Red-Eye Poutine

here's to Dad...

When I think about my dad and the things he likes they include: house projects (he's the ultimate fixer-upper), TV (he's master of the controller), hamburgers/hot dogs/chicken patties (he's pretty much a simple meat guy), and coffee. When I was growing up that was a very familiar smell to me every morning and on evenings when we had family or friends over. I have grown to love coffee myself (must have every morning to function!) and that started at a very young age. So, for this next series I'll be focusing on coffee and at the same time creating Dad-worthy dishes.

This dish is an appetizer my dad is sure to love - poutine. Poutine is a Canadian-born concoction of french fries, gravy, and cheddar cheese curds. If you've never had it or heard of it, check out this article. I'm twisting up this classic dish by adding coffee. I was inspired by "red-eye gravy," which is typically served with ham. My dad loves gravy and biscuits and loaded cheese fries, so I think I have a winner here. Celebrate Dad today, make this dish. Here's how...

Ingredients - Serves 6-8
1 (32 oz.) Bag Frozen French Fries
4 T Unsalted Butter
1/4 C All-Purpose Flour
1 Shallot, minced
1 Clove Garlic, minced
2 1/2 C Low-Sodium Beef Broth
1 1/2 C Brewed Coffee
2 T Ketchup
1 T Cider Vinegar
1 T Black Pepper Corns
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp. Kosher Salt
10 oz. Cheddar Cheese Curds

Directions
Make the fries: Follow the baking (or frying) instructions on the bag. If baking, keep the oven warm. If not, heat the oven to 425 degrees.

Meanwhile, make the gravy: Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the butter and flour and whisk to make a roux. Add the minced shallot and garlic, cook for 1-2 minutes. Slowly add the beef broth and coffee, whisking. Whisk in the remaining ingredients, except for the cheese curds. Increase the heat to med-high and bring to a boil. Cook, whisking, until thickened, about 15 minutes. Keep warm. Optional: Strain the gravy to remove the peppercorns.

Make the poutine: Put the fries in a shallow dish, top with the gravy and cheese curds. Put into the warm oven and bake until warmed through and the cheese begins to melt, 8-10 minutes. Serve immediately. Make this Dad-worthy meal today.

Happy Father's Day Dad!

Oven "Fried" Potato Wedges w/ Balsamic Ketchup

it's good to be bad...

For this rainbow series, given my New Year's resolution to eat better, I'm lightening up some of my favorite comfort foods. It's important to still be able to enjoy some of what I consider comfort or "bad" foods like fries, pasta, and dessert. All in moderation. So, for this series, I'll be lightening up and highlighting the nutrients in each one of these dishes. First, I'm tackling the fry....

There is one easy way to bring down the calorie and fat count with fries and that's to bake them. And while I do this, I'm also taking my potato wedges a few steps further by making them good for you. First, I'm using 3 types of potatoes: red, yellow, and sweet. These varieties have many more benefits compared to the usual russet potato, such as iron, vitamins C/A/B5/B6, thiamin, and much more. Specifically, sweet potatoes contain carotenoids which help fight against disease and promote eye health. Secondly, I'm leaving the skins on the potatoes. That's where so many of the vitamins live and traditional fries strip us of those nutrients. Finally, I'm serving these potato wedges with a balsamic ketchup. Balsamic vinegar is high in antioxidants and it cuts down on the high sugar level found in most ketchups. I think I've given plenty of health reasons to make these fries, but I should also mention, they are tasty! So, make these with dinner tonight, here's how...

Ingredients - Serves 4
Potato Wedges
4-5 Small Red Skin Potatoes
4-5 Small Yellow Skin Potatoes
2 Small Sweet Potatoes
2-3 T Canola Oil
1 tsp. Kosher Salt
Cooking Spray
3 T Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 T Fresh Thyme, chopped

Balsamic Ketchup
1/4 C Ketchup
2-3 T Balsamic Vinegar
2-3 Dashes Worcestershire Sauce

Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

Clean the potatoes by scrubbing and drying them well. Cut into wedges, making sure each is about the same size. Put them in a bowl, drizzle with the oil, and season with salt. Spray the prepared baking sheets with cooking spray. Evenly distribute the potatoes on the two trays. Be sure to give the wedges space so that they can cook on all sides (and don't steam). Bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the Parmesan cheese and thyme together in a small bowl. Once the potatoes have finished cooking on the first side, flip each fry, and sprinkle with the cheese mixture. Put back into the oven and finish cooking, about 10 more minutes.

As the fries finish cooking, make the balsamic ketchup. In a small bowl combine the ketchup, balsamic vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Taste and adjust flavors to your liking. Set aside.

Serve the fries immediately with the balsamic ketchup. We enjoyed ours with turkey burgers (yep, still working toward eating more poultry this year too). Sometimes, it can be good to be bad. Enjoy!

Eggplant Fries w/ Super Hot Sauce

restaurant remake...

