Pommes Frites with Truffle Oil, Parmesan, and Parsley

French fries... Patates frites... Pommes frites... What's the difference?! Well, technically, I guess there really isn't much of one. They all mean the same thing - pieces of deep-fried potatoes. However, after having fries like this while in Milwaukee a few weeks ago, I've researched "pommes frites" and found that they are usually a more gourmet fry, and that there is a traditional format for them. French fries here in America can mean any kind of potato that is deep fried, while "pommes frites" generally refers to a long, slinly sliced strip of potato that is deep fried. In addition, the "pommes frites" are most often served with something a little more ...upscale... than ketchup. Not that there is anything wrong with ketchup on fries!
I had these fries, or something very similar to them, while staying at the Ambassador Hotel in Milwaukee with my cousin for a concert a few weekends ago. These were served in the bar area, Envoy, as a part of their menu, along with several other delicious options, and were very good. If you ever get the chance to stay in the area, it's definitely worth it! And don't let the prices scare you away... I believe these cost around $8 at the restaurant, but you did get a giant pasta bowl full of them!
And while I do prefer to cut my own potatoes and make the fries myself, I would like to note that there are a couple of options if you don't like to mess around with stuff like that, or just don't have the time. McCain and OreIda both make a very good, thin-cut fry that would work wonderfully in place of the freshly cut potatoes.
As for the truffle oil, there aren't a whole lot of gourmet shops near where I live, in Green Bay, but I have found this, and many other goodies, at the TJ MAXX near me. When looking for truffle oil, whether it be white or black, you want to be sure that you're getting real truffle oil, and not just something that smells like it. So, you want to be sure that you look for a product that says it is infused with truffles or truffle extract, and shy away from products that are only made with "truffle essence." Also, you want to be sure to store your truffle oil in a cool, dry space away from direct sunlight so that it does not cause your oil to turn rancid or lose precious flavor.

Printable Recipe

2 large russet potatoes, cut into ¼" by ¼" fries
Oil, for frying
1 -2 tsp. white or black truffle oil
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Chopped fresh parsley

To make the fries, preheat a deep fryer or kettle of oil to 350°. Begin by "par-boiling" the cut potatoes in the hot oil just until they are cooked through and limp; transfer to a paper-towel lined plate to drain and cool. Meanwhile, increase the temperature for the oil to 375°. Once the oil is heated, return the fries to the hot oil and cook again until the fries are crispy and light golden brown; transfer to a fresh paper-towel lined plate for just a moment to drain some of the oil and sprinkle with a little salt.
Once the fries are drained, transfer them to a large bowl and drizzle with just a little bit of the truffle oil, tossing to coat; drizzle with a little more of the truffle oil and toss to coat again, until the flavor is to your liking. While the fries are still hot, sprinkle them with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and parsley and toss to coat again. Transfer the fries to a serving dish and finish with more freshly grated Parmesan cheese and parsley.

Eggplant Parmesan Sandwiches

The original idea for this sandwich was inspired by a similar sandwich I had at a vegetarian restaurant back home several years ago. I recently checked out their website, and I couldn't find the sandwich on there anymore so am thinking they probably no longer even serve it. I can't remember all of the aspects of the sandwich I had then, but I remember it being pretty amazing! It might sound strange to some of you guys, but I am actually more fond of fruits and vegetables than pretty much anything else. (The only thing that's better than fruits and vegetables is bacon, but that's in a class all by itself!!  :-)) As a child, I was a VERY picky eater and didn't even eat barbecued ribs or any of that stuff until after I was an adult. In fact, I distinctly remember going to KFC with my mother and brothers and sisters and all of them getting the drumsticks while I would not eat anything but the breast meat. I'm still a selective eater, but my tastes have definitely evolved since growing up - I'll most likely try anything at least once!

Anyways, I had entered this recipe in a sandwich contest, but it wasn't chosen so am sharing it with you! You'll have to forgive the picture quality for this picture, as I was house-sitting at the time it was taken and didn't have my little studio set up then... But you can still see the yumminess!

Because I have been trying to eat healthier, I also wanted to say that the eggplant for this sandwich could very easily be oven-fried rather than pan-fried, if you're looking for a healthier option. Simply spray both sides of the breaded eggplant lightly with canola oil and place it on a baking sheet in a preheated 400 degree oven or under a preheated broiler, turning once, until the breading is crispy and the eggplant cooked through. Then, assemble the sandwiches as you would normally! If you are interested in making it any healthier, you could also use egg substitute for the whole eggs, or even substitute some, or all, of the whole eggs with 2 egg whites per whole egg.

