Delicious Appetizer - Battered Cauliflower

Hello everybody, here I am ... working hard at being a wife, mom, choir member, church member, community member, and every single role I have... I do enjoy my "blogger" role as well! But I've had to make sure all my priorities are in order and there's so much to do that my blogging has taken a toll! I do need to keep it up though because it's my very way of expressing myself, it's a personal outlet... I just LOVE IT and love you all! (or like they say here in the South... "y'all")

Today I want to share with you a delicious, inexpensive and great way to make a delicious appetizer or side dish... in Spanish we call it "Coliflor lampreada" (which I guess the closest translation would be "battered cauliflower") ... My husband is not a big fan of cauliflower but he LOVES, LOVES, LOVES this dish! He eats the cauliflower florets like if they were chips when I make it like this... and last night (he had it for dinner) and even said: "I wish my mom could've tried this" (she passed away before I met him) so I know it's a huge compliment...

So here goes MY battered cauliflower recipe... it's very basic and you can get creative with it... adding some herbs to the batter, etc...

Here's how I make it:

Coliflor Lampreada

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cauliflower (steamed or boiled just until fork tender but not falling apart on its own)
• 2 eggs (divided)
• 1 1/2 cups of flour
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper 
• 2 tsp. salt
• About 2 cups of vegetable oil (I prefer Nutrioli soybean oil for this)

Directions:

• When the cauliflower has been cooked and cooled divide it in small florets, season them with some salt and black pepper.
• Mix flour, garlic powder, 1/2 tsp. black pepper and 2 tsp. salt together, coat the cauliflower florets with the flour mixture, set aside the "floured florets"
• In a mixer bowl, with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form, with the mixer still running on high add the egg yolks one at a time and keep mixing until you have a spongy looking yellow batter. 
• While the eggs are mixing pour the 2 cups of oil (or more if needed) in a wok or a big saucepan at medium/high heat until it's very, very hot (ready for deep frying)
• Add the cauliflower to the egg batter making sure the egg is perfectly covering all the cauliflower.
• With a  spoon carefully place the battered cauliflower florets in the oil (don't throw them or hot oil will splash) and just turn it to make sure all sides have a nicely golden color (you can do 4 or 5 florets at a time, don't do them all at once so you can handle them properly and make sure they all are evenly fried)
• Place the florets on paper towel to remove the excess of oil. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!!!

© Paloma K.

Going through my Thanksgiving Menu - Stuffed Celery Recipe!

Hi friends! I am sorry I haven't been posting everyday! If you've been here for the past few days/weeks you know I've been working on a "Thanksgiving series" sharing tips, my menu and I've gone through recipes too for items that would go great on any Thanksgiving table, Today I will put them all together (in the form of links) and I will also add some amazing recipes (from the past) that I've previously shared (and that you can also find in my Recipe Index)

Thanksgiving Made Simple I Thanksgiving Made Simple II Make your own Menu! Appetizers - Deviled Eggs! Appetizers/Stuffed Celery How To Carve a Turkey Cranberry/Orange Relish Apple Pie - "Leaves Crust" Apple Cake with Maple Cream Frosting Pumpkin/Walnut Cake with Caramel Cream Topping Fall Sugar Cookies! Pumpkin Brownies Pumpkin Spice Coffee

InLinkz.com

As you can see I've been working hard, trying to share with you my tips and recipes to make this Thanksgiving a Stress-Free one! Hoping you can just quickly find here recipes that will be successful and that will help you, as a host/hostess enjoy such a beautiful American Tradition!

Just like the "if mom isn't happy, nobody is" is true, let me tell you that if the host/hostess isn't happy, the guests won't enjoy as much either! So if your plan is to have a "Perfect Thanksgiving Dinner" start by relaxing, focusing on your blessings and creating an environment/atmosphere that you will enjoy too! If "anything" goes wrong! Don't stress about it! it's not the end of the world, it might actually become a funny memory if you stay calm! Plus, fretting won't really help at all!

