Elle's Kitchen: Parmesan Panko Potato Balls

 

I saw this recipe in a magazine the other day

and decided to make them.  Mr. Wonderful &

I are home from another adventure and we are

having fun getting back to everyday life.  This

evening we had a leisurely dinner that stretched

out over much of the evening.  We started with

this as our appetizer. then had a salad course

and later the entree all while watching Revenge

on Netflix.  There's no place like home...

 

 

Ingredients:

 

2/3 cup Panko (breadcrumbs)

2/3 cup grated parmesan

1 tbls. Italian Herb Seasoning

1 1/2 teas. Garlic Salt

1/8 teas. Crushed Red Pepper

1/2 cup flour

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 pounds very small yellow potatoes

Olive oil cooking spray

 

Warm Marinara or Pesto for dipping

 

Preheat oven to 400F.

Line a baking sheet with foil.

 

Stir together Panko, parmesan, Italian

Herbs, Garlic Salt and Red Pepper in

a bowl.

 

Place flour and eggs in separate bowls.

 

 

Place potatoes on foil and spray with Olive

Oil spray.  Roll each potato in flour, then egg

and then breadcrumb mix.  Make sure to coat

well with each step.

 

Place back on foil and spray again.  Bake for

35 to 40 minutes or til lightly browned and

tender when pierced with a fork.  Coat with

cooking spray twice during cooking.

 

 

Serve with a marinara or pesto sauce

for dipping.  I used the Hunt's Fire-roasted

Tomatoes and puree them in a blender then

adda bit of basil in a tube.

 

 

 

They were pretty good but next time I

think I would scoop a bit of the potato

out with a melon baller and add some

Chevre or an herbed cream cheese with

a bit or bacon or roasted red pepper.  It

needed a bit more zing...

 

 

 

 

Okay, This Is Thrilling!

 

This came in the mail today.

When the return address label reads,

Barbara Brackman, the famous quilt

historian, a bit of a zing goes up the spine...

 

When I was at Quilt Market in October I

had a chance to look through the galleys

so I knew it was good.  It felt like I was

looking through a scrapbook (no pun intended)

of old friends and good times.  Quilters

from all over the world participated in a

block of the week.  We all learned about

Civil War history and quilting and many

friendships were forged all around the globe.

 

 

And two of my blocks were selected

to be part of the book ~ yeah!

 

 

Rosebud ~ page 32

 

 

Railroad Crossing ~ page 76

 

 

A group of us sent blocks to Becky

and a sampler quilt was made as a

gift to Barbara as a token of thanks.

 

(My block is the 4th row down,

the 3rd from the left, with a white

pinwheel in the center.)

 

I made the blocks and blogged about

them every Sunday for all of 2011.

Even as I was traveling the world I

carried what I called the Brackman Bag

filled with fabric, thread & needle, a

small ruler, rotary cutter and mat.  I

hand sewed these blocks in some pretty

remote spots around the globe.  I wish

I was doing that good a job with this

year's Grandmother's Choice BOW, but

I will catch up~ life can get a bit busy...

 

So go out and get your copy of the

Civil War Sampler ~ I'm sure you

will enjoy it.

 

 

 

 

Under the Sea

 

 

Mr. Wonderful gave me an underwater

camera for my birthday and I have been

playing with it all week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So it's good-bye to bikinis and flip-flops

and back to coats and scarfs...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chichen Itza

 

Temple of Kukulkan

 

Since the "2012 Phenomenon" suggests the

Maya Calendar is saying December 21 is going

to be the end of the world as we know it, I figured

I better high-tail it over there before it was too late.

 

 

Great Ball Court

 

You must drive for a few hours from Cancun

through miles upon miles of vegetation, not

farming, just wilderness, to reach Chichen Itza.

 

 

The glyphs in the Ball Court are very

well preserved and interesting.

 

 

The Skull Platform

 

This is where the heads of the sacrificial

victims were placed.  So after your team won

over at the Ball Court, you would end up here.

