Game Day Baked Wings & Blue Cheese Dressing

 

My husband is a sports guy, through and through.  He lives, eats and breathes sports.  Baseball, Hockey, Basketball...and (ugh) Football.  There are a lot of women out there who like sports. Unfortunately, I am not one of them.  I kind of like Baseball.  I can get through a quarter or two of Basketball.  I can tolerate Hockey (from the other room).  But I hate, hate, hate football.  HATE IT.  Every Sunday is a waste of a day.  I couldn't get my husband off the couch if I set it on fire.  There's the pre-pre-game, where they discuss what they're going to talk about the during the pre-game.  Then the pre-game, where they discuss who they think is going to win, and stats and a bunch of other crap I don't care about.  Then FOURTEEN games. (FOURTEEN OF THEM!!)  Then the post-game, where they discuss every single highlight of every single game.  Then the post-post-game where they discuss the highlights of the post-game coverage.  I just can't.  I dread football season like you couldn't imagine.
 
Anyway, during football season, I busy myself in the kitchen.  I'm making food for my husband and his friends so he won't force me to watch the games with him.  It's a win/win for everyone.  So this Sunday, I begrudgingly kicked off football season with one of my favorite game-day recipes.  This recipe is for my baked version, which is healthier than the fried version - well, as healthy as chicken wings can be.  If my husband is going to eat junk food all Sunday, every Sunday, I'm going to try to give him the healthiest things I can.  And did I mention they're super easy?
 

(I realized after I took this pic that I grabbed Frank's Red Hot Wing Sauce at the store. 

I had some Frank's Regular on hand and switched to that but forgot to snap a new pic)

Game Day Baked Wings
 
2 lbs. Chicken Wings (cut at the joint, with weird little wing-tip removed)
2/3 c. of Hot Sauce (I like Frank's, but you could use another)
8 Tbsp. Margarine
2 (heaping) Tsp. Crushed or Pureed Garlic
Salt & Pepper to taste

• Preheat oven to 435°.  Arrange wings, skin side up, on a rack that fits within a sheet pan.  The wings need to drain some of their fat so they get crispy.  You don't want them sitting in a puddle of oil.

• Salt and pepper the wings liberally.
• Bake them for 20-30 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 160° and the outside is crispy and golden brown.  Turn them over after about 20 minutes to crisp up the other side.  You can certainly leave them in longer if you want a crispier skin.  It's very hard to over cook or dry out wings because of their high fat content.
• While the wings are baking, start preparing your wing sauce.  In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, melt margarine oven medium heat.  (Just a side note: I prefer margarine because it blends better with the hot sauce and doesn't separate like butter can.  You can absolutely use butter or even a butter substitute if you prefer).  You can also dial back the margarine a little for a spicier sauce.

 

• When the butter has just melted add the garlic.  Allow it to cook in the hot butter for 1-2 minutes.
• Add the hot sauce and salt, and whisk until completely blended.  Allow to cool slightly.

• When wings are ready, remove from the oven and let them cool for 3-5 minutes.  Pour a little sauce in the bottom of a mixing bowl and add a portion of wings.  Toss to coat.  Serve immediately. 

• When I'm cooking for a crowd, I'll serve with celery & carrot sticks and Blue Cheese Dressing.  (Recipe below).  This weekend it was just me and my husband and my grocery store didn't have buttermilk in stock, so I skipped the dressing. But it is a delicious accompaniment to the wings.

Blue Cheese Dressing

4 oz. Blue Cheese or Gorgonzola
1/3 c. Sour Cream
1/3 c. Buttermilk
1/4 c. Mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. White or White Wine Vinegar
1 Pinch of Sugar
Freshly Ground Black Pepper and Salt to taste

Mash the Blue Cheese or Gorgonzola with a fork, inside a mixing bowl.  Add the Sour Cream, Buttermilk, Mayo, Vinegar, Sugar, Salt and Pepper.  Combine well.  Serve or store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.


Here is what was left after my husband's third helping...

Enjoy!

xoxo Kristen

P.S.  The wings and sauce are gluten free!  The dressing is not.

