Tag Archives: buttermilk

Chilled Zoodle Salad with Herby Buttermilk Ranch

26 Monday Sep 2016

Posted by in Healthy, Main Dish, Meatless Monday, Salad, Vegetarian

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When I wasn’t making loaf after loaf of my new go-to zucchini bread, we were eating this salad. On a hot summer day, the last thing I wanted to do was make zucchini lasagna or stir frys…and this zoodle salad is so adaptable it solved all of our problems. Here we have the basic version with a homemade, herby buttermilk ranch, but we ate this salad many times with store bought dressing (don’t tell anyone) and it was still amazing. Add different toppings, throw on some grilled chicken, just about anything works!

I found the secret to this salad was chilling the zoodles for at least an hour. It made them extra crunchy and took out some of the moisture so you didn’t have a soggy zoodle salad. Move over, lettuce…zoodles make summer salads more fun.

Recipe
Chilled Zoodle Salad with Herby Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
By Baked Northwest
Serves 2

Ingredients

For the Salad:

  • 1 medium zucchini, spiralized into “zoodles”
  • 1/2 cup sliced black olives
  • 1/2 cup shredded carrots
  • 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1/2 cup red onion, sliced
  • 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • salt and pepper

For the Herby Buttermilk Ranch Dressing:

  • 1/2 cup of buttermilk, shaken
  • 3/4 cup mayo
  • 3/4 cup plain greek yogurt
  • 3 green onions, chopped
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
  • juice from 1/2 lemon (about 2 tbsp)
  • 2 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 clove of garlic, roughly chopped
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 2 tsbp siracha (if you want to add some spice)!

Directions

Make your zoodles:
Using a spiralizer (I have the Paderno Spiralizer), make your zucchini noodles: I use the small spaghetti-sized blade for this salad, but the thicker noodle blade works great too! Lightly blot dry your zoodles with paper towels and place them in an airtight container, and refrigerate for at least an hour. I find refrigerating the zoodles takes some of the moisture out and ends up giving your salad a nice crisp crunch. You do not want a soggy salad! You can make your zoodles the night before and store in the fridge until you are ready to use them.

Make the herby buttermilk ranch:
Place all ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer the dressing to a container, cover, and refrigerate for at least an hour to let the flavors develop.

Assemble your zoodle bowl:
   Place the red onion in a small bowl and add the tablespoon of white wine vinegar. Add a little bit of salt and pepper and let stand while you assemble the rest of the salad.
Divide the zoodles in half and place on 2 bowls or plates. Add half of your toppings to each bowl; the carrots, olives, tomatoes, feta, and onions. Serve with the herby buttermilk ranch and enjoy!

 

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

04 Tuesday Feb 2014

Posted by in Breakfast

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Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

It’s not often that I make homemade pancakes. Confession time: normally I use the Snoqualmie Falls pancake and waffle mix, because it is the best store-bought mix out there. But after making these lemon-ricotta pancakes…I don’t know if I can ever go back. They are fluffy yet light and airy, and go perfectly with leftover citrus syrup from my candied citrus peels. Yes – I have found yet another way to use the leftover spoils of those damn delicious citrus pieces of heaven.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

We ended up making the regular size batch of pancakes because we were supposed to have guests come over for brunch, but when they had to cancel last minute, we had lots of leftover pancakes. And – shocker – they are awesome reheated in the microwave.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

These melt in your mouth…They may seem thick but once you bite into them they are so light and airy. These are what pancake dreams are made of.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Recipe
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
Adapted from the Newlywed Cookbook
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

  • 1 1/3 cups AP Flour
  • 1/2 cup finely ground cornmeal
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup ricotta cheese (I used part skim ricotta)
  • 1 large egg, separated
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • 1 tbsp grated lemon zest (about the zest from 1 lemon)
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • butter, for the pan (and finished pancakes!)

Toppings:

Lemon or pure maple Syrup, bananas, strawberries

Directions

Whisk together flour, cornmeal. salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, ricotta, egg yolks, nutmeg, and lemon zest. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and whisk in the wet ingredients until just incorporated.

Beat the egg whites and sugar with an electric mixer or a whisk in a clean bowl until they just hold stiff peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter with a spatula or whisk until evenly incorporated, make sure not to overmix.

Heat a griddle or heavy frying pan to medium-high heat until butter sizzles when added to the pan. Pour desired amount of pancake batter onto griddle, leaving about 2 inches between pancakes. When little bubbles form on the surface of the batter, flip the pancakes with a flexible spatula. Cook on the other side until the pancakes are golden brown around the edges, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately with syrup, butter, and fresh fruit.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Whole Wheat Honey and Goat Cheese Drop Biscuits

10 Tuesday Apr 2012

Posted by in Baking, Breads, Breakfast, Easy, Entertaining

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Here comes another winner from the Joy the Baker Cookbook…Biscuits. With Honey. And Goat Cheese. I don’t think I have ever seen a biscuit that I wanted more.

Hot out of the oven, imperfectly shaped yet utterly irresistible.

It gets better though. These have got to be the world’s easiest biscuits to throw together. I made them for the first time at Easter brunch, nervous they wouldn’t turn out or somehow be really difficult. But I made them in about 2 minutes. Didn’t even have to roll them out. Plop them in a pan and wait another 14 minutes until imperfect but delicious and flavorful bites of heaven come hot out of the oven.

I didn’t even put anything on these babies, and anyone who knows me will tell you that’s a big deal. I am the queen of adding tons of jam/butter/honey/anything to biscuits and scones. My only variation may be to go a little easier on the salt, as goat cheese already has a strong and delicious flavor.

So, do me a favor, roll out of bed, and lazily make these. I’m pretty sure you could make these while still being half asleep. I made a second batch the day after Easter just so I could use them to make leftover ham sandwiches with honey. Though delicious by themselves, it’s hard not to dream up the many ways you could go about eating these.

Hello, Easter leftovers...I'll have 20 of these little goat cheese biscuit, ham, and honey sandwiches please.

Recipe
Whole Wheat Honey and Goat Cheese Drop Biscuits
from the Joy the Baker Cookbook

Ingredients

  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 3 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 (1/2 stick) butter, cold, cut into cubes, plus more for the pan
  • 4 tbsp. crumbled goat cheese
  • 1 cup buttermilk, cold
  • 2 tbsp. honey, plus more for topping

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Place a 10 inch cast-iron skillet (I used a round cake pan, things still worked out great) in the oven as it preheats.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With your fingers, quickly incorporate the cold butter and goat cheese until the flour resembles coarse meal. Some of the butter and cheese chunks will be the size of small pebbles; others will be the size of oat flakes. It’s all good. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture.

Whisk together buttermilk and honey. Honey may not completely blend into the buttermilk, that’s okay. Pour the buttermilk into the well of the flour mixture. Use a fork to blend together the wet and dry ingredients. Mix until all of the flour is incorporated and no dry flour remains. Set aside.

Remove the hot pan from the oven and add 1 tbsp. butter. Swirl the butter around the bottom and sides of the pan until butter is melted and pan is coated.

Spoon batter by the 1/4 cupful into the hot skillet. About 6 biscuits will fit into the 10 inch skillet. Biscuits should have about an inch of room separating them, but will bake up to touch one another.

Place in the oven to bake for 14 to 16 minutes, until golden and tops appear dry and slightly firm. Remove from the oven. Let rest for 5 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter. For a glossy finish, brush the biscuits with slightly warm honey. (I did not do this, but probably will next time)! They are incredible served hot out of the oven, but are still good for up to 3 days well wrapped at room temperature.