This one was on the table at a book club potluck last week. Everyone raved and wanted the recipe.

Zucchini Pickles - Heidi Swanson, 100 Cookbooks

There are quite a number of ways to play around with the personality of these pickles. Sometimes I shave the zucchini paper-thin, resulting in a whispy tangle of pickled zucchini and onions. Other times I want my pickles to have a bit more bite, structure, and definition. In those instances, I slice the zucchini thicker, perhaps 1/8-inch, and let them drain as long as possible, sometimes overnight refrigerated. Also worth noting, when I make them for our personal condiment stash, I used a brown natural cane sugar. It gives the pickle liquid a brownish cast that, quite frankly, weirds people out if they don't know what is causing it. So, if I'm making the pickles to bring to a BBQ or something, I'll make them with regular organic cane sugar - one that is lighter in color.â¨

3 medium zucchini (1 pound / 16 oz / 450 g), thinly slicedâ¨

1 medium white onion, thinly slicedâ¨
3 shallots, thinly sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons fine grain sea salt
â¨1/4 cup (small handful) fresh dill sprigs
1 small fresh red chile pepper, very thinly sliced
1/2 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds

3/4 cup / 180 ml cider vinegarâ¨
3/4 cup / 180 ml white wine vinegarâ¨
1/3 cup / 1.75 oz / 50g natural cane sugar

â¨Toss the zucchini, onion, shallots, and salt together in a colander and place over a bowl to catch the liquids. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least a couple hours. Toss once or twice along the way. You're aiming to get as much liquid out of the zucchini as possible.â¨â¨When you're finished draining the zucchini, shake off any water. At this point you want the zucchini as dry as possible. Place in a 1 liter / 1 quart jar along with the dill, chile pepper, and mustard seeds. Alternately, you can cram them into a 3/4 liter Weck jar like I do, but it's always a bit snug in the jar.

Combine the ciders and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves, and continue to boil for a few minutes. Pour the liquid over the zucchini and seal the jar. Let cool, then refrigerate. The pickles are good for a week or so.

â¨â¨Makes one large jar.

Prep time: 120 min - Cook time: 5 min

Here is a link that might be useful: Quick pickled zucchini

Jessyf, THANK YOU for posting the quick zucchini pickle recipe! It's definitely a keeper for me. I tried it by substituting 1/2 zucchini and 1/2 summer squash, and omitted the shallots because I didn't have them on hand. The color combo is pretty, they're super crunchy, and they taste great! I'll be making another batch soon. :)

I combined two recipes out of Moosewood's "Daily Special" cookbook (basically soups and salads) to make some kick butt blackeyed pea/collard soup. It is my new favorite way to eat collards. The other way was Alexa's braised recipe.

Blackeyed Pea and Greens Soup.

EVOO, about 2 TBLSP
1 med. yellow onion
2 stalks celery
3/4 of a large green or red pepper, or one small one
(The measurements are approximate, the point is to have an equal amount of onion, celery and green pepper)
3 thin slices of ham, diced (optional, or feel free to add more, I just added a small amount of ham for the taste, we are on a tight budget for calories, salt, pork and money!)
1 can of blackeyed peas
1 med. bunch of collards, chopped in a fine chiffonade style. You could use maybe mustard or turnip greens or rapinni, but I don't think spinach or kale would work with this, you need something more bitter, and chard I think is too earthy. Best with collards.
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
Vegetable or other bouillon to fill pot
V-8 juice to taste (This is my soup secret flavor weapon, but if you don't have it, just use tomato sauce or paste or salsa or nothing)
Liberal sprinkle of cajun seasoning, I used McCormick brand
1/4 tsp. cumin, thyme, oregano, garlic powder and allspice
1 bay leaf
3/4 cup frozen corn
Hot pepper or tabasco to taste (optional)

