Name: Oven-Fried Green Tomatoes
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Yield: 8-10 slices
Ingredients: 1/2 cup all-purpose flour; 1 large egg; 1/4 cup buttermilk; 1 cup cornmeal (not self-rising cornbread mix); 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper; 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper; 2 large green tomatoes - cut into 1/4 inch slices; Alabama White BBQ Sauce, Remoulade Sauce, or [ranch dressinghttps://chattavore.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/pantry-ranch-dressing.pdf], for dipping

Oven-Fried Green Tomatoes

July 17, 2017

Fried green tomatoes are Southern food at its best, but oven-fried green tomatoes take the messy, popping oil factor out of the equation! (Scroll down for video!)

Click here to save this recipe on Pinterest!

Fried Green Tomato Obsessed

Regular readers of my blog are fully aware of my undying love for fried pickles and fried green tomatoes. I can resist neither when I encounter them on a restaurant menu, unless they’re both there, at which point I have to make a choice. It’s never an easy choice but it usually comes down to (a) mood; (b) prices; and (c) dipping sauces. Both have been featured here, most recently oven-fried pickles…swoon.

Oven-Fried is Better!

And since I mentioned it, you may have noticed that I do an awful lot of oven-frying around here. I already have a pan-fried green tomatoes recipe, but let’s be honest…on a weeknight, who really wants to fool with a big pan of popping hot oil? If I’m really speaking the truth, I don’t want to deal with it ever. Usually I just let other people (i.e. restaurants) do the frying for me.

Where to Find Green Tomatoes

Green tomatoes are plentiful right now if you know where to find them. Some grocery stores have them but often by the time you get to them, they’re already striped pink. My produce stand keeps them in the refrigerator, delaying the ripening process and keeping them green, so that’s where I usually get them. Right now I have a bunch of green tomatoes on a vine in my front yard, but they’re all so tiny that they’re going to be better for eating ripe than for frying.

Fried Green Tomato Success!

These tomatoes here were given to me by my pal Becky from A Calculated Whisk (I call her Blogger Becky so my husband knows that I am talking about her and not my other friend, OT Becki). Truth time again: we took these pictures in November, when she got a few green tomatoes from the end of the tomato crop at her CSA, Big Sycamore Farm (that’s her hand dipping that tomato!). Becky had never had fried green tomatoes or Alabama white BBQ sauce, so we sliced these up and made some quick oven-fried green tomatoes with some white BBQ sauce for dipping. I think that she was sold, and I doubt that I’ll ever actually fry green tomatoes again.

Just FYI, oven-fried green tomatoes are pretty flipping tasty on fried green tomatoes po’boys. You can take my word for it or you can give it a try for yourself.

Click here to save this recipe to your Pinterest appetizer or Southern cooking boards!

Shared on The Weekend Potluck on Served Up With Love!

Mary

Yield: 8-10 slices

Oven-Fried Green Tomatoes

15 minPrep Time:

20 minCook Time:

35 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup cornmeal (not self-rising cornbread mix)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 large green tomatoes - cut into 1/4 inch slices
Alabama White BBQ Sauce , Remoulade Sauce , or [ranch dressinghttps://chattavore.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/pantry-ranch-dressing.pdf], for dipping

Instructions

Preheat a baking sheet or stoneware pan in the oven at 450 degrees. Set a wire cooling rack over another baking sheet.
Set up a breading station with the 1/2 cup flour in one bowl, the egg and buttermilk beaten together in another, and the cornmeal combined with the salt, pepper, and cayenne in a third.
Dip each tomato slice into the flour, egg mixture, and the cornmeal to coat completely. Set on the wire rack as you finish each.
When all of the tomato slices have been coated, remove the preheated pan from the oven and spray generously with olive oil spray or cooking spray. Place the tomatoes on the pan and spray the tops with oil spray or cooking spray. Bake for ten minutes. Flip, respray the tops, and bake for another 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned.

https://chattavore.com/oven-fried-green-tomatoes/

a photo of a hand dipping an oven-fried green tomato into a bowl of Alabama white sauce

Wedding Cake Bites + Video

July 3, 2017

These wedding cake bites are made from a mix, so they’re SO easy – but they’re still great for a special occasion or just to satisfy your sweet tooth!

Okay, okay…wedding season is over. Well, maybe not; I got married in July (16 years ago!), so I guess wedding season extends through the summer, but June is “wedding month”. But once you taste these wedding cake bites, you really won’t care what month of the year it is.

I’ve told the stories about Federal Bake Shop before. My BFF, Angie, and I used to head over there on a regular basis as skinny teenagers (though I foolishly thought that I was fat…I was NOT) and order copious amounts of sweets from their case. We didn’t discriminate…chocolate chip cookies, thumbprints, and cupcakes were all included in our purchases. That said, the classic white cupcakes were always our favorites, and still are to this day.

I am determined that Federal Bake Shop is the reason that a popular chain cupcake shop didn’t last in Hixson. I have no evidence to back that up, but that’s what I want to think. Three inches of mediocre frosting just can’t compete with a more moderate amount of the best frosting on the planet coupled with the best, most moist almond-flavored cake ever. Look, I might be a little biased.

