 jalapenos diced fine
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 7 tbsp flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup grated Romano
• Salt/pepper

Place shredded zucchini in colander, over a bowl and sprinkle with one teaspoon salt. Wait 30 minutes stirring occasionally and pressing out the water. Put zucchini in dish towel, roll up and ring out any excess water remaining. Mix flour, one teaspoon salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add zucchini, pepper, onion and cheese. Mix well. Slowly add buttermilk until mixture forms a thick batter. Season with salt and pepper. Heat three tablespoons olive oil in large frying pan. Take 1/2 cup scoops of fritter batter and place in pan. Flatten out like a pancake and cook over medium heat until browned and cooked, six minutes a side. Replenish oil as needed and be careful to keep the fritters from sticking. Serve hot sprinkled with powdered sugar or with a dipping sauce.

Notes: If you don’t have buttermilk, you can put a third of a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar in your measuring cup and fill it the rest of the way to the 1/3 cup mark with regular milk. Let stand for five minutes before using.

Garlic Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

I've never used the microwave to roast pumpkin seeds, but this recipe from Taste of Home looks very easy and foolproof. Many times while roasting, I've scorched entire batches of seeds. Looking forward to cleaning out the Jack-O-Lantern this year and making this seasonal treat.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 2 cups fresh pumpkin seeds

Directions

• In a small bowl, combine the oil, celery salt, garlic powder and seasoned salt. Add pumpkin seeds; toss to coat. Spread a quarter of the seeds in a single layer on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 1 minute; stir.
• Microwave 2-3 minutes longer or until seeds are crunchy and lightly browned, stirring after each minute. Repeat with remaining pumpkin seeds. Serve warm, or cool before storing in an airtight container. Yield: 2 cups.

Susan's Deviled Eggs

The quintessential southern funeral food: Deviled Eggs. Why? They're delicious, nutritious, easy to make, inexpensive, a crowd pleaser, and they are a finger food as well as complimentary of other funeral foods.

 Susan's Deviled Eggs

•10 boiled eggs, peeled and halved

•1/4 cup sweet pickle relish, or so to taste

•1 Tablespoon dry mustard (French's prepared mustard will work in a bind)

•1/2 cup Hellmann's Real Mayonaisse

•Dash or 2 of Tabasco

•Salt and Pepper to taste

•Paprika or fried crisp bacon crumbs or both, for garnish

Why 10 eggs? Well, my egg plate (a plate with egg-shaped dimples specifically created for the presentation of Deviled Eggs) has 18 spaces. However, you'll inevitably need more yoke than white, which is good, because inevitably while peeling the eggs one will not peel pretty and have to be sacrificed for its yoke only.

Place 10 eggs in cool water and set on the stove. Turn up the heat until the eggs reach a rapid boil. Add a lid and remove from heat. Let eggs stand in hot water for 10-12 minutes. They will be perfectly boiled, but not rubbery.

Drain off hot water and rinse with cool water until they can be handled. Tap blunt end of egg on the edge of the sink, cracking the entire shell. There will be a space under the blunt end of the shell that will make removal of the shell easier and in one piece. Do not refrigerate an unpeeled egg. You will never be able to remove the shell without peeling to pieces the smooth surface of the egg underneath. Believe me, there is a science to this.

Cut eggs in half lengthwise, dumping cooked yokes into a zip-lock baggie. Place boiled egg whites on your egg plate. Add remaining ingredients to baggie, except for the chosen garnish. Seal the baggie, making sure to squeeze out any air. Now work the yokes and ingredients mashing them into a paste, snip off one small corner of the baggie, and pipe the paste into the cup of each boiled egg white.

Sprinkle with paprika or bacon crumbs or both.

If your egg plate is made with a relish dish in the center, fill this section with drained green olives stuffed with either blue cheese, almonds or a combination of the two, but never pimento. It's too passe.

