Frozen Food Friday: Sweet Potato Fries

I've attempted to bake sweet potato fries in the oven before and was unsuccessful. They did bake...but never "crisped" at all, which left me with basically mushy slivers of sweet potatoes. I'm blaming my oven, because apparently baking sweet potatoes into a "fry" format is a thing and plenty of folks do it. It's unfortunate that I don't own a Fry Daddy; that would absolutely help in making delicious french fries.

While on the subject of delicious french fries, featured on today's Frozen Food Friday are these Sweet Potato Fries from (where else?) Trader Joe's.

These. Are. So. Addictive.

I keep a bag or two of these starchy orange sticks in the freezer at all times. They bake in less than 25 minutes and are easily customizable. Sometimes I'll sprinkle them with cinnamon...other times, with chili powder and paprika. I'm not sure which I enjoy more!

Now that summer is unofficially here, definitely keep these on hand for those impromptu cookouts you know you'll be hosting. They are the perfect crunchy side to complement that juicy burger.

For Cinnamon Sweet Potato Fries: once the fries have finished baking, remove the pan from the oven and set on a flat surface. With a spatula, gently push fries together towards one end, so they are touching but not on top of each other. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon over fries. Carefully flip fries (I've found being rough can cause them to break and mash together) and sprinkle another 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon.

For Spicy Sweet Potato Fries: once the fries have finished baking, remove the pan from the oven and set on a flat surface. With a spatula, gently push fries together towards one end, so they are touching but not on top of each other. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon chili powder and 1/4 teaspoon of paprika over fries. Carefully flip fries (I've found being rough can cause them to break and mash together) and sprinkle another 1/2 teaspoon chili powder and 1/4 teaspoon of paprika. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Let cool and serve with ketchup.

Cajun Blackened Mahi-Mahi with Mango Salsa

I'm craving lighter meals these days now that it's practically summer. Summer brings such a different mood to the table; much different than the heavy bowls of Spiked Chili or Pasta with Bolognese Sauce I imbibed all winter. Right now, I want to be outside grilling anything and everything in sight. But come mid-July I'm sure I'll prefer cooking simple, summery meals in my comfortable air-conditioned kitchen.

Speaking of simple, summery meals...this recipe for Cajun Blackened Mahi-Mahi is just that. The combination of a subtle flaky white fish with the harsh hot flavors of Cajun spices my mouth water - makes my nostrils flare. It's such a nice combination to have a tender fish inside and a spicy crunch on the outside.

And what would Mahi Mahi be without a cool, citrusy salsa? I combined 1 cup chopped mango, 1 teaspoon finely chopped jalapeno peppers, 1/4 cup chopped red onion, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, and a few halved grape tomatoes in a bowl. I squeezed the juice of one lime over it, mixed it all up, and let it sit for 30 minutes.

Mahi Mahi...the fish so nice they named it twice.

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Cajun Blackened Mahi-Mahi with Mango Salsa

• 2 fresh or frozen Mahi Mahi fillets
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons cajun seasoning (more if you like it hot)
• Dash of cayenne pepper
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cup chopped mango
• ½ teaspoon finely chopped jalapeno peppers
• ¼ cup chopped red onion
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro
• 5 grape tomatoes, quartered

1. Combine 1 cup chopped mango, 1 teaspoon finely chopped jalapeno peppers, 1/4 cup chopped red onion, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, and a few halved grape tomatoes in a bowl. Squeezed juice of 1 lime over mixture. Stir together and let sit for 20-30 minutes.

2. Heat a non-stick pan with a fitting lid over medium high heat and swirl extra virgin olive oil twice around the pan.

3. Coat the Mahi Mahi thoroughly on both sides with a dash of olive oil, followed by the cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, salt, and ground back pepper.

4. Once the oil is hot, place in pan and cover, which locks in the heat and tenderness of the fish and creates a slight crunch on the outside.

5. Blacken about 2-3 minutes per side, flipping once, until fish is cooked through. Thicker fish filets may take 4-5 minutes per side.

6. Remove fish from the pan. Plate and top with mango salsa and serve immediately.

Pecan Banana Bread with Cinnamon Brown Sugar Topping

Is the fact that the pollen vortex is over making anyone else extremely happy? No more yellow cars! If I had wanted a yellow car, I would've bought one - but thanks anyway Mother Nature. I've long waited for the day where I can roll my windows down and not suffer a scratchy throat that night.

Because I've recently been in such a good mood and on sort of a banana kick, I made some pretty amazing banana bread that I feel compelled to share. What makes this particular banana bread recipe fabulous is clearly the fact that it's topped with sweet a cinnamon/brown sugar mix (often left out of banana bread recipes)...

...or it could be the fact that it's filled with crunchy chopped pecans.

I think it's both of these, plus buttermilk. Using buttermilk in the recipe makes a huge difference in the moisture content of this bread versus others I've tried. Bake a loaf on Sunday and you've got breakfast for the week!

And of course, topping a slice with a pad of butter certainly helps keep it moist and soft, too.

Oh, happy day!

