The 60-Second Food Schmooze

What if your hors-d’oeuvre for the holiday starts with a Saltine cracker? Take your cracker, add a slick of store-bought olive tapenade, top it with a poached shrimp and a few crumbles of Feta cheese. It’s the simplest Mediterranean appetizer on the planet. Delicious, too.

Photo: Kevin/Flickr, creative commons

Now is the time to tuck away your favorite corn on the cob. Think of it—you could freeze a big batch of fresh corn right now to use for Thanksgiving dinner. So much more flavorful than that frozen box in the store. Buy a few dozen ears now, cut each ear in half so they’re easier to handle, then strip the uncooked kernels off the cob and freeze them in a couple of large plastic bags. On Thanksgiving, you have the freshest corn for a side dish, or to make cornbread. You’ll feel so good when you put out that sweet bowl of corn studded with butter.

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Now is the time to tuck away your favorite corn on the cob. Think of it—you could freeze a big batch of fresh corn right now to use for Thanksgiving dinner. So much more flavorful than that frozen box in the store. Buy a few dozen ears now, cut each ear in half so they’re easier to handle, then strip the uncooked kernels off the cob and freeze them in a couple of large plastic bags. On Thanksgiving, you have the freshest corn for a side dish, or to make cornbread. You’ll feel so good when you put out that sweet bowl of corn studded with butter.

If you’re a pasta lover, I have a healthy summertime calorie-saving tip for you. The thing is, I’m usually into the pasta for the sauce. That would be homemade or store-bought pesto lately. So, I use a spiralizer device or food processor to shred zucchini into noodles. I fry those in a little olive oil for just a few minutes, then add a generous amount of pesto. Then, I toss quickly to incorporate the pesto, and serve. Add freshly grated cheese on top, if it’ll make your day. Kids like it too because zoodles are just plain fun.

Photo: Marco Verch/Flickr, creative commons

The post Make Summer “Pasta” Using Spirialized Zucchini and Pesto appeared first on Faith Middleton's Food Schmooze.

Support the show: https://foodschmooze.org/donate/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you’re a pasta lover, I have a healthy summertime calorie-saving tip for you. The thing is, I’m usually into the pasta for the sauce. That would be homemade or store-bought pesto lately. So, I use a spiralizer device or food processor to shred zucchini into noodles. I fry those in a little olive oil for just a few minutes, then add a generous amount of pesto. Then, I toss quickly to incorporate the pesto, and serve. Add freshly grated cheese on top, if it’ll make your day. Kids like it too because zoodles are just plain fun.

Photo: Marco Verch/Flickr, creative commons

It’s a wild idea but it’s also crazy delicious—a Beer & Chocolate Ice Cream Soda. Two ingredients will do the trick. Start with a tall ice cold glass of your favorite ale (I love New Belgium.) Stop two inches from the top when you pour, because the whole thing will fizz up as soon as you add two scoops of your favorite chocolate ice cream. That’s all you do to whip up a beer and chocolate ice cream soda that tastes like a chilled match made in heaven. Trying it came to me out of the blue and now it’s a tradition in my house, and yours, too, I hope.

Photo: Dan4th Nicholas/Flickr, creative commons

The post Beer & Chocolate Ice Cream Soda appeared first on Faith Middleton's Food Schmooze.

Support the show: https://foodschmooze.org/donate/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s a wild idea but it’s also crazy delicious—a Beer & Chocolate Ice Cream Soda. Two ingredients will do the trick. Start with a tall ice cold glass of your favorite ale (I love New Belgium.) Stop two inches from the top when you pour, because the whole thing will fizz up as soon as you add two scoops of your favorite chocolate ice cream. That’s all you do to whip up a beer and chocolate ice cream soda that tastes like a chilled match made in heaven. Trying it came to me out of the blue and now it’s a tradition in my house, and yours, too, I hope.

Photo: Dan4th Nicholas/Flickr, creative commons

Time for a chef’s secret, revealed right here, to make your grilled salmon something special. Before cooking, chefs often soak their salmon pieces in salted water to make the fish stay moist while it cooks. Put your fish into 2 quarts of water, and 5 tablespoons of salt. Let it sit there for 20 minutes, and dry them off with paper towels just before cooking, whether you grill, broil, sauté or bake them. Why shouldn’t you know how to make restaurant-worthy salmon?

The post How to Make Moist Salmon appeared first on Faith Middleton's Food Schmooze.

Support the show: https://foodschmooze.org/donate/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time for a chef’s secret, revealed right here, to make your grilled salmon something special. Before cooking, chefs often soak their salmon pieces in salted water to make the fish stay moist while it cooks. Put your fish into 2 quarts of water, and 5 tablespoons of salt. Let it sit there for 20 minutes, and dry them off with paper towels just before cooking, whether you grill, broil, sauté or bake them. Why shouldn’t you know how to make restaurant-worthy salmon?

Grilled lemon slices are delicious to eat with fish or chicken. I buy organic lemons and slice them about a quarter-inch thick. Toss the slices with a little white sugar and grill those slices on both sides until they have golden brown grill marks. Set those aside and grill shrimp tossed in olive oil a couple of minutes on each side. Serve the shrimp with the edible grilled lemon slices on each plate. And you can always add a slice of grilled lemon to your cocktail, too. You can do this with oranges and limes, too.

Photo: Alan Sheffield/Flickr, creative commons

The post Grilled Lemon Slices with Shrimp appeared first on Faith Middleton's Food Schmooze.

Support the show: https://foodschmooze.org/donate/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.