All posts tagged tomato

By Jessica | July 21, 2010 | Dinner Parties, Featured, Seasonal, Snackin, Salads and Apps | No comments

And not in a gross, “I’m not eating that” kinda way, but in a “Whoa, this MUST be tomato season” kinda way.

And instead of getting my rocks off about heirloom tomatoes, I thought I would go straight China-import pesticidal, bright reds. Psyche. But really, I did start with some nice looking Sweet Cherry Tomatoes on the vine – you know the kind I’m talking about. They come in a flat plastic container of like 12 or 15. You should do this, it’s a beautiful thing.

Olive Oil Poached Sweet Tomatoes with Garlic
olive oil poached tomatoes

Keeping them on the vine, simply place the tomatoes in a heavy baking dish that fits them all snugly-like. I used an enameled cast iron which worked pretty well, you can also use a glass one which is all kinds of pretty. Shove barely wrapped garlic cloves all up in the cracks and pour in enough olive oil to cover. Using a brush, coat the tomatoes and garlic so its all oiled well, season with salt and pepper. Pop er in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes-ish or until the tomato skin starts to split but before they completely turn to mush. Bake for less if you want them more firm – up to you. Once or twice while cooking, use a brush to re-coat the veg with the oil.

olive oil poached tomatoes

Now dip!

Alts: add fresh herbals like thyme or basil or the sticky icky.

Serve with crusty bread for dipping and for mashing the juicy (and very hot) tomatoes and soft-as-shit garlic into.

Left overs? We are going to turn it into a lo-fi pasta sauce. Stay tuned bizzes…

By Jessica | July 28, 2009 | Main Courses, Snackin, Salads and Apps | No comments

Sally sells seafood by the seashore. I can say that easy. I can’t for the effing mother humpin life of me say “shellfish” before or after any other word. Can you? So, in tribute to shellfish and it’s tricky tax on my tongue, I offer a few food affiliated tongues ties right before I present you with a completely non sequitured recipe for steamed clams and mussels marinara. Mm-mm good.

If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where the fuck is the pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

A box of biscuits, a batch of mixed biscuits. (when my cousin little, he used refer to balls as biscuits and tell everyone he was going to kick em in the biscuits.)

Lily ladles little Letty’s nipple lentil soup.

Irish wristwatch. (ok, not food related but for some reason, but I like.)

Beer Steamed Clams

By Jessica | April 5, 2009 | Get Your Drink On, Other People's Recipes, Recipes, Snackin, Salads and Apps | 2 Comments

…when she broke her leg, gravy came out.

This post is dedicated to madukes who knows how to throw and feed a party. Not to say that my mama’s fat and got gravy legs cause her legs are just the beginning of her hotness, but just thought I would get the mama jokes out the way so yall don’t have to. Ya hear? Really. You really don’t have to.

Last night, she had her crew over and as usual, went above and beyond with the spread. If you want a lesson in party food, lemme let you know that this is where it’s at. All recipes are available, just let a chick know in the comments and maybe madukes will bring it with a guest post.

B and I brought jello shots to the shindig. Damn easy: follow the instructions on the box which calls for 1 part boiling water, 1 part cold water. Substitute the cold water with vodka and walla, you got your self a real-life sorwhority party up in this piece.

Check this menu.

Dried Italian Sausage, English Cheddar, Chorizo, Pepper Jack (I hovered here for a bit):

Salsa and Guacamole, a must:

Hummus and Vegetable. No recipe for this one here cause this is straight up Sahadis. Why mess with perfection?:

Mozzarella, Tomato, Basil Salad AKA Caprese AKA Get In My Mouth:

Olives. Again, thank you Sahadis.

BBQ Pulled Pork, served as sliders with hot dog buns cut in half:

Artichoke and Spinach Dip. Ma refers to this as her favorite white trash dish. For me, it’s tied with tuna salad with crushed potato chips. Holla.:

Triple Creme Brie with Grapes (pretty sure I added on a whole roll of fat with this one):

Jello Shots, cause it ain’t a party till your holding a strangers hair back over the vomatoriam:

Let me know next time you’re hosing and I’ll come eat all your food. Word.

By Jessica | February 3, 2009 | Recipes, Snackin, Salads and Apps | 1 Comment

Recently was the super bowl and boy was I bored once I got full. Sunday morning I searched around to see who’s house I could invite myself over to and therefore have an excuse to cook my little football hating heart out. I do kinda remember when some guy ran 100 yards but I think that was about when I was lapsing into a food coma and getting cozy with my 2nd bud (hey – when in rome).

