Dill Pickles

 279.  Dill Pickles are the subject for the day.  This summer has been perfect for gardens with hot nights, humid air and weekly rainfall.  It has been delightful to watch the cucumbers climb and grow.  Daily I've been picking cucumbers from the vine.  So much so, I've decided to make Dill Pickles.  This is the uncooked method and relies on fermentation.

I did some research and found a great recipe from Alton Brown on Food Network.  You can find his recipe here:  Alton Brown's Dill Pickles

Dill Pickles

5 1/2 oz pickling salt, approximately 1/2 cup (may use Kosher Salt)
1 gallon filtered water
3 lbs pickling cucumbers, 4 to 6 inches long
1 Tablespoon black peppercorns
1 pinch red pepper flakes, (original recipe calls for 1 tablespoon)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon dill seed
1 large bunch dill

Combine the salt and water in a pitcher and stir until the salt has dissolved.

Rinse the cucumbers throughly and snip off the blossom end stem. Set aside.
Wash and rinse throughly a large crock pot for pickling.

Place the peppercorns, pepper flakes, garlic, dill seed and fresh dill into 1-2 gallon crock.  

Add the cucumbers to the crock on top of the aromatics.

Pour the brine mixture over the cucumbers in order to completely cover.

  Pour the remaining water into a 1- gallon ziptop plastic bag and seal.  Place the bag on top of the pickles making sure that all of them are completely submerged in the brine.  (I didn't need to do this step because my crock has a shoulder that holds the pickles down and keeps them from floating up.)

Set in a cool, dry place.

Check the crock after 3 days.  Fermentation has begun if you see bubbles rising to the top of the crock. After this, check the crock daily and skim off any scum that forms.  If scum forms on the plastic bag, rinse it off and return to the top of the crock.

The fermentation is complete when the pickles taste sour and the bubbles have stopped rising; this should take approximately 6 to 7 days.  Once this happens, cover the crock loosely and place in the refrigerator for 3 days skimming daily or as needed.  Store for up to 2 months in the frig, skimming as needed.  If the pickles should become soft or begin to take on an off odor, this is a sign of spoilage and they should be discarded. 

So, here is my process...
This is Day #1  Just after I poured the brine mixture over the cucumbers.

 Day #2  The smell is intoxicatingly delicious with the smell of garlic and dill.  The spices have bloomed and risen to the top.

 Day #3  The scum is beginning to form slightly on the top of the brine.  I have also started to notice tiny bubbles beginning to float to the surface.

I ran a knife across the top so you could see the white scum.

 Plastic wrap is perfect for collecting the scum.  I placed it on the surface of the brine and the scum collected onto the plastic.

Day #4 The scum has really developed and the pickles are becoming buoyant.

Day #5  The scum continues to form and the pickles are rising and falling in the brine.

Day #6  There are continual bubbles rising to the surface

At this point I am frustrated with Blogger!  

Day #7 The Bubbles have stopped rising to the top and the brine is completely still.  So, the day arrived to taste the
pickles!!  We sliced one and each took a bite.  Wow!!  They are delicious, just very spicy. I  checked the recipe and realized the red pepper flakes brought so much heat.  The directions to use 1 Tablespoon of red pepper flakes is just too much, unless of course you like spicy pickles.

Delicious and ready for the fridge.

"I say grace.  I'm a big believer in grace.  I happen to believe in a God that made all the food and so I'm pretty grateful for that and I thank Him for that.  But I'm also thankful for the people that put the food on the table."

~Alton Brown

Diners, Drive ins and Dives

276.  Recently, we took a trip to California and I fell in love!  The landscape, temperature and weather were just perfect.  We spent a week driving through the back roads and out of the way places exploring.  One of the great finds was a fantastic restaurant featured on Diners Drive-ins and Dives called Putah Creek Cafe.  It is located in Winters, California.

You can check out their website here:  Putah Creek Cafe

The town was quaint and we enjoyed driving through the local streets.   Putah Creek Cafe is in an old refurbished building and has a very homey, inviting atmosphere. We ordered a California Burger, BCO Burger and the Cold Prawn Salad.  So delicious!  The local produce was fresh. Not to mention the awesome macadamia nuts that had a flavor I had never experienced before.  So fresh!!!  The avocado dressing on the salad was memorable!

 We shared the salad and both got burgers for their 2 for 1 Burger Special of the day.

