Tag Archives: cooking

I finally got around to making “frickles”

Frickles, aka fried pickles, are quite popular here in the south. I don’t eat them a lot but when I do I really, really enjoy that treat!

So I finally decided to take a stab at making some. There are a ton of recipes on the web, of course. Here’s how I tackled my first batch:

I decided to use pickle spears instead of chips. I placed them on paper towels to remove excess moisture:

I soaked the pickle spears in the wet mixture (egg, buttermilk and hot sauce) for several minutes before giving them a coating with the dry mixture (flour,  cornmeal, pepper and chili powder):

I fried them in vegetable oil (350 degrees) for about three minutes. The end result (served with ranch dressing, of course):

They turned out pretty good as we consumed the whole plate of ’em!

There are an endless amount of ways to flavor your frickles, starting with the pickle  you choose, then the flavors you add into your wet mixture (egg, milk or buttermilk, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, spices, etc.) and dry mixture (flour, cornmeal, cornstarch, salt, pepper, garlic salt, caynne, etc.) . For a few recipes to get you started, try here, here or here.

Here’s a video of an easy recipe if you want to give frickles a try:

DCG

Homemade Pasta Dough: So fresh and so easy!

Many find cooking to be relaxing and a great way to save money. Trying new recipes can be fun  and many love sharing the fruits of their labor with loved ones!

Have you ever made homemade pasta dough? I have and it’s really a lot easier than one might think. You don’t need a lot of ingredients nor is a pasta maker machine required.

A basic pasta dough recipe includes just a few ingredients:

  • “00” flour or all-purpose flour
  • Eggs
  • Olive oil
  • Salt
  • Seasoning of your choice (optional): Garlic salt, oregano, basil, etc.

Here’s some photographs of some of the steps involved from the first time I made homemade noodles:

This is the brand of flour I used and it worked well. Available on the internet.

My dough after mixing/kneading. Should be elastic and a little sticky. Wrap in plastic to rest after kneading.

Dough resting on towels after rolling out flat, to allow to air dry for about 15 or 20 minutes.

Dough after I cut into noodles. I cut my noodles more like chicken noodle soup size as opposed to long spaghetti noodles.

The final fresh product!

Here’s a few easy recipes to try if you have never made homemade pasta dough before: Food Network Easy Pasta, Food & Wine Basic Pasta Dough, and Giada De Laurentiis Fresh Pasta Dough.

If you give it a try, let us know how it turns out! Or if you’ve made pasta dough before, please share any tricks you might use!

DCG