Celiac Disease Can Suck It

So, I'm sure you're all wondering about the title of this post.  I'll get to that.  First, I'd like to apologize for my unintentional hiatus.  I know you've all been waiting with bated breath for my next blog post, but sometimes life, and all its nonsense, has a habit of getting in the way.  I was recently diagnosed with Celiac Disease and it turned my entire world upside down.  My diagnosis consumed every waking moment of my life.  I get it.  It's not the worst diagnosis someone can receive.  I certainly know there are people out there with much more serious illnesses.  But it was pretty rough for me.  

 

To put it in perspective, as I've mentioned in previous posts, I am a die hard foodie.  I love to cook.  I love to eat.  My life pretty much revolves around food.  Family time, holidays, celebrations, almost any occasion I can think of involves food, and usually, me preparing said food.  When I found out I had Celiac it was almost like a small part of me died.  I felt like I would never enjoy food again.  I was incredibly depressed and the finality of knowing I can NEVER eat gluten again made me angry and scared. I know, that sounds so dramatic, but it's true.  I first went through the denial stage.  I flat-out refused to go gluten free.  REFUSED.  I didn't want give up the foods I loved so much - bread, pasta, pizza...  I also didn't want to impose this burden on my family.  They didn't deserve to be deprived because of my illness.  It was all too much to bear.  At the urging of my doctor and my husband, I finally decided to suck it up and just do it.  The health complications associated with long-term Celiac Disease are scary enough that I thought it at least deserved a chance.  I did it and I'm still doing it. I wish I could be all Polly Positive and say "Oh, being gluten free is great!  I feel awesome and it's so easy!  Gluten free choices are delicious and I don't miss regular bread at all!"  Truth is, this sucks.  It really sucks. But...it is what it is.  I don't want to die because I couldn't give up bread.

I've been quietly mourning the loss of gluten from my diet but the biggest problem for me is, before I started on this blogging endeavor, I had compiled recipes, food tips, and all kinds wonderful food related things.  I had a whole holiday menu planned for the fall and winter that I couldn't wait to prepare and photograph - and of course eat.  Now, 90% of those planned recipes are out the window.  I had to make a decision as to what to do about this blog.  I was literally at a loss for words.  Do I carry on and pretend like I don't have Celiac?  Prepare all those delicious things I can't eat?  Or do I take everyone on this journey with me?  Essentially, I have to learn how to cook all over again.  That's no easy task. So I've decided on a compromise.  When possible, I'm going to give you my original recipes with the gluten-free equivalent.  Or give you some of my regular ol' recipes (which just so happen to be gluten free) that were already part of my repertoire.  Let's face it, I'm not an authority on Gluten Free cooking so I have to do some research before including ingredients in recipes.  Bear with me during this process.  I've been educating myself as much as possible over the last few weeks and I'm feeling more confident, but I still have a long way to go.  I still want to eat delicious food.  I still want to serve my family food they can enjoy.  And I certainly want to provide you, my readers, with the best information possible.  I'm not trying to be the Gluten-Free Guru, I fully intend to still be me - witty and charming as always.  And I mean that in the most humble way possible.

I'll be honest, since going gluten free, I do feel better.  I can get through a meal, enjoy it and feel satisfied instead of sick.  It's a feeling I haven't experienced in years.  Many of my symptoms have subsided. And for all of Celiac Disease's down sides, feeling better and making changes for my health are definitely a few of the ups. I'm getting through it and making the best of it.  It's still summer, so I'm still grilling and eating fresh, seasonal produce, and that has eased the transition for me. However, I fear the fall and winter.  My cookie-baking, stew-making, pasta-preparing, gravy-laden winter menu is going to be the true test for me.  

So please, stick around.  Even if you're not gluten free.  There will be plenty of crafts, cleaning tips, parenting stuff and recipes of the regular and gluten free variety.  It's back to business as usual here at Stumbling Through Suburbia.  Thanks for your patience.

xoxo Kristen

P.S.  Don't forget to 'Like' Stumbling Through Suburbia on Facebook for my Tip of the Day.  There is a lot of good info there, so don't miss out!

