Crispy, tangy and refreshing quick dill pickle chips are so easy to make and perfect for your summer picnics. We love pickles and always have an assortment in our refrigerator to serve with sandwiches or for a quick snack. These dill chips are ready in just a few hours.
Kirby cucumbers are typically used for pickles but are rarely found here on Maui. Our locally grown Keiki Cukes are the perfect substitution. They are small and crispy with very few seeds. We have successfully used these for canning whole dill pickles as well as spears. They are sold at all of our local markets as well as Costco.
This crinkle cutter gives the cucumber slices scalloped edges which is sort of fun but of course is optional.
The brine for the pickles couldn’t be easier. The ingredients go into a pot until the mixture simmers, then poured over the sliced cucumbers. That’s it!
Use a large bowl or mason jars to brine the cucumber slices. This recipe makes enough pickles for three pint jars. Surprise your neighbor with a jar of these crunchy pickles.
The dill pickle chips are best eaten once they have been chilled thoroughly. Pile them on hotdogs, sandwiches, burgers or chop finely and mix into potato salads.
Place cucumber slices in a large bowl or pack in mason jars.
Heat water, vinegar salt, sugar, red pepper flakes, garlic, black peppercorns, mustard seeds, and dill in a large pot over high heat until salt has dissolved and the mixture is simmering. Immediately pour brine over the cucumbers, making sure they are submerged in the brine. Let cool for 30 minutes. Cover the bowl or jars, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Store for up to a month.
Tender and juicy grilled chicken breasts marinated in mayonnaise combined with bold flavorings is a dream come true. It can be a tricky grilling lean chicken breasts as they have a tendency to overcook or cook unevenly. Mayonnaise is the solution to this problem. It is a perfect coating which will keep chicken very moist and tender when grilled. And it’s such an easy meal to put together on short notice. An added benefit is that the breasts become virtually non-stick when on the hot grill. Leftovers make the best sandwiches. And depending on what ingredients you choose to add to the mayonnaise, thinly sliced chicken is the perfect foil for warm tortillas served with your favorite salsa.
Choose whatever flavors you enjoy. I combined mayonnaise with smoked paprika and also mixed some up with homemade pesto. You could use fresh herbs, barbecue sauce, minced chipotle in adobo (for a spicy version), or any other bold ingredients. I reserved some of my pesto to serve over the grilled chicken.
Kenji Alt-Lopez has a recipe on NYT Cooking that includes chimichurri. You can put this together in 15 minutes if you have the ingredients ready to go.
Chimichurri sauce is very versatile. Use it with this recipe, or drizzled over a grilled steak, roasted veggies, pasta salad or as a sandwich dressing. For an appetizer, grill good sourdough bread and slather the sauce over the bread before serving.
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded lightly for even pieces
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
flavorings of your choice: pesto, barbecue sauce, fresh herbs, chimichurri (best to use seasonings that do not have too much liquid as this will create a runny coating)
salt and pepper
chimichurri sauce: 1 cup packed Italian parsley leaves
¼ cup packed cilantro leaves (optional)
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh oregano
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons chopped red or white onion
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Preparation
Combine your favorite seasoning with the mayonnaise. Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken. Coat both the top and bottom of each breast with the seasoned mixture. Place chicken in a dish, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you are ready to grill the chicken (a few hours is sufficient). If you are using more than one seasoning, divide mayonnaise into separate bowls then add desired seasonings to each bowl (1 tablespoon mayonnaise + seasoning per breast).
Meanwhile, combine all chimichurri ingredients in a small bowl. You may use some of the chimichurri with mayonnaise to coat the chicken breasts.
Grill over medium high heat until chicken reads 160 degrees on an instant read thermometer. Serve chimichurri sauce (if using) with grilled chicken. Cooked chicken breasts can be frozen (vacuum sealed preferably) and used for sandwiches or as a taco filling.
This tuna macaroni salad is delicious and quick to make with ingredients you already have in your pantry. It makes the perfect side dish for sandwiches, grilled chicken, tofu, pork or any of your favorite grilled foods. Include it as part of your bento lunch along with a spam musubi or katsu sando.
I love crispy bits of celery in my salads though you can leave it out if it’s not your thing. That goes for the onion as well. When using them raw, I go for sweet onions that have a more subtle flavor than their yellow or red counterparts.
