Pronto Pups & Tartar Sauce

One year ago this week, we brought our adorable, naughty, incredibly cute, really stupid, brilliant and snuggly puppy home from Newcastle. It's been a wild ride of dog ownership but we've loved every minute (ok, ok: most minutes) of it. So in honour of keeping Holtzmann alive for one year despite her best efforts to the contrary