Rosemary Lemon Grilled Chicken

Continuing on the theme of my favorite summertime cooking method - grilling(!!), here's another tasty recipe. This is one my favorite, quick and easy, weeknight meals.  It literally takes about 6 minutes to put together and the payoff is it tastes like it took all day to prepare.  It's reminiscent of the chicken you might find in a really fabulous Chicken Gyro, but better.  In my opinion.  And of course I'm biased.  But my husband agrees and that's good enough for me.  So on to the deliciousness!

 

Rosemary Lemon Grilled Chicken

Prep time 6-8 minutes, Marinate time 20 minutes to overnight.

Ingredients:

1-2 lbs. Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast, trimmed

1 c. Olive Oil

2-3 Lemons, for zesting & juicing

2-3 Sprigs of Fresh Rosemary (1 Tbsp. dried)

2 tsp. dried Oregano

2 tsp. Salt

4-5 Cloves Garlic, finely minced

Fresh Ground Black Pepper, to taste

2 Tbsp. Honey

1.  This is a 'chop and drop' kind of recipe, and can be made all in one cup.  The less dishes the better!  Pour Olive Oil into a measuring cup. 

2.  Zest two entire lemons into cup.  Cut and juice your lemons. Tip: Roll your lemons on the counter with some pressure.  This breaks up the pulp and makes juicing them easier.  If your lemons are a little past their prime and dry, you can microwave a whole lemon for 5-10 seconds to get the juices flowing again.  (I like lemon zest.  I use it a lot and always have fresh lemons on hand.  If you don't have fresh lemons, you can very easily skip the zest and use lemon juice from a bottle, about 1/4 c.)

3.  Add your chopped garlic, oregano, salt and pepper.  Then pull your rosemary from its stem, chop it as finely as possible and add to the mix.  

 

4.  Give it a good mix and taste it.  This is your chance to adjust the taste to your liking.  It should taste strong, and kind of sour, but we'll fix that sourness later.  

 

 

 

5.  Trim your chicken if you need to, add it to a gallon size zip-top bag, and add half the marinade. Reserve the other half of the marinade, adding the honey and refrigerate. The honey cuts the sour taste and helps develop really nice caramelizationwhen you grill it.  You can marinate the chicken anywhere from 20 minutes to overnight, but I wouldn't let it go for more than 18 hours. 

 

 

6.  Now you're ready to grill!  Preheat your grill on medium heat.  Remove chicken from the bag to the grill.  Grill on both sides for approx. 6 minutes, depending on the thickness of your chicken, basting occasionally with reserved marinade.  Chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165°. No thermometer?  Pierce the thickest part of breast, when juices run clear, it's done.

 

8.  Let chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving.  I grilled some fresh ears of corn from the farmer's market on the top rack of my grill while I was grilling the chicken.  I rolled it in melted butter and salt and peppered it.  

 

Now serve it and feel like a rock star when when everyone tells you how delicious it is!  It's the perfect summertime meal!

xoxo Kristen

A New Way to Clean Your Stove!

I do a lot of cooking.  A LOT.  And try as I might, my stove is impossible to keep clean.  I've instituted a "Wipe-Down" policy in my kitchen meaning, I never leave the stove filthy and give it a quick surface cleaning before shutting things down for the night.  However, if I'm being honest, I don't deep clean it as often as I should.  And inevitably, grease and grime build up, cook on and it leaves my stove looking pretty unsavory.  Like it looks here:

Don't judge me.  Please. I know it's disgusting, and I would never, EVER show my stove this dirty to anyone, unless, of course, it was for the sake of science.

I have tried everything to clean my stove.  Steel wool, scouring powders, running it through the dishwasher on the sanitize setting, Magic Erasers and good, ol' fashioned elbow grease.  Nothing seemed to get it completely clean and there was always grease lurking in the creases and crevices.  It drove me crazy!

 

Then one day I came upon an interesting pin on Pinterest. (I am obsessed with Pinterest! But that's a post for another day.)  The original pin, which can be found here, claimed that you can clean the grates and drip pans on your stove with ammonia, and nothing else.  I was skeptical, but I figured I had already tried everything else I could think of, with less than fantastic results, so it was worth a try.

I had all the supplies needed on hand, and one sunny afternoon, I set out to see if it really worked or if it was all smoke and mirrors.

 

The pin claims that all the grease and grime is dissolved by the fumes of the ammonia.  So I loaded my stove drip pans and grates into zip-top bags.  I even threw those round burner-cover thingies in there for good measure.

