Snack Recipes | DanaSlatkin.com

Scallion Pancakes with Sweet Soy Dipping Sauce (Gluten-free)

12/17/2012 By Dana Slatkin Leave a Comment

Makes about 2 dozen small (about 3-inches in diameter) pancakes, or 6-8 servings It’s beginning to feel a lot like…get me to January 1. If you’re already over the holidays, you’re not alone. All the forced festivity, cloying crooning and nonstop consuming can start to grate on nerves. But in light of the heartbreaking tragedies in last week’s news, let’s count our blessings. In the final stretch to the finish of 2012, I get busy cooking. For those I love. For those who are suffering or struggling. For those who are no longer here to enjoy the holidays. One ritual I always look forward to: Chinese food on Christmas Eve. It’s practically a cultural imperative. Some years we head to our favorite local restaurant for … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Appetizer Recipes, Gluten-Free Recipes, Holiday Recipes, In the Kitchen, Side Dish Recipes, Snack Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes

Quinoa Vegetable Latkes (gluten-free)

12/04/2012 By Dana Slatkin Leave a Comment

Makes 12 3-inch latkes Pull out that cast iron pan, stockpile your potatoes and onions, arm yourself with oil. It’s latke time. This month I’m knee-deep in them. After pouring through shelves of Jewish cookbooks over the years, testing countless recipes and swimming in oil every December, I think I’ve finally managed to master the perfect latke. For the past decade or so, I’ve stuck with what works, a failproof formula that somehow manages to get raves every time. I have gradually made some minor tweaks to the recipe, adjusting the potato to onion ratio, adding zucchini, and honing the process down to a few steps. For you traditionalists, here is the recipe. But if you’re willing to stretch a little this year, I have a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Appetizer Recipes, Dairy-free, Gluten-Free Recipes, Holiday Recipes, In the Kitchen, Side Dish Recipes, Snack Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes

Curried Popcorn

12/21/2011 By Dana Slatkin 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 Slatkin 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 Slatkin 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 Slatkin 16 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