Rice and Veggie Balls

I used a combination of left over rice and vegetables from the night before to make these little vegetarian rice balls for lunch. The rice was cooked in apple juice, chicken stock and thyme, but you can use any cooked white rice. You can also use any vegetables that you want, I used these because they were in the fridge.



Oil for frying
Onion
Garlic
Parsnips
Apple
Cauliflower
Carrot
Fresh Thyme
Rice - cooked
1 Egg - beaten
1/8 cup Flour
Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs



Heat the oil over medium high heat.

The onion, garlic, parsnips and apple were cooked in a little olive oil just until the onion became clear. They were left over from another meal. The other veggies were used raw.

Dice all of the vegetables into very small pieces.



Stir the vegetables, herb and rice together.



Mix in one egg and just enough flour to bind the mixture.

Pinch some of the mixture out of the bowl and form it into a ball about the size of a racquetball or golf ball.



Spread the bread crumbs on a plate.

Lightly roll the rice ball in the bread crumbs. Then set it aside, on a plate.



After you have formed one ball, rolled it and set it aside, do another. Continue this until all of the mixture is rolled and breaded.

Jalapeño Corn Cakes

These corn cakes are quick and simple, thanks to the help of Jiffy Mix!! Use them as canopies for a party appetizer. Or, serve them along side my Gazpacho with Crab and Shrimp, like I did.



1 box Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
1 Jalapeño - finely dice, seeds removed
Cumin
Chili Powder
Garlic Salt
White Pepper
1 Egg
3/4 cup Milk

Heat grill pan and grease with non stick cooking spray.

Mix everything together (you can add 2 T melted butter or shortening, if desired). Don't over mix, the batter will be lumpy.

Use a tablespoon to evenly place the batter on the hot grill pan. Leave room between each cake, so that they don't stick together.

Rosemary Skewered Shrimp

I took these little guys to my friends Alisha and Molly's dinner party. I served them with my Creamy Herb Dip. They were easy, tasty and very pretty! There were ten people at the party, so I only put one shrimp per rosemary stem. If you're cooking for more people, or have less rosemary to work with, add two or three shrimp per stalk.



Rosemary Skewers

You'll need a lot of thick rosemary steams. Clean and dry them. Then trim them, if needed.

Firmly hold the top of a rosemary stem between your fingers. Use your other hand to grab the bottom of the herb. Slid your fingers down away from the tip of the rosemary, removing the needle like leaves. You want to clear a space large enough for your shrimp to fit on it.

Set the skewers aside.

Chop the rosemary that you remove from the stalk and use it in the marinade, stalk, and dip.

Marinade

24 Shrimp - peeled and deveined (reserve the heads and shells)
1/5 cup Evoo
1 T Soy Sauce (I used gluten free)
Lemon Juice from 1/2 a lemon (reserve the squeezed lemon)
3 cloves Garlic - crushed and peeled
Black and White Pepper
Cayenne
Smoked Paprika
Thyme
Rosemary
Chives
Sugar
splash of White Balsamic Vinegar
splash of Water

Mix everything together in a bowl. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.

Chipotle Black Bean Dip

I made this dip for a Christmas party. I served it with a store bought chips. Not supper creative, I know, but I was trying to keep it quick and simple.



1-2 T EVOO
1 small Onion - finely diced
6 Garlic Cloves - peeled
2-5 Chipotle Peppers
1 small spoonful of Adobo Sauce
1 can diced RO*TEL Tomatoes
salt
Roasted Ground Cumin
4 cans Black Beans - drained

Heat EVOO on med-hi heat, in a pan that's large enough to hold all of the beans.

When the oil is hot, add the onions to the pan. I like to throw a little piece of onion into the pan as it's heating. When you hear the onion start to sizzle, that means the oil is hot.



If you have a garlic press, use it to press the garlic into the pan. If not, dice the garlic very finely and add it to the pan.

Remove your chipotle peppers from the can and place them on a cutting board. Use the tip of a pairing knife the cut each pepper open from the steam down to the tip. Then, use a fork or spoon to slide the seeds out. Discard the seeds and steams. Chop the peppers up and add them to the pan.



Add a small amount of the adobo sauce with the peppers.

Butternut, Sausage and Brie Wontons - "Turkey Day Wontons"

I made these tasty little things for Drinksgiving, an annual party held the night before Thanksgiving. I took 50 of them with me and they all disappeared, so consider making extras if there will be a large group.



2 Butternut Squash
2 T Maple Syrup
EVOO
s/p
1 handful Pecans
2 Potatoes - boiled and peeled
Pinch of Ground Cinnamon
6 Links Spicy Turkey Sausage (or pork)
1 Egg - whisked in a small bowl with a splash of water
Wonton Wraps
Oil for frying

Step One - Preparing the ingredients

Preheat oven to 400°F.

I like to cut the squash into manageable pieces before I peel it. To do this, I lay the squash on it's side and cut the ends off. Then cut it in half, across the equator.

Stand the squash up, half at a time, and using a peeler or a knife, remove the outside skin of the butternut.

Cut each half in half again, this time cutting down lengthwise. This will expose the seeds. Remove them with a spoon, and discard.