You may use sweet relish right out of the jar or chop bread and butter pickles for a chunkier, crisper texture.
Serve the salad after it has chilled for at least 3 hours. Everyone will enjoy this summertime side dish.
¼ cup chopped bread and butter pickle chips or sweet relish
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons sweet onion, finely chopped
paprika for garnish
Preparation
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil and cook the macaroni according to package instructions. For this salad you don't want the pasta to be al dente, but fully cooked. Drain, rinse with cold water until the pasta is cool. Pour pasta onto a clean kitchen towel or a few stacks of paper towels to dry thoroughly.
Meanwhile, mix the mayonnaise with the chopped pickles or sweet relish, Dijon mustard, onion powder, and pepper. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked macaroni with the tuna, egg, celery and onion. Fold in the mayonnaise dressing until macaroni is evenly coated.
Taste and add kosher salt and more mayonnaise as needed. Cover and refrigerate for a least 3 hours until well chilled. Sprinkle with paprika before serving.
Notes: Salad can be made 1 day in advance (keeps well for 3 days). Double the recipe to feed a larger crowd.
The Caesar salad is iconic and one of the best salads ever created. A simple combination of crispy greens, a creamy dressing with a hint of anchovies, and crunchy croutons make it the perfect salad. In this version, kale replaces the romaine and toasted panko replaces the croutons. If you are fond of kale, you will love this salad. If you are on the fence about kale, you will still love this salad.
The dressing does not include an egg but you won’t miss it. With the flavorful anchovies, Parmesan, garlic and other ingredients, it makes a very tasty dressing that is perfect for the nooks and crannies of the curly kale leaves.
Having crunchy breadcrumbs with every bite of the salad is an additional plus.
Kale is a hardy green that keeps well. If you are serving the salad for fewer than four people, store the remaining freshly torn kale in an airtight bag in your refrigerator until you are ready to make another salad. The dressing will keep for several days, as will the panko bread crumbs.
4 cups packed curly kale (1 large bunch with ribs and stems removed, leaves torn into 1-inch pieces)
2 tablespoons plus ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 oil-packed anchovy fillets
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (3 tablespoons if you prefer a less tangy dressing)
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 medium garlic cloves, finely grated (Microplane works great)
½ ounce Parmesan, finely grated (about ½ cup) plus more for serving
Preparation
Melt Buttery Sticks or butter in medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add panko, ⅛ teaspoon salt (1/4 teaspoon if using unsalted butter), and a few grinds of pepper. Cook panko, stirring often, until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in half of the lemon zest.
Place torn kale into a very large bowl and drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil over the greens. Massage kale with your hands until dark green and very soft, about 4 minutes.
Using the flat side of a chef's knife, smash the anchovy fillets on a cutting board to a fine paste. Transfer the paste to a medium bowl. Whisk in lemon juice, mayonnaise, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic,1/2 ounce grated Parmesan, and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt. Gradually stream in remaining ¼ cup olive oil, whisking constantly until dressing is smooth and creamy.
Add half of the dressing to bowl with kale and toss evening to coat. Taste and add more dressing by the tablespoon until salad is well dressed. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.
Mound salad onto a platter or divide among plates. Drizzle any remaining dressing over the top with more Parmesan, reserved panko, and lemon zest. Serve immediately.
Most every year John grows a variety of jalapeños which he prepares and cans as nacho rings and hot sauce. We skipped a year and our jalapeño stash ran out. Not good! Especially because we love Mexican dishes and cook them often. I bought a couple of supermarket pickled jalapeños and ended up throwing out two of the three jars, and kept one out of desperation. Their mushy texture was a real let down.
Something had to give, so I bought fresh jalapeños and a few Fresno peppers for their beautiful bright red color and made a batch of quick nacho rings. They turned out to be just what we needed on short notice.
Use green or a combination of green and red peppers for a colorful jar of nacho rings.
We use the jalapeños in quesadillas, tacos, burritos, Mexican cabbage slaw, and nachos. They are crisp, tart and delicious.
Slice jalapeños into rings and set aside while you make the brine.
Combine vinegar, water sugar, salt, garlic and dried oregano in a pot large enough to hold the jalapeños. Bring brine to a boil. Turn off heat and add jalapeños to the brine. Let sit for about 10 minutes then transfer to mason jars. Let cool on a rack for 20 minutes or so, before refrigerating to chill completely. The jalapeños will become delightfully crisp and will keep for about a month.