I added approximately 1/4 cup (or maybe less) of ammonia to each bag, and zipped them closed.  The idea is not to soak them in the ammonia, but to put enough in to produce fumes.

 

I placed the zip-top bags on a cookie sheet and placed them out in the sun to do their thing.  They really need to be put outside, because the fumes, no matter how tightly they're sealed, are really strong.  I mean headache strong.  Do NOT attempt to keep them inside. 

I let them sit overnight.  By the next morning, I noticed one of my bags had burst open and all of the other bags had swelled from the fumes. I also noticed there was a good amount of sludge sitting at the bottom of each bag. 

I opened all of the bags outside to keep the fumes from escaping into my kitchen, and then brought them inside.  I removed everything from the bags into the kitchen sink and gave them a thorough rinse.  I was completely shocked.  They greasy film that had been coating everything for the last couple of years was gone and all the surfaces felt squeaky clean.

There were a couple of spots that required a quick scrubbing with a sponge, but for the most part, everything simply rinsed off.  Are you kidding me?!  How had I never heard of this before??  Why do they not teach this cleaning method in schools?  This is the kind of thing people need to know in order to be successful at life.  God bless the woman who figured this out.  She should be a guru, because look at the finished result.

 

Look at it!!  I can see my reflection for goodness sake.

 

After this discovery, I starting cleaning everything I could think of this way.  The racks from my oven and toaster oven, my barbecue grill grates, even the inside of my oven.  For the oven racks and barbecue grill grates, I used a heavy duty garbage bag and tied the top with the tightest knot I could manage and repeated the same process and rinsed it off with the hose.  It worked just as well.  For the oven, I placed a small bowl with about a cup of ammonia on the floor of the oven and the next morning, the grease had melted off the walls and door and pooled at the bottom of the oven.  (If your planning on trying the oven method, open the windows or turn on the ventilation in your kitchen and make yourself scarce for a few hours.  The smell is pretty strong.)

I wish I had pictures of the oven and barbecue grill grates because the transformation was mind-blowing.  I wish I could put a keg of ammonia in the middle of my house and hose everything off after the fumes did their thing. That's how well this works.  Pinterest saves the day!  Although, it is worth mentioning, I believe this method is meant for metal objects and possibly glass.  I also probably wouldn't use this on anything made of copper or coated with copper.

 

Speaking of Pinterest, you will notice I have finally added 'Pin It' buttons to this blog.  So go ahead and pin to your heart's content!  If you don't have Pinterest, go get an account.  It's a fabulous way to waste an entire evening.  

Disclaimer:  If you become addicted to Pinterest, don't come crying back to me.  Consider yourself warned.

 

Now go clean your stove and let me know how it turns out!

xoxo Kristen

The Best Relationship Advice I Ever Got

It all started one stiflingly hot, summer day at the DMV.  It was a miserably hot day, much like the weather we've been experiencing this week in New York.  The DMV was crowded with hot, cranky, sweaty people who didn't want to be there, and I was among the crankiest.  I was there to renew my driver's license and to take a new picture.  I was annoyed that all my makeup had melted off, my hair had gone limp and I probably couldn't manage a smile if you handed me an armful of adorable puppies.  I knew my picture was going to disastrous.  So I huffed and puffed and grew even more annoyed as the line crawled ever more slowly.

Behind me in line was a little old woman, who was patiently shuffling right along with the rest of us. Looking cool as a cucumber, with not a care in the world.  She must have sensed my annoyance and looked up to me, patted my arm and said, 'Don't worry dear, we'll get there soon enough.'  I managed a small smile and decided to strike up a conversation to pass the time.  I asked what had brought her to the DMV.  I was genuinely curious if, at her advanced age, she was still driving.  She said she was waiting in line for her husband who had a hip replacement a few weeks ago and couldn't stand for long periods of time.  She motioned to her husband that was sitting on a bench smiling, watching her intently.  He looked positively ancient, and radiantly happy.  She said he was here to retire his license.  He was nearly 85 and his eyes and reflexes weren't what they used to be.  She beamed as she spoke of him and glanced at him occasionally with nothing but love and admiration in her eyes.  It warmed my heart just a little, and my crankiness began to dissipate.  I asked how long they had been married as I marveled at the fact they were still obviously very much in love.  She said the had just celebrated their 65th Wedding Anniversary a couple of months ago and she proudly stated she has loved him every day of those 65 years.  I congratulated her and asked her what the secret was to such a long, happy marriage.  She grabbed my arm to draw me closer and semi-whispered in my ear, 'You need to feed 'em, f*ck 'em, and let a man be a man.  That's the secret.'  I pulled away and laughed a genuine laugh.  To hear such a sweet, little old woman drop the f-bomb in public caught me off guard.  A few bystanders who managed to hear her stage whisper also joined in the laughter.  She smiled and relished in the fact that she had shocked me with her words.