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Pecan Banana Bread with Cinnamon Brown Sugar Topping
adapted from What's Katie Cooking

Bread:

• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• ½ cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ cups mashed very ripe bananas (3 to 4 medium)
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Caramelized Pecans:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans 
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease bottoms of 1 loaf pan, 9x5x3 inches.

2. For the caramelized pecans: Melt the tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add the sugar, pecans, and cinnamon, and mix until evenly coated. Set aside and let cool.

3. For the banana bread: Mix together the sugar and butter. Add eggs and stir. Add bananas, buttermilk and vanilla, beating until smooth. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt just until moistened. Add in the nuts. Pour into prepared pans.

4. Mix 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and brown sugar; sprinkle generously over batter.

5. Bake loaf about 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Truffle Shuffle

If my memory of The Goonies serves me correctly, when Chunk is desperately trying to escape the home of the Fratellis family, he is simultaneously shoving pounds of ice cream in his mouth. Obviously this is the most natural thing to do when your life is in mortal danger.

If I was about to enter into a cavern below the Earth and allowed one food item (well, a condiment) on my way out, it would be truffle oil. Truffles are expensive and truffle oil isn't exactly cheap, but buying it is worth the extra splurge at the store. A tiny amount (think teaspoon) gives food an incredible, earthy, rich aroma of truffles - without having to spend an arm and a leg on the fungi itself. Truffle oil is too assertive to be used in large quantities (don't cook with it), so your bottle will last you a while. We are still working on ours that we brought home from Italy!

There are a million equally delicious ways to use truffle oil in the kitchen. Summed up in one word, truffle oil is best when it's drizzled.

...at the end of preparing your meal
...in small amounts.

Here are some of my favorite ways to use truffle oil.

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Truffle Popcorn

• 1/2 cup Popcorn (not the microwavable kind in bags; get the air-popped goodness) 
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon white truffle oil

1. Melt unsalted butter with a truffle oil and pour over plain popcorn, shaking throughout.

2. Sprinkle with sea salt and rosemary for a gourmet experience.

This stuff is crack. Speaking of crack...

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Pan-Seared Brussels Sprouts with Truffle Oil and Bacon

I feel like Brussels sprouts used to be the Big Bad Wolf of the vegetable world. Then, some culinary genius took pieces of those very scared three little pigs, put them in the same pan as Brussels sprouts and fried them up together. This created something so delicious that people are jumping head first on to the Brussels sprouts train (I'm in first class...guilty) and sprouts are no longer the dinner table's vegetable antagonist. Add truffle oil to the already perfect pair and they live happily ever after. In my belly.

• 3 or 4 strips thick-cut bacon
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon truffle oil
• 1 pound Brussels sprouts, halved
• Salt and pepper

1. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crispy. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate, then roughly chop.

2. In same pan with bacon grease, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add Brussels Sprouts and cook, stirring or flipping sprouts occasionally, until golden brown, about 12-15 minutes.

3. Season with truffle oil, salt and pepper, to taste, and toss bacon back into pan. Serve immediately.

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Truffle Oil Garlic Bread

• 1 loaf good crusty bread, I used a french baguette
• Melted butter
• Olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• Chopped parsley
• Parmesan cheese

1. Slice bread in half like you're making a sub and continue to cut into 2 or 3-inch size pieces.

2. Using a brush, spread a mix of melted butter, olive oil, minced garlic, and chopped parsley over top crusty bread. Toast in the oven at 350F until bread becomes golden brown.

3. Remove from heat and top truffle oil and grated Parmesan cheese. Serve with your favorite pasta.

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Other drool-worthy drizzling ideas:

• Thin green beans 
• Oven-roasted asparagus spears
• Roasted potatoes
• Scrambled eggs 
• White pizza

Here's to you, Chunk.

Frozen Food Friday: Trader Joe's Turkey Meatballs

I haven't been doing much "new" cooking lately. We've been busy and our weeknight dinners have pretty much consisted of things we know and love - baked salmon, BBQ chicken, pasta, and the like. Although, even on weeks where I do have time to test and experiment with new recipes, we try to reserve Fridays for easy dinners like a Chianti Ristorante meat lover's pizza, fajitas at Plaza Azteca, or something from the freezer.

Our freezer is quite full of all kinds of food; it just saves so much time in the kitchen. We attempt to make sure the frozen food we eat often isn't completely unhealthy. Naturally, we do indulge - usually in Stouffer's Frozen Macaroni & Cheese - every now and then. But not all frozen foods are created equal; some of them are tasty and not terribly bad for you.

To kick off this little series that I hope to keep up with, here is one of our favorite things to reach for on Fridays: Trader Joe's Flame Broiled Turkey Meatballs. They come fully cooked and taste savory and tender - pretty darn delicious (for turkey).

Some would say the best part is they don't contain artificial flavors; others would say the best part is they heat in minutes.

We love to warm our favorite jarred marinara sauce on the stove, toss in the meatballs, and mix with whole wheat spaghetti. Dinner is ready in under 20 minutes, which allows us to resume our regularly scheduled Friday night activities - a neighborhood walk, wine, and Netflix (not necessarily in that order).

These meatballs come in at 50 calories each (say what?!). So go ahead, pile 'em up and sprinkle that extra cheese - it's Friday, after all.