This ramen dish is one of our new favorites. It has tons of umami flavor that makes this dish a real stand out. The chili crisp adds a nice hint of heat and is used in the sauce and later spooned over the noodles before serving. This happens to be a vegan recipe which means that everyone can try it out. Surprise! The tofu is not bland, watery or tasteless in this dish. Even non-vegans will find it delicious.
I highly recommend the TofuXpress tofu press for those of you who eat and cook tofu often. In fact even if you cook with tofu occasionally, this handy kitchen gadget is a dream come true. You may shy away from buying it because of the price (online from $42.95) but just go for it. I have had mine for more than 10 years and never regret purchasing it. The water is pressed out of the tofu quickly so that your tofu is ready to use in 15-30 minutes. For this dish I suggest using extra firm tofu such as WildWood Organic.
Once the water is pressed out, the tofu is crumbled into small pieces before pan frying until crisp.
I prefer to use fresh ramen noodles, however, I use dried ramen when fresh is not available. If using the dried version such as Ichiban, be sure to undercook the noodles until just al dente since they are quite a bit thinner than fresh noodles.
Shiitake mushrooms are a big star in this recipe. They are chopped finely and pan fried with the diced shallots until nicely browned before being added to the fried tofu.
I purchased three different brands of chili crisp to see which one I liked best. There are hundreds of versions available. Of the three I purchased, my favorite is Zindrew (O.G. Batch jar). It’s on the mild heat side, but it has lots of flavor, is very crunchy, and is the least oily. There’s just a tablespoon of it left in the jar!
The crumbled tofu is pan fried until crisp on both sides. The texture of the fried tofu is pleasantly firm with a bit of chew to it.
Shiitake mushrooms are fried with diced shallots until nicely browned. These mushrooms works so well with this dish because they have a meaty texture and do not have as much water as other types of mushrooms.
The sauce is added to the tofu and mushroom mixture and quickly heated before serving. The original recipe from Bon Appetit calls this dish Saucy Tofu Noodles with Cucumbers and Chili Crisp. I found that in order to keep this “saucy” the sauce should be heated separately otherwise the tofu and mushroom mixture absorbs the sauce very quickly. Either way, it’s just delicious.
Thinly sliced quick cucumber pickles are the topping for this ramen dish. Their tartness and crisp texture are a perfect accompaniment to the savory tofu ramen.
1 14-ounce block extra-firm tofu, water pressed out
2 tablespoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and finely chopped
1 shallot (2 tablespoons) finely chopped
1 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 medium or 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
10 ounces fresh ramen (12 ounces for 4 servings)
Preparation
Whisk soy sauce, brown sugar, tahini, sesame oil, black vinegar, 1 tablespoon chili crisp, and ½ cup water in a small bowl until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
Toss cucumbers with rice vinegar and 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal or ¾ teaspoon Morton salt in a medium bowl. Let sit, stirring occasionally until cucumbers have slightly softened, about 30 minutes. Drain and set aside in a small bowl.
Meanwhile, press water from tofu using TofuXpress or wrap in a clean kitchen towel (gather ends together) and squeeze with your hands over the sink to extract as much liquid as possible. Crumble drained tofu into a medium bowl (it should resemble cooked ground meat with some larger pieces). Sprinkle with cornstarch and 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal or ½ Morton salt. Toss with your hands to evenly coat tofu.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large (12-inch) non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Arrange tofu crumbles in a single layer, reserve bowl. Cook tofu undisturbed until golden brown underneath, about 4 minutes. Toss and continue cooking until tofu is golden brown and crisp all over, about 3-4 minutes more. Transfer tofu back to reserved bowl.
Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to same skillet and heat to medium high. Add mushrooms and shallot, and cook, stirring occasionally until mushrooms are browned and shallot is translucent, about 4 minutes. Add ginger and garlic and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium and return tofu to the pan. Add reserved sauce and heat for about 30-60 seconds. Remove from heat. For saucier version, heat sauce in a separate skillet over medium until just slightly reduced.
Cook noodles in a large pot of boiling water according to package directions. Drain and divide among bowls. Ladle tofu over noodles and top with reserved pickled cucumbers and more chili crisp. If sauce has been heated separately, pour sauce over tofu right before serving.
