Creamy Three-Cheese Celery Bake with Oven-Fried Crispy Onions

For a copy of the recipe for Creamy Three-Cheese Celery Bake with Oven-Fried Crispy Onions, click HERE. 

Although we were quite fortunate and had no significant damage in my area from Hurricane Sandy, having no power for a few days did keep me from posting – the first week I’ve missed since starting this site over two years ago!- and limited the ingredients I had available. It’s a great pleasure to be back.

This week’s recipe for Creamy Three-Cheese Celery Bake with Oven-Fried Crispy Onions is not only a great side dish for your Thanksgiving holiday dinner, but for year-round dinner use as well. It’s my version of a tasty celery bake dish my mother-in-law used to make.

Some readers may remember that there was a celery-based soup posted here two weeks ago, and could be wondering the reason for what must seem to be my recent obsession with cooking celery dishes. Celery is a great, versatile ingredient, of course, and I like it very much for that reason alone. In the interest of full disclosure, however, I must also confess to another reason. Back in the spring, I planted celery in my garden for the first time. Not knowing any better, I thought that one celery seedling would grow one head of celery such as we buy at the supermarket. I planted three, unaware that each seedling would grow not one, but three or four celery heads. At harvesting time that’s a lot of celery, folks, and leads naturally to a desire to cook dishes that use it in significant quantities.

One more note regarding this recipe. For the mushrooms I would, of course, normally use fresh. Similarly, for the roasted red pepper I’d normally start with a fresh red bell pepper and roast it myself. This recipe having been cooked during the power-outage of Hurricane Sandy, the ingredients available to me were somewhat limited, and I had to use canned mushrooms and jarred roasted red pepper instead. The recipe below describes the use of both fresh and canned mushrooms. Making a roasted red pepper using the stove-top or oven is described in several recipes previously posted here, including one of my favorites, “Mini-Taco Hors D’oeuvres with Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Salsa.”

 

This recipe makes an 11” x 7” x 1-1/2” baking dish of celery bake, enough for 6 – 8 side dish size servings, or 3 – 4 servings of the celery bake plated by itself as a light lunch or dinner.

To start, let’s make the crispy onions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Julienne 1 medium onion.

In a plastic bag, combine 1 egg substitute and 1 Tbsp skim milk. Place the onion slices in the bag and shake to coat.

In another plastic bag, combine the 1-1/2 cups plain bread crumbs, 1 tsp dried oregano, and 1 tsp salt. Transfer the coated onion slices to the bag of seasoned bread crumbs and toss to lightly coat.

Spread the onion pieces out evenly on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicon sheet, and spray lightly with cooking spray.

Bake for 15 minutes. Toss the onions, lightly spray with cooking spray again, and bake for about another 15 minutes until golden. (Watch the onions near the end to make sure they don’t burn!)

When done, set the onions aside to cool. They'll get crispier as they cool.

Now let’s do the celery bake.

Begin lowering the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Prepare 1/2 cup of chopped green pepper, 1/2 chopped roasted red pepper, and 2 to 2-1/2 cups of mixed grated cheese consisting of equal parts cheddar, parmesan, and asiago.

In a skillet, melt ¼ cup of butter substitute over medium heat, add 4 cups of thin-sliced celery (and 8 ounces of sliced mushrooms if fresh are being used), cover and cook until tender, about five minutes.

Uncover the skillet, move the celery to one side, and put 3 Tbsp flour and 1 tsp of salt in. Add 1-1/2 cups skim milk to the flour mixture. Cook until the mixture is thickened and bubbling, stirring constantly.

Stir in celery into the milk mixture, and add the green pepper and roasted red pepper. (If using canned mushrooms instead of canned, add 4 ounces of them here.)

When the ingredients in the skillet have combined, turn off the heat and add 2 to 2-1/2 cups of mixed grated cheddar, parmesan, and asiago cheeses (equal parts of each), stirring until melted.

Transfer the mixture to an 11” x 7” x 1.5” baking dish.

Bake until cooked through, about 20 minutes.

When the celery mixture has finished baking, top with the crispy onions. Serve warm.

For a copy of the recipe for Creamy Three-Cheese Celery Bake with Oven-Fried Crispy Onions, click HERE.

Hope you enjoy making this side dish even if you don’t ever find yourself dealing with more celery than any reasonable person should ever have to. And please come by again next week for another kitchen-tested, home-cook friendly recipe. Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)

Mini Taco Hors D’oeuvres with Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Salsa

To download a copy of this recipe for Mini Taco Hors D’oeuvres with Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Salsa, click HERE!

Hors D’oeuvres may not be the first thing that comes to mind in a discussion of good food, but if you’ve ever been to a really good cocktail hour you know that, taken all together, those mini-treats you snare from the trays of the servers as they go past can make a pretty good meal on their own. And although I’m as fond of cocktail franks dipped in mustard as anyone (maybe even fonder, if New Year’s Eve here is any indication), sometimes you just have to shake things up a bit and do something different and interesting.