Printable Recipe

3 beaten eggs
1 c. flour
¾ c. Italian bread crumbs
¼ c. panko bread crumbs
¼ tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. dried parsley, crushed
½ tsp. dried basil, crushed
¼ tsp. dried oregano, crushed
1 medium eggplant, sliced on the bias to ¾” - 1" thick
2 ciabatta rolls
Olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled
Oil, for frying
Freshly shaved or grated Parmesan cheese
8 leaves fresh basil
2 Tbsp. basil pesto
½ c. Tomato Basil pasta sauce
Roasted red peppers
¼ c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Place the eggs, flour, and bread crumbs each in 3 small bowls. Add the salt, pepper, and garlic powder to the eggs and whisk to combine. Season the bread crumbs with the parsley, basil, and oregano and stir with a fork or your hands to thoroughly combine. Dip eggplant slices in egg, then in flour, dip back in egg and then in bread crumbs. Transfer the eggplant pieces to a rack or to paper towels to let them dry slightly before frying.
Preheat the broiler. Slice the ciabatta rolls in half horizontally, brush the insides with a little bit of olive oil, and toast under the broiler just until they’re golden brown. Remove the rolls from under the heat and immediately rub with the peeled garlic. Set aside.
In a deep, heavy skillet or deep fryer heat ½-inch of vegetable oil to 375°. Fry the eggplant pieces, in batches if necessary, for approximately 2 - 3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer with tongs to paper towels to drain.
To make the sandwiches, arrange the bottom pieces of the rolls on a work surface and spread 1 tablespoon of pesto evenly over the cut surface. Sprinkle with the freshly shaved Parmesan cheese. Lay two basil leaves over the top of the Parmesan and pesto, followed by ⅛ cup of the pasta sauce. Arrange one of the fried eggplant slices on top of the sauce, one per sandwich, and then top with the remaining basil leaves and strips of the roasted bell peppers. Spread the remaining sauce between the sandwiches, topping them with the cheeses. Place the prepared sandwiches under the broiler just until the cheese melts, and then remove from the oven and top with the top half of the roll. Makes 2 sandwiches

Zucchini Breakfast Skillet

Wow!! I can't believe I've been away for so long!

First, I would like to thank all of my faithful readers for sticking with me during the past couple of months. It's been quite hectic! And, second, I would like to apologize for being gone so long. At the beginning of September, I moved back into my own place after housesitting for my family during the summer, and so have been working on getting all of my stuff unpacked again (especially all of my precious kitchen stuff). Not to mention, I've been working around 50 hours per week at my new job, and trying to work out and get in better shape again afterwards with my fellow chef, so have been trying to juggle my time there. And, I didn't have internet until the beginning of this week, so that didn't help either!

But, I'm finally back!  :-)

This recipe is another one that I found in a copy of Food Network Magazine that I had picked up at the store, the same one as the Heirloom Tomato Pie I just had to make, so you might have seen it floating around the internet already. But, maybe you haven't!

I especially like this dish, because I'm trying to be more conscious of my diet and want to get back into shape, and this is such a great dish. You don't even feel like you're missing out on everything! Of course, I did change a few things, but I did keep the recipe very much the same as the original... For myself and my family, we like things a little spicy, so I added two jalapenos instead of the one. And I used the special yummy cheese (Morel Mushroom and Leek Jack) I found instead of pepper jack or cheddar. And probably more scallions...  :-D

The great thing about this recipe is that it really is very easy to customize to your liking. If you want it to be a complete breakfast, you could add some bacon to the skillet as well. Served with a couple slices of toast, it's the perfect breakfast!

Printable Recipe

3 lb. summer squash and/or zucchini

Kosher salt

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

4 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

3 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

¼ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

Freshly ground pepper

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

6 large eggs

½ - 1 c. grated pepper jack or sharp white cheddar cheese

Grate the squash into a colander using the large holes of a box grater (or use a food processor fitted with the shredding attachment). Toss with 1 tablespoon salt, then let drain in the sink, 30 to 40 minutes. Roll the squash in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze to remove as much liquid as possible.

Preheat the oven to 375°. Heat the olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Set aside 3 tablespoons scallion greens. Add the remaining scallions (white and green parts), the jalapeno, and salt to taste and cook until the scallions are soft, about 3 minutes. Add the shredded squash and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 7 minutes. Stir in the parsley, nutmeg, and pepper to taste. Cook until the mixture is slightly dry, about 1 more minute. Remove from the heat and let cool, 5 minutes.

Spread the squash evenly in the skillet. Make six 2½-inch-wide indentations in the mixture with the back of a spoon; put ½ teaspoon butter in each one. One at a time, crack each egg into a small bowl and pour into an indentation; season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with the cheese.

Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the egg whites are set and the yolks are cooked to desired doneness, 10 to 12 minutes. Scatter the reserved scallion greens on top.

"7 Facts" Blog Game

There is a fun game going around the food blogging community called "Seven Facts." If you get tagged by someone, there are seven questions you have to answer using previous posts from your blog. I was tagged by Isabelle, from Isabelle at Home. Thanks for tagging me, this was fun!

Here are my seven answers based on my previous blog posts and experiences. Click on the recipe title to be taken to the recipe link!

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1. Most Beautiful Post(s): Caprese Salad (or Skewers)

Seared Sea Scallops with Pistachio and Parmesan Risotto

This was probably the hardest decision I made in this game... I'm not saying that I'm the best chef, nor that I make the best food ever, but I've noticed that the quality of my pictures has been improving since I first started blogging.

With this, though, it really was a tough decision. I've made some really yummy things in the past year, and some of the stuff turned out really awesome, so it was hard to choose just one... But, I did get it narrowed down to only two, even though I wanted to do four of them! I LOVE Caprese salads more than just about anything. It's the combination of fresh ingredients and flavors, and the little bit of crunch from the pine nuts (in mine), that just send it over the top. And the scallops with the risotto was so divine, I just had to include that too.  :-)

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2. Most Popular: Baby Back Ribs with Bourbon-Bacon Chipotle Barbecue Sauce

Since this was the easiest one to choose, based on Blogger's nifty little gadget that tells what my most popular recipes are, this was the first one I completed. Technically, the nifty little gadget says that it's another one of my posts, Trio of Sweet Potato Fries, but I don't know where they're getting that... While all of my fries turned out yummy, there really were not very many comments on them. Unless they count how many times people are viewing them. Maybe?

Anyways...

This was my contribution to the National Day for Ribs and Bacon. What a great day that is!!

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3. Most Controversial: Lobster Roll-Style Crab Salad Sandwiches

Okay, so I don't know if these were actually controversial, but when I was writing up the recipe for them, I imagined all kinds of New Englanders would somehow find my little blog, and this recipe, and attack me like a pack of dogs on a three-legged cat. It's not the traditional lobster roll format, but it's kinda similar... I like that they toast the outsides of the split-top hot dog buns they use for the rolls. And that's what I meant by the style of this sandwich...

...Even now, I can still see ferocious fangs! :-|

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4. Most Helpful: Honey Ginger Salmon

This is another one of those recipes that didn't get a lot of attention, because it was back in my earlier days of blogging, when only my real-life friends were reading what I wrote. I had recently been told by a fellow blogger about another post that they found especially informative, but I did pack a whole lot of information into this particular post. I try to be as informative as possible when writing up my blogs, so if I forget something or you know something I don't, please feel free to bring it to my attention!

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5. Post That Was Surprisingly Successful: Fish Tacos with Fresh Strawberry Salsa and Chipotle Crema

Perhaps it's because I have so many friends who just can't get their minds around the concept of fish tacos, but I was pleasantly surprised by how popular this was with my fellow foodie bloggers. Apparently, when people hear "Fish Taco," they think of a regular chicken or beef taco, only with fish, with the same spice mixture and everything. *Shudder* I suppose if that were my preconceived notion, I would have a hard time getting past that too... But, they really are very yummy!

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6. Post That Didn't Get The Attention It Deserved: Tarragon Chicken Salad

This is, by far, my favorite chicken salad recipe. The "problem" was that I posted this at the beginning of my blog, when I was just getting started with all of this, and so not a lot of people really saw those earlier posts. One of my residents gave me this recipe, and she was so happy when I would make it and bring some in for her... She was always watching Food Network, especially Barefoot Contessa, and then telling me all about what she saw "Contessa" make in hopes that I would make it and bring some for her! She was a dear, sweet lady.

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7. Post I Am Most Proud Of: French Onion Soup

I am the most proud of this post/recipe, because it was one of my first real attempts at making a recipe my own and it's been so successful. Everyone I've ever made this for raves about how good it is, some even going so far as to say it's the best French Onion Soup they've ever had! This was one of my papa's favorite things, and he absolutely loved it, so this holds a special place in my heart...

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Thank you so much to Isabelle for including me in this fun game. And now to choose 7 of my favorite food blogging friends to play too... These guys have shown me so much love and support, I can't even begin to thank them enough. Be sure and check out their pages!