Saute onion, celery and pepper in EVOO until onion is translucent. Add a garlic clove or two at the end and sautee for one minute if you don't like garlic powder. Sprinkle liberally with cajun seasoning mix. Add ham and collard greens and sautee to mix the flavors, until collards are wilted. If you don't want to add the ham, add a sprinkle of Bacos brand fake bacon bits or diced fake ham or chopped link sausage.
Add a can of fire roasted tomatoes, and enough vegetable bouillon to cover the vegetable ingredients. I use "Better than Bouillon" vegetable broth paste, in which case I added just water and a heaping tsp. of the paste. Add corn, can use canned, fresh or frozen. Add the spices and a bay leaf. Simmer until collards are soft and flavors are mixed. Add a shot of V-8 juice for flavor. Adjust heat with aleppo or cayenne pepper or hot paprika to taste.
Note: This recipe calls for no salt because most of the ingredients have salt in them already, such as the ham, canned tomatoes and veg. bouillon. If you use no salt tomatoes and bouillon and forgo the ham, you may want to adjust the salt slightly, but ham and fake ham also add salt so go easy. Good fresh and even better the next day. Excellent with fresh baked corn muffins and topped with a dollop of lite sour cream.

I made these mini-muffins Saturday for an appetizer for Sunday brunch, serving them with the strawberry black pepper balsamic jam that bbstx posted in April. I found the muffin recipe in the Junior League Celebration Cookbook.

I was intrigued that there are only three ingredients. The muffins are on the dry side, similar to scones. They are more savory than sweet, which I liked for an appetizer. I plan to make them again & want to make Martha Stewart's Slow Cooker Bacon Jam to go with them, http://www.marthastewart.com/326881/slow-cooker-bacon-jam

Sour Cream Gems
Yield: about 36 mini muffins

2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
8-oz sour cream

Place self-rising flour in a medium mixing bowl. Cut in 1 cup butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal.
Gradually add sour cream, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.
Spoon batter into lightly greased miniature muffin pans, filling two-thirds full.
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm with additional butter.

Here is a link that might be useful: Strawberry Balsamic Black Pepper Jam from bbstx

I just posted about this recipe on the WFD #328 thread. I was so good I thought I should post it here too.

Double Crunch Fried Chicken a L'Orange

6 large boneless chicken breasts

Place the chicken breasts between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and using a meat mallet, pound the meat to an even 1/2 inch thickness. Alternatively, you can slice the breasts by placing them flat on a cutting board and using a very sharp knife to slice them into halves horizontally.

Sift together:

2 cup flour
4 tsp salt
4 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp ground ginger
2 tbsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp ground thyme
2 tsp ground sage
2 tbsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper

Make an egg wash by whisking together:

4 eggs
8 tbsp water

Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper, then dip the meat in the flour and spice mixture. Dip the breast into the eggwash and then a final time into the flour and spice mix, pressing the mix into the meat to get good contact.

Heat a skillet on the stove with about a half inch of canola oil covering the bottom. You will want to carefully regulate the temperature here so that the chicken does not brown too quickly. The thinness of the breast meat practically guarantees that it will be fully cooked by the time the outside is browned. I find just below medium heat works well. I use a burner setting of about 4 1/2 out of 10 on the dial and fry them gently for about 4 or 5 minutes per side until golden brown and crispy.

Orange Sauce

Begin by adding to a medium saucepan over medium low heat:

3 cloves minced garlic

3 tbsp peanut oil

Saute for a couple of minutes until the garlic is softened but not browned, then add:

3 cups orange juice

finely grated zest of one small orange

3/4 cup honey

1/3 cup rice vinegar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp chili flakes or 2 tsp crushed chili paste ( more or less to taste, use 1/4 of this amount if you don't like spicy sauces)

Simmer together slowly for about 20 minutes or until the volume has reduced by about half. Skim off any film that may come to the surface.