Enter Mini-Taco Hors D’oeuvres with Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Salsa. They’re made with seasoned taco meat and cheese placed inside a fresh-baked mini-shell, and dipped in a tasty salsa, so eating them is both delicious and fun.

Some Cook’s Notes before we begin.

• The salsa portion of this recipe makes about 1-1/2 cups, which is more than you’ll need for the mini-tacos. Don’t worry; you’ll find something to do with it. Just use it within a couple of days, since it has a short shelf-life, or use proper canning procedures to hold it longer.

• This recipe makes mild-medium salsa. Adjust amount of jalapeno pepper to desired heat level.

• If you prefer not to make tortillas from scratch, just use a cookie-cutter to cut 3” rounds out of purchased corn tortillas.

• Since corn flour does not contain gluten, it will not be damaged by being overworked while making the tortillas.

This recipe makes about twenty-four 3” mini-tacos.

First we’ll make the salsa.

Roast a red bell pepper on the stove top till blackened on all sides.

Wrap the blackened pepper in foil and let it steam in its own moisture till cool enough to handle.

Peel the blackened skin from the red pepper. Mince half of the pepper. Store the other half in a sealed container or storage bag and use in the next day or two.

In a non-reactive bowl, combine the salsa ingredients: the minced red pepper; 1 can (14.5 ounces) of diced tomatoes, drained; 1/4 cup cooked sweet corn; 1/4 green bell pepper, minced; 1/4 cup onion, minced; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 1/2 tsp minced jalapeno pepper; 1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (or 1 tsp dried); 1/2 Tbsp fresh lime juice; 1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice; 1 – 3 Tbsp of tomato paste to desired thickness; 1/4 Tbsp salt; and a pinch fresh ground black pepper. Mix and set aside at least 30 - 60 minutes.

Next, our fresh tortillas. (If you’re using purchased tortillas cut to size, you can skip this step.)

In a bowl, mix 1 cup masa harina (corn flour with “lime” [calcium hydroxide]; use Maseca or similar); pinch of salt; and 1 cup of warm water until a soft, moist dough forms.

Divide dough into 24 balls. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth to keep from drying out.

Place one dough ball at a time between plastic sheets (such as a cut food storage bag) dusted with corn flour, and use a tortilla press or a rolling pin to make tortillas about 3” in diameter. (Use the tortilla press if possible; rolling these by hand can be done, but it’s time consuming and labor intensive.) Make them only 3” – 3-1/2” in diameter; if you press them larger, they’ll be thin and too fragile to handle for cooking.

Carefully peel off the tortilla and put on a dry, non-stick medium hot skillet. Cook for about 30 seconds on each side. While the tortilla is cooking, start to press the next one.

As the tortillas finish cooking, place in a sealed container until ready to use.

Now for the filling meat:

Begin preheating the oven to 375 degrees. Heat a little olive oil in the same sauté pan you used for the tortillas, and sauté ½ a diced medium onions until lightly browned.

Add the ½ pound of ground turkey, ½ tsp salt and 1 minced garlic clove, and brown for about 4 minutes. Be sure the ground turkey is chopped into small pieces.

Add the 1-1/2 tsp chili powder; ½ tsp cumin; ½ tsp dried basil; ½ tsp dried oregano; and ¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper. Mix till combined. Add ½ cup of chicken broth and 2 Tbsp corn flour, and mix well. Simmer uncovered about 3 minutes until the liquid thickens a little.

Place one of the tortillas on a parchment lined baking sheet. Add some filling and cheese.

Fold the tortilla over to form the taco. Hold the tortilla closed with a water-soaked toothpick or with a water-soaked skewer that will hold several tortillas.

Repeat until all the tortillas have been formed into tacos.

Bake for about 15 minutes until the taco have started to get crisp.

To serve, trim any excess melted cheese from each mini-taco and serve with salsa for dipping!

To download a copy of this recipe for Mini Taco Hors D’oeuvres with Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Salsa, click HERE!

 

Make these unusual treats for your guests, or for yourself and  your family, and enjoy!

See you next week with another home-made, kitchen-tested recipe! Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)

Oven-Fried Marinated Beer Batter Mushroom Tacos with Mexican Corn

Although fish tacos have been a staple in Southern California for decades (and, in a purer form, in Mexico long before that), it’s only in recent years that they’ve become quite the fashion throughout the U.S. Generally consisting of deep-fried battered fish (cod or similar) with shredded cabbage, a spiced, creamy sauce, and a few other simple toppings wrapped in a tortilla, it’s no wonder fish tacos in the Southern Californian style are so popular; they’re delicious. Unfortunately, that deliciousness comes at a price: deep fried fish topped with creamy sauce will generally be on the fatty side.

But fear not, dear readers. In this week’s recipe we’ll make Oven-Fried Marinated Beer Batter Mushroom Tacos, a fish-taco inspired version that uses marinated portabella mushrooms instead of fish, and that reduces the fat by oven-frying them in a beer batter and topping them with a low-fat creamy sauce.

