Un-Fried French Fries

As I've mentioned, we try to eat healthy meals around here so that we can justify the indulgent treats. This is one of our favorite ways to eat something that tastes fattening, but isn't.

Un-Fried French Fries
adapted from In The Kitchen with Rosie
5 large baking potatoes (about 2 3/4 pounds total)
cooking spray
2 large egg whites
1 T Cajun seasoning

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Slice each potato length-wise into quarter-inch by quarter-inch fries (I have an attachment to my apple slicer that makes perfectly shaped fries).
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly spray parchment paper with cooking spray.
Combine egg whites and Cajuns seasoning in a bowl. Add the potato sticks and toss to coat. Pour the coated potatoes onto the prepared baking sheet and spread them out into a single layer (I always make too many, so they are overlapping quite a bit).
Place the baking sheet on the bottom shelf of the oven. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until fries are crispy, turning them every 8-10 minutes with a spatula so they crisp evenly.
Serve immediately.

Being from Utah, we like to serve these with "fry sauce". A simple version consists of equal parts mayonnaise (I use low fat) and ketchup. You can add a little pickle juice or relish. Sometimes we kick it up a notch with barbecue sauce, liquid smoke, chipotle powder or hot pepper sauce.

Brown Sugar Mustard Glazed Salmon with Cowboy Potatoes

We tried a new salmon recipe tonight. It was delicious. The glaze is perfectly sweet and tangy. We've been making the potatoes forever and have added more and more veggies over the years.

Salmon
(Adapted slightly from Rachael Ray as the cyclist doesn't particularly like to read recipes. While I took number 3 to our neighbor/bishop/pediatrician for a quick ear infection diagnosis, Seth worked on dinner. I'll tell you how he made it because it was delicious.)
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 T Dijon mustard
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper
four (7 oz) salmon fillets

Preheat oven to 400. In small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, mustard, lemon juice and 1/2 t pepper.
Heat large, ovenproof skillet over high heat. Pour in about 1/3 of the sauce and place fish skin side up in the skillet. Cook until a crisp brown crust forms, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, flip salmon and coat with remaining mustard mixture. Transfer skillet to the oven and bake until the glaze caramelizes and fish is cooked through, about 10 minutes.


Cowboy Potatoes
Potatoes, quartered (sometimes we do red, sometimes russet)
Red onion, coarsely chopped
Baby Carrots
Whole mushrooms
olive oil
1 packet Lipton onion soup mix (dry)

Combine all veggies in large bowl. Coat with a couple tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with soup mix and stir to coat. Spread evenly onto large rimmed baking sheet. Cook at 450, stirring occasionally, until veggies are tender on the inside and crisp on the outside, about 1 hour.

Fried Green Tomatoes

My regular readers (both of you) have probably noticed that I have a small case of "tomato envy" this summer. The deer ate almost every tomato in our garden.

This afternoon, I was wandering aimlessly around my kitchen trying to come up with a dinner idea. My wandering took me out to the garden. I was hoping to find a couple of zucchini's to saute and serve over pasta. I walked through the garden, looking forlornly at the tomato bushes. I noticed several green tomatoes that the deer had not yet nibbled on. (Ask the cyclist about his most recent method of "natural" deer repellent--apparently it's working.) But I knew they wouldn't ripen before the first frost set in.

That's when I thought of my good friend Lisa and her fried green tomatoes.

I try not to eat fried foods. Until tonight, I had never successfully deep fried at home. We don't own a fry daddy, not even a fry baby. We try to eat healthily so that we can splurge on the baked goods.

These are well worth the effort (and grease). If you think about it, how many times are you going to have green tomatoes you need to use up...just once a year.

But I can promise you that next year, even if the deer stay away, I will still nab some tomatoes before they ripen. These little guys are juicy, a little bit tart, with the perfect crispy crust.

Fried Green Tomatoes

3 large green tomatoes
pinch of coarse salt
Enough flour to coat tomatoes (about 1/2 cup)
2 eggs
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 T grated Parmesan (this is one instance when the cheese from the can is perfect)
large pinch cayenne pepper
3/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper
hot oil for frying

Slice tomatoes 1/4" to 1/3" thick. Lay on a paper towel to absorb moisture. Sprinkle with pinch of salt.

Get out three shallow bowls (I used pie plates).

Put the flour in #1.
Lightly beat the eggs in #2.
Combine the cornmeal, Parmesan, cayenne, salt and black pepper in #3.

Heat oil to 200 celsius (use a candy/deep fry thermometer).

Dip the tomatoes (both sides) in dish #1, then #2, and then #3. Fry in oil about 3-4 minutes per side (until golden brown and crispy).  Drain on paper towels.

Serve with Ranch dip.

Peach Salsa

I found some white peaches at the store, so I decided to make peach salsa. It was delicious on tortilla chips, but even better on the cyclists blackened halibut. (Halibut rubbed with fajita seasoning, cooked on the grill).

2 C chopped peaches (I needed two peaches)
1 1/2 C chopped tomatoes (I used 4 Romas)
1 C chopped red onion
2 tsp minced garlic
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2 T chopped cilantro
2 T olive oil
4 T lime juice (I used 3 limes)
3 tsp sugar

Combine peaches, tomatoes, red onion, garlic, green onion and cilantro. In separate bowl, combine olive oil, lime juice and sugar. Pour over peach mixture and stir gently to combine. Chill until ready to use.