Bacon Gouda Grit Fritters & Pepper Jelly Dipping Sauce

So last week I shared a recipe for grits & grillades.  Well, when I made that...I made a lot of extra grits.  Why? Because it was Potluck Time at work!  We try to do these quarterly (which, really, it's probably a good thing they're not more frequent otherwise we'd all have some serious health issues), and they're usually somewhat themed.  This one was "Spring Cleaning"--as in, what can you throw together from what's in your fridge/pantry that needs to be used up?

I'll admit...I chose this theme explicitly so I could make this recipe, because it requires cold grits as the base.  I've had this recipe in my Pinterest for-ev-er, so it's really a two-fer...I would need to make some OTHER recipe that involved grits, and then use the leftover grits to make these fritters, and then BAM--two blog posts.

Delicious, delicious gluttony. 

Also--the original recipe calls for pan-frying these.  But I did the first four as a test batch fried and burnt the crap out of my arms...plus they were trying to fall apart a little bit, so I figured the less I had to move them around, the better. I opted to oven-fry them instead (also easier since I prepped them the night before, but actually cooked them AT work right before the potluck so they'd be hot). And, you know, a little healthier too.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup quick-cooking grits
• 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
• 1½ cups (6 ounces) shredded smoked Gouda
• 1 diced green onion
• 6 slices low sodium bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 large eggs + 1/4 cup water
• 1.5 cup Panko crumbs
• 1.5 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
• Misto olive oil spray
• ½ cup Red Pepper Jelly
• 1 tablespoon Creole mustard
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

DIRECTIONS:

Cook grits & broth according to package instructions.  Then add the cajun seasoning, gouda, green onion, and bacon and mix well.  Lightly grease a 8x8 pan and then pour the grit mixture in and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.

When ready to prep your fritters, create a work station--in one bowl, combine the egg (beaten) and water, and the panko+breadcrumbs in a second bowl.  Then grab your grits and roll into small balls (I opted to create all my fritter-balls first, THEN batter them to streamline things).  

Roll each ball in the egg mixture and then toss in the breadcrumbs and place on a greased cookie sheet.  If you're not cooking right away, you can freeze these to help keep the breading crisp.

To oven-fry, preheat your oven to 425F, then spray the tops of the fritters with olive oil (this helps them to crisp up and brown).  Bake for 15 minutes, then flip, and bake for 15 more minutes.

While they're baking, you can make the dipping sauce.  In a small bowl, combine the pepper jelly, mustard, and vinegar, and microwave for about 20-30 seconds until smooth.

Serve the fritters while warm (seriously--they're no where near as good when cold or even room temp) with the pepper jelly sauce.  

St. Paddy’s Day Recipe: Irish Egg Rolls!

At my office, I’m the head of our Potluck Planning Committee (I know, it’s SO “The Office”, right?)

(Angela: “I'm just trying to figure out why you're trying to sabotage things.”)

 

Although our meetings are much more succinct and less catty.  It’s more like, “there’s a holiday coming up, let’s do a potluck.” “Okay!”

Anyway…our potluck is today, and we did an Irish food theme (or green food, since every office has at least one person who’s going to bring a veggie tray because, “hey, it’s green”).  I asked the hubs what I should make, he did some research, and threw down the gauntlet: Irish Egg Rolls.

Irish Egg Rolls?

…okay, sure, why not?

Apparently he saw it as an appetizer at an Irish pub, and hey, I like egg rolls (Chili’s Southwest Eggrolls?  Hex yeah!), and I like a challenge, so that’s what we did.

The original recipe (shown here) calls for frying them, but we didn’t want all that extra grease, so we baked them instead, and they still turned out crisp and delicious.

Since I have a big office, we also doubled the size of the recipe to use up the full package of egg roll wrappers (15).

