Rediscovering Tater Tots

 Few American foods are as beloved as Tater Tots. This Ore Ida brand is beloved and served all over , from  cheesy dishes at fast food chains to a staple at college cafeterias.They're a fun , crunchy bite that's easy to make.

I 've been craving these for a while and thought they 'd go well with Gardein's Vegan fish filets.

What I like about them is that they're more bite sized than fries and fry up nicely in the air fryer. The extra crispy only take a total of ten minutes in the air fried, cooked at 400 degrees Farenheir,

They were a bit tinier than what I remembered.(is Ore Ida shrinking them?)but they were still crunchy and good. They were perfect with ketchup but I could have dipped them in barbecue sauce too. Tater tots are also great appetizers and I may make them for my next barbecue. You can turn them into nachos too, with  layer s of cheese and jalapenos. These can make for good party dishes however there's nothing like eating the little bites on their own Each bite bursts with a rich potato flavor and  it seems like blasphemy to cover up that taste.

Rediscover Tater Tots if  you haven't already. They're a great side dish but try them as an appetizer or an hors'douevre. What perfect little gems!!

Monday Scavenging

 Mondays are always hard. not only are they the beiniing of a grueling workweek, they sometimes yield up nothing for dinner especially in the summer.The fridge has been raided over the weekend. There's nothing to eat . What to do ? Scavenge through the shelves. You may besurprised at what you might be able to make.

Mondays could mean barbecue leftovers. Keep in mind that leftover grilled steak can be used on lettuce and other veggies left from Sunday's cookout. You can create a tasty steak salad.  drizzle on a homemade viniagrette. Also throw in any cheese you may have whether it's blue or feta. The cheese will give it extra protein and oomph too. The same can be applied otleftover chicken. If you grilled chicken breasts Saturday or Sunday then , chop them up and trythem in a mayo or vinaigrette based salad. Serve the chicken salad on leftover hamburger or hot dogs buns. Toast will do nicely if you don't have the buns. What about those roasted baked potatoes? They  can be turned into crunchy potato skins or twice baked potatoes. for the skins , cut the baked potatoes in half, scoop out mos tof the flesh. Brush with olive oil and bake until crispy. Take out of the oven and  top with bacon crumbles and cheddar. Bake again and servew the hit skins with sour creamand guacamole. For twice baked scoop out th e flesh, mash them with milk or sour cream and butter. Refill the potatoes and bake again. serve with a nice salad.

Another way of scavenging is looking at those containers of lieftovers. The leftover pastina can be turned in a variation of cacio e pepe. It's just reheating it with butter and adding cheese and freshly ground pepper. Any pasta can be cooked and made with sauce even if you don;t have any jarred around. Try making it aglia e olio with just garlic and oil. This is toating sliced garlic cloves in oil and then serving the sauce over any kind of pasta. You could also do a burst tomato one that is a mix fo grape or cherry tomatroes sauteed in a garlic butter sauce. The tomatoes are smashed  with a wooden spoon  when they become tender.. This goes well with chunky pastas such as penne and rigatoni. You just have to get an Italian bread to go with it.Any canned meats can be used a variety of ways. Tuna  can easily be turned into a salad which cam be used for Tuesday's lunch or it can also be part of a tuna melt. salmon and crabmeat can be mashed with  beaten eggs, corn meal ro bread crumbs and then fried into crispy patites.serve as is or put on hamburger buns.

A scavenged Monday meal can turn into a delicious dinner. Be creative with what you have. The end result is soemthing the family will enjoy eating.

Yard Sale Kitchenware

Now is the time for yard and garage sales There are some good bargains out there.Some are almost too tempting to pass up.Yet, what;s a good deal and what's not ? What's the best pick up at any second hand sale?

Any yard sale is pure temptation, especially to those just starting to build a kitchen. Check to see if there are any cast iron pans on sale. These are a must buy.Older ones are your best.They're still usable even though they may have a rough surface. If the pan is risty buy it anyway The rust can be scraped and washed off and you wind up with a good sturdy pan for cooking and baking. Keep in miind cast iron lasts a whopping one hundred and fifty years. It'll be a good find and a good bargain to acquire one. Another good yard sale buy is a set of pots and pans. Many feel that they need to replace their pots and pans even after five years. Jump on these sets. You could even score Farberware.what you need to avoid are those Teflon coated non-stick pots and pans. these could be scratched and emit chemicals that were sprayed on the surface. You can get silicone and microwave bakeware. These are OK to buy and are good if you want extra pans for baking cupcakes. Silicone scrapers and whisks are other good bargains as are cookie cutters and rolling pins.