After my laughter subsided, I started to think about the meaning of her advice, besides its initial shock value.  The first two pieces of advice, of course, made sense to me.  For as long as I could remember, I've always heard the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.  And the other, well that just made good sense.  However, I wasn't exactly sure what she meant by 'letting a man be a man.'  So I asked her to elaborate.  She then went on to explain, if you want someone to shop with, go to the beauty parlor with, cook with, do laundry with, etc, then go get some girlfriends.  That's not what men are for.  If you want a protector, someone with strength and respect for you, if you want a man to act like a man, then you need to treat him like one.  Let him go out with is friends, let him watch sports, let him do man things. She went on to explain she was very young when she got married and she had no idea what marriage was about and what role she was supposed to play.  She was excited to have someone accompany her on daily tasks and tried to turn him into one of her girlfriends.  After the first two years, after the newness and excitement of marriage wore off, they began to fight constantly.  He would refuse to go to the beauty parlor and dress shopping with her.  She said it would hurt her feelings that he didn't want to spend time with her until one day she asked him why he never wanted to go with her anywhere.  He simply said, ' Because I'm a man.  That's not what men do.  Sometimes I just want to sit home and listen to the game on the radio and putter around the garage fixing things.  I don't want to go dress shopping, I don't want to be your friend. I want to be your husband.'   She then said it all immediately made sense to her.  He was right.  She had tons of woman-friends who would be more than happy to do all those things with her, but only one husband.  And ever since that day, their marriage had been picture perfect.

We soon reached the end of the line and I thanked her for talking with me and helping pass the time.  As we parted ways, she tipped me a wink and said, 'Remember my words dear, if you remember nothing else.  Trust me, that advice will serve you well.'  That was about 10 years ago when I was single.  And over the years, her advices has stuck with me.  I've always tried to put into practice letting a man be a man.  There are times I find myself trying to convince my husband to come shopping with me or to keep me company when I get my nails done.  When he seems less than receptive, those words of advice come flooding back to me and I let it go.

We do plenty of things together, and a little separation has does our relationship and marriage a world of good.  What I've taken away from it is finding a balance.  A balance where I can enjoy the things that make me uniquely me as a woman, and allowing my husband to do the things he enjoys that makes him uniquely a man.  Now this advice probably isn't for everyone.  Some men enjoy shopping with their wives, and some women enjoy watching sports, etc.  Some couples can spend every moment of every day together without incident. Things are very different now as compared to that little old woman's time, but it is good advice nonetheless.  While the concept may be a little old fashioned in this day and age, I think it's good to celebrate our individuality as men and women and have our own roles in a relationship.

I'm no relationship expert by any means, but I do feel that woman's sage advice has served me well over the years.  My hope is that someone who reads this may benefit from it as well.

xoxo Kristen

My Wedding Bouquet, on Display

My husband and I got married in a small, intimate ceremony at our town court house.  At our age, a story-book romance was infinitely more important that a story-book wedding and I opted for cozy gathering with close friends and family rather than a full-blown soiree.  It was a decision that was easy for us - spending tens of thousands of dollars on a wedding that only lasted a few hours, or saving tens of thousands of dollars for the purchase of our dream home.  It was a no-brainer.  I didn't need to be a princess for a day, if you've found the right person as I have, you should feel like a princess every day.