Ingredients:

8 ounces chopped corned beef (I recommend getting it freshly sliced from your grocer’s Deli)

1 tbsp bacon grease (aside from a little Pam and whatever’s in the corned beef, this is your only fat, so like I always say—might as well get as much flavor from your fat as you can.  If you’re anti- bacon grease, you can totally just use a pat of butter or a tbsp of olive oil)

2 cups shredded cabbage

2 cups diced cooked potatoes (about two large russet potatoes, diced, seasoned w/salt & pepper), peeled & boiled)

2 cups shredded carrot (took about 5-6 whole carrots, washed, peeled, & then shredded)

1/2 cup thinly sliced onion

1/2 cup sliced green onion

salt and pepper (or Cajun seasoning—it’s my go-to season-all), to taste

15 (7 inch square) egg roll wrappers

 

Directions:

Boil the potatoes, then drain. Set aside for the moment.

Heat the bacon grease in a large skillet (we used a wok, ironically) and add the cabbage, onions, carrot, and seasoning, and sauté over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes.

(I do so love colorful food!)

Then add in the corned beef & potatoes and toss, sautéing for another 5 minutes until the cabbage starts to wilt a bit.  Check for flavor & season again if needed.

Next, set up an “egg roll wrapping station”.  I did my rolling on a plate, with a small condiment bowl of water next to it. 

Scoop 1/2 cup of filling onto the first wrapper:

And then wrap the egg rolls according the instructions on the package—it’s pretty easy.  Just fold the bottom corner up snugly:

 

Then fold in the sides, then wet the top bit of the triangle with the water:

 

(Please ignore the fact that I’m flipping off the camera—it was accidental, I promise.)

And then roll the rest of the way up, and place on a lightly sprayed cookie sheet.

P.S. Heat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Once all your rolls are wrapped, lightly spritz the rolls with cooking spray—this will help them brown & get crispy & brown like as if they were fried.

 

Then bake on the middle rack for 18-20 minutes, flipping them halfway through—(I forgot to do the flip, but they still look pretty good, although the bottom looks SO perfect):

(Tops, without flip halfway through baking)

 

Serve with a Dijon or spicy brown mustard for dipping (we’re using Tabasco spicy brown mustard, because hey, this is a “Cajun” food blog, so it’s gotta be in there somewhere!)

(This shows the bottom.  Look how gorgeous & perfect that is!  So please remember to flip them.)

 

NutriFacts: (1 serving = 1 egg roll)

(Please note that in the original recipe, calorie count for one of these fried was 278 calories)

Calories 158.2

  Total Fat 3.4 g

  Saturated Fat 1.0 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 1.4 g

  Cholesterol 19.8 mg

  Sodium 516.1 mg

  Potassium 120.2 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 25.4 g

  Dietary Fiber 2.0 g

  Sugars 0.6 g

  Protein 6.5 g

 

Have a great St. Paddy’s weekend, everyone!!!

Shared on 33 Shades of Green's Tasty Tuesday

Pan-Seared Fish & Boiled Veggie Medley: A creole-cajun hybrid fish dish.

Hello all! It's been a while! How've you been? Hectic as always here. But not too hectic for me to share my most recent creation with you. And by recent, I mean I just ate devoured it about half an hour ago.

This was inspired by an amazing dish I had at the famous Commander's Palace in New Orleans. Now, as you may or may not know, there are two primary "camps" of cooking here in Louisiana: Cajun, and Creole. Creole is typically associated with the city, specifically New Orleans, a more "classic" style of cooking, historically eaten by the upper class. Cajun is more akin to what the average "country" Louisianian might eat. For the math or word play buffs out there:

Cajun : Creole, as Ruth's Chris : your favorite local hole-in-the-wall diner

or even

Boeuf Bourguignon : Chicken Fried Steak

It's ALL good as far as taste goes, it's just stylistically different.

However...hybrids happen. Particularly when you're like me and have lived all over the state, and as an "outsider", have no loyalties to either camp.

So...that's how we have this: Feauxcajun's Fresh Catch Fish & Veggie Melange:


So, here's the breakdown & what's what about this dish:
Creole: classic plating, sauce separate from primary dish, creole mustard sauce
Cajun: "Boiled*" vegetable medley, cajun seasoning, freshly caught bayou Channel Catfish

(* I never experienced a traditional Louisiana seafood boil (you Northerners, think "backyard BBQ" only with a big pot of spicy water & seafood) until I moved into Cajun Country, so "boils" will always be "Cajun" to me.)

