The Daring Cooks’ February 2012 challenge was hosted by Audax & Lis and they chose to present Patties for their ease of construction, ingredients and deliciousness! We were given several recipes, and learned the different types of binders and cooking methods to produce our own tasty patties!
When I joined the Daring Kitchen, I was psyched for all of the new, strange, exotic delicacies I would be learning about. Patties? Not what I expected. But really, why not? While it might not be "exotic" or even complicated, it is versatile, creative, and something which every cook should have in his or her arsenal.
The most well known patty, and the first one most people probably think of, is the hamburger. Well, not in this house... My mind went nuts, thinking of the different kinds of patties I could make. I was "disappointed" in myself, I only made four variations this month. And I only photographed three of them... (Sadly, the ones I thought turned out the best are the ones I didn't take pictures of. My last batch is a sad knock off... sorry!)
My first patties are actually something I had made a couple of weeks earlier to rave review, so I remade them for the challenge. Potato cakes:
These are mashed potatoes, cheese, eggs, bread crumbs and seasonings mixed together and pan fried to crispy goodness. I love potatoes, I love cheese, I knew these would be good... I know I will be making them again!
Next, home made veggie burgers:
Two kinds of beans (kidney and black eyed peas, if I remember correctly), shredded carrots, onions, egg, breadcrumbs, and the trusty "seasonings" mixed together to make something other than the boxed burgers we generally have on hand. These were good. I will have to keep playing with my flavors, though, since there are so many options, and I think I under seasoned these.
I next made collard green cakes. I had sauteed collard greens and onions together one night, and while I liked them, they weren't anything great. The leftovers sat in the fridge for a couple of days. Then, making dinner in a rush, I figured I could make some patties from what I had left - both to use it up and to add some extra veggies to dinner. Instead of bread crumbs I use matzah meal. These were amazing. Better than the plain collard greens in every way. I have to make these again. A lot.
Trying to replicate the yumminess with what I had, I made spinach cakes:
Except I was (again) short on time. So no sauteed onions, just spinach, egg, matzah meat and more "seasonings." Good, but not nearly as good as the collard green cakes. Again, I will have to play...! The insides looked good, though!
(I did find that these were better when the leftovers were warmed and topped with garlic and herb goat cheese...!)Thank you, Audax and Lis, for reminding me and all of us Daring Cooks about how much fun we can have with something that is normally considered an everyday food. I had a great time with this challenge, and seeing the fun variations everyone came up with! You'll like to see what they came up with too... Take a look!
Four kinds! Wow! Go you.
ReplyDeleteI like some of the ideas you came up with - very creative.
Have a great day!
Nicely done on the challenge, and they look great!
ReplyDeleteI too made versions I didn't photograph.. The challenge was really open to so many varieties and I wished I had more time to explore more time
ReplyDeleteGreat job on this challenge
collard green cakes sound really great! I love collard greens, and I'm trying to incorporate more into my meals. Nice job (even without the photo of the collard patties)!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of collard green cakes they look so healthy and tasty I bet. A great job on this challenge I have to say that looking at your challenge posts that you enjoy the last few challenges. Cheers from Audax in Sydney Australia.
ReplyDeleteThose collard green cakes sure sound interesting. And the potato cakes remind me of my youth - my mom always made a similar potato cake with leftover mashed potatoes.
ReplyDelete