I brought 9 Layer Taco dip and Buffalo Style Chicken Fingers. I’m not going to lie – i enjoy ripping the meat off a bone but sometimes a good piece of frank’s red hot-marinated chicken breast can do me right.

For your next boy party, serve this shmack up. And by the way, don’t try to gourmet this recipe all up – it’s supposed to be proletariat. DONT MAKE me turn this car around.

9 Layer Taco Dip
4 oz of cream cheese
4 oz of sour cream
1 paper packet of taco seasoning
16 oz of refried beans
4 cups of shredded iceberg lettuce (if I even see you going to mesclun, arugula or bib, I swear to god…)
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
3 cups of good ol fashion, shredded yellow cheddar cheese
8 oz of canned, sliced black olives (put them kalamatas away right now)
8 oz of canned pickled jalapenos
a big oh bag of corn ships
Serves me or 10.

Mix the cream cheese and sour cream together and add half the packet of seasoning – you can add this to taste. In a 12x16ish pan, spread the creme cheese mixture evenly across the bottom with a spatula. Microwave the beans for 45 seconds to make them soft and pliable but not hot. Spread over the cheese. Then layer in the following order: lettuce, tomato, onion, cheddar, olives and top with jalapenos to taste. Serve with chips.

Buffalo Chicken Fingers
4 chicken breasts
frank’s red hot
bread crumbs
fryin oil
1 tablespoon of butter
more franks red hot
cayenne powder if you nastay
Serves me or 10.

To All You Fake Ass Buffalo Wing Mutherhumpers:
First of all, if you aren’t using franks red hot or something that has vinagar and cayenne and butter, You Are Not Making Buffalo wings. What is up with bars that serve “buffalo wings” and then come out the kitchen with a freaking plate of sweet and sour wings. Or BBQ wings. Or fried wings. It makes me want to shove a wing right up your… <Say to myself… breathe… it’s just chicken.>

So… you are going to have to cut your chicken in chunks that are about 2 inches by 2 inches by 1 inch ish. You aren’t going to get even pieces but try. Throw the chunks into a glass bowl and toss in franks red hot sauce to coat. Add some cayenne if you want fire mouth. Without it you will have “mild” and who in the sam hell wants that? Let marinate in the fridge at least an hour.

After an hour, coat each piece of chicken in bread crumbs and lightly fry in a pan with hot hot hot oil. Fry for 2 minutes on each side and place on a baking sheet. When done fryin, bake the chicken at 350 for 15 minutes.

To make a buffalo dipping sauce, add one tablespoon of butter to 1/2 a cup of franks red hot and heat in a micro or on the stove top till the butter melts. Add cayenne till satisfied. I got about 2 tablespoon for hot – but I could see going hotter. I mean, I’m not a pussy.

By Jessica | November 14, 2008 | Recipes, Snackin, Salads and Apps | 1 Comment

There’s nothing like taking a fresh, healthy, god-given vegetable and frying the shit out of it. Turn that mother into a warm, crispy, slightly spicy shnack. I was on the hunt for green tomatoes to fry up but being totally out of season, I found none. Instead, I have been seeing these purple tomatoes at my local fruit and veg and thought, let’s try that, fug it. And you know what? It worked the hell out. It turns out these beauties are called cherokee purple tomatoes. I was as surprised to find out these date back to pre-colony days as my college financial aid officer was when I claimed the same. Try this very simple recipe which comes from down home southern cooking – I mean, you saw the movie, right?

Fried Purple Tomatoes

1 cup of flour
1 cup of cornmeal
4 tomatoes
salt to taste
veg oil for frying
tobasco sauce for garnish
Serves 4 for apps.

Since these tomatoes are about the size of a black plum, you can thinly slice the stem end and the bottom so you have 2 open ends. Now cut the remaining into 3 thick slices. Mix the flour and cornmeal well in a small shallow bowl or plate. Drag the tomatoes in the flour and cornmeal mixture until completely coated.

Heat oil in a frying pan. Oil should come above the sides of the tomato slices – you are going to have to add more than you are probably used to. But people, don’t be scared, these tomatoes aren’t meant to be sauted like some delicate flower, these are straight up fried. Make up for it by eating a tofu wrap tomorrow if you feel bad.

Heat oil in a frying pan. When a sprinkle of water sizzles in the oil, add your tomatoes. When you can nudge the tomatoes with a spatula, check for browning on the bottom. When they turn a golden brown, flip. Do the same to the remaining side. When both sides are golden, remove and place on a plate lined with brown paper or paper towel and let the extra oil drain out. Salt immediately. Serve with a big ol bottle of tobasco.

OMG, YOU HAVE TO CHECK THIS OUT!