Shopping List:
- 1 tbsp Liquid crab boil
- 6 baby carrots, halved
- 1 rib celery, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 6 cloves garlic, whole
- ½ mirliton (or chayote), cubed
- 6 mushrooms, quartered
- ½ cup fresh corn kernels
- 4 new potatoes, quartered
- 4 fresh fish filets (catfish, drum, redfish, flounder, or bass is recommended)
- Cajun seasoning, to taste (Feauxcajun recommends: Fontenot & A Half--more details later)
- White wine (for deglazing pan)
- 1 tbsp garlic infused olive oil
- 1 lemon
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 4 tbsp creole mustard
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- ¼ tsp thyme
- ½ tsp minced dried onion
- 1 tsp flour

Directions:
Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water, and a medium pasta pot ¾ full of water, setting both to boil. When the saucepan water reaches a boil, add crab boil, stir, and remove from heat, letting cool.

When pasta pot comes to boil, add garlic & potatoes to the water and cook for about 15 minutes (or until potatoes are tender). Take half of the crab boil water & add to a bowl of ice to create an ice bath for the veggies. Remove the potatoes from the water, shock in the ice bath, then move to a colander to drain. Add the rest of the veggies plus ½ of the lemon to the boiling water and let cook until tender but firm (about 15-20 minutes).

Boiling veggies:


While that batch of veggies is cooking, season the fish filets liberally with the Cajun seasoning. This is where I pause to SHAMELESSLY promote a fantastic product made by two of my good friends. Fontenot & A Half is the ONLY cajun seasoning I use in my house anymore--it's less salty than the more commercial brands (read: Tony's or Zatarains) but still has a great flavor and perfect amount of heat. They're currently working on their website, but if you'd like to order, it's $3/can (plus shipping), and until the site's back up, it can be ordered by calling 225.749.4049.


Okay--back to the good stuff.

Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat, then add fish filets & cook 2-3 minutes on each side. If fish begins to stick to pan, sprinkle a few teaspoons of white wine into the pan to loosen when flipping or removing.

The fish is done when it's flaky white on the inside, and looks like this on the outside:


I can see you drooling. :)

Once fish is cooked, set aside on a plate & cover with aluminum foil to rest. Add chicken broth, mustard, thyme, dried onion, a few splashes of white wine, juice from the other half of the lemon, & vinegar to the sauté pan & stir well. Sprinkle in flour & whisk until thickened (about 2 minutes).



While sauce is cooking, reheat the saucepan of crab boil water over medium-low heat. When veggies are done, shock in the ice bath, drain, then add all veggies back into the remaining crab boil water to reheat (about 1 minute). Drain well, then season with Cajun seasoning to taste. Arrange vegetables on plate, & drizzle mustard sauce over the fish. Serve with a fresh warm roll.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutritional Info
Calories 331.2
Total Fat 16.0 g
Saturated Fat 3.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2.6 g
Monounsaturated Fat 8.9 g
Cholesterol 91.8 mg
Sodium 471.5 mg
Potassium 997.6 mg
Total Carbohydrate 17.9 g
Dietary Fiber 4.7 g
Sugars 2.1 g
Protein 30.6 g
Vitamin A 49.2 %
Vitamin B-12 67.0 %
Vitamin B-6 22.6 %
Vitamin C 53.3 %
Vitamin D 3.3 %
Vitamin E 4.3 %
Calcium 8.1 %
Copper 20.0 %
Folate 9.4 %
Iron 15.1 %
Magnesium 19.0 %
Manganese 18.5 %
Niacin 26.8 %
Pantothenic Acid 16.6 %
Phosphorus 43.6 %
Riboflavin 13.6 %
Selenium 41.2 %
Thiamin 50.3 %
Zinc 13.4 %