Angie and I have spent the last twenty plus years trying to figure out how to get as much of those flavors in our lives as possible. Wedding cake mix cookies are one of my favorite ways to get those flavors out of my own kitchen, and when I was trying to decide what kind of sweets to gift Angie for her birthday last week I considered buying cupcakes, then I considered making the cookies. Then I thought…wedding cake bites.

I used to make cake balls/cake bites a couple of times a month, no exaggeration. After I discovered them on Bakerella’s site I was basically obsessed. Red velvet were always my favorite, but I haven’t met a cake ball I didn’t love. For some reason, though, I had never thought about crushing up a white cake with some white icing and dousing it with a little almond extract to throw into my cake bites. Once I did…whoa.

And you guys, I know that this blog is usually about cooking from scratch. Sometimes, though, it just isn’t really worth the effort unless you are a total stickler for ingredients. If that’s you, by all means, make a white cake and white icing from scratch. But we’re crushing this cake up and mushing everything together so the texture isn’t really too important, and the flavor is coming mostly from that almond extract. A boxed mix and a can of frosting works just fine here. I usually buy almond bark chips from the baking section at a craft store (Hobby Lobby or Michael’s) but I just stopped at Food City for these. It’s always better to work with a little more than what you think you need, too.

Wedding cake bites are a perfect treat for a birthday, a wedding or baby shower, or just a need for something sweet. They’re so easy and fun to make, you’ll want to make them over and over!

Mary

Yield: 40-48 cake bites

Wedding Cake Bites

30 minPrep Time:

3 minCook Time:

33 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients

one white cake prepared from a boxed mix according to package directions but with 1 1/2 teaspoons of almond extract mixed in before baking, cooled completely
one tub white icing
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
1 1/2 pounds white chocolate almond bark (you may have a little left over but it's better to have a little extra)
sanding sugar or decorative edible pearls for decoration (optional)

Instructions

Crumble the cooled cake into a large bowl. Use your hands or a potato masher to mash the cake until no large pieces remain.
Mix the icing and the almond extract into the cake until all of the cake crumbs have been moistened. I find that a large metal spoon works best for this.
Scoop the cake mix in about 2 tablespoons sized balls onto a parchment or wax paper lined baking sheet. Roll into balls with your hands and chill for about 15 minutes in the freezer. Transfer the cake bites to the refrigerator.
Line a second baking sheet with parchment paper or wax paper. Melt one pound of the almond bark in a deep bowl. I microwave it at 50% power for a minute at a time, stirring well after each minute, until smooth.
Dip the cake bites one at a time into the almond bark. Transfer to the lined baking sheet, swirling the spoon to make a little swirl at the top of each cake bite as you move the spoon away. If desired, decorate the tops of the cake bites with sanding sugar or edible pearls while the almond bark is still "wet". Repeat until all cake bites have been dipped, adding more almond bark if needed.
Allow the cake bites to stand at room temperature until hardened. Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

Notes

Prep/cook time does not include time to bake the cake or chill the undipped cake bites.

https://chattavore.com/wedding-cake-bites/

These wedding cake bites are made from a mix, so they're SO easy - but they're still great for a special occasion or just to satisfy your sweet tooth! | Recipe from Chattavore.com

Oven Fried Pickles + Video

June 23, 2017

Fried pickles are a classic appetizer served at many restaurants. Oven fried pickles give you the delicious crunch without the mess of frying!

Anyone who has read my blog for any length of time knows of my love for fried pickles. I hadn’t even heard of fried pickles until some sorority sisters took me to a restaurant called Durty Nelly’s when I was in college and ordered some fried pickles. Life. Changed. It took me years to find fried pickles as good as that again (aside from visiting Durty Nelly’s, which closed more than ten years ago) but the food scene in Chattanooga has (obviously) changed a lot and there are lots of delicious fried pickles around town.

Sometimes, though, you just need some fried pickles at home. You can now buy them in the frozen section at the grocery store, but let’s be real here: frozen food is fine but it’s almost never as good as what you can make yourself. It took me a while to make fried pickles that I was truly happy with but once I had figured it out there was no looking back. To be honest, I haven’t even tried the frozen ones, because the ones that I make at home are so easy…and I always have the ingredients in my pantry.

My original fried pickles were batter-dipped, and while they are delicious, they are a bit of work. Raise your hand if frying really isn’t your cup of tea.??The mess is always epic, and fried green tomato batter everywhere can be a bit of a pain. Battered, fried food always has its place, of course, but on an average Saturday night when I want to whip up a snack I don’t want to mess with hot oil!

So now we come to these oven fried pickles. Anyone who has read my blog for a while knows of my love for oven-frying too! A little crispy breading and a spritz of oil before going into a screaming hot oven makes for food that is just as good as fried – and, if you don’t love grease, maybe even better? Oven fried pickles are just as good as anything that you might deep fry without all the oil and the mess. They only take about ten minutes to get on the pan and fifteen to cook.