Mix together:

1 1/2 tbsp corn starch

1/4 cup water

Pour slowly into the saucepan stirring constantly to thicken the sauce to a glaze-like consistency. You can use a little more or less cornstarch mixture to bring it to the consistency you want. Boil for only another minute and remove from the heat.

Coat the chicken breasts with the sauce before serving. Serve with rice or noodles.

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Location: St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada St John's, NL, Canada

Nancy

I made this last night, and we all enjoyed it. Not the usual spices for a tomato sauce, but it all went together well and was a nice, warming meal for fall. I followed the recipe exactly, except deglazed the pan after sauteeing the onions with a good slug of red wine. Just cuz.Oh - and I served it with brown rice, not pasta, and didn't put cheese on it, because it just didn't seem like a good pairing to me.
Jane

Braised Chicken with Aromatic Tomato Sauce
Bon Appetit : May 1995
This dish known, as pastitsatha, is one that evolved from Corfu to stretch scant supplies of meat. Consisting of chicken, turkey, beef or veal braised in tomato sauce fragrant with spices, it is served over thick tubular pasta from Corfu called "perciatellli" (if you can't find it, use spaghetti). Kefalotyri is a nutty tasting hard cheese similar to Parmesan. It is available at Greek markets.
Yield: Serves 4

1/4 cup olive oil
1 3-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
3 cups chopped red onions
6 whole allspice
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Pinch cayenne pepper
1 28-ounce can whole Italian-style tomatoes, drained, juices reserved, tomatoes chopped
1 cup water

2 tablespoons (or more) red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Pinch of sugar

12 ounces perciatelli pasta or spaghetti
Freshly grated kefalotyri cheese or Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken in batches and cook until brown on all sides, about 8 minutes per batch. Place chicken on platter. Add onions to Dutch oven; sautee until tender, about 5 minutes. Add spices; stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and their juices and water. Return chicken to Dutch oven. Cover; simmer over medium-low heat until chicken is very tender, about 35 minutes.
Transfer chicken to platter. Tent with foil. Add 2 tablespoons vinegar, tomato paste and sugar to Dutch oven. Simmer until thickened to sauce consistency, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and more vinegar, if desired. Remove from heat. Cover to keep warm.
Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Transfer pasta to platter. Top with chicken, sauce and cheese.

With my overflow of tomatoes, I have been trying new ways to use them. Elery and I both liked this tomato cobbler so well that I'll continue to make it this winter with my home canned tomatoes. I'm sure it won't be quite as good, but it'll still be good.

Tomato Cobbler

Recipe courtesy Food Network Magazine
. Cook Time:1 hr 10
Serves:6

For the filling:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 large tomatoes (about 1 3/4 pounds), cut into 1-inch chunks
1 teaspoon packed light brown sugar
Kosher salt
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

For the topping:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, thinly sliced
2/3 cup milk, plus more for brushing
2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Make the filling: Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme and cayenne and cook 1 more minute. Add the chopped tomatoes, brown sugar and 1 1/4 teaspoons salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until the tomatoes just begin to soften, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, then gently stir in the cherry tomatoes and flour. Transfer to a 2-quart baking dish and dot with the remaining 1 tablespoon butter.

Make the topping: Whisk the flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and black pepper to taste in a medium bowl. Add the butter and use a pastry cutter or your fingers to rub the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse meal with pea-size pieces of butter. Add the milk, mustard and thyme and gently mix with a fork just until a sticky dough forms, being careful not to overwork the dough.

Drop balls of dough over the tomato filling and brush the dough with milk. Place the cobbler on a baking sheet and bake until golden and bubbling, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Let rest 15 minutes before serving.

Annie

I'm always looking for palatable ways to eat bluefish, since my husband frequently catches them. It's not my favorite fish, but he likes to eat what he catches and I tried a new recipe last Monday for fish cakes that we both really liked. It's a keeper. (Slightly adapted from the Cape Codder newspaper, week of Sept. 14th - replaced chorizo with linguicia, since that's what I had on hand). The grated potatoes were really nice in this...and the spicy tartar sauce was easy to make.