There’s also a quick, simple Mexican Corn side dish.

As usual, some Cook’s Notes before we begin:

• Oven frying is very much like breading and baking except it has more crunch. I’ve experimented with many coatings over the years, and crushed cornflakes are the best coating I’ve found, much better than bread crumbs or panko. (Although you can buy crushed cornflakes in the bread crumb aisle, I recommend buying regular corn flakes in the cereal aisle and going over them with a rolling pin as shown below. It costs a lot less to do it that way, and you also get to control the size of the crushed pieces.)

• Traditional fish tacos include shredded red cabbage. You can do that here too, but since we need only a small amount, and I didn’t want to waste most of a large red cabbage, I used radicchio in its place.

• The heat in the sauce is mild. If you like it hotter, just increase the amount of hot sauce.

So let’s get started making this reduced-fat take on a Southern California classic that’s, like, totally awesome, dude!

This recipe makes eight soft tacos, which will usually be about four servings.

First, let’s marinate our mushrooms.

Slice 4 portabella mushrooms into strips about 3/4” wide.

Make the marinade by combing ¼ cup cider vinegar; 1 clove garlic, minced; ½ tablespoon of dried basil; ½ tablespoon of dried parsley; ½ tablespoon of dried oregano; ½ teaspoon salt; and ¾ cup olive oil. (Add the olive oil by drizzling it into the other mixed ingredients while whisking to keep a smooth consistency.)

Pour marinade into a gallon-size tight-sealing plastic bag. Place the sliced mushrooms in the bag with the marinade. Let them marinate for about 30 minutes, turning periodically for evenness.

Next, we’ll make our beer batter.

In a bowl, combine the following and mix until a thick, smooth batter forms: 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon salt; ½ teaspoon ground white pepper; 12 ounces beer; and 2 egg-substitute eggs.

While the mushrooms are marinating, prepare the breading station.

Using a rolling pin, make 4 cups of crushed cornflakes in a gallon-size tight-sealing plastic bag.

Place 1-1/2 cups of all-purpose flour in a gallon-size tight-sealing plastic bag. Place the bowl of batter to the right of the flour. Place the crushed cornflakes to the right of the batter.

To bread the mushrooms, working one mushroom slice at a time:

Place the mushroom slice in the flour and toss to coat.

Dip each mushroom slice in batter till coated. Shake off the excess batter.

Place each coated mushroom slice onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicon baking sheet. After all the mushroom slices have been placed on the baking sheet, cover it loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for 15 – 20 minutes.

While the mushrooms are in the refrigerator:

Begin pre-heating the oven to 400 degrees.

In a bowl, combine the following till well-mixed to form the sauce: 6 ounces fat-free plain yogurt; ½ cup low-fat mayonnaise; juice of ½ lime; ½ teaspoon ground cumin; ½ teaspoon dried basil; ½ teaspoon dried parsley; ½ teaspoon dried oregano; ¼ teaspoon hot sauce (add more for a spicier sauce); ½ teaspoon garlic powder; ½ minced jalapeno (seeds removed); ¼ cup fresh chopped cilantro; ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper.

When the mushrooms are ready to bake:

Spray the mushrooms with cooking spray and bake for about 11 minutes. Turn the mushrooms over and reverse the position of the baking tray for even baking. Wrap eight 8” low-fat tortillas in foil and place in the oven. Bake the mushrooms and the tortillas for another 11 minutes until the mushrooms are cooked through and the coating is crisp.

While the mushrooms are baking:

Prepare the Mexican Corn by combining 3-1/3 cups (about 1 pound) corn niblets (fresh or thawed frozen corn drained well); 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped; 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped; and 2 tablespoons chopped scallions in a very lightly oiled non-stick pan. (We want to brown the corn, not fry it.) Cook on the stovetop over medium heat until cooked through and some of the corn is slightly browned. When done, toss in a bowl with salt, pepper, butter substitute, and a squeeze of lime juice.

Prepare the following toppings: 1 radicchio, shredded; 1 bunch scallions, chopped small; chopped cilantro; and sliced fresh lime. (To shred the radicchio, just quarter it, remove the core from each quarter, and cut each quarter into 1/4" strips.)

To serve the tacos:

Along the center of each warmed tortilla, place some radicchio, two or three slices of mushrooms, some scallions, cilantro, and sauce.

Roll the tortilla and wrap in parchment or foil, with some of the taco sticking out.

Seal the roll by twisting the bottom.

Serve on a plate with the corn on the side, as shown in the photo at the top.

You can enjoy these soft tacos for lunch or dinner. (If you have any of the breaded mushroom strips left over, they’re also great heated up the next morning and served alongside some eggs for breakfast!)

To download a cookbook-style copy of this recipe, click here.

See you next week with another tasty recipe! Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)