Yup, only the best were sacrificed.  That would

alter my competitive spirit...

 

 

Temple of the Warrior

 

Chicken Itza has 1.2 million visitors per year.

 

 

Group of a Thousand Columns

 

In 2007, El Castillo (Temple of Kukulkan)

was named as one of the New 7 Wonders

of the World.

 

 

And...

 

 

...then there is shopping.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Travelers vs. Tourists

 

We are in Cancun and yesterday we went

to visit Isla de Mujeres, an island just off

the coast of Cancun.  It was our second trip

to the island, we had visited last year.

 

 

Last year we took the local bus into

El Centro where they told us to change

buses, which ended up being a van with

benches ringing the perimeter of the interior.

 

We climbed in, it was filled with local Mexicans

on their way to work.  They shyly smiled at us

because I'm guessing few sunburned Americans

ever get into this van.  We hopped out at the local

ferry which was a rickety old bucket of bolts but

filled with character.  We've been telling this story

all year...

 

 

Yesterday we walked a few minutes from our

Hotel Zone resort and took the gleaming new

ferry filled with other vacationers. 

No story there...

 

 

Last year we explored quiet streets on

foot, taking pictures, listening to the

sounds of everyday island life coming

from the homes, smelling what was

cooking for lunch, seeing life up close

and personal.

 

 

Yesterday we breezed around the island

in a golf cart.  If there were any interesting

sites or smells to be had, we missed them.

We were viewers from afar.

 

 

Last year we ate lunch out on the street.

We sang Feliz Cumpleanos en Espanol to

someone in another restaurant, the whole

street joined in.

 

 

Yesterday we had a very nice lunch in

a beachfront restaurant.  We listened to

loud American conversations all around

us.  If not for the view, we could have been

anywhere in the US.

 

 

Last year we found a deserted beach

where we snorkeled and frolicked in

the water and when we finally came

out of the water we realized 4 hours

 had passed.  Then we collapsed beneath

a palm tree and walked over to a local

beach bar for a pina colada.

 

 

Yesterday we rented chairs and an umbrella

on a beach where they brought drinks to your

chair.  The chairs were crammed together so

we had to suffer the loud music and stinky

fumes of cheap cigars from our neighbors...

 

Can you tell our preference in travel?

I'm not saying one is right and one is

wrong ~ absolutely not.  I'm saying find

what is right for you and enjoy it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

El Rey Ruins

Cancun, Mexico

 

 

We are in Cancun in the very touristy

hotel zone.  Since we love history we

left the beach today to ride the local bus

a few miles down the road to the El Rey

ruins.  This is a prehispanic settlement

dating back to 1200 - 1500 AD.

 

 

The site is small but well-maintained

and the cost of admission is minimal.

It is nice to remember the history of this

area long before the timeshares and all

inclusive resorts were built.

 

 

This is a grinding stone for corn that

 was found on the site.  Other found

artifacts are things not native to the

area and show how advanced the Maya

 were in trade along the sea routes.

 

 

Hundreds of iguanas roam the site.  As their

natural habitats were taken away to make

resorts, I suppose they found refuge in this

historic site.

 

 

We saw some pretty birds too.

 

Our condo is on the very edge of our resort

and just over the fence is a jungle area that

contains Mayan ruins.  It makes me feel good

to live so close to such history.

 

 

 

 



Birthday Dinner

 

A while back, Mr. Wonderful asked me

what I would like to do for my birthday.

I said I would like to have Mexican food.

I did.

By early afternoon on my birthday we

were on the beach in Cancun.

 

 

And I got to have Mexican food.

 

A Pico de Gallo salad.

 

 

Goat Cheese Ravioli in Sweet

Corn & Poblano Cream.

 

 

Avocado & Oaxaco Cheese Flautas

 

 

Chamorro in Red Mole a la Parmentier.

 

 

Not Birthday Cake, but still delicious.

 

 

Now spending time here, watching the

waves and the sky.  I could make this

my new office.

 

Thank you Mr. Wonderful!