Snack Recipes | DanaSlatkin.com

Curried Popcorn

12/21/2011 By dana Leave a Comment

During the holidays, spontaneity rules in my house. Absent the relentless school routine, the last days of the year take shape organically, as a true vacation should. The only rules? No rushing or stressing allowed. But I confess to being a little challenged on vacations. Though the break from lunchboxes and dinner parties is welcome, this Farmgirl needs to keep busy. Too much time away from my kitchen and I start to get disoriented. So here’s my method for vacation reorientation…invite a steady stream of drop-ins, have a ready stash of party-food, and exhale. This popcorn was a big hit at last week’s holiday cooking class. The recipe is based on one by Aarti Sequeira (the Food Network’s endearing Indian … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Snack Recipes

Asparagus Fritters with Cucumber-Feta Dipping Sauce

05/11/2011 By dana Leave a Comment

In the weeks before Memorial Day, my oven will get less and less play, eventually taking a long summer vacation. But my stovetop will be cranking year ’round. It is still my favorite way to sweet-talk the subtle flavors from spring vegetables. How to showcase the bounties that beckon from farmers market stands, while tempting the skeptic eaters in your house? Consider the fritter. Just about any vegetable lends itself to this simple shallow or deep-fried morsel, which includes eggs and often some type of flour or breading to bind the batter. I had already mastered crispy orbs of potato, zucchini, corn and cauliflower. But I was in the mood for asparagus. Fashioning the verdant stalks into fritters presented a few hurdles. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Snack Recipes

Brussels Sprouts Two Ways: Chips and Roasted with Anchovies and Dates

11/23/2009 By dana Leave a Comment

Brussels Sprout ChipsAre you a lover or hater? The mere mention of brussels sprouts seems to always elicit either a fervent grimace or rapturous smile. In my family, I was outnumbered four to one. In fact, for years, I never bothered to buy brussels sprouts because I knew no one could stand the cabbage-y smell, much less the taste. But you know me well enough by now to sense another imminent cooking challenge. Could I get my husband to embrace the little green buds after a lifetime of rejecting them? Would my children, 3-year-old included, ever learn to appreciate brussels sprouts and even gobble them up enthusiastically? My only shot at success was to find a way to make them irresistibly salty and crunchy, like chips. With my … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Side Dish Recipes, Snack Recipes

Crispy Parmesan Kale (and Collard) Chips

03/04/2009 By dana 12 Comments

Kale is one of those leafy year-round staples that I have always passed up in the produce aisle. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the dark earthy greens in a heady soup or shredded raw in a salad. But I have always thought of kale as a vegetarian’s vegetable, and I’ve never found a way to make it palatable to my kids or husband, until now. When I was flipping through one of my favorite cooking magazines, a recipe for baked kale caught my eye because there were only three ingredients. I loved how the kale came out of the oven crisp and salty, like delicate chips. But in order to entice my finicky family, it needed a little extra appeal. This version with a light sprinkling of cheese gets raves every time I make it. Try it with collard greens, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Snack Recipes