Becca at It's Yummilicious
Chelsea at Sprinkles of Parsley
Kelly at Eat Yourself Skinny
Chef Dennis at A Culinary Journey with Chef Dennis (I'm still wanting to call it by your old name!)
Janet at From Cupcakes to Caviar
Christina at Sweet Pea's Kitchen
Amy and Tiffanie at Chicks Who Love To Eat

Caprese Salad (or Skewers)

Does anything say summer more than fresh garden tomatoes? Well, besides grilling out, picnics at the beach, water sports, and all of that… But, if you are anything like me, even a little, grilling out doesn’t necessarily indicate summer, as I do that all year ‘round. But, tomatoes are a clear indication of summer. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve never seen real, delicious, ripe tomatoes in the middle of winter! (I am seriously of the opinion that someone in my community needs to build a greenhouse to grow fresh produce for all of us during the winter months. It could be like a community co-op kind of thing, where you have to pay so much for the privilege of going there or something, but I think it would definitely be worth it. That’s another story, though…) And how could you not feel in a summery mood with such a beautiful, fresh salad like this? I honestly don’t think it’s possible…
Now, I realize that there are about a million of these “recipes” floating around out there, and about a hundred different ways to arrange them, but these are my little concoctions. I’ve even seen stacked Caprese salads! While visually stunning, it seems to be a waste of time and energy… I mean, you can’t eat a giant stack like that without having to disassemble it and everything before eating it. And I like to enjoy my masterpieces just as they are!! But, the fact of the matter is, pretty much every Caprese salad is the same thing. And that’s just fine with me! These things are so delicious, it doesn’t even matter.
One of my recent favorite ingredients is a balsamic reduction. Yes, you very well CAN make your own reduction, and if you want to I am more than happy for you to do just that. However, these days, I have slightly less time for stuff like that… And there are so many genuinely great products on the market, it seems silly to slave over a hot stove all day when you can have someone else do that for you! The only thing I would highly recommend is that you look for a balsamic reduction that says it’s a product of Italy. Not saying that other people don’t know how to make a good reduction or anything, but it’s a well-known fact that Italians know a thing or two about good balsamic vinegar. The one that I use, and really like, is called Cream of Balsamic and is imported by Isola Imports, which a local gourmet cheese store in my area carries. These guys have a lot of really great products, so I would definitely recommend checking them out, when you have time! (And, no, I am not being paid to say that, nor have I received any other kind of compensation for telling you about them. It’s just a great product and I want to share it with all of you! :-))
As for the basil, that is my favorite herb and I probably overuse it, according to some people’s standards. So, I didn’t give an amount for that, because I want you guys to use as much or as little as you like… The same goes for the pine nuts; use as much or as little as you like. And here’s the thing about pine nuts - they taste TERRIBLE if they’re not fresh! I’m sure other nuts are very much the same, but I can’t remember having any other nuts after they’ve gone rancid. And, for some reason, pine nuts are more susceptible to this than others. If you’ve ever been so unfortunate as to have eaten a rancid pine nut, it will make you dislike them more than just about anything. But, they’re really not so bad if they’re fresh! So, I make it a point to take all nuts and stuff like that from the very back of the shelf… The stockers at the grocery store rotate all of the stuff, so the freshest product is always in the back. With highly perishable stuff (even milk and cheese), I prefer it to be as fresh as possible. Even if people do look at me like I’m some kind of crazy lady for digging all the way to the back of the shelf! :-D

Now, for the skewers, I just bought two containers of tomatoes from the grocery store, one of plain red grape/cherry tomatoes and the other the yellow variety. It never hurts to be colorful! When I bought my mozzarella, I hadn’t had plans for what I was going to do with it (it was on sale), so I bought the container of small ones. For this, if I was planning in advance, I probably would have gotten them a little bit bigger, but it’s more than easy to make do with what you have. And you can arrange them on the skewers however you’d like, and even do more on one skewer, but I thought they looked rather pretty this way. You could cut the basil up and alternate it between layers of mozzarella and tomatoes, though… Or you could decide to only do one tomato and one mozzarella per skewer… Whatever you would like to do with your skewers will be more than okay. Be creative! :-)

Printable Recipe

2 large red (or heirloom) tomatoes
2 heirloom tomatoes
16 oz. fresh mozzarella
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Balsamic Reduction Sauce
Fresh basil, chiffonaded
Pine Nuts
Salt and pepper

Slice the tomatoes approximately ½-inch thick and set aside; slice the fresh mozzarella to the same thickness and set aside. To arrange the Caprese salad, place one of each of the tomato slices together and arrange however you wish, followed by one slice of mozzarella. Continue arranging the tomatoes and mozzarella until you have no more left or run out of room on the plate. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the tomatoes and mozzarella, followed by a fair amount of the balsamic reduction. Sprinkle some fresh basil and pine nuts over the top of the salad, followed by the salt and pepper just before serving.