I discovered that finger limes taste really great with aged sharp cheddar cheese so I made a light salad with cheddar cheese and flavors that work well with each other. The finger limes are like a combination of caviar and pop rocks with a lime kind of flavor. This salad really is kind of like fireworks in your mouth and happens to be Forking tasty.

Ingredients for two servings

2 cups zucchini cut in noodle strings

1/4 cup scallions chopped

1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped

3 radishes shredded

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove – minced

1 small lemon juiced

2 teaspoons honey

fresh ground sea salt to taste

fresh ground black pepper to taste

2 Tablespoons (Heaping) aged sharp cheddar cheese – shredded

4 finger limes

Directions

In a large bowl combine the zucchini, scallions, cilantro and radishes and set to side. In a small bowl combine extra virgin olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt, pepper, honey and mix well. and pour it over the vegetables in the large bowl. Mix well. Place in your two individual bowls. Top each bowl with cheddar cheese and squeeze out two finger limes for each serving.

 

It’s a very special salad. Light, tasty and interesting.

 

 

This recipe is based on the Portuguese Roast Turkey recipe adapted from Chef George Mendes, Alea and Lupulo,NYC. I read this recipe from Tasting Table and thought it sounded mighty interesting. I didn’t know if I wanted to invest a whole turkey in a new recipe and thought I’d give chicken thighs a try since they were on sale for sixty something cents a pound.

This recipe involves brining the poultry and then marinating the poultry before roasting.

I made a few substitutions due to what I had in my pantry and a major change in the amount of oil used going from three cups of oil down to one cup because I can’t stand the thought of using that much oil.

The other major change I did was adjusting a whole turkey cooking  procedure to preparing chicken thighs in a sensible way. I adjusted the recipe was to cook the chicken thighs at high heat without steaming or basting. If you were doing this recipe with turkey besides quadrupling the brine recipe you’d start you oven at 400 degrees F till browned  over a bed of onions carrots and a cup of water with bay leaves…thus steaming the bird…….then lower the oven to 300 degrees constantly basting the turkey with marinade and cook till done at about 160 degrees F at the thigh.

The amount of brine I cut down to one quarter since I wasn’t doing a turkey.

This chicken came out absolutely FORKING DELICIOUS! It’s very flavorful and moist and just really good. I find that if I brine chicken I like to roast it at high heat to get an easy crispy skin. Since this recipe also involved marinating I had no fear of cooking it at high heat.

Ingredients for Brine for about 5 lbs of Chicken Thighs makes 8 servings

6 cups water

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 cup kosher salt

3 cloves

2 pieces star anise

1 1/2 bay leave torn in halves

1 cinnamon stick

3/4 Tablespoon black peppercorns (white peppercorns are suggested)

1/2 Tablespoon fennel seeds

1/2 Tablespoon coriander seeds

Directions heat your brine up to medium high and simmer 8-10 minutes once chilled you can start brining. I brined the chicken two hours. If you were doing a turkey it would be 6-8 hours.

Paprika Marinade

1 cup extra virgin olive oil (three cups is suggested)

1 12 oz. bottle lager (1 1/2 cups Sagres is suggested)

1 Tablespoon Spanish Nora Pepper

1 Tablespoon sweet paprika

1 Tablespoon smoked paprika (instead of the three peppers I used 3 Tablespoons of Spanish Sweet Paprika is suggested)

1/2 yellow onion thinly sliced

7 garlic cloves thinly sliced

3 fresh bay leaves torn

Directions just mix together.

More Directions.

After two hours remove your chicken thighs from the brine. Throw out the brine and dry off your chicken a little with paper towels. Place your chicken in a big zip lock bag and add the marinade and let sit in your refrigerator over night.

Directions

Set your oven to 450 degrees F.

You need pans and line them with carrots so you make a natural rack for the chicken.

Wipe off the marinade from the chicken and place over the carrots. Depending on the size of the thighs and your oven they will be done in 30-45 minutes. I found I had some small pieces that were done in 30 minutes and the bigger pieces were mostly all done in 40 minutes. I wanted the internal temperature to be close to 180. I find when doing dark meat it’s much more delicious this way.

When the chicken comes out a light sprinkle of fresh ground sea salt would be good.

This chicken came out forking good. I might try doing a turkey this way.