Keep in mind presentation is everything. Although it is considerate to take food to the home of a grieving family in a container that need not be returned, for the reception the food must be presented in your finest dish. (Don't forget to bring a silver serving piece, if needed.) Don't worry about how you will get your egg plate returned, you'll simply take it with you when you leave. Every deviled egg will have been eaten and the plate empty. Guaranteed.

Lemon with Peppermint

Although I've never used any other fruit, I hear you can do the same with an orange or any other citrus fruit Santa may leave on Christmas morning.

Lemon with Peppermint

1 lemon per person

1 peppermint stick per person

Cut a hole the tip of the lemon large enough to accommodate the peppermint stick.
 
Place peppermint stick in the hole and push into the pulp of the lemon.
 
Suck the lemon juice through the peppermint stick (as you would a straw) while squeezing the lemon gently.

Sausage Balls

Sausage Balls

1 (10-oz) package shredded Sharp Cheddar cheese

1 lb. bulk sausage, mild

2 1/2 cup Bisquick

Add shredded cheese to a large mixing bowl. Add hunks of sausage and gradually cut in bisquick, mixing with your hands as if you're kneading bread. (Can be heated slightly in the microwave to help mix the ingredients.)

Don't over-knead the dough or it will get tough.

Form into small balls; place on cookie sheet.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. May be frozen before baking.

Fried Dill Pickles

FRIED DILL PICKLES
You'll find fried dill pickles are habit-forming.

1 egg beaten

1 cup milk

3 and 1/2 cups flour

1 qt. sliced dill pickles

 vegetable oil

salt and pepper to taste

Combine milk and egg in a bowl. Put the flour in a freezer bag and add salt and pepper. Dip drained pickles in egg mixture and then shake in flour. When pickles are coated well, deep fry in oil until they turn golden brown and float. Drain on paper towels and serve hot in a wax paper lined plastic basket with a side of either ranch or blue cheese dressing.

Why start counting fat grams now?

Chestnuts Roasting on an open fire

First of all, when buying fresh chestnuts for roasting, choose those that are firm and heavy for their size, with smooth, glossy shells. Select chestnuts that are all about the same size so they will cook evenly. Keep in mind one pound of fresh, raw chestnuts is roughly 2 cups roasted, shelled chestnuts.

Chestnuts are highly perishable. To keep them fresh, store them in a ventilated plastic bag in the crisper of your refrigerator or freeze them for later use.

For Roasting in the Oven…

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Rinse the chestnuts. After rinsing, lay them on a towel and pat dry. With a small, sharp knife cut an X in each chestnut. No need to purchase the special chestnut scoring tool unless you simply must have every specialty gadget that comes along or you roast chestnuts so often it makes the purchase a value. The purpose to scoring the chestnut allows the steam to escape while they cook, preventing an explosion. This will also make peeling a lot easier.

Put the chestnuts in a baking pan with the X facing up.

It will take 20-30 minutes to roast the chestnuts. When cooked, the shells will burst open, and the chestnut will be golden brown. The tricky part is timing the cooking process. If you over-cook OR under-cook chestnuts, they will get hard and the inner skin will be very difficult to remove. It may take some practice. Buy extra.

Now comes the hard part: peeling them! You need to peel them while they are still warm. Let them cool just enough so that you can touch them, then start peeling. Be very careful not to burn your fingers! Remember they just emerged from a very hot oven.

Add a little salt, and serve covered in a festive Christmas cloth or towel to keep warm.

To roast chestnuts over an open fire....

Place a layer of chestnuts in a cast iron roasting pan with lid. Place the roaster over a low fire for about 20 to 25 minutes or more, balancing it on logs, while frequently shaking it back and forth like you would popcorn to prevent scorching. You can slit the shells first, as directed for oven-roasting, or, since the chestnuts are roasting inside a covered vessel, you can just let them burst for the "pop, pop, pop" effect as in "The Christmas Song."

Enjoy!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

1 cup raw pumpkin seeds, or as many as your pumpkin yeilds-don't throw any away! 

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon ground thyme

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse seeds and pat dry. Toss together all ingredients in a bowl.

Spread in a single layer on aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes until roasted. Let cool for about 15 minutes before digging in!