This recipe was inspired by a dish I had at Zula Restaurant & Wine Bar in downtown Cincy. My husband, our friend James, and I all went to Zula last year for restaurant week. It's one of the newer restaurants in town and worth going to for a special occasion. On the menu were eggplant fries. But not just plain breaded eggplant, we are talking dusted with powdered sugar and served with hot sauce. We were intrigued to say the least, and after trying them, we were totally sold.

My recipe remake is a little different than what we had, but still tastes much like the dish at Zula. For starters, my eggplant fries are baked. By cooking the fries this way, I'm cutting down on the calories, but I promise, none of the flavor is lost. Another way my recipe differs is that I use a yogurt mixture and bread crumbs to coat my eggplant. It provides a different texture than the fries at Zula. Finally, my super hot sauce is a mixture of three condiments - I'm sure they make theirs from scratch at Zula - but, both are blistering hot. Try this restaurant remake and then go to Zula and compare. Here's how to make it...

Ingredients - Serves 6

Fries

2 Medium Eggplants (suggest graffiti)

2/3 C Nonfat Greek Yogurt

1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp. Onion Powder

1 tsp. Paprika

1 tsp. Kosher Salt

1/2 tsp. Black Pepper

4 T Lemon Juice

2-3 C Plain Breadcrumbs

2 T Powdered Sugar

Hot Sauce

4 T Sriracha

1-2 T Sambal Oelek

1 tsp. Tabasco Sauce

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Prepare two large baking sheets by placing a cooling rack on each of them. Set aside.

Cut the eggplants into fries: Cut the top and bottom off each eggplant. Then stand upright and slice the eggplant down the middle. Cut each of the halves length-wise once more, creating 4 planks. Next cut each plank into 4-5 long strips. Finally, cut the strips in half to create a fry shape. Each fry should be about 1/4 inch in thickness.

Setup your breading station: In a bowl combine the yogurt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Stir to combine all the ingredients well. Then pour the breadcrumbs onto a plate. Line up the cut eggplant, yogurt mixture, and bread crumbs next to each other. Place one of the prepared trays after the breadcrumbs.

Bread the eggplant: Dip a few eggplant pieces into the yogurt, shaking off the excess, then place them into the breadcrumbs. Sprinkle breadcrumbs all over the eggplant pieces, pressing lightly to help the breadcrumbs adhere. Shake off any excess and then place on the prepared tray. Repeat this process until all of your ingredients are used up.

Bake the fries: Put the trays into the preheated oven. Bake for about 14 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through the cook time. When the fries are cooked the eggplant will be tender and the breading will be crisp.

Make the super hot sauce: While the fries cook, combine the sriracha, sambal oelek, and Tabasco together in a small bowl. If you dare: taste to balance the mixture. The sriracha will add a bit of sweet heat, the sambal oelek a chili paste fermented style heat, and finally the Tabasco sauce will add fiery heat. Mix well and set aside.

Finish the fries: Put the powdered sugar into a fine-mesh sieve. Immediately after removing the fries from the oven, dust them with the powdered sugar. Remove the fries to a plate. Serve immediately with the super hot sauce. Enjoy this restaurant remake! Let me know what you think if you've had Zula's version and mine.

Guy's Fries with "Blue-Sabi Sauce"

let's eat the town...NYC

 

My husband and I just returned from our summer vacation. We visited New York City! Neither of us have spent any real time there, so it was an adventure. I think we did everything possible, went to nearly every attraction, and we ate some delicious food along the way. We made it to Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill in Chelsea, Friedman's Lunch at Chelsea Market, Marseille a lovely French inspired restaurant, and Guy's American Kitchen & Bar owned by Guy Fieri, both of which are near Times Square.

While all of these places are HIGHLY recommended by us, I was inspired by the fries we had as an appetizer at Guy's restaurant. They were covered in wing sauce and served with a blue cheese wasabi dipping sauce. I couldn't help but notice that every color of my rainbow was represented...perfect for this second rainbow series! So, I've ventured to recreate these scrumptious fries for anyone to enjoy...we can't all live in NYC (however, there are SO many that do!). Here's how to make them...

Recipe - Serves 6-8
Hot Fries

2, 15oz Bags Frozen Plain Fries (such as Alexia Yukon Select)

1/2C Buffalo Wing Sauce
3 Green Onions (green parts only), sliced
Cooking Spray

"Blue-Sabi Sauce"
1/4C Sour Cream
1/2tsp. Wasabi Paste
2T Crumbled Blue Cheese
1/2tsp. Half & Half

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a sheet tray (or two) with foil and prepare with cooking spray. Arrange the fries in a single layer. Bake the fries for 30-35 minutes, flipping half way through. The fries should be extra crisp.

While the fries are baking, make the dipping sauce. In a small bowl combine the sour cream, wasabi paste, blue cheese, and half & half. Mix well and refrigerate until ready to serve. All of these ingredients can be modified, so add more or less of any as you desire.

Once the fries are baked, place them into a large bowl and add the wing sauce. Gently toss with tongs to coat the fries completely; add more wing sauce if needed. Move to a serving platter and top with the green onions. Serve immediately with the "Blue-Sabi Sauce". Enjoy a little bit of NYC Guy style!