Light Crisp almost oil free. The kind of onion rings that just shatter with a paper thin batter an onion that’s cooked though so it doesn’t pull out.

I fried the onion rings in canola oil at around 350 degrees. I used a medium large sweet onion.

I didn’t measure the batter…..I usually don’t measure for many things I make but stop and do it for these forking recipes sometimes……. I’m guessing it was around……

1/2 cup rice flour

1/4 cup corn starch

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 beaten egg

less than 1/2 can sugar free root beer soda. (didn’t have any beer or seltzer in the house or I would have used beer or seltzer I knew I needed something with bubbles but didn’t want to open a forking bottle of champagne) The soda has a salt taste to me so I didn’t add salt to the batter.

Fresh ground sea salt and ground pepper for finishing

The batter should be very thin.

I just fried them till they were lightly brown.  My husband said, they were the best forking onion rings he ever had. (*NOTE, see forking note)  Neither of use tasted root beer in the onion rings. The onion rings just tasted forking great! We both thought these were the best FORKING onion rings we ever had…..and were laughing about it. For some unknown reason they really were that forking good.

*NOTE* he would not say that to be nice…he is not that forking type. I sure got a bunch of forking stories I can insert here….

Forking Great Onion Rings

Used the leftover batter on some fish.

I liked the texture very much and it was better than LOTS of fish I had out. It was tasty, airy and had that really awesome shattering crunch. The texture was great. I didn’t think I tasted root beer but I did taste something that I wasn’t perfect with the fish.  Next time when doing fish I would run out for beer, seltzer or use a lemon lime soda. I only forking put this batter on the fish because it was leftover and the onion rings were so forking delicious. I would totally made the fish this way again just with a different liquid in the recipe.

OK fish and forking great onion rings.

 

The crust is made from spaghetti squash, cheese an egg and seasonings. It’s very tasty and even squash haters will enjoy it. It’s pretty easy to prepare.

Just start with a cooked spaghetti squash. You want to cook the squash till it’s firm but not real soft. I placed my squash in a pan with about 1/4 cup of water and covered my pan with foil and placed the squash in a 350 F oven for about 90 minutes. I do note the timing may differ greatly because I know I’ve done the same size squash in an hour before. Well anyway you want to be able to piece the squash with a fork but not too easily. If your fork goes in real easy your squash might be to wet for this recipe to come out right. You need the strands to be like al dente pasta.

You also need a silicone mat for an easy release for the crust.

Ingredients for 8 servings

1 medium-medium large spaghetti squash cooked and cleaned out with seeds removed

1 cup shredded Italian Blend cheese (my blend is 1.5 lb. mozzarella, 1 lb. provolone, 8oz. sharp provolone, cup parmesan that I keep frozen and shredded for use)

2 XL eggs beaten

teaspoon (scant about 3/4) dried basil

teaspoon (scant about 3/4) dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon rosemary

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions Set oven to 450 degrees F

In a large bowl mix everything well

It should look like this.

Then get your sheet pan and lay a silicone mat over it and pat down your spaghetti squash mixture on it till it’s in the shape of crust.

Now place it in your oven till it looks a little crisp and browned up a bit.

And looks like this.

At this point…..You should here the pitter patter of furry feet if you have them in your house.

Because it smells like a pizza in your house.

You can top the crust however you like and put it back in a slower oven like 350-400 F till your cheese is just melted. A sprinkle of Extra Virgin Olive adds great flavors and helps the cheese to not burn.

My two favorite ways are plain and heirloom tomato.

If you cut the pieces small you can pick them up but they are a little soft. This is really a knife and fork kind of pizza.

They are forking delicious!

 

I got these rare beautiful Pink Lemons. The pink lemon differs from regular lemons and does have a more intense lemon flavor. It’s the lemon you really want. The pink lemon is also the lemon the got it’s fame from being known for “Pink Lemonade.” Because of the stronger lemon taste these also are the lemons that are best for dessert use. The lemon juice is really pink but the lemon filling does come out looking like a regular lemon bar.

I recently tried a lemon bar I was very disappointed with from a professional bakery

so I was inspired to bake a superior lemon bar to the one I recently tried and that I did.