Now... the second recipe in my "Thanksgiving Menu" in the Appetizers Section is "Stuffed Celery" this is another "Stress-free" recipe from my "Auntie Amy" ...  you can even have others help you make these! Do you have kids? Let them have fun with it! (they might even be tempted to eat their celery if they were involved in the process of making them) Or if you have family over staying with you, let them do it! It's near to impossible to get these wrong! and you'll have appetizers ready in no time! so that's the recipe I will now share with you:

Stuffed Celery

Ingredients:

1 Bunch of celery (about 4-5 stalks), trimmed, peeled (always peel your celery to remove the overly-fibrous parts) and cut into 3-4 " long pieces.
8 oz. cream cheese
4 oz. drained red pimientos (from a jar) - chopped
garlic powder to taste
1 tsp. horseradish
1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup of mayo
salt and pepper to taste (optional)

Blend all the ingredients together (except for the celery, of course) season with salt and pepper to taste if desired, stuff your celery, plate and Enjoy!

Super easy, isn't it? I hope you will enjoy it as much as my guests and I do!

Don't forget our Coffee Friday! We'll have a great Featured Blogger!

 © Paloma K.

ThuRsday - Reminder, gReatfulness and Recipe!

Hello everybody! As I mentioned I've been pretty busy, there are some things I just need to nip in the bud here, so hang in there with me as I find the time to "juggle it all" and make time for my blogging! But here I am... trying to keep you updated and bring you something special each time!

So... I wanted to remind you of tomorrow's Coffee Friday! It's going to be gooooood! We do have a special featured blogger that's prepared a delicious treat for all of us! She is creative and ... well... I don't want to give it all away... but you won't want to miss it! I hope I see my "regulars" here and then some new faces too linking-up to our Party!

Also, I wanted to share with you a little quote I found that Oprah Winfrey said; although, if you know me you know I am not an "Oprah" fan... actually I don't even think I've ever watched any of her shows... but anyway... I thought this quote was a great one:

"Be thankful for what you have and you will end up having more. But if you concentrate on what you don't have, you'll never, ever have enough." - Oprah Winfrey

So true! I am just trying to get us in the mood for Thanksgiving and just keep that in mind when that day arrives, Thankfulness is an "on-going" attitude, something that can't just bloom if we never planted and watered it! It's something we must feed every day so it can finally display and reveal itself in the form of fruits that bless those around us! -woah! I guess I was more inspired than I thought-

And now... in the same Thanksgiving spirit... and going through my Thanksgiving Menu I will start to share those recipes with you so you can add to your own menu or just try them whenever you feel like it... Let's start from the beginning, shall we?

Deviled Eggs!

Yes... deviled eggs, are a tradition on hubby's Family Thanksgiving Dinner! Auntie Amy (hubby's auntie) lived in Texas for a long while, so there's always some "Southern Flair" in her kitchen, and Thanksgiving is no exception! so she incorporated "Deviled Eggs" to the Menu and so did I to continue with hubby's family tradition:

I've never really taken a good picture of them because as soon as they're out... they just disappear!

Auntie Amy's Deviled Eggs

9 hard boiled eggs
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup salsa (Auntie Amy and I use Newman's Own All Natural Chunky Salsa)
2 tbsp. finely chopped green onions
2 tbsp. sour cream
salt and black pepper to taste
Cayenne Pepper (to taste)

Directions: Remove the yellow of the hard boiled eggs, mash it and mix it with the rest of the ingredients (except for the cayenne pepper), fill the whites of the eggs with the mixture and sprinkle with cayenne pepper if desired.

Now... I am sure all of you know how to make "hard boiled eggs" but just in case, I am going to share with you my method to make them AND most importantly to avoid the "grayish" look around the yellow of the egg, it just doesn't look pretty when it's not a perfect bright yellow and there's this gray/greenish look around it... so... here it is:

Place the eggs in a  medium sauce pan with enough cold water to cover them perfectly (or a bigger pan if you have too many eggs), turn on the heat to medium, as soon as the water reaches the roll-boil point set the timer to 5 minutes, after those 5 minutes immediately remove your eggs and place them in icy cold water. Remove the shell right after they're cold enough to handle. (crack on both ends and then roll them with your hand open over a hard smooth surface putting some pressure to completely "crush" the shell, now you can easily remove the shell without "damaging" the egg). Enjoy!

Buy beautiful deviled egg platter in Amazon

 © Paloma K.

Disclaimer: This link contains affiliate links

Mashed Tots - by Brand

Hello... just wanted to share today about a great "Movie Snack" that my friend and collaborator Brand (who recently started contributing with cooking ideas/tips and recipes  for this blog) sent to me by e-mail... So... here it is...

