The Good Girl Gone Blog

Crispy Sweet Potato Fries + Spicy Raspberry Sauce May 14, 2013

This past weekend was full of cleaning, cooking and a House of Cards marathon. We made a few dishes, including a nut-free pesto (using sunflower seeds), the sweet potato fries above and a mint, pea + parmesan ravioli. Yum!

What makes these sweet potato fries so crispy is that they're dipped in a whipped egg white and flour batter, fried in super hot oil, cooled and re-fried!

The dipping sauce sort of came together last minute while Eric was doing the second round of frying. Inspired by a strawberry habañero sauce I'd had at The Friendly Toast, I decided to try my own sauce that combined sweet and spicy. I blended together the following ingredients, to taste:

- Non-fat greek yogurt

- Apple Wine Vinegar with Lingonberries  (from IKEA)

- Oil

- Salt

- Pepper

-  1/2 Jalapeño

- Brown Sugar

- A few frozen raspberries

Next time, I think I'll add more jalapeño for even more kick!

Healthy Dinner Idea: Mexican Sweet Potato December 17, 2012

Between traveling practically every other weekend for the past two months and eating too many last minute takeout dinners, I'm not looking or feeling my best. It's hard to say no to homemade cookies, airport snacks or one of my favorite Baltimore treats: sunflower seed bagels.

For a girl who's practically a vegetarian (more often than not, I'll choose a meatless dish) and has a ton of food allergies (nuts, fish, bananas, etc) altering my diet is no piece of cake. Still, I'm making small changes, like swapping out carb heavy breakfasts for smoothies and not keeping "junk" in the apartment.

A few nights ago, I decided to work with one of my favorite foods: the sweet potato. One of the ideas I found online was to top it with black beans and salsa- brilliant, right? With a little Greek yogurt as a sour cream substitute and no real need for cheese, this sweet potato was loaded with the good stuff and packed with flavor (and vitamins). 

Alana's Mexican Sweet Potato

Ingredients:

- Black beans (drained)

- 1/4 of an onion, chopped

- 1 clove garlic, chopped 

- Salt and pepper to taste

- Olive oil for Sautéing

- 1 sweet potato

- 2-3 heaping Tbsp. salsa

- Dollop of non-fat Greek yogurt (I like FAGE Total)

Directions:

- Puncture sweet potato with a fork and bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes or until the inside is soft and the skin is crispy.

- Meanwhile, sauté onion and garlic and add salt and pepper to taste. Once the onions are translucent, add the beans and cook on low for just enough time to heat the mixture to desired temperature.

- Once sweet potato is done, cut it open and cover with the bean mixture.

- Top with salsa and a dollop of greek yogurt.

- Enjoy :)

Photo Diary + Recipe: Spicy Parsnip Soup October 26, 2011

Step 1: Peel parsnips.

Step 2: Cut parsnips into disks.

Step 3: Cut onions, celery and garlic.

Step 4: Measure out turmeric, chili powder, cumin and coriander. 

Step 5: Sauté vegetables.

Step 6: Add garlic and spices. Sauté. 

Step 7: Add broth and parsnips.

Step 8: Bring to a boil, then simmer until parsnips are soft.

Step 9: Liquify.*

Step 10: Garnish (we used spicy paprika).

Step 11: Enjoy!

For the full recipe, check out Jane Spice.

*We used an immersion blender to do this. You should be able to do it in the original sauce pan, but ours was too small. Thus the pot.

Photo Diary: Homemade Oreos December 20, 2010

They're delicious. Check out the recipe on Smitten Kitchen. I brought a few in to work today, and no one has tried them yet. What's with that?

Erin's Pretty Pretty Princess Pink Popcorn August 20, 2009

Happy Pink Thursday everyone! I'm writing to you from work in a pink (ok mostly purple) dress. It was too low cut and showed off a very beautiful scratch on my chest (I have no idea how I get these things!), so I'm wearing a cute purple tube top under it.

Did I mention it's covered in sequins? But it's ok, I work at a startup. We do what we WANT!

For today's post, I wanted to feature this awesome pink popcorn recipe from Erin Cooks. Erin, another Boston area blogger, also happens to be the adoptive "blog mother" of my favorite baker, Elissa. Erin's blog is chock full of beautiful food photos and super tasty recipes. You should check her out!

Doesn't this just make you want to have a Pink Princess Party? Am I too old to have a Pink Princess Party? Recipe and photo via

Ingredients: Spring the recipe!

• popcorn
• vegetable oil  or olive oil
• kosher salt
• 8 ounces of good white chocolate
• red food coloring

Instructions:

• Pop a batch of popcorn. The stove top method is best, but you could also use microwave popcorn if you must — just try to avoid the flavored kind. Either way you will need approximately 8 cups of popcorn. (Erin’s Note: I love my Whirley-Pop. You may want to consider purchasing one. I personally will never go back to the traditional pot shaking method ever again).

• Spread the popcorn over a baking sheet lined with a silpat or wax paper. Pick out any unpopped kernels — you don’t want anyone to break a tooth!