China is also a good buy. Spode is one of the desired chinas many barbain hunter seek. The original pieces go back  over two hundred years , to Josiah Spode and his son Josiah II 's of Stoke Upon Trent , England. These are few and far between, although there are some random pieces out there. Still a good Christmas set can cost as much as $200 hundred dollars . Yard sales can yield up Wedgewood pieces as well and you can be lucky to get a dinner set for six. Mikasa is another good yard sale buy . Keep in mind the owner may be selling sets that have missing plates due to breakage. You could wind up with an odd numbered set like five or seven place settings. Go another route and go funky. The coolest restaurants have mismatched plates and cups. You can do it that way and just pick up anything that's still in good condition. The same applies to wine and champagne glasses. You may not get an even numbered set. The same goes for tumblers and shot glasses too. Pick what you think works best with your dining room decor. What about utensils? . There may not be a full set of matching knives forks and spoons.Opt for the eclectic and look for a hodgepodge of different styles and brands.

Garage sales are fun. You can pick up some really good sales at one. Just be prudent with what you decide on and buy.

 

The Wildfire Aftermath

 The last few days have been horrible for those living in the Northeast. Thanks to the Canadian wildfires, we had dangerously polluted skies. worse that smoke settled on our produce . What is the exact aftermath?what can we do to ensure our fruits and veggies are safe to eat.

it's no lie that everyone was rightly scared after smoke from the Quebec and Nova Scotia provences. even though the Canadians firefightersnwere out in full force along with help from siix hundred American fire fighters, the fires raged on. It sent down a blanket of smoke that affected every aspect of life. The worst is that plants were affected .The smoke itself won;t have any major effect on veggies or fruit. However you  should wash anything from the garden or the local farmer's market. You could try a produce spray if you;re really worried  or a white vinegar soak. This will rid the skins of any impurities from smoke particles to pesticides. It's submerging your fruits and veggies in a cup of white vinegar and soaking them for fifteen minutes. Drain the water and give the produce a quick rinse, To dry, lay   your fruit and veggies out a kitchen towel until completely dry. You can also dry each piece individually if you have the time. As for those stil growing veggies in th e garden, hose them down when the smoke clears. This rinses away any residue that might have settled on them, Also apply fertilizer to encourage heathy roots and new leaves.

Is it safe to eat outside yet? It depends on where you are. Two days ago when Manhattan looked more like Mars , it was unthinkable. The city's air quality was the worst in the world along with Philadelphia and Washington D.C., The skies are clearing now and people are craving to enjoy the June weather. The answer is up to you. if you 're not too old or have very young children , then the answer is yes . However if you feel your eyes are watering and your throat scratchy, then immediately ask for an indoor table. The restaurant will be glad to accomodate you. Also try to sit as far away from the doorway as you can The door will always be opening ,letting in air with each swing. You may have to ask the manager to close any windows if they''re open too.  The last thing diners want is smoky air wafting voer their food.What about those already planned picnics and beach outings? Have the elderly and young wear masks until it's time to eat. (although masks may come off when kids hit the water)If the air quality is stillo bothersome, then look for a place where they can sit inside if it's possible.

Hopefully the Canadian wildifres won't be a harbinger of what's to come. We need to enjoy our air along with our produce , free from smoke and impurities. Its up to us to make sure this doesn't happen again.

The Ultimate Wedding Gift - A Cake

 What do you give as the ultimate wedding gift? Thge wedding cake.It cna be an easy bake ans frosting for those who love baking. It's not as hard  to createas you would think.

Natasha Pickowicz , cheif baker at Cafe Altro paradiso and floraBar, wrote this how to on the New York Times Food section online. It's an intiguing concept that many have wanted to do. Yet there were always hold backs, Creating perfectly formed layers, Tiering the cake. However a homemade cake is not only made with love but with flavor. The best part of this is taking a bite and actually tasting the vanilla ro liquor drenching the cakes The task isn;t so daunting if you break everything down into smaller, manageable taskes dasy and even weeks befiore the big day.  The  cake can be frozen eve thanks to tbe addition of egg whites. Butter is eliminated from the recipe to prevent crumbliness and dryness..Onthe wedding day they're frosted and assembledat where the reception will be held. elegant ,edible decor is added at the very last minute. The only strenuous activity is whipping up the Swiss butercream which holds up better than the traditional one. It's perfect for enrobing tiered cakes thanks to it;s sturdiness and heft. There is also a whixkey and chocolate grooms cake too, if you want to add it.

Ms. Pickowocz 's cake is the traditional vanilla but with a twist. Its soaked in bright citrus syrup, with the layers being draped on the plan like lasagna sheets.It has a charred orange compote,a sesame buttercream and a granola like sesame crunch. It;s a vanilla chiffon cake that's made only with eggs and a neutral oil like grapeseed. The eggs whites are whipped intoa frothy billowy meringue that only adds to the texture of the cake.The sesame crunch is acooked mix of  egg white, light brown sugar vanilla and salt. sesame seeds are added then the batter is transferred to a buttered pan and baked for six minutes in  a3 50 degree Farenehit oven. The citrus compote is made with oranges and lemons. They should be first washed and then sliced  tobe sizzled in a Dutch oven. Sear for ten minutes until there are blackened charred spots of the slices. flip th e pieces and cook the other sides unti charred. They're taken out and eight cups of water is added t o it and simmered with the lemon and orange bits.The chopped peeks are added to the water and then drained. The segments are s trained and the pulp is put into a pot.its;blened with an immersion blender and then put into the fridge. The buttercream is a merignue of egg whites and sugar, with salt and vanilla later added.