Long Island weddings are notoriously expensive and we would've had to save for years to even have a mediocre wedding.  We just wanted to get married and we didn't want to spend a lot of money to do it.  However, the morning of my wedding I awoke and realized no matter how economical we were trying to be with this wedding, I didn't want to be a bride without a bouquet.  It just didn't feel right. I've always loved flowers and the absence of them at my wedding was something I knew I would regret.  I headed to the florist around the corner from my house a few hours before my wedding, and the wonderful woman at the florist put together a beautiful bouquet for me in record time.  It was simple and classic and exactly what I wanted. She generously completed my request with a complimentary boutonniere for my husband and a beautiful, dainty corsage for Moo. She was so kind and gracious - that bouquet wound up being one of my fondest memories of the day, besides my vows, of course.

 

After the wedding, I left the bouquet on the table in my front foyer, unsure of what I wanted to do with it.  For months, I shuffled it from one room to another in an effort to keep it intact and out of harms way.  The more I shuffled it, the more it deteriorated.  The flowers were now dry and crumbly, but I refused to part with that bouquet. It held a great deal of sentimental value because it was the one and only thing I splurged on for myself for my wedding.

One day, as I was looking for something in the attic, I came across a box of glass 'eggs' that my mother had used as favors at her wedding.  That box of beautiful, delicate eggs had endured nearly 5 decades of storage and two huge moves, and every single one was perfectly unscathed.  Then inspiration hit me!  These glass eggs had survived all these years for a reason and I knew exactly what I was going to do with my bouquet.

I gathered all my supplies and set out to preserve my bouquet.

 

First I disassembled my bouquet, carefully cutting the buds from their stems.  I then attempted to salvage as much of the baby's breath as I could, taking only the pieces that still had flowers.

 

Then I began to arrange.

And re-arrange.  And arrange some more until I was pleased that all the buds were facing outward and it looked good from almost any angle.
 

 

All in all, I'm very happy with the way it turned out.  I may still embellish the outside of the egg, but I have yet to find exactly what I want to complete it.

It is proudly displayed in our bedroom, atop a chest of drawers and I smile every time I see it.  It reminds me of one of the happiest days of my life, and of the generosity and graciousness of a stranger who helped make my wedding day even more memorable.
 

 

I also recently began to keep flowers from the random flower arrangements and bouquets that my husband gives me.  Once the flowers have passed their prime, I hate just throwing them out like they never existed.  So I'll grab a flower from the arrangement, hang it upside down for a few days and cut it from it's stem.  I'll place it in the bowl to be admired for years to come.  It's a little bowl of happy memories.

 

I hope either of these simple ideas inspires you to preserve a memory, or to go out and create a memory worth preserving.

(*A quick shout-out to the amazing Town Florist, to whom I owe a debt of gratitude.  If you live in the area, give them a visit!)

xoxo Kristen

Easy Zucchini Cakes

 

A couple of years ago, when I first moved from the city to the 'burbs, I had the pleasure of living next door to a lovely elderly couple.  I was 9 months pregnant with Moo when I moved and they were just about the best neighbors I could asked for.  After Moo arrived, they would stop by to check on me, bringing trays of food, flowers and gifts for the baby.  It made the transition from city living to my new, lonely suburban existence that much more tolerable.  Besides being stellar neighbors, they were prolific gardeners.  Now I'm not talking they had a few tomato plants in the back yard, they quite literally had a full blown farm going on.  From figs trees, to raspberry bushes, to tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, peas, squash, watermelons, pumpkins and...zucchini.  Oooh, the zucchini. They were like nothing I had ever seen before.  Giant, pristine, unblemished, organic beauties that they harvested every day by the wheel barrel full. 

With such a plentiful harvest every summer, I would often reap the benefits of their hard labor and wake up to bushels of raspberries in a bag hanging from my front door knob.  Baskets of tomatoes on my door mat.  And dozens of zucchini in my mailbox. Every. Single. Day.  It was wonderful and I was always appreciative.  But what does one do with dozens of zucchini daily?  I baked zucchini bread, roasted it, grilled it, sauteed it, blanched it, froze it...after a while, I was a little zucchini-ed out.  But I hated to see all of those beautiful fruits (and yes, they are fruits!) go to waste.  So I decided to start experimenting.  I had never actually eaten a zucchini cake before, but I had heard of them and had come across recipes now and again, but I wasn't exactly sure what they were supposed to taste like.  So using a very basic recipe I found online as a guideline, I set out to make the perfect zucchini cakes.  And I'm pretty sure, after a lot of trial and error, I nailed it.  You be the judge. 