I decided the crust of the lemon bar should be thin tender and buttery and not sweet. The filling is intensely lemon. The crumbs are almost shortbread like and do melt in your mouth. The crust and crumbs are pretty easy to prepare. You start them off together and then eyeball 2/3rds of the dough to be the crust and the remaining 1/3rd of the dough for some added ingredients to be the crumbs.

Ingredients to make around 16 servings

8 oz.  unsalted butter (2 4oz. sticks melted)

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter (for the filling)

1 3/4 cup flour

2 Tablespoons flour (added to the crumbs)

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (for dough)

1 pinch salt (for the filling)

1 XL egg beaten (for the dough)

3 XL egg yolks beaten (for the filling)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 Tablespoon sugar (for the dough)

1 1/4 cup sugar (for the filling)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (for the crumbs)

3 Tablespoons corn starch (filling)

3 pink lemons + zest from 3 pink lemons

5 teaspoons 10X sugar

nonstick cooking spray for your baking pan.

Directions

Set oven to 350 degrees F and you need two baking pans that are around 8 in. x 12 in. Spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray and set to the side.

Mix your melted butter, 1 3/4 C. flour, 1/4 t. salt, whole egg, baking powder, 1 Tablespoon sugar together. Eyeball the mixture in thirds and set one third aside.

Take the 2/3rds of your pastry dough and pat into your sprayed baking sheet and pierce randomly with a fork.

Now for your remaining 1/3 of dough add the 2 Tablespoons flour, 4 Tablespoons sugar and cinnamon.

Your mixture should look like this.

Spread it out on your other baking sheet like in the photo above and in my oven they took 20 minutes. Set them to the side and now make the filling.

In a bowl add your cornstarch, sugar (not 10x), lemon juice, lemon zest, yolks, pinch salt and mix well. Add the bowl mixture to your sauce pan on medium heat and stir and add the Tablespoon of butter. The mixture does need to boil a minute or so. When you got the filling cooked pour it onto the crust and then arrange the crumbs over the lemon filling.

Place in the refrigerator to cool a few hours.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and now serve.

These are FORKING GOOD!

 

 

 

This recipe is a little different and better than some of the other recipes out there for eggs on a cloud. It’s tasty because you add a little tomato, scallion, cilantro and roasted poblano pepper. I thought it would be better to do the eggs two at a time instead of the traditional one egg cloud with one egg yolk in the center. Guess what your two eggs look like. I’m not even going to say. Two eggs at a time is a much better presentation and it’s more family friendly also. I found it easy to do two servings at the same time so I actually used 4 eggs. To prepare these eggs you need parchment lined baking sheets and your oven set to 450 degrees F to bake.

Ingredients for two servings

4 eggs (whites in one large bowl and yolks in a small bowl)

4 grape tomatoes chopped up

1/2 roasted poblano pepper chopped up

2 Tablespoons Scallions chopped up

2 Tablespoons cilantro torn off

fresh ground sea salt

fresh ground black pepper

Directions Set your Oven to 450 degrees F on Bake and you need baking sheet(s) lined with parchment paper

Whip up your egg whites till they are thick and fluffy.

Pour out two servings on your baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Make a well in the center and pour 1/2 the mixed yolks into each well. Sprinkle the whites with the tomatoes, scallions and poblano peppers. Place in your 450 degree oven for 4-5 minutes. Remove and serve on plates and sprinkle with fresh cilantro and fresh ground salt and pepper. I served the eggs with a small amount of refried beans and a creamy polenta corn cake.

Technically this isn’t a true or typical croquette. Croquettes are traditionally fried and must be crispy on the outside. The insides of croquettes are usually meat like your leftover turkey from Thanksgiving mixed with potato and bread stuffing and served with a gravy. they are very delicious and some people look forward to eating them after Thanksgiving.

I decided I could make  nontraditional croquettes from pulled dark meat chicken and rice. I added extras to regular rice including extra liquid to get the rice malleable to hold the chicken in a croquette shape.  Instead of frying them I just rolled the mixture in whole wheat panko bread crumbs and I got a satisfying crispy exterior. This recipe seems indulgent but compared to a true croquette this recipe is very reduced in fat.

These came out satisfying and delicious.