PORTUGUESE BLUEFISH CAKES
(makes 6)

1 pound bluefish filets
1/4 cup white wine
2 medium potatoes, peeled
1 Tbsp. EVOO
1 small onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 Tbsps. linguicia sausage, casing removed and finely diced
1 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 c. cornmeal
2 Tbsps. flour
3 Tbsps. EVOO

Place bluefish in a baking pan and season lightly with salt and pepper. Add wine to pan and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until cooked through. While cooking the fish, boil potatoes in salted water until fork tender (about 20 minutes).

In a small heavy pan, cook minced onion and garlic over medium heat for 3 mintues - add linguicia and cook until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes more.

When bluefish has cooled slighly, remove the darkest part and discard. Flake the rest into a large bowl. Grate the cooked potatoes and add to the fish along with the cooked onion mixture, parsley, beaten egg, salt & pepper. Mix well.

Divide into 6 equal patties. On a plate, mix together the corn meal and flour. Dip each fish cake into this mixture, coating both sides. Heat the remaining 3 Tbsps. of EVOO in a large heavy skillet. Fry fish cakes until brown on both sides. Serve on a bed of greens with sriracha tartar sauce.

SRIRACHA TARTAR SAUCE

Mix 4 Tbsps. mayo with 2 Tbsps. sweet pickle relish and 1 teaspoon sriracha chili sauce.

I haven't contributed anything in a LONG TIME. But here's a great recipe for those of you with lots of tomatoes. There is no "dressing" on this salad but it doesn't need one. It's fabulous and easy but does take a little time. From my current favorite new cookbook, PLENTY, by Otam Ottolenghi. Wonderful vegetarian recipes from a non-vegetarian.

TOMATO PARTY
The purpose of this salad is to make use of as many as possible of the infinite types of tomatoes that are available now. Some I cook a little, others more, and some I leave completely raw, to maximize the "tomatoey" effect with diverse flavors and textures. Choose whatever tomato selection you can get; the one below is just a suggestion.
Instead of the Sardinian fregola (available from kalustyans.com), you can use Arab mograbiah (from Middle Eastern grocers) or Israeli couscous. Or just leave out the fregola and double the quantity of couscous.

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup couscous
Salt
Olive oil
2/3 cup boiling water
1 cup fregola
3 medium vine-ripened tomatoes, quartered
3/4 teaspoon brown sugar
Black pepper
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 cup yellow cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons roughly chopped oregano
2 tablespoons roughly chopped tarragon
3 tablespoons roughly chopped mint
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 small green tomato, cut into thin wedges
3/4 cup red cherry tomatoes, halved

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Put the couscous in a bowl with a pinch of salt and a drizzle of oil. Pour over the boiling water, stir, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Set aside for 12 minutes, then remove the plastic wrap, separate the grains with a fork and leave to cool.
Place the fregola in a pan of boiling salted water and simmer for 18 minutes, or until al dente. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold running water. Leave to dry completely.
Meanwhile, spread the quartered vine tomatoes over half of a large baking pan and sprinkle with the sugar and some salt and pepper. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar and some oil over the top. Place in the oven. After about 20 minutes remove from the oven and increase the temperature to 400 degrees. On the empty side of the baking pan, spread the yellow tomatoes. Season them with salt and pepper and drizzle over some oil. Return to the oven and roast for 12 minutes. Remove the tomatoes and allow to cool down.
Mix together the couscous and fregola in a large bowl. Add the herbs, garlic, cooked tomatoes with all their juices, the green tomato and cherry tomatoes. Very gently mix together using your hands. Taste for seasoning: you might need to add salt, pepper, and some olive oil.

Serves 4-6

Adapted from "Plenty" by Yotam Ottolenghi (Chronicle Books, 2011).�

Well I didn't take a photo tonight, but this recipe was definitely a keeper! One change I made was to add a bit of poultry seasoning to the stuffing, it needed "something". Next time I make it I will also make and serve it with a mushroom sauce. I think that would take it to the next level!

