Unbelievably Easy Fried Pickles and Cajun Buttermilk Ranch

These fried pickles were so easy and they beat BBQ joint fried pickles by a mile!

The Pickles:

• 1 pint jar of hamburger pickles
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup plain bread crumbs
• 1 tsp dried dill
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp red pepper (optional)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk

The Ranch:

• 1/4 c. buttermilk
• 1/2 c. mayo…the real stuff.
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. fresh cracked pepper
• 2 tsp. Zatarain’s cajun spice

Grab a pint jar of hamburger pickles…you know the one.  That jar of pickles that has been sitting in the back of your refrigerator since Pearl Jam was cool.  Drain the juice and toss them into a  zip lock bag with about a half cup of all purpose flour — more if needed to coat the pickles evenly.  Give the floured pickles a quick bath in a half cup of milk and one egg beaten together.   Then throw the pickles into a mixture of 1 cup of plain bread crumbs, 1 tsp. of dried dill, 1 tsp. garlic salt, 1 tsp. paprika.  If you like a spicy pickle, throw in a quarter tsp. of red pepper.  Fry in hot vegetable oil over medium high heat. 

While the pickles cool, make the ranch.  Start with 1/4 cup of buttermilk and add to it 1/2 cup of mayo (a table spoon or two more for a thicker ranch).  Add 1 tbsp lemon juice, cracked pepper, garlic powder and cajun spices to the mix, and beat until combined.

Voila!

 

 

 

 

 

                       

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This recipe was adapted from simply-sammie.blogspot.com/2011/09/fried-dill-pickles.html

Creamy tomato soup and grilled gruyere cheese sandwich

Vinnie first made this soup a few months ago.  We canned most of it, pre-planning for an easy cold weather meal.  This soup is so delicious, we popped the soup back open not even a week after we had canned it.  This recipe is supremely easy; I whipped up a batch last night in about half an hour.  It helps if you have a large food processor… this might be a good excuse to get one.  [Thanks Aunt Kelly for the sweet wedding gift!]  Our Cuisinart is amazing.  It gets used about twice a week in our kitchen.

For the soup:

• about 4 or 5 roma tomatoes and 6 or 7 of the larger tomatoes on the vine [approx 4 cups]
• 1 small yellow onion
• about 2 cups of chicken broth
• 3 or 4 whole cloves
• 4 tbsp flour and 4 tbsp salted butter for the roux
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp white pepper

Rough chop the tomatoes and onions.  Put tomatoes, onions, chicken broth and cloves into a stock pot and bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes.  At this point, you could pull the cloves back out if you like.  I leave mine in for the flavor.  Pour the simmered goodness into your food processor and let it run for about 2 minutes, or until smooth.  Using the same stock pot, make a roux.  [Roux is just a fancy french name for a thickening agent for gravy and such.]  Melt the butter in the bottom of the pot, then add flour.  Stir until the flour has incorporated into the butter. 

Pour about one cup of your tomato mixture from the food processor into the stock pot.  Stir in a little at a time so that your roux mixes in with your soup completely.  Once your roux is incorporated with the first bit of tomato mixture, pour in the rest.  Stir in spices. 

The grilled gruyere cheese sandwich is simple enough.  We used a sourdough bread for this meal, and it was amazing with the tomato soup.  I start with a bit of melted butter in the bottom of a large pan over medium heat rather than to butter the bread itself.  I saw Vinnie grate the cheese for the sandwich and it seemed to get a nice even melt. 

Finished meal!  Perfect for the single digit temperatures we’ve been having in New Hampshire.

Wicked Simple Egg Nog Pie

This is the egg nog pie I baked and sealed to send to my parents for Thanksgiving.  It is supremely simple to make, and tastes like a creamy custard with an almost creme brule finish. 

You need:

• 1 1/4 c. white sugar
• 1/4 c. all purpose flour
• 2 c. egg nog
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 1/4 c. unsalted butter, melted and cooled. 
• 1 tbsp. vanilla OR 1 shot of spiced rum

Beat eggs, eggnog, and vanilla or rum.  Mix separately the flour and sugar.  Using an electric hand mixer, combine the dry mixture to the wet slowly until blended.  Pour slowly into mixture the melted butter.  It is important to let the butter cool slightly before adding it to your mixture, otherwise you run the risk of cooking your eggs in the batter.  I’ve done it…it’s not purdy.  Make sure there are no lumps in the mixture so the result is a nice smooth looking pie. 

This mixture should fill a 9″ pie crust very nicely.  Bake at 350 degrees until the center jiggles like firm jello.  (Should take about 45 minutes to an hour)  The filling will bubble up dramatically, but once it has cooled the filling will settle back below the rim of the pie plate.

Perfect Pie Crust

A good pie crust is not difficult; in fact, in the time it takes you to go to the grocery store to buy a pie crust, you can whip out a perfectly flaky, uber delicious crust for a sweet or savory pie. 

For 2 pies, OR 1 double crust pie:

• – 2 1/2 c. all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. butter, softened and 1/4 c. crisco
• 5 tbsp cold water

I’ve heard some crust conoisseurs say crisco is better for pie crusts, while others say a butter crust is the way to go.  Truth is, once you start making them, you’ll find which you preferrer.  The ratio of butter to crisco I choose for crust still has a good buttery flavor, and the crisco helps keep the dough together while rolling out.  To soften the butter, either leave it out overnight, or gently melt over low heat, and allow to cool before combining. 

Using a large fork, mix fats, salt, and flour together until you get what resembles doughy pebbles.  Pour cold water over dough, and hand mix until you have a good round form.  Turn your dough out onto a floured surface, and sprinkle a little flour over the top of your dough.  Gently roll out your dough.  This is where an ounce of patience comes in.  If you work the dough slowly, you’re less likely to see your dough crack and crumble to pieces.  To get the desired shape of your pie, turn your pie plate over onto the dough, and trace a circle around the plate with a butter knife about an inch or so.  You should be able to gently roll the dough up loosely so you can roll the dough back over your pie tin. 

I noticed that with the left over crust, it would never form back up properly to roll back out another crust.  I added a pinch of crisco back into my  left overs, worked it back into the dough, and rolled it out for another perfect crust.