Pickle Poppers

Pickle Poppers

 

Ingredients:

Pickle Poppers:

6 kosher dill pickles

1 cup cheddar & horseradish pub cheese

6 egg roll wrappers

Oil, for pan-frying

For the Chipotle Mayo Dip:

¾ cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

½ teaspoon kosher salt


Directions:

Using an apple corer, remove the centers of the pickles. To do this, stand the pickle straight up, twist the corer to break the pickle skin, and then push it down until you reach the opposite end of the pickle. Twist and pull towards you to remove the inside of the pickle. You can discard these centers or save them to use in relish, macaroni salad, potato salad, or tartar sauce.

Spoon the pub cheese into the cored pickle, pressing it in until the pickle is full. You will want to hold your thumb against the opposite end of the pickle to make sure that the filling doesn't squeeze out as you're pushing more in.

Once the pickles are filled with cheese, get out your egg roll wrappers. Take one pickle and lay it in the center of an egg roll wrapper. You want the egg roll wrapper to be angled so that it looks like a diamond, with the pickle going down the center.

Fold over one side of the egg roll wrapper to cover the pickle. Then, fold up the bottom end and fold down the top end. Dip a finger in water and run it over the unfolded side of the wrapper. Then, roll it up tightly. You should have a traditional egg roll shape now! Repeat with the remaining pickles.

In a heavy-bottomed skillet, fill about ½" high with oil and heat over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add in the pickles. Pan fry until golden brown all around, turning to cook evenly.

Remove the pickles from heat and place on a rack or track to cool.

As the pickles cool, add the Chipotle Mayo Dip ingredients in a food processor or blender and mix until well-combined.

Smokey White Bean and Ham Soup

Smokey White Bean and Ham Soup

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tbsp canola oil

1 yellow onion, diced

1 carrot, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 sprig rosemary

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 lb dried small white beans, rinsed and picked through

1 lb ham steak, fat removed then diced

1 smoked ham hock

10 cups of water

kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper


Directions:


Place a large pot over medium heat. Add oil to pot. Once the oil is hot, add diced onions, carrots, and celery to the pot. Stir. Saute over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent and the carrots are softened.
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Add the dried white beans, garlic, bay leaf, dried oregano & basil to the pot. Stir and cook for another 3-4 minutes.

Add the ham hock, diced ham, parsley and rosemary sprig to the pot. Cover the ingredients with about 8 cups of water. Add 1 tsp kosher salt and 1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper. Stir.

Raise heat to high and bring soup to a boil. Once you reach a boil, reduce heat to medium low. Simmer soup over medium low heat for 2 - 2 1/2 hours until the beans are tender. If soup starts to get too thick, add a bit more water.

Once beans are soft, remove the ham hock and rosemary sprig. Taste then season as necessary with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Soup can be made a day in advance and refrigerated until ready to serve.