The blog title is a lie. I don't own a cafe, nor do I make only twice baked potatoes. (If I did own a cafe, that's what it'd be called). I do cook a lot though, and now that I have an iPhone like the rest of modern America I like taking pictures of what I've made. I'm a twenty-three year old college graduate who still lives with her parents and is woefully underemployed. I've never been to cooking school and sometimes I just like to throw things together and see what comes out. This blog is mostly gratuitous food porn of the delicious things I make, with recipes if I can remember what I actually I put in them.
Twice Baked Tater Cafe (and other recipes)
You guys may not know this, but I live in the south, and as such, am exposed to southern cooking all day every day.
Today, I’m sharing one of my all time favorites.
Fried Green Tomatoes.
Think I’m crazy? Obviously, you have not tried these for yourself, or else you’d know they are to die for.
Simple, too. And despite the name, not actually fried. ;)
Ingredients:
- 4 large green tomatoes. Red ones WILL NOT WORK, they are too soggy. Go green or go home.
- 1 stick of butter
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese
- egg and milk mixture
1. Preheat over to 400 degrees.
2. Melt a stick of butter on a cookie sheet.
3. Cut green tomatoes into slices. Mix cheese and flour in one bowl, then mix eggs and milk (or water) in another.
4. Take tomato slices, dip them in the egg mix, then dip them in the flour mix, then dip them AGAIN in the egg mixture before dipping them for a final time in the flour mixture. Repeat with all slices, until you are out of tomatoes and/or space on the cookie sheet.
5. Bake for 10-15 minutes, turn them over, then cook another 10-15 minutes until lightly brown and delicious.
6. Devour, and thank me later.
![It’s strawberry season here, ya’ll!
Have a recipe for fresh strawberry pie! (original recipe from here)
Ingredients
1 C sugar
1 C Water
3 T strawberry gelatin mix the whole strawberry jello pack. All of it. Just stir it in.
1 Pint Fresh Strawberries
3 Heaping Tablespoons Cornstarch
1 pie crust, cooked and cooled
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1. Combine sugar, cornstarch, and jello mix in a pan. Add water and cook until thick and bubbly over medium high heat, stirring constantly to prevent scorching.
2. Set aside and let cool. Wash and hull strawberries, cut and place in pie crust. When filling is cool, pour over strawberries and chill pie until ready to serve. Serve with whipped cream.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m544v5tCiP1rx32g5o1_500.jpg)
It’s strawberry season here, ya’ll!
Have a recipe for fresh strawberry pie! (original recipe from here)
Ingredients
1 C sugar
1 C Water
3 T strawberry gelatin mix the whole strawberry jello pack. All of it. Just stir it in.
1 Pint Fresh Strawberries
3 Heaping Tablespoons Cornstarch
1 pie crust, cooked and cooled
![Chicken Feta Salad Without Lettuce!
Recipe adapted from several places but WHATEVER I’m going to show you how to make it the right way.
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Ingredients:
- 1 leftover cooked chicken breast (canned chicken can also work) — I recommend grilled after being marinated in italian dressing, but really, any sort of leftover grilled or baked chicken will do, so long as it’s not, say, barbecue or something (and even then, it might work! Idk—try it and let me know!)
- 1 ripe and juicey tomato
- 1/2 a cucumber, diced and seeded
- Copious amounts of feta cheese
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- pinch of dill weed
- pinch of parsley
- sprinkles of salt
1. Cut chicken into bite size pieces. Do the same with the tomato and seeded cucumber.
2. Make the dressing! Combine lemon juice, olive oil, parsley, and dill weed. Whisk.
3. Add a metric fuck-ton (or, you know, however much you’d like!) of feta cheese to the meat/tomato/cucumber salad. Pour delicious dressing over delicious chicken and tomato and cucumber. If you have patience, wait and let it set in the fridge for at least thirty minutes. If not, dig in!
Tastes best after sitting in the fridge over night.
Eat with bread! Make a sandwich out of it! Eat with crackers! Or be lame and eat it with lettuce, if you’d like.
Me? I’m eating it with a fork.
Nom nom nom nom.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4ndrkGO3p1rx32g5o1_1280.jpg)
Chicken Feta Salad Without Lettuce!
Recipe adapted from several places but WHATEVER I’m going to show you how to make it the right way.
![Strawberry Vanilla Pancakes with a simple strawberry syrup.
(recipe adapted from here.)
Ingredients:
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1 cup all-purpose flour2 tablespoons brown sugar2 teaspoons baking powder1 teaspoon salt1 egg1 cup milk2 tablespoons vegetable oil1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract1/2 c pureed strawberries1 teaspoon lemon juice1. Mix ingredients. Mix dry ingredients first, then mix in wet ingredients. Stir until nothing is dry—NOTHING.
2. Cook on greased griddle at medium to low heat. When bubbles start to form in the batter, it’s time to flip.
3. Remove from heat. Add butter, syrup, fresh fruit, powdered sugar, whipped cream, or all of the above.
4. Eat and enjoy!
Recipe notes: The batter is quite thin and makes tiny pancakes, which I like but you might not. Add more flour for thicker pancakes. I also adapted the original recipe somewhat by adding less vanilla (omg, so much vanilla!) and adding in a little lemon juice as a little bit of citrus brings out the sweetness well. Would have been even better with whipped cream, but I didn’t have any.
Simple Strawberry Syrup Recipe:
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 cup pureed strawberries
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon brown sugar.
1. Combine water and sugar in a pot. Heat and stir continually until all of the sugar has been dissolved.
2. Add strawberries, vanilla, and brown sugar. Turn heat to low and let simmer until boiling. The longer it boils, the thicker the syrup will get.
3. Remove from heat and enjoy!](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4myswBfZ71rx32g5o1_1280.jpg)
