CrankyDave

I do love pickles! No Chicago hotdog would be complete without a dill pickle spear and a Bloody Mary would fall flat without a tasty dill pickle spear. I have to admit that even though I’m a gardener and grow my own cucumbers, not only for salads, but to make and can pickles, I can’t resist buying a big jar of those tasty buggers every once in awhile.

So once you’ve purloined the last crunchy piece of pickly goodness from the jar now what? Dump the pickle juice down the drain and use the jar for nuts, bolts, or root a cutting from that hanging ivy that has already reached the floor? NO! Don’t do that! Shame on you for even thinking about wasting all that pickly goodness.

There are lots of things you can do. Me… I like to take some of the cucumbers I grow, especially the early ones, and pack them back into the same jar/pickle juice and make more pickles! No reason to waste what made what made them pickles in the first place now is there? Wait a couple weeks and PRESTO! more pickles! For some other ideas, here’s a page I came across today with plenty more ideas on what to do with juice once the pickles are gone… Uses for the Juices

I can’t say I’m the biggest sweet pickle fan. I love the dill, garlic dill, and the hot garlic dills. But here’s a recipe for Refrigerator Sweet Pickles a dear family friend shared with me…

“Sweet Lyla Pickles”

In a 1/2 gallon jar with a tight (leak proof) lid combine the following…

-1 1/2 cups of water
-1 1/2 cups of vinegar
-1 1/2 cups of sugar
-1 1/2 tablespoons of Onion Flakes
-1/4 teaspoon of salt
-1/4 teaspoon of celery seed
-1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt
-1/2 teaspoon of celery salt

Cover, and shake the jar until all the sugar dissolves. Fill the jar with sliced cucumbers and place in the refrigerator. Occasionally shake the jar. You’ll have sweet pickles in a few days.

I’ve also used this recipe to make sweet relish as well. Simply cut the recipe down (if you don’t want a half gallon of relish) and instead of slicing the cucumbers, dice them. I’ve also used zucchini instead of cucumbers and it came out great! If you like the “green color” add a drop of green food coloring.

Speaking of zucchini, here’s how I make zucchini burgers.

Zucchini fries anyone? Yep, got a fun and easy way to make those for all you BBQ’ers out there. Not only easy and fun… most tasty!

Dave

I just finished rereading Dave Pasternack – Master Chef Extraordinaire and while I don’t agree with all the thoughts Greg shares, he does make a very good point.

It’s likely that some folks searching for Dave Pasternack aren’t particularly interested in person that thought it was a good idea to insult the SEO industry, but ESCA Restaurant in New York where you’ll find master chef Dave Pasternack in the kitchen. A restaurant he opened with with partners Joseph Bastianich, Mario Batali, and Simon Dean.

I won’t speculate as what Chef Pasternack knows about SEO, but I rather suspect he’s far more concerned about the fresh fish he has available for the ESCA Dinner Menu than where he ranks for his name.

I’m certainly not a fan of SEO contests myself, and for me, my previous two blog posts were not about ranking on Dave Pasternack’s name. It was about my thoughts and opinions in regards to the irresponsible comments made by Mr. Pasternack of DidIt.com.

I for one, would much rather spend my time and effort in satisfying my clients rather than having to debunk the nonsense that gets spewed by people who don’t know what they’re talking about. I’d much rather use my expertise than have to defend it just because of irresponsible comments made by people of the same ilk as DidIt.com’s founder Dave Pasternack.

Perhaps some good will come from all of this.

Perhaps someone who is looking for a Southern Italian Seafood Restaurant in New York where Chef Dave Pasternack is hard at work in the kitchen, will happen across my blog and find exactly what they were looking for.

Perhaps someone doing their due diligence on the other Dave Pasternack and his PPC company will happen across my blog and think twice about who they spend their money with. Why not try the Crudo – Italy’s answer to sushi at ESCA while you’re thinking about it.

At any rate, when it comes to anything in the kitchen, including baking a cake, my money’s on Chef Dave Pasternack.

Dave

I love Thanksgiving! Lots of food and NFL football all day. If your household is anything like mine, there’s plenty of leftover turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy. I always cook far more than we need. After all, what’s Thanksgiving without plenty of leftovers?

So it is in the Thanksgiving spirit, and all those lovely leftovers from the Thanksgiving feast I’d like to share one of my favorites I like to call…

Turkey Shepherds Pie

Start by taking your leftover stuffing and pressing it firmly into a greased pie pan forming a crust. I personally like to use the small pot pie sized tins for individual servings. If you made a drier stuffing, simply moisten it with a little water or chicken broth first. For a crispier crust, pop it into a 350 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes.

Now, fill the stuffing crust with leftover turkey and some gravy. I always have leftover corn so I add that too! Cover the entire pie with a layer of mashed potatoes. Allowing the mashed potatoes to come to room temperature first makes the spread easier. If you really want to get fancy, put the mashed potatoes in a cookie press! Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven until hot and the mashed potatoes are nice and brown. If your mashed potatoes brown too quickly, simply cover the top loosely with a piece of foil until the turkey and gravy filling is hot and bubbly.

There you have it! Turkey Shepherds Pie.

Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy!

Dave

Those of you fellow gardeners who like to grow zucchini know what it’s like to check your garden and suddenly see the “monster zucchini” lurking behind a leaf that you know wasn’t there yesterday. Sounds familiar doesn’t it?

Well, short of giving to a neighbor, making more zucchini bread than you could possibly eat, or slicing in half lengthwise to make a giant “dip boat”, just about all you’re left with is grating it up and hiding it is something else.

While the summer grilling months are with us, you might try this fun way to make zucchini burgers.

Slice the zucchini into 3/4″ to 1″ thick “disks”.

Remove the soft and seedy center portion of the “disks” to make “rings” and place them between 2 paper towels to remove a bit of the moisture.

Arrange the rings on a cutting board and firmly press lean hamburger into the rings filling them tightly and completely.

Season them with a bit of salt, pepper, garlic, or anything else you prefer.

Grill them to your desired doneness and serve on a toasted bun or simply with a fork and knife with your favorite garnishes and condiments and enjoy!

Tip - Add a slice of your favorite cheese to help keep the burger inside of the zucchini ring.

The next time one of those “monster zucchini’s” sneak up on you give this a try. Who knows… you may even end up growing one on purpose!

Dave