Chicken with Mushroom and Wild Rice Stuffing
Source: Midwest Living Magazine 12/2007
from the Gunflint Lodge near Grand Marais MN

2 T butter, divided
1/4 c finely chopped onion
1/4 c finely chopped celery
1 small garlic clove, minced
8 oz fresh mushrooms, finely chopped
1/4 c whipping cream
1 c cooked wild rice
1/3 c soft bread crumbs
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper
6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts- I only used 4 chicken breasts
Nonstick cooking spray

1. For stuffing: In a large skilet, melt 1 T butter over medium heat. Add onion, celery and garlic. Cook 8-10 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms, cook over medium high heat for 6-8 minutes or until most liquid is evaporated, stirring occasionally. Add cream, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered 3 minutes. Stir in cooked rice, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Cover and chill at least 2 hours.

2. For chicken: Make horizontal pocket in each breast half by cutting from one side and almost to but not rhtough the other side. Spoon chilled stuffing inot pockets. Don't worry if stuffing isn't fully enclosed. Line a 15 x 10 inch baking pan with foil, coat with cooking spray. Arrange chicken in foil lined pan.

3. Melt remaining 1 T butter, brush over chicken. Season with salt & pepper. Bake, uncoverd in 375F oven 30-35 minutes or until internal temperature of chicken registers 170F.

Make ahead directions: Prepare as above through step 2. Cover and chill chicken for up to 24 hours. Uncover and bake as directed.

Linda

Well I didn't take a photo tonight, but this recipe was definitely a keeper! One change I made was to add a bit of poultry seasoning to the stuffing, it needed "something". Next time I make it I will also make and serve it with a mushroom sauce. I think that would take it to the next level!

Chicken with Mushroom and Wild Rice Stuffing
Source: Midwest Living Magazine 12/2007
from the Gunflint Lodge near Grand Marais MN

2 T butter, divided
1/4 c finely chopped onion
1/4 c finely chopped celery
1 small garlic clove, minced
8 oz fresh mushrooms, finely chopped
1/4 c whipping cream
1 c cooked wild rice
1/3 c soft bread crumbs
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper
6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts- I only used 4 chicken breasts
Nonstick cooking spray

1. For stuffing: In a large skilet, melt 1 T butter over medium heat. Add onion, celery and garlic. Cook 8-10 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms, cook over medium high heat for 6-8 minutes or until most liquid is evaporated, stirring occasionally. Add cream, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered 3 minutes. Stir in cooked rice, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Cover and chill at least 2 hours.

2. For chicken: Make horizontal pocket in each breast half by cutting from one side and almost to but not rhtough the other side. Spoon chilled stuffing inot pockets. Don't worry if stuffing isn't fully enclosed. Line a 15 x 10 inch baking pan with foil, coat with cooking spray. Arrange chicken in foil lined pan.

3. Melt remaining 1 T butter, brush over chicken. Season with salt & pepper. Bake, uncoverd in 375F oven 30-35 minutes or until internal temperature of chicken registers 170F.

Make ahead directions: Prepare as above through step 2. Cover and chill chicken for up to 24 hours. Uncover and bake as directed.

Linda

Granjan that tomato dish sounds really good. Are fregola and mograbiah some kind of pasta?

I made Nancy's (Wizardnm) Double Crunch Fried Chicken a L'Orange and it was definately the BEST sweet and sour chicken dish I have ever had or made. I loved the seasoning mix on the breading and I think I'll make up some just to use as a spice blend! I served it with rice and stir fry that I made with some bok choy and yellow summer squash that a friend gave me from his garden. Super yum!

I wish September lasted longer! Late Aug/Sept. is my favorite time of the year with all the yumminess coming out of the gardens and fields and orchards!