Surprisingly anyone can bake a wedding cake. I;t s just using the right cake and frosting to create one that will hold up. The end result is a beautiful gift,

The Perfect Barbecue Guide

 everyone, whether novice or experienced home chef needs a good barbecue guide. Barbecuing is  very different than indoor cooking. There are different aspects to consider, like temp and cooking time. Luckily there is a guide to use this summer.

Regular contributor and barbecue master , Steven Raichlen wrote about everything grilled  in today's New York Times Food section. This is a must save. Chef Raichlen who has created amazing dishes on his PBS TV show first explains how to start and heat a grill. There will b e glowing embers in fifteen to twenty minutes of time without the addition of lighter fluid. It's building a tiered fire to control the hear. You should rake the coals into a thicker layer at the endof the grill. This is the searing zone. Have atinner layer in the middle which will be your cooking zone.It's then leaving no coals in the front third of the grill. This is your safety zone.If you have a gas grill. set one burner on high and one on medium,Keep one burner free to become your safety zone.If your grill lacks a third burner then use your warming rack as your safety zone. All this is possible if you have a clean grate. If;not it's time for a good cleaning. Chef Raichlen recommneds  cleaning hot grates with a stiff wire brush. A better tool is a wooden scraper which eliminates the risk of accidentally ingesting a loose bristle. Also oil it.It minimizes sticking and gives you better grill marks. Use a tightly folded paper towel dipped in oil to do this. You can also use a chunk of bacon, steak fat or even an onion for this.

The most perfect steak comes from cooking evenly and accurately. Leave at least one inch between each piece of food for better heat circulation, Leave about twenty-five of your grill free of food so you have space to manuever and doge flare ups. Definitely use an instant read meat thermometer to check for doneness.Insert it through the side of a burger or chicken breast not through the top to get an accurate reading. Afterwards let the meat rest. Transfer over to a sheet pan to prevent the bottms getting soggy or directly onto a  platter or plate,wait a minute before serving. This allows the meat to relax  and the juices to redistribute.Thid goves you a juicier, more tender cut. Chef Raichlen also gives some tasty recipesThey run the gamut from steak to pork to hamburgers. grillers will like the variety of the barbecued chicken and salmon. Any of these can be made for a weekend dinner or part of an outdoor party. The grilled steak has a comboof bourbon and maple syrup on it while the chicken is covered in herbs.

It's grilling season. Use thsi guide and recipes to create tasty barbecues. They're a wonderful way to start the summer.

Summer Theme Birthdays

Those who have summer birthdays have an exrta layer of  fun.It's nice to have a birthday in the other three seasons however a summer party  can be an extravaganza .You can have all sorts of fun themes and foods.

Of course a pool party is the ultimate hot weather bah. Kids would love fun finger foods like English muffin pizzas and ice cream sodas. The first is an an easy make , perfect for a small party with five or six little guests. These can be customized to suit everyone's tastes. Have fun toppings like pepperoni and olives on hand along with rotisserie chicken shreds and pineapple chunks. As for the ice cream sodas, you could use Coke (if the moms allow it) and a variety of different ice creams. Kids can add in chocolate chips and sprinkles  for more crunch and fun. If you want to save the ice cream for last then think a sundae bar. Have two or three flavors set up with two toppings, like fudge and salted caramel, along with whipped cream. Make sure there are plenty of toppings like M&M's gummy bears and even cereal like Lucky Charms. A baseball park themed party is also fun. Kids love hot dogs and this  theme is perfect for them. You could also make boxes of popcorn too. target sells cute popcorn boxes if you need them.  Also think  those big pretzels with  mustard too. What to drink? Lemonade is the best bet here. The cake could be a copy of a baseball inflield. Cupcakes can look like baseballs.

One of the classic summer to dos is the drive in movie. This is perfect for teens , tweens and adults. Set up a movie screen in the backyard. Show the  birthday boy's or girl's favorite movie. As for snack bar fare, think burgers loaded with cheese and bacon, along with pickles and onions.Fries are a must here and large batches are easy to make in an air fryer. You could also fry up waffle style in both Idaho and sweet potato varieties. Set up cups of ketchup in cups for dipping.Pizza is another big snack bar  treat. Whip up  several using premade dough for easy baking. Serve plain pizzas and ones with different toppings.Of course popcorn is a must too. Buy bags of buttered flavored corn like Wises or Herr's if there's a large crew coming. If not you can easily make a bucket in the microwave. Soda is important to wash everything down,  however you may also want to get Slushies which can be bought at stores like Acme. This is a hybrid fo juice and ice , perfect for a hot summer's night. Ice cream cake and ice cream cupcakes would be a perfect end to this party along with caramel corn and boxes of such snackbar faves as Raisinettes, Milk Duds and Junior Mints.

Summer parties mean tasty treats and fun. Pick and theme and run with it. Celebrate the day with the best time of year.Q