First Cukes, Now Zukes!

My friend Laurie brought me a few gorgeous zucchini from her garden, in exchange for a post on how to make fried zucchini sticks. Now, that's my kinda trade! I decided to serve them with some steamers, cooked in beer and shallots, and sprinkled with a chiffonade of arugula as well as some scallions. I love steamers on a hot summer day, and these were no exception. I could have eaten another two pounds!

Okay, so the steamers are delicious - and I could go on all day about them, but this post is about zucchini, and amazingly fresh zucchini at that! The recipe I used was loosely based on a Giada de Laurentiis recipe from foodnetwork.com, but I just kind of threw stuff together - no measurements this time around. For the breading, I mixed together some panko, grated parmesan and salt. Taste it to make sure it's seasoned correctly, but you won't need a ton of salt since parmesan is quite a salty cheese. In a separate bowl, crack and beat two eggs. The zucchini should be cut into 3-inch pieces that are about 1/2-an-inch thick.

This is a bit time consuming but don't rush, because you want each zucchini stick to be nicely coated. Dip it into the egg and soak it thoroughly, and then allow the excess to drip off before dunking it into the panko/parmesan mixture. Try to get it buried in there and pat the coating all over each piece. Once a piece is ready to go, place it on a baking sheet while it waits to be fried to a wonderful crisp! Keep going like this until all the pieces are finished. If your hands get all "gloopy," rinse your fingers off to avoid thickening the egg wash.

Once you are ready to fry, heat some olive oil or vegetable oil in a pot and allow it to heat until it fries a small piece of "test panko." I just took a little clump of egg and panko, threw it in the oil, and waited to see if it started to fry immediately. It takes a few minutes for the oil to heat up so don't rush it - if you rush it, you're going to get soggy, doughy zucchini sticks, and that...is not...appetizing. Once the oil is heated, fry your zucchini sticks in several batches, depending on the size of your pan.

I did about 5 at a time because I used a small pan. The larger the pan, the more you can do at one time. Once they are crisp and browned, about 2-3 minutes, you can remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon and allow them to drain on some paper towels. Serve fairly quickly so that they don't have time to cool completely...the cooler they are, the soggier they get, but when they are hot, boy are they crispy!!

I sprinkled them with a bit more parmesan, and served them alongside the steamers. You could serve them with a ranch dressing dipping sauce, or even give them an extra kick by adding some crushed red pepper flakes to the panko/parmesan mixture. Get creative with it! As long as your oil is hot, and you fry them for the right amount of time, you've got a wonderful side dish for an easy summer meal!

Top 10 : Pantry Items You Should Always Have on Hand

Happy Friday, my culinary cuties! I would like to take a moment to thank everyone that's reading this blog. The response has been tremendous thus far, and I'm extremely excited to see where this takes me. It's so encouraging to see that there are so many readers, and that you are leaving comments and asking questions. Keep it coming, and I promise I will too!



Today, I wanted to touch base on some ingredients that should ALWAYS be in your pantry. If I run out of one of these things, it immediately goes on my shopping list for next time.

1. Olive Oil is used in almost every recipe. If you don't have olive oil, don't start cooking.

2. Balsamic Vinegar can be used in a lot of ways. If you have this and olive oil, you've got salad dressing! Additionally, you can reduce balsamic vinegar to make a glaze for meats or vegetables.

3. Soy Sauce is a staple in any Asian-inspired meal. If you have stuff to throw in a stir-fry, you better have soy sauce. I recommend the low-sodium variety, as its a bit less salty, and also a little better for you.

4. Red/White Wine Vinegar is a handy condiment for salad dressings as well as marinades. Many recipes call for it and it's good to have on hand in the event of a last minute dinner choice.

5. Arborio Rice is what we use to make risotto, along with the chicken stock below. A dinner made of leftover veggies thrown into a risotto dish is an instant success. 

6. Chicken Stock is an essential part of soups, sauces, and as I just mentioned, risotto! Keep it on hand for all of the above! (Again, if you can find low-sodium varieties, I recommend them.)

7. Canned Tomatoes (diced, crushed, whole, and paste) are a must-have! I keep a few cans of each of these in the pantry at all times. They make great sauces for a quick pasta, as well as a wonderful base for stews and chilis. 

8. Flour ... what is there to say about flour. You can make cookies with it, you can bread chicken with it, you can fry stuff coated in it, along with eggs you've got fresh pasta...always have flour in your house.

9. Breadcrumbs (or Panko) have many uses. If you are making burgers, you need breadcrumbs to hold the meat together, if you are making chicken or pork, you can coat it in breadcrumbs before baking, broiling or sautéing it, and they also make a great topping for a baked pasta dish. Panko is a Japanese bread crumb that adds a little bit more of a crunch than generic breadcrumbs. I prefer them.

10. Kosher Salt is a wonderful way to season your food. It's a bit less harsh than table salt and because it comes in a large box, is easier to measure amounts with as well. If you find that you're not getting the whole seasoning aspect of cooking, and want to follow a recipe TO-THE-LETTER, this is a good way to measure your salt before putting it into a dish.



This should get you started on building a pantry full of usable ingredients. I'll try and provide more of these top-ten type lists to give you hints into what you should be buying when you go to the grocery store. If you have a stocked pantry, you'll actually end up spending less each week at the grocery store because half of the ingredients will already be in your possession. That prepared feeling you'll get is priceless!