Easy Zucchini Cakes

Makes about 12 large cakes, 2 per serving.

Here's what you'll need:

• 2 Medium Zucchini
• 3  Eggs, beaten
• 1/2 c. Seasoned Bread Crumbs
• 3/4 c. Kellogg's ™ Corn Flake Crumbs
• 2 Tbsp. Minced Garlic
• 1 Tsp. Dill (fresh or dried)
• 1  Lemon to zest
• Salt & Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste
• Canola Oil

Special Equipment Needed:

• A Mandolin equipped with a julienne blade or a large holed cheese grater

1. Wash and dry zucchini thoroughly.  Cut off the round ends and leave the tops on.  They act like as a little handle and make holding the zucchini easier.  Julienne your zucchini.  If you don't have a mandolin with a Julienne blade, a cheese grater works just as well.  I like my zucchini a little chunkier in this recipe and the mandolin works well.

 

2.  Julienne/grate your zucchini until you have a lovely little pile like this:

3.  Combine seasoned bread crumbs with the Corn Flake Crumbs.  (Can we talk about Corn Flake Crumbs for a moment?  They are spectacular. I promise.  They are one of my best kept cooking secrets and it the thing that makes people ask, 'How did you get this so crunchy?'  Corn Flake Crumbs are how.  Once you purchase them and try them, you will wonder how you ever cooked without them before.  More on those later.)  Add your dill, salt, pepper and couple of good zests of the lemon and mix well.  I zested almost an entire lemon for this recipe.  Remember use only the yellow of the lemon, and avoid the white pith!

4.  Take your pile of zucchini and place in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze.  Then squeeze some more.  You want to get as much moisture out of it as possible.  If not, your cakes are going to be all soupy and gross and no one wants that.  These were a little on the dry side, but its worth squeezing just in case.

5.  Gently combine zucchini, garlic and eggs in a separate bowl from the bread crumb mixture.  We aren't going to combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients until the very last possible minute.  I think this makes for a crispier cake that's less like an omelet and more like a potato pancake or latke.

 

 

6.  Cover the bottom of your frying pan with canola oil.  You want enough that its about 1/4" deep.  Turn on medium high heat.  Let the pan get hot, just until the oil starts to shimmer.

7.  Fold wet ingredients with dry ingredients, taking care not to break up the zucchini too much in the process.

 

Now grab a large tablespoon or ice cream scooper if you have one. Scoop a good sized portion into the frying pan until your pan is full. Press each ball down with a spatula to flatten.

 

8.  Give your cakes some room in the pan, you don't want to crowd them.  Brown on both sides. Aprrox. 3 minutes per side. Use your judgement. You want them golden brown.

9.   If you notice the oil is getting low, feel free to add some more in between batches. Just make sure you allow it to heat thoroughly before adding your next batch. 

10.  Transfer finished cakes to a paper towel lined plate to drain or, if you're not serving them immediately, put them on a cookie sheet in 200° oven to keep them warm like I did here:

11.  Repeat the whole cooking process until you're out of batter.  Then they're ready to serve!  Garnish with some kosher salt and chopped green onion.  Now pay attention, this is very important.  Serve with sour cream on the side.  There is something about the sour cream that transforms the flavor and makes the taste of the lemon zest and dill really pop.  You'll see what I mean.

Variations:  I've been known to throw a handful of Parmesan cheese in the mix.  My husband isn't a fan of parm, and it isn't really necessary to the recipe, but it does add a nice cheesy, nutty note to the dish.

Now back to those Kellogg's Corn Flake Crumbs.  This is what they look like:

You can find them next to the Shake 'n Bake and bread crumbs in your local grocery store.  I use them for breading, desserts, crumb toppings, cookies and so much more.  It's one of the most used ingredients in my kitchen and no one knows about them.  Get a box, you won't be disappointed.

I hope you enjoy today's recipe.  I love to hear your feedback!  Let me know how they turned out for you!

xoxo Kristen