We were not disappointed.  The wait staff  had on Putah Creek Cafe t-shirts and were very friendly. 

"I could put this on a flip-flop and it would taste great!"

~Guy Fieri, Diners, Drive ins and Dives

Spicy Meat Pockets

174. Recently Food Network chose a new Food Network Star, Aarti Sequeira. I was hooked each week, happy when certain contestants went home but disappointed when others continued in the competition. Aarti was one of my favorites from the beginning. And the final three were my picks from show one.

The other day I caught "Aarti Party", Aarti's new show on Food Network of Indian Cooking. She was making yummy Baked Samosas, check out the recipe here. Aarti uses store bought puff pastry dough and her recipe looked so delicious! It inspired me, so I sent my honey to the store for puff pastry dough and what came home was phyllo dough instead...when you end up with lemons...make lemonade.

I brushed the phyllo with oil and stacked three sheets for each Spicy Meat Pocket.

I used the filling for a typical taco...pound of ground meat with taco mix but I added about a cup of shredded cheese. (If you don't have taco mix then to the browned and drained meat, add small chopped onion, 1 clove crushed garlic, pinch of cumin, 1 tsp of chili powder, dash of oregano, salt, pepper, 1/4 cup finely chopped pepper. Add about 1/2 cup water or beef stock. Cook the meat till liquid has evaporated and the meat is tender). Then, just dolloped a tablespoon of meat on one corner...

folded the dough lengthwise over the meat...

then began to fold the top corner down to begin a triangular shape. I made sure to keep the dough brushed with oil.

Continue to fold

till you reach the end of the dough and seal with oil.

You have a beautiful triangular shaped pillow of dough.

To add an additional touch, I placed a small sprig of cilantro under the top crust of each pocket.

I baked them at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes. The meat filling stayed in tact and they baked beautifully. They were lightly browned, crispy and were delicious!

I paired them with mexican rice, freshly made guacamole and salsa.

Aarti also has her own blog called Aarti Paarti. What a sweetheart she is..you will have to check it out. Congratulations Aarti...you were my Food Network Star from day one!!!

"I’ve been on a diet for two weeks and all I’ve lost is two weeks."

~Totie Fields

Pecan Chicken

116. Hey Y'all! Can you tell I've been watching Paula Deen? Isn't she a doll! I rarely have the opportunity to watch all my favorite cooking shows on Food Network, so today was a real treat. While doing my chores, I flipped on the television and there was beautiful Paula Deen making "Pecan Chicken", "Baked Acorn Squash with Brown Sugar and Butter", "Pumpkin Cheesecake" and "Pear Fritters". It was her Fall Harvest Episode. Each recipe was so easy to follow and when she served each dish, I just had to know what they tasted like. So tonight is a "Paula Deen" night!

I started first with the "Pecan Chicken". Cut up fryer parts of chicken were easy to come by. I eliminated some of the fat in the preparation by using 2 percent milk, less skin, less pecans and a small amount of sesame seeds. I did have acorn squash, the yellow variety, which worked beautifully! And the Pear Fritters were simply easy. The only recipe I did not make was the Cheesecake...I think I will wait till next week and whip it up for Thanksgiving.

The recipes are available on the Food Network website and the picture is included as well!

Here are the links to each for your convenience.

"Pecan Chicken"

"Baked Acorn Squash with Brown Sugar and Butter"

I added a chopped apple to the recipe by peeling and coring the apple and then cutting it into small cubes. Then placing the apple in the center of each squash and placing a dollop of the brown sugar butter on top. And I added a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

The squash baked so well and all you needed to do was scrape your fork along the inside edge and the tender flesh came away from the skin very easily. We mixed it in with the apples and juices that collected in the center. YUMMY!

"Pear Fritters"

The batter was thick like pancake batter and tasted like pancake batter.

Everything tasted so delicious, was simple to prepare and came together nicely for a fall meal.

The Pear Fritters were not my most favorite...my family loved them...I thought they tasted more like a pancake than a fritter. But we drizzled sugar free maple syrup over and Cool Whip with cinnamon and sugar.

Paula Deen inspired me! Are you inspired now? Then go cook something!

"I think no matter what the occasion may be,

you can never go wrong

by showing up at the dinner table with a hot plate of fried chicken."

~Paula Deen

"Cooking has always brought me a happiness that I didn't think was available.

I just fire up the stove, and things start to fade away."

~Paula Deen