Next, dice the meat of the squash into about one inch pieces. Repeat this process with the other squash.

Once all of the squash is diced, toss it in a bowl with the syrup, EVOO, and s/p. Then, evenly spread the butternut out onto two half sheet pans.

Place the pans in the oven and roast, turning once or twice, till the squash is very tender, but not brown. Your fork should easily mash a piece.

White Bean Dip

I made this as a quick pot luck dish for my friend Rebecca's birthday party.



Dip
3 cans White Beans (navy or northern) - drained and rinsed
1/2 head Roasted Garlic
1 small Onion - roasted and chopped
EVOO - about a 1/4 cup
1 small Red Bell Pepper - roasted and finely chopped
s/p
Crushed Red Pepper (CRP)

To Dip With
Pita - cut into triangles
Carrot Chips
Belgian Endive
Snow Peas
Cucumber - sliced
Radishes - thinly sliced


Blend the first three ingredients together, I used an immersion blender for this. A regular blender, food processor, or a potato masher will also work.

As you blend, slowly add a small steady stream of EVOO. Do this till the mixture is smooth and well blended.

Stir in the roasted pepper.

Season to taste with s/p and CRP.

Serve with veggies and breads.





This dip is easy, vegetarian, gluten free, and tasty stuff!

Chicken Potstickers

Potstickers, like egg rolls and tamales are a great excuse to have a cooking party. Make the filling before your friends arrive. Then sit around the table together, fold, and fill. Be sure to make enough so that everyone gets some to go. Freeze the extras for latter. You don't have to defrost the potstickers before cooking, just increase the time a little.



These dumplings are great as a snack or a meal. I served them with swordfish and rice for dinner, and as an appetizer for that same dinner. We just couldn't get enough!



Chicken Breast* - ground**
Broccolini - finely chopped
Carrots - shredded
Cabbage - finely shredded
Red Bell Pepper - finely chopped
Garlic - finely chopped
Chives or Green onion - sniped
Soy Sauce
Rice Wine Vinegar
Sesame Oil
Wonton Wrappers
small bowl of Water
Cooking Oil
Chicken Stock*

In a small bowl, mix equal parts soy sauce and vinegar. Then add a very small amount of the oil and taste. You want the sesame to be subtle. Be careful not to over do it.

Next, mix the chicken and all the veggies (i.e. the next seven ingredients) together in a large bowl. Your clean hands work best for this task. At this time, mix the sauce in a spoon full at a time. The filling should be wet, but not runny.



Set one wonton wrapper in front of you and cover the rest with a damp cloth so they don't dry out. Place about 1/2 a teaspoon of the filling in the center of the wrapper.

Dip your finger in the bowl of water and then rub it around the edge of the wrapper. This will act as the glue to hold the sides together.

Then, you want to fold the wrapper so that all the air gets out and a tight seal is formed. There are many ways to do this. Experiment. Once you find a way you like, stick with it and you will become a very efficient dumpling maker. Tony helped me fold these, some of his looked nicer than mine. Who knew?



Once you have a batch sealed and ready to cook, heat a large pan. Add two tablespoons of oil and let it get very hot. Almost smoking hot.

Carefully, place your dumplings in the pan. They should not touch each other or the sides of the pan. Pour about a 1/4 cup of chicken stock in the pan and quickly cover it. Cook for 9-12 minutes, till the potstickers are crispy on the bottom and steamed on the other sides.



While this batch cooks, make more. When they are done, you can put the little purses in a warm oven or just start eating!

Serve with a soy, sweet and sour, or spicy mustard dipping sauce. A simple sauce can be made by adding chives and red pepper flakes or ground ginger to the left over sauce used to wet the chicken mixture.


*To make veggie potstickers omit the ground chicken and substitute the chicken stock with a vegetable stock.

**I used a food processor to grind my chicken, but you could buy it ground instead.

Minnesota State Fair

I can't have a food blog without a mention of The Great Get-Together. For those of you that aren't in the Midwest, I'm referring to the MN State Fair.

People go to the fair for many reasons. Rides, people watching and the cute baby animals are a few. Those things are great, but I am all about the food. The theme of the fair food is anything that can be but on a stick. Which seems to only be limited by the imaginations of the fair foodies. Deep fried candy bars,alligator, beer, chicken fried bacon, they put it all on a stick! My favorite stick food is a bit more traditional, roasted corn on the cob. I also like that the cobs are recycled.

The most popular things are the All You Can Drink Milk, Martha's Cookies, Turkey To Go, Pronto Pups, and Cheese Curds. These things are long time favorites at the fair. I also love the $1 Shrimp Cocktail. (It's only a buck!)

The hardest thing is eating all of my favs and still having room to try the new creations. This year I tried the Fried Green Tomatoes. Yummy! They come with ranch dressing, but I used the salsa from the Texas food stand to dip them in.

Here are some pictures.


Here's Rebecka enjoying Fried Green Tomatoes with salsa.



The thin crispy crust is perfect surrounding the soft tart tomato.



I don't know who these guys are. I just know that that's a crazy potato chip!