I love to serve my oven fried pickles with ranch dressing. If you’d like my homemade recipe, subscribe to my newsletter using the form below to get my from-scratch recipe! They’re also great with comeback sauce or white barbecue sauce…but really, I’m sure they’d be fantastic with whatever sauce you want to serve them with!

Shared on Meal Plan Monday on Southern Plate!

Mary

Yield: 2-4 servings fried pickles

Oven Fried Pickles

10 minPrep Time:

15 minCook Time:

25 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients

olive oil spray or cooking spray
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 -3/4 cup panko crumbs
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
1 cup dill pickle chips, well-drained
dipping sauce, for serving

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450?. Spray a sheet pan (I use a quarter sheet pan) with cooking spray or olive oil spray (I use olive oil in my Misto).
Place the flour, eggs, and panko crumbs in separate bowls. Divide the salt among the bowls then divide the cayenne pepper and the black pepper among the flour and the panko crumbs. Stir each bowl to combine.
Dredge the pickle chips in the flour, then the eggs, then the panko. Place the breaded pickles on the prepared sheet pan and spray with olive oil spray or cooking spray.
Bake the pickles for 8 minutes, then flip each pickle and bake for another 7-8 minutes, until crisp and brown. Serve while hot with desired dipping sauce.

https://chattavore.com/oven-fried-pickles/

Fried pickles are a classic appetizer served at many restaurants. Oven fried pickles give you the delicious crunch without the mess of frying! | recipe from Chattavore.com

No-Churn Red, White, and Blue Ice Cream + Video

June 12, 2017

This easy no-churn red, white, and blue ice cream doesn’t require an ice cream maker, only uses a few ingredients, and, well, is just plain delicious!

I am bad at holiday-ing, you guys. Bad, bad, super super bad. Holiday-ing and “national day of ______-ing”. I mean, except for the obvious holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. I forget about the others. I’m trying, though, because I assume you guys might like some suggestions for some tasty sorts of things you could serve at your Fourth of July cookout???

By the way, let’s do a survey: do you say “cookout” or “barbecue”? And where are you from? I’m thinking all the southerners are going to say “cookout”, which is definitely what I say. Because if you say “barbecue” there darned well better be some smoked meat.

Anyway, sorry, let me get off that rabbit trail. I created a Pinterest board last week for the Fourth of July. As I’ve been pinning, I have noticed that most of the red, white, and blue things are either: things that have fruit arranged to look like the flag, or things that involve colored candy coating, M&Ms, etc. Now, I think both of those things are fun and cute, but they are also out of place here on a blog where I really don’t do “cute”.

Lucky for me, strawberries are red, blueberries are blue, and ice cream is white. And no-churn ice cream is so easy that you really have no excuse not to make this red, white, and blue ice cream. You know I am completely enamored with my ice cream maker, but I have been trying hard to make my recipes accessible to people who don’t have the same appliances I have. That’s pretty easy with an Instant Pot, but not so much with an ice cream maker! Really, though, when no-churn ice cream is this easy, there’s no reason to pull out the stand mixer and the bowl.

This ice cream is made red, white, and blue ice cream by swirling strawberry and blueberry sauce into it. You could definitely buy jars of sauce (I know they make strawberry sauce for ice cream sundaes, but I’m not sure about blueberry – you might have to thin some blueberry jam with a little water), but these sauces have two ingredients. Two. Ingredients. You really have no excuse to not make your own sauces, unless you are just in a rush (they do need several hours to cool off).

No matter how you do it, I hope you’ll make my no-churn red, white, and blue ice cream, and I hope you love it!

Shared on Meal Plan Monday on Southern Bite!

Mary

Yield: About 2 quarts ice cream

No-Churn Red, White, and Blue Ice Cream

20 minPrep Time:

20 minCook Time:

40 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients

For the Strawberry Sauce

1 pint strawberries, washed and hulled
1/4 cup granulated sugar

For the Blueberry Sauce

1 pint blueberries, washed
1/4 cup granulated sugar

For the Ice Cream

1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

To make the sauces: in medium saucepan, combine the berries (do the strawberries and blueberries in separate pans, or do one berry then wash the pan and do the second berry) and the sugar. Set over medium-high heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the berries begin to soften. Use a potato masher to mash the berries until any large lumps are gone. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens, 5-10 minutes. Pour into a Mason jar or lidded bowl and refrigerate until completely cold.
To make the ice cream: using an electric mixer, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Pour the sweetened condensed milk into a large mixing bowl and stir in the vanilla extract. Fold in about 1/3 of the whipped cream, then repeat with thirds until all of the cream has been mixed in.
Layer the ice cream mixture into a loaf pan, large storage container, or ice cream containers, alternating thin layers of the ice cream mixture with spoonfuls of the fruit sauce, alternating sauces. Freeze until hard, at least 4 hours. Serve with remaining sauce and/or fresh strawberries and blueberries.

https://chattavore.com/no-churn-red-white-blue-ice-cream/

This easy no-churn red, white, and blue ice cream doesn't require an ice cream maker, only uses a few ingredients, and, well, is just plain delicious! | Recipe from Chattavore.com

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