Mashed Tots
by Brand Schoolcraft

My wife made a wonderful dinner complete with Mashed Potatoes.  We had a movie at home planned later, so I made some movie snacks.  The left-over Mash rolled up into quarter size balls, by hand.  Creamy Mash makes better balls than dryer...fridge them for about 15 minutes (helps them stay together for the dredging process. Dredge...roll them in flour, one beat egg, pulverized bread crumbs (I like Ritz Crackers in the Pestle and Mortar).  Fry them in enough oil to float freely, the less oil you use, the smaller batches you fry.  Pull them out of the oil; golden brown (approx 2-3 min.), salt them immediately, toss them, salt again.   Then I added Michael Chiarello's recipe for toasted spice rub (which is a whole 'nother recipe, worth it.  I have kept it on hand for months now, still good.  Way better than any pre-canned spice mix.  But, your favorite canned spice will work also.)  Crunchy crust, creamy hot insides, uh,...yum.

Brand.
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So, there you have it... I think they are easy to make and a great way to use leftover mashed potatoes, don't you think? Enjoy!

© Paloma King

Stuffed Olives - Finished

So... here is the last Part of Brand's post and his Stuffed Olives... Enjoy! (Read the previous posts in case you didn't see the process of elaboration of these Olives... I think it is very clear we can "play" with the ingredients we have at hand... Brand is very clear sharing what he did without much detail but just giving us an idea on how we can be creative in our kitchen... Enjoy!

© Paloma K.

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"These are fried in peanut oil, flavor is an issue for me, peanut is the best.  My old friend James taught me that trick.  I also use a small deep fryer with a basket, it is just sooooooooo much easier to fry things with the right equipment.  They are pretty inexpensive, but peanut oil is NOT.  I recapture that stuff and strain it through a sieve and cheesecloth.  It stays good for a LONG, long time.  You aren't running a burger joint, the stuff is reusable.  Unless you fry fish, then it is done for.  One use.  Trust me.  One use.  I intended to bring these for my friends to try, but, I ate them all...and I never touched the leftovers in the fridge either.   No regrets."

©  Brand

Stuffed Olives - Dredge Line

So... If you've been reading our latest posts you now know that my friend Brand is collaborating with "The Coffee Shop" and sharing his culinary skills with us... Plus, he is adding his style and if you read about his previous dish (Potato Polpettes) you know he likes to add some "suspense" to it all and he kind of divides the posts in two (or more) parts and always leaves us wanting more! Today is no exception... so... the last post was the FIRST PART of his "Stuffed Olives" dish ... and this is the continuation ... So... there you go... I'll share what he sent me. ^Paloma.

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Post by Brand begins here:

This is a dredge line.  You take something prepared to cook and then prepare it to fry!  Now these contain a good amount of garlic... Garlic Tip:  Once you have a naked garlic clove ready to chop, slice it in half length ways, make sure there is no part in the center of the garlic that is turning green, or thinking of turning green.  If you find a bit that is greenish, simply dig it out and discard.  That junk is bitter like you wouldn't believe!  Then chop the rest, because its fine.  Now, don't be confused by the order of the dishes in the picture:  Olive in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs (I like pulverizing Ritz crackers, choose your own breadcrumb...EZ prep: buy a package of breadcrumbs)

© Brand

Stuffed Olives - Part I

You're staring into your fridge at the leftovers, not thrilled.  Maybe just a cold cut sandwich... sometimes, I know I have to eat the food we already have on hand, but, I still want to cook something with some style, something to look forward to eating. BIG flavors, packs a punch.  Sausage Garlic Stuffed Fried Olives!  There are only a couple of words left in my vocabulary that would make that title sound more appealing.  Novice level prep... get pre-pitted olives, minced garlic in the tiny jar, red pepper flakes from your last pizza night, and some Jimmy Dean (or other favorite) non-linked sausage.  That cuts half the prep time.  Advanced prep... don't cut corners, an olive pitter is about 7 bucks (better taste if you pit them, and only higher quality olives get shipped with pits), get sausage from a place that makes their own, fresh garlic is cheap and well,... fresh.

Let's stuff some olives

 If you want to see how this story ends tune in for tomorrow's post where we'll display the finished product!

© Brand S.