Shrimp Fritters with Chipotle Tzatziki

I can't even think about fried food right now. All I want is a big salad or a piece of poached fish. Simple, healthy, clean. Shrimp fritters are a no-go in my life. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy them. I'm sure at some point I'll recover from our trip to NOLA, but for the next few weeks, I'm keeping things light. That's what five days of shrimp and grits, fried oyster po' boys, beignets, and Sazeracs will do to a person. No regrets, though. None at all.

Our time in New Orleans was memorable and we left with a good feel for the city. When we travel, I like to do one activity each day and we managed to do that. On our first day, we took the trolley up to the sculpture garden, which is situated in City Park next to the New Orleans Museum of Art.  Entry to the garden is free, and one can easily spend an hour perusing the 63 sculptures.

Looking to get a bit more general history of the city, we signed up for a guided tour of St. Louis Cemetery 1. The hour and a half spent walking with our guide was packed with information (some of which I'm sure we missed since he spoke at a dizzying pace). Having now seen the above-ground vaults, I need to watch the infamous scene from Easy Rider again. Apparently (and not terribly surprising), part of the movie was filmed without permission from the city and, ever since 1969, no other films have been allowed to shoot inside the cemetery.

Our third day was a bit rainy, which made for the perfect museum day. The Ogden was down the street from where we were staying. A relatively compact museum, the exhibits gave us a great foundation on Southern art.

But the part I'll remember the most was what we did on our last day. A friend who lives locally offered to pick us up to drive around the Ninth Ward. While a few buildings have been constructed over the years since Hurricane Katrina (mainly those financed by Brad Pitt), not much has been developed in this area. There are huge gaps between the houses. Instead of a city, it resembles a more rural neighborhood. A number of these houses are in a state of complete disrepair and should have been demolished years ago. Yet they haven't been touched and just sit there. It's a sobering sight; one that anyone visiting New Orleans should see.

I'm not sure when Eric and I will have a chance to return for another visit, but we already have a list of eats, drinks and landmarks we missed on this trip. And speaking of dining, I'll be sure to share my recommendations later this week.

Back to these fritters! So, see that book down there? These fritters are a result of that beautiful book by Ashley Rodriguez (of Not Without Salt fame). I've read through Date Night In once already (a sign of a stellar cookbook is that you read it from cover to cover) and have already gone back through passages. I just love them so much. Now, shrimp fritters aren't in the book, but a tzatziki dressing is and I went off of that. Because a fried frittery thing, especially one with a bit of a kick, needs a yogurt dipping sauce to cool things down (I should note that I modified it a bit by adding some chipotle pepper to give it a little smokiness).

For other a multitude of wonderful recipes and deeply personal stories by Ashley, be sure to buy her book.Don't wait. Go. Now. 

Shrimp Fritters with Chipotle Tzatziki

Sources: Fritters adapted from Emeril Lagasse's recipe via Food Network; Tzatziki adapted from Date Night In by Ashley Rodriguez

Yields: approx. 2 dozen fritters

Ingredients

For the shrimp fritters 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1/4 cup chopped green onion 1/4 cup chopped fennel 1 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces 1 tablespoon chopped garlic 1 tsp dried oregano 3 eggs, beaten 1 1/2 cup milk 2 teaspoons baking powder Salt Cayenne 3 1/4 cups flour Corn oil, for frying

For the chipotle tzatziki 1 cup plain Greek yogurt 2 teaspoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon Champagne vinegar 1/2 cucumber, seeded and chopped into small cubes 1 garlic clove, minced 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint 2 teaspoons fresh dill, minced 1 tsp ground chipotle pepper

1. Prepare the chipotle tzatziki by mixing together all the ingredients in a bowl. Season with salt and let sit in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve the fritters.

2. Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the green onion and fennel. Cook for about 3 minutes, until softened. Add the shrimp season with oregano and salt, and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Remove from heat.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of cayenne. Add the flour mixture, 1/4 cup at a time, to the egg mixture. Once it is fully incorporated, fold shrimp mixture into batter.

4. Pour corn oil in a large, deep saucepan so it comes up 3 inches. Heat the corn oil to 360 degrees F. Drop the batter, a heaping tablespoon at a time, into the hot oil. When the fritters pop to the surface, roll them around with a slotted spoon in the oil to brown them evenly. Remove and drain on paper towels. Serve with chipotle tzatziki.

Crispy Ginger Snaps

Our winter routine now consists of a nightly pot of tea. Lemon or lemon-ginger are our go-tos. I often leave mine unadulterated, but sometimes there's a couple teaspoons of honey, an additional squeeze of lemon, and, on the weekends (or after an especially stressful day), a splash of rum or bourbon. We sip this on our couch, curled up under blankets (Maki is usually wrapped up under two or three of these in an attempt to keep her nose warm).  The TV streams episodes one after the next. We're in full hibernation mode.