• Melt 8 ounces of white chocolate until smooth. You can use a double-boiler to melt the chocolate, or put it in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time on medium power, stirring after each round. Once the chocolate is smooth, add a few drops of food coloring, and stir to blend.

• Use a spoon to drizzle the melted chocolate across the popcorn. Mix the popcorn around with the spoon to evenly distribute the chocolate. Then place the baking sheet in the refridgerator for 20 minutes to allow the chocolate to harden. Finally, serve and enjoy!

Now, I'm not the biggest fan of white chocolate, but I'm going to try this recipe anyway. Thanks so much Erin- I'll let you know how it turns out!

Simple and Delicious Hummus August 17, 2009

We had another Israeli style dinner the other night, and I decided to make one of my favorite recipes: hummus. Whether you spell it hummus, chumus or...choumus (which I would pronounce chow-moose, but whatever), it's a delicious and healthy condiment that goes great with everything! Plus, once you've tried this simple recipe, you'll never go back to store-bought. Did I mention you can make it in under 15 minutes?

Ingredients: Spring the recipe!

• 1 can chickpeas
• 6 Tbs olive oil
• 3 Tbs lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic
• approx. 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley (or 1/2 tsp fresh)
• salt and pepper

Instructions:

• Rinse chickpeas and let drain.
• Add to food processor or blend with immersion blender.
• Chill.

Israeli style schnitzel July 28, 2009

Rach and I have been craving chicken fingers for a while now, so when I remembered that we had frozen chicken breasts (left over from the dinner I made for DH!), I knew tonight was the night to take action. I facebooked my lovely future sister in law and asked for her delicious spicy dipping sauce recipe, had Arielle take the chicken out of the freezer and got to work on this delicious treat.

As always, I made a bunch of mistakes along the way, but it still ended up tasting amazing. We couldn't find hot chili sauce at Trader Joe's, so we bought sweet chili sauce and combined it with schug, an spicy Israeli paste. In addition, I was too lazy (and hungry) to let the chicken defrost, so I put it in a pot of hot water on the stove. The chicken ended up getting slightly cooked before I had a chance to bread it, but it tasted fine.

When I first saw the amount of chicken I prepared, I assumed we'd have enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow. I was totally wrong: Rach and I devoured it!

Ingredients: Spring the recipe!

    For chicken:

• 1/2 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast
• flour for coating
• 1 egg
• bread crumbs
• za'atar for seasoning
• oil for frying (I used olive oil)

    For sauce:

• mayonnaise
• soy sauce
• sweet chili sauce
• schug*

Directions:

• Set out three prep bowls: the first filled with flour, the second with a fully beaten egg and the third with a breadcrumb and za'atar mixture. Add as much za'atar as you want- it's delicious! Set aside.

• Defrost chicken and cut into strips. Pound until thin- I used the side of a sharp knife and it worked just fine.
• Dip chicken in flour and coat until fully covered. 

 

• Coat chicken in egg. Let excess drip back into bowl.
• Dip the egg covered chicken strips in the breadcrumb mixture until strips are fully coated

 

• Heat oil in a large skillet. Add chicken and fry until crispy and brown.

 

• Place cooked chicken strips on a paper towel. Blot excess oil with additional paper towels.

• For the sauce: combine ingredients to taste. I wish I could be more specific, but I didn't measure (The sign of a TRUE chef!) Be careful with the schug- that stuff is hot!
•  Serve and enjoy! (I added some blueberries and basil to the plate to add a hint of sweetness and a bit of flavor. It was actually an AMAZING combination and made up for the fact that I couldn't find any suitable vegetables.)

Weekend Baking: Mixed Berry Pie June 04, 2009

I've been on a bit of a "berry kick" lately. All I've wanted to bake are blackberry muffins and fruity pies like this one...which I made last weekend for the company bbq.

Recipe Adapted from Domestic Reflections:

Ingredients:

• 5 c. berries (strawberry, blackberry and blueberry mixture)
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 3 1/2 T. cornstarch
• 1/2 c. water
• enough cream cheese to lightly coat pie crust
• semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Baked pie shell

Directions:

• Mush together enough berries to fill 1 c.
• Chop remaining berries into small pieces. Set aside.
• Combine mashed berries, sugars, cornstarch and water in saucepan. Stir constantly until it begins to thicken. Bring mixture to boil for one minute. (Mixture should become gelatinous and gooey.) Set aside.
• Coat baked pie crust with a thin layer of cream cheese.
• Add contents of saucepan and remaining berries to pie crust. Refrigerate until cool.
• Drizzle with melted chocolate chips. (I recommend melting them in a double boiler. Add a tiny bit of canola oil to thin the chocolate.)
• Serve chilled.

 I also made a plain strawberry version:

Thanks to KBoss for hosting the bbq and taking these pie photos!

The Verdict: Delicious! I especially liked the mixed berry version. I might use a little less sugar next time though.

To check out the original recipe and to see some extra pie and berry tidbits, check out my springpad!