Enough Thanksgiving Leftovers!

 I love Thanksgiving as much as the next girl. I know people always talk about, look forward to and consume Thanksgiving leftovers. I'm not much of a leftover lover, but I did my duty and had them for supper last night, again for lunch today but I couldn't go for #3. So, I made CALAMARI.

Have I ever made calamari?  Hell no!  Have you? I was shocked when I discovered squid in the nearby Food Lion. I had to buy it. They stayed in the freezer for awhile because I was duly intimidated. But you know what? They are so simple to cook, I could teach a chimp to do it.  If only I had a chimp, which I don't.

Draining excess water from packaging

Sliced into rings

Taking a soak in milk for about 30 minutes

You thaw them under refrigeration. When I opened them up, I drained them before I sliced into rings. Then, I soaked them in milk for about 30 minutes. I've read some recipes that state you can soak up to 4 hours, if you want/need to.

I made my dredge with flour, 3 tsp paprika, 1 tsp kosher salt, a little cayenne and fresh ground black pepper. Once I drained the calamari from the milk, I just tossed them around in my seasoned flour. I don't own a deep fryer, so I just mixed some vegetable oil and Crisco and fried the squid in a saucepan on my stovetop. Since they are so small and delicate, you only have to cook them 30-40 seconds, or until they look right to you. 

I am feeling so accomplished! I guess that's not saying much since I just told you how ridiculously easy this is. Nonetheless, I had calamari in my own home, prepared by me.  Oh yeah, I made a simple lemon aioli as well. 

Enjoy your Thanksgiving leftovers. Some suggestions from my past: turkey enchiladas, turkey taco soup, and turkey paninis. Have fun!

Semi-Homemade Pizza Tonight

 

Remember that show? Sandra Lee with her semi-homemade dinners?  I loved it, except for her "table scapes." They were all inspired by Holly Hobby or something. 

Anyway...I am a pizza fanatic. New York, Detroit, thin crust, veggie, meat lovers, weird combos, you name it. While I love going out for a cheesy heart attack pie as much as the next guy, sometimes just making one at home for a quick dinner is what the doctor ordered.

So, yesterday I discovered I had half of a chicken breast half. What can you do with that? I decided on BBQ pizza. I've been known to say that I really don't think chicken has any place on a pizza, but I can make exceptions from time to time. 

The semi-homemade part is a pre-baked pizza crust. Most stores carry Boboli. These are good, but I prefer Mama Mary's Thin & Crispy. A) they are thin & crispy B) they come in a 2-pack and C) they cost less than Boboli. Here's what I did:

Ready for the oven

Ingredients

3 oz (or so) chicken breast

BBQ sauce of your choice

shredded cheddar mixed with shredded monterrey jack

3 slices store-bought fully cooked bacon, chopped

red onion, thinly sliced

fresh cilantro

1.  Cook chicken however you like then shred it. Mix it with a little of your bbq sauce.

2.  Cover your crust with a bbq sauce. Bottled bbq sauces tend to be rather sweet, so I use a thin coat here so that the sauce isn't overwhelming.

3.  Top with a mixture of cheddar & monterrey jack.

4.  Top that with your shredded chicken, bacon and onion.

Right out of the oven. Time for finishing touches

5.  Bake at 425 for about 10 minutes. Top with roughly chopped fresh cilantro and give it a drizzle of bbq sauce. 

Ready to eat!

So many of us are in need of quick weeknight dinners, especially on those days of after-school soccer, ballet, or karate practices. Keep some of these pizza crusts in your pantry, and whip up your own pie in no time. Remember, it's like my "kitchen sink" fried rice: try out any combo of ingredients that you find in your kitchen.

Pandemic Eats

 

 

The great COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, 2021...

It's been forever since I've written here. You would think after the world coming to a grinding halt, then slowly reopening, reawakening, rejoining society that I'd have nothing but time to write. But, living in these weird times has been harder than one might think. Many people in this country, and around the world for that matter, have lost jobs. They have lost family members and friends, lost retirement savings, lost hope. Many have gained anxiety, depression, fear of being sick. Many have been lined up at community food banks, even people who never thought they would be there. Thanks to schools providing meals to kids, selfless donations, food banks, churches and simply neighbors helping neighbors, people have been able to eat.

Living in isolation may have one silver lining. People are cooking again. We all know cooking at home is the way to go. Some people may think they aren't very good at it, but they've had lots of time to practice now. Cooking at home is less expensive than eating out or fast food. Since restaurants were almost made extinct, we all pitched in to support them by ordering take out whenever feasible. We were glad to do it. But, people are still cooking again. When you do it yourself, you can control ingredients, salt, fat, cost and variety. That American families have returned to home cooking and the dinner table is a good, accidental side effect of the pandemic.

Despite all that has been lost, the remaining challenges ahead and the healing that needs to be done, we must look for the positives and embrace them. Get your cast iron skillet out and Bon Appetit friends!