On a recent trip to the store, Eric mentioned that he's been craving some ginger snaps to go with our tea. We bought a box and, while delicious, I couldn't help but think how nice it'd be if I made my own cookies. Not that it'd be healthier, but, unlike other prepared items we purchase, baking a batch of ginger snaps isn't terribly complicated. Now, I'm usually a fan of chewy cookies. A little crunch on the outside is fine, but I prefer them a little underdone in the middle. However, my goal here was to make crispy ginger snaps. And I wanted them to be little guys. A couple bites each.

This took a bit of work. I first made the dough, which I knew would result in a flavorful cookies, since I'd consumed half the bowl as I transferred it to the baking sheet. The trick was to roll the dough balls so that when they spread in the oven, it would only be a couple inches in diameter. Next, I needed to figure out how long to bake them for. Too long, and they get burnt (which happened a few times) and too short and they don't crisp up. It's a tough job, but I was happy to take on the challenge.

I've found that a number of ginger cookies don't call for crystalized ginger. For me, I love the kick that you get from those little bits, so I've included some in this recipe. There's no doubt that these are ginger cookies. None at all.

Crispy Ginger Snaps

Source:Slightly adapted from the recipe by Nick Malgieri via FoodNetwork.com

Yields: About 60 cookies

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 teaspoons ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground all-spice 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter 1 cup sugar 1 large egg 1/4 cup molasses 4 ounces crystallized ginger, minced 2 or 3 cookie sheets lined with parchment or foil

1. Set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

2. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices in a bowl; stir well to mix.

3. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together on medium speed the butter and sugar for about 5 minutes until very light, fluffy and whitened. Add the egg and continue beating until smooth. Lower speed and beat in half the dry ingredients, then the molasses. Stop the mixer and scrape down bowl and beater. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients. Mix in the crystalized ginger. Remove bowl from mixer and use a large rubber spatula to finish mixing the dough.

4. Scoop out the dough using a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon. Roll into balls between the palms of your the hands. Yes, they will be small. Place the balls of dough on the prepared pans leaving about 2 inches all around each, to allow for spreading.

5. Bake the cookies for about 8-9 minutes, or until they have spread, are golden brown and are firm to the touch. Using a spatula, transfer the cookies to cooling racks. Store the cooled cookies in a cookie jar or tupperware container with a lid.

Black Radish Slaw with Toasted Quinoa

These poor black radishes sat in the fridge for weeks. Actually, it may have been over a month. Totally neglected. As the one who does most of the cooking, it was up to me to get up the guts to work with these again. The last time was almost two years ago and I was a bit stunned by their pungent flavor. It was a similar reaction to what I had when I first tried dandelion greens. But now I'm a fan of those greens. I found a way to mellow them and I knew I could do the same with black radish.

After weeks of meals loaded with butter, cream, sugar, and all those delicious and rich ingredients, I was ready to lighten things up a bit. Slaws are my favorite this time of year. Between the soups and stews, it's nice to balance things by preparing a big salad with a zingy slaw. A little sweetness comes out through the agave and carrot, with a touch of tang from the lime. It's got a lot going on. A ton of flavor; a lot of textures. And it reminds me to remain fearless in the kitchen. At face value, an ingredient can be intimidating. Approaching it with a little finesse, however, can transform it into something beautiful.

Black Radish Slaw with Toasted Quinoa

Yields: Serves 4 as a side

Ingredients

1/2 cup quinoa 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth 2 medium-sized black radish, peeled and root end trimmed. 2 medium-sized carrots, peeled 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves 1 lime, juiced 2 tsp agave 3.5 tablespoons olive oil Kosher salt 1 tsp smoked paprika Baby spinach, rinsed Sesame seeds

Instructions

1. To cook the quinoa, add the veggie broth to a pot and bring to a boil.  Stir in the quinoa, cover and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer until all the veggie broth has been absorbed, approximately 15 minutes.  While it's cooking, prepare the rest of the slaw.

2. Using a shredding side of a box grater, grate the black radish and carrot into a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together lime juice, agave, and 1.5 tablespoons olive oil, along with the mint leaves and 1 tsp of Kosher salt. Pour dressing over grated radish slaw and toss together. Let sit for 10-15 minutes.

3. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a medium sauté pan.  Set over medium-high heat.  Once the oil has heated, add the quinoa to the pan and spread out across the surface.  Refrain from stirring as this will allow the quinoa to crisp up.  After 2-3 minutes, give the quinoa a stir, season with 1/4 teaspoon of Kosher salt and 1 tsp smoked paprika and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat.

4. On a platter, add a couple heaping handfuls of baby spinach. Top with slaw, then sprinkle toasted quinoa and some sesame seeds over it.