Ingredients for 6 servings of two croquettes each

1/2 medium sweet onion – chopped

1 carrot – chopped

1 celery stalk – chopped

3 garlic cloves – minced

1 small hot pepper (I used 1/2 an unusually hot banana pepper)

1/4 cup dry white wine  (1/4 cup is used latter in the recipe) so it’s 1/2 cup total

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 cup white rice

2 3/4 cups water

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 Tablespoon chicken base (think of it as chicken flavored salt)

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 XL egg beaten (latter 1 more egg so it’s a total of two eggs beaten)

15 oz. pulled dark meat chicken that was roasted and is very flavorful and moist (like from my recipes, don’t even attempt if your chicken isn’t moist and super tasty) – chopped

1 XL egg beaten

1/4 cup fresh parsley – chopped

1 cup whole wheat panko

non-stick cooking spray for your baking sheet pan(s)

Directions set oven to 350 degrees F

On medium high in in a large sauce pan add onion, carrot, celery, garlic, hot pepper, 1/4 c. wine, olive oil, 1 t. salt and 1/2 t. black pepper. Cook till liquid is reduced. Stir in your rice for a couple minutes to set some of the flavors into it. Now add water, remaining white wine, chicken base, basil, rosemary and oregano. Bring to boil and then reduce to simmer and cover with foil for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes it should look like this.

Take off the heat and stir in one beaten egg.

Add your chicken.

Now stir in your second beaten egg and it should look like this.

At this point it smells so good I get visitors.

Mix in fresh parsley.

Prepare your baking sheet(s) with nonstick spray and your oven should be set at 350 degrees F.

Using a serving spoon, scoop and form croquettes and dip them in panko and set on baking sheet(s) till your finished.

You should have 12 croquettes.

They take about 20 minutes in to oven and when you pull them out. Season them with a small amount of fresh ground sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. Serve with either chicken gravy ,  marinara sauce or seasoned fresh tomatoes.

Just about everyone would love them. They are forking Delicious.

 

I’ve been told my polenta that I prepare that even when I don’t add cream, butter or cheese is creamier than polenta we try when we go out. I always use regular polenta and NOT the quick cooking kind. To prepare it creamy you need to stir it just like you do when you prepare risotto. I bring it to a boil and then reduce to simmer. It takes 45 minutes to prepare polenta stirring often. I usually just prepare polenta cakes in a big batch that makes 24 cakes and a little extra is left that I make evil or special occasion style with some cheese and butter. I freeze the polenta cakes and use them for side dishes, breakfast sides and croutons for salads. For basic polenta the formula is 2 cups polenta with 9 cups of water and around a heaping teaspoon of kosher salt. I do note with the very basic polenta recipe you won’t have much leftover.

I made this batch of polenta 2 ways that were both extra special.

I recently cooked fresh sweet corn in the oven. I covered the corn (4 or 5 ears)  with water two Tablespoons of unsalted butter and about a teaspoon of kosher salt. I covered the pans with foil and let the corn go about two hours at 350 degrees. Pull the pan out and let them cool about an hour and a half. When cool enough to handle I save the liquid and that is now my corn stock. Then I slice the corn kernels off the cobs. I now have fresh corn and tasty corn stock.

Ingredients for Good Creamy Polenta makes 24 servings but you will have leftover that you turn into Evil special occasion Polenta that is 5 generous servings more.

2 cups polenta

5 cups corn stock

4 cups water

2 cups fresh cooked corn

Nonstick cooking spray

Fresh ground sea salt

fresh ground black pepper

Put all your ingredients on medium high heat and blend (except for fresh ground sea salt, black pepper and nonstick cooking spray). Bring the pot to boil and stir often then reduce to simmer, cover with foil and keep stirring occasionally. This needs to go 45 minutes. Pour into nonstick sprayed muffin pans and let set about a half hour or so. I had my oven already on and put the muffin pans on the top rack. It took about one half hour to get slightly crispy tops. Then I took them out and added the fresh ground sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. I do note I had other things in my over so the timing will probably differ.

I had some polenta left in my pot so I made it special occasion style. For my household it became 5 servings.

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 oz. habanero pepper jack cheese

2 oz. sharp cheddar cheese

A big pinch of parmesan

two thick slices of sharp American.

The heat was turned off under my pot and I just stirred till every thing was smooth. To serve I put some in a small bowl and topped a little more shredded sharp cheddar fresh ground salt and pepper.

If you prepare this polenta the evil way be prepared for someone to help themselves to a bowl and a refill. You then might be left with two dinner servings and another side serving.