Crispy Cauliflower Bites

This is probably the best (and most unhealthy) way to eat cauliflower. It tastes like bites of fried chicken but is completely vegetarian. These would also be delicious served over a salad, but we devoured them on their own.

Crispy Cauliflower Bites (adapted from Damn Delicious)

Ingredients:

·         ½ cup vegetable oil

·         1 cup Panko bread crumbs

·         1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

·         1/2 T red pepper

·         1/2 T garlic powder

·         Pinch of salt & pepper

·         4 cups cauliflower florets

·         1/2 cup flour (I used whole-wheat)

·         3 large eggs, beaten

·         2 T Trader Joe’s Soyaki Sauce

Directions:

1.   Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

2.   Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan, red pepper, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a bowl

3.   Dredge cauliflower pieces in flower, dip into eggs, then dredge in Panko mixture, pressing to coat.

4.   Add cauliflower to the skillet 8-10 at a time and cook until evenly golden and crispy, rotating every minute (they should crisp up in 2-3 minutes).

5.   Transfer to a paper towel lined plate.

6.   Toss the fried cauliflower in Soyaki sauce and serve.

Cornmeal Crusted Dover Sole

 

This recipe was another creation by Lance to use whatever we had in our fridge/pantry to create an awesome meal.  I’d never had the fish dover sole before, but we had bought some frozen filets at Trader Joe’s a little while back to try them out. 

Lance crusted the fish in corn muffin mix and spices (he’s had that box of Jiffy in the cabinet since before I knew him…finally found a good use for it).  It turned out fantastic – crispy crust on the outside and flaky white fish on the inside.  I would definitely make this again.  Here’s the basic recipe (I don’t really have exact measurements on this one since I wasn’t the one cooking this meal…)

Cornmeal Crusted Dover Sole

Ingredients:

·        Dover sole filets (ours were frozen from Trader Joe’s)

·        3 eggs

·        Splash of milk

·        Lemon juice

·        Butter

·        Peanut oil

·        Jiffy corn muffin mix

·        Williams Sonoma Potlatch seasoning

·        Williams Sonoma Sriracha Kaffir Lime Rub

 

Directions:

1.  If using frozen fish, thaw it out.    

2. Mix the eggs, milk, and a squirt of lemon juice together in a shallow dish.  In a separate bowl, combine the corn muffin mix with a bit of the Potlatch and Sriracha seasonings.    

3. Heat up a mix of butter and peanut oil in a large skillet (the peanut oil has a higher smoke point, so it will keep the butter from burning).    

 

4. Dip the fish into the egg mixture, then into the corn mix and gently place in the skillet.  Our filets were pretty thin, so they cooked quickly.  Flip them to the other side and keep an eye on them so they don’t burn. 

5. Place on paper towels to soak up the excess oil, then they’re ready to serve!  We had ours with a simple salad.  

 

Florida State Fair 2015

 

Lance and I spent our day off last week at the Florida State Fair.  We’ve been a couple times the past few years.  We rode the swings last time we went, but this year we skipped the rides and just did the shows, saw the animals, and ate everything deep-fried.

 

If you donate anything to Goodwill this time of year, they’ll give you a coupon for $2 off your fair admission (so it was only $9 each instead of $11).  

We started off with the Kachunga alligator show (which we’d seen before…a trainer gets in the water with a live gator & carries it on stage…) But the best show I thought was the Sea Lion Splash.  I can’t believe the kinds of tricks they can teach these animals to do!  They did the normal balancing a ball on their nose, but the coolest part I thought was one of the sea lions doing a handstand on its flippers! It was well worth the fair admission just to see that. 

We have to enjoy funnel cake when at the fair, so we split one after the sea lion show.  There were dozens of stands selling them, but we went for the one that let you do the powdered sugar yourself! Look at this sugar bomb.

Then we checked out all the cute animals – giraffes, baby goats, sheep, and chickens with funny hairdos.  You can get up close and pet most of them (the giraffe grabs carrots right out of your hand with its long tongue!)

 

We didn’t get the chance to see the Welde Bear show this year, but when we went back in 2012 I got to feed one of the bears a treat through the fence!

For lunch we split a giant turkey leg and some freshly squeezed lemonade. 

We watched a crazy high-dive show.  It was pretty cheesy, but we saw there was a platform 80 feet up, we stuck around hoping someone would jump from it into the pool below.  That did happen, but the most insane part was a guy in a fireproof suit getting completely engulfed by flames before diving. 

 

Before leaving the fair, we had to indulge in one more fried treat.  This year they were selling deep-fried Reese’s cups.  I have a weakness for peanut butter and chocolate, so we went for it.  They were battered and fried golden, then topped with powdered sugar (I think we had enough powdered sugar that day to last us the rest of the year…) They were gooey and messy inside, but so worth the million calories. 

 

Today was actually the last day of the fair, so if you missed your share of deep fried treats, you’ll have to wait until next year!

The Florida State Fairgrounds is located at 4800 US Highway 301 North, Tampa, FL 33610.  This year’s fair ran from February 5^th – 16^th, 2015.