Fried Green Tomato Salad with Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette

I sure hope that you can still find green tomatoes at your grocery store. I probably should have dreamed up this recipe during the peak of tomato season, but luckily for me I was able to snatch up a few last week for a dinner I put together for my father's birthday. I kept this salad pretty simple: panko breaded fried green tomatoes, shredded Boston bibb lettuce and a Vidalia onion vinaigrette. Now some of you true Southerners may want to slap my wrists for not making the fried green tomatoes with cornmeal. If you're still set on the cornmeal, switch it out with the panko.

Fried Green Tomato Salad

(Printable Recipe)

2 green tomatoes, sliced

2 cups panko bread crumbs

2 egg

1 tablespoon milk

1 cup flour

Salt and pepper

1 head Boston bibb lettuce, shredded

Canola oil, for frying

1 recipe Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette (recipe below)

In one bowl, add the panko bread crumbs. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and the milk. In a third bowl, combine the flour with salt and pepper. Heat canola oil in fry pan over medium heat. Fry tomatoes, about 1-2 minutes per side or until they turn crisp and a light golden color. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate. Season with more salt if needed. 

To assemble, place one fried green tomato on each salad plate. Top with a little shredded lettuce and another fried green tomato. Repeat until you have three tomatoes on the plate. Drizzle salad with Vidalia onion vinaigrette. Serves 4.

Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette

Adapted from Coastal Living

1 medium Vidalia onion (or sweet onion)

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

1-1/2 teaspoons poppy seasons

Peel and roughly chop the onion. Place onions along with sugar, vinegar, dry mustard, sea salt and olive oil in a blender. Puree until emulsified. Remove from blender and stir in the poppy seeds. The dressing can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge.

Profiteroles with Lindt White Chocolate Ice Cream and Raspberry Coulis

Okay, let's get past the part where you read the title of this recipe and thought "that sounds too fancy and difficult to make." Trust me on this one! You have to make these because they are so simple and straight forward and so so good! Profiteroles are a type of choux ("shoo") pastry. Choux pastry is used to make these along with eclairs, cream puffs, crullers and beignets. I first made pâte à choux, or just choux, when I was enrolled in my first cooking class in college, Pastry. I could not believe my instructor was having us make these our very first week of class. This was after she told us our small class would be catering a private event for the university president. We ended up making miniature eclairs and small chicken salad sandwiches using the choux pastry. 

In a nutshell, here's how choux pastry works. You take milk, water and a pinch of salt and bring it to a boil on the stove. Then you remove it, dump in some flour and stir it around vigorously until it forms a ball of dough. Once cooled you put it in a mixing bowl and beat in eggs, one at a time, until a smooth and sticky dough forms. Then you pipe it out however you want on a baking sheet. The magic happens in the oven, actually. The piped dough gets baked first at a high temperature and then the oven temperature is decreased for the remainder of the time. Once baked the oven is turned off and the pastries just sit there to dry out a little for about 20 minutes. The finished product will result in hollow shells for filling with pastry cream, mousse, savory fillings or in this case, homemade ice cream. You can make a bunch of these and put them in the freezer, which especially comes in handy around the holidays for a quick appetizer or treat for a dessert platter later.

Profiteroles with White Chocolate Ice Cream and Raspberry Coulis

(Printable Recipe)

For the choux pastry:

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup water

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 eggs

On top of the stove in a medium saucepan over medium high heat, whisk together the milk, water, butter and salt. Once the butter has melted, remove from heat and add the flour and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until dough forms a ball. Cool for about 5 minutes. Transfer the dough to the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat in one egg at a time until a smooth and sticky dough forms. Let sit for 10 minutes until proceeding to next step.

Preheat the oven to 425. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a pastry bag, pipe out dough in dollops (about 1 tablespoon) on a baking sheet, leaving a couple inches of space. Bake for 15 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Continue to bake until golden brown, about 10-15 minutes. Turn off the oven and prick the side of each puff with a sharp knife. Keep in oven, with the door ajar for 20 minutes to allow them to dry out a bit. Remove and place on a cooling rack and store in an airtight container until ready to fill.

For the raspberry coulis:

2 cups frozen raspberries, defrosted (12 ounces)

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons water

Combine the raspberries, sugar and water in a food processor. Blend until pureed. If sauce is too thick, thin with a little more water. Push raspberry puree through a fine sieve to remove seeds.

For the Lindt white chocolate ice cream:

(Adapted from Amanda's Cookin')

9 ounces Lindt white chocolate, chopped

5 egg yolks, whisked together

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 cup whole milk

2/3 cup granulated sugar

Pinch sea salt

Place egg yolks in a medium bowl. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the whole milk, sugar and salt together and bring to a boil. Temper the egg yolks by pouring a little of the milk mixture into them while whisking. Once all the milk has been incorporated into the egg yolks, pour back into the saucepan and heat until the custard coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and pour the mixture through a sieve over the white chocolate. Stir to completely melt the chocolate. Pour in heavy cream and stir to combine. Chill 2-3 hours. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. 

To assemble:

Spread some of the raspberry coulis on a place. Using a serrated knife, slice open a profiterole. Fill with a scoop of ice cream and replace cap. Repeat. Dust with powdered sugar and garnish with fresh raspberries if desired. 

Tip: Pre-scoop ice cream and place on a plate. Keep in freezer until ready to assemble. This will help shave off assembly time and will help prevent melted ice cream!

Blackberry Lemonade Sparklers

How about sipping away the last of summer with Blackberry Lemonade Sparklers this weekend?  This tart twist on a favorite drink, lemonade, is perfect for a hot, humid night sitting on your front porch.

Blackberry Lemonade Sparklers

(Printable Recipe)

Adapted from Rachel Ray

3 cups blackberries

1-1/3 cups sugar

1/2 cups water

2 cups lemon juice (I use 1/2 cup concentrate and 1-1/2 cup freshly squeezed juice from 8 lemons)

Ice

Seltzer Water

Fresh Mint

In a medium bowl, mash berries and sugar. Let sit for 10 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup water. Strain into a large pitcher. Press with a spoon to extract any extra juice. Stir in lemon juice. Fill glasses halfway with ice. Pour the blackberry lemon mixture 1/3 of the way up the glass. Fill remainder of glass with seltzer water. Stir with straw. Top with fresh mint leaves. Serve immediately.

Graham Bars

If you want a healthy snack for your children after school or at any time for that matter, this recipe beats store-bought graham crackers. It has all the graham flavor, but resembles a blondie. The combination of stone ground whole wheat flour, milled flaxseed, honey and molasses results in a nutritious and filling bar. It is not complete without a cold glass of milk!

Graham Bars

(Printable Recipe)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1-1/4 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup milled flaxseed 

1/2 cup of sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup cold butter (cut in small pieces)

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons molasses

1/4 cup cold water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixer, mix together flours, sugar, ground flaxseed, baking powder, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Add the cold butter and mix with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the honey, molasses, water, and vanilla. Mix until the dough can come together into a ball. Roll the dough out between two sheets of waxed paper, about 1/2-inch thick. Place on a cookie sheet and score to make 3-inch squares. Using a fork, prick each square three times. Bake 15 minutes and cool in the pan. Makes 12 bars.

Lunch in 5 Minutes: Tuna in an Avocado

I don't think a recipe is needed for this one. One avocado + one can of tuna (or leftover grilled tuna) will serve two people. Dress your tuna how you like it (capers, lemon, onion, mayo, etc.) and simply spoon it in the avocado. You won't even miss the bread, I promise!