Recipe: Polpettes

Over all, I think these were really good. I think they are a good side dish. They are pretty much mashed potato patties with onion and feta cheese. The feta really added to the taste and made them a little bit unique.

Taste grade: B+

Cooking them took a little longer than I would have liked, especially for a side dish. In the recipe it says that you need 1.25 lbs of potatoes. I used about 5 potatoes (4 medium-large and 1 small). At first I thought this was too much, but I don't think it was. I then peeled them, cut them, and put them in the microwave for 20 minutes instead of boiling them over the stove top.

As for frying them, this was trickier than I thought. In the directions it says to fry them until brown. Well, let me tell you that they mean very dark brown. If you only lightly brown them, they fall apart. Also, you'll need more oil than what the recipe requires. This process took me a long time (most certainly longer than I wanted to stand in front of the stove).

This recipe also made a lot more than I anticipated.

Cook grade: B-

Ok, so here's the recipe if you want to try them on your own:

Polpettes (from Appetizers, Finger Food, Buffets, and Party Food, 2009)

1 1/4 lb floury (mealy) potatoes
1 cup feta cheese
4 spring onions (scallions), chopped
3 tbsp chopped fresh dill
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp lemon juice
plain (all purpose) flour, for dredging
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and ground black pepper
fresh dill sprigs and shredded spring onions (scallions), to garnish
lemon wedges to serve

Cook the potatoes in their skins in lightly salted, boiling water until soft. Drain and cool slightly, then chop them in half and peel while still warm.

Place the potatoes in a bowl and mash until smooth. Crumble the feta cheese into the potatoes and add the spring onions, dill, egg, and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. (The cheese is salty, so taste before you add salt.) Stir well, until combined.

Cover and chill until firm. Divide the mixture into walnut size balls, then flatten them slightly. Dredge with flour, shaking off the excess.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the polpettes, in batches, until golden brown on both sides. Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot, garnished with spring onions and sprigs of dill, and serve with lemon wedges.

Over all grade: B

That Really Burns My Biscuits (part 1)! Recipe: Cheesy Bat Biscuits

Ok, so they aren't actually bats...they're ghosts, but the outcome (taste-wise) was still the same, I'm sure. I did enjoy these. For how simple they were, I thought they were creative. The taste was different. They were a great substitute or replacement for garlic bread. I found the parsley and basil combination particularly grand. They complemented more than they were overbearing. If you have a pasta dish, these would be fantastic to go on the side.

Pros: Delicious and easy to make. The clean up was easy too. The taste was different (in a really good way!).

Cons: A lot of waste with the biscuits. In fact, I think I threw more dough away than I baked. I really was not happy about that. However, you could get around that by making the entire biscuit (without shaping them with a cookie cutter), or you could reuse the dough. I chose not to, though. I didn't realize I would be throwing so much out.

Things this recipe would be good for? Honestly, it doesn't make that much and you'd be probably spending a lot of time if you made them for a party. I'd say this recipe is great for a family meal. If you have small kids (or you are 5 at heart, like me), the cookie cutter effect is really neat. You could probably double the recipe of you have a large family or want to make it for a guest without too much trouble.

Annnnddddd here's the recipe:

Cheesy Bat Biscuits (from Halloween Food, Fun, and Crafts 2008)

1 can (16 ounces) jumbo buttermilk biscuits
3 tablespoons butter, melted and divided
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon dried basil

Preheat oven to 35o. Flatten each biscuit into shape just large enough to fit 3-inch bat cookie cutter. Cut out bat shape; discard scraps. Place biscuits on baking sheet. Lightly score biscuits to outline bat wings; poke holes with toothpick for eyes. Brush biscuits with 1 tablespoon butter. Bake 7 minutes. Meanwhile, combine cheese, remaining 2 tablespoons butter, parsley, and basil in small bowl. Turn biscuits on end and split into halves with forks. Spread 1 teaspoon cheese mixture on bottom half of each biscuit; replace biscuit top. Bake 3 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.

Makes 8 servings.

That's all!

Grade: A- (because of waste)

Cost: cheap

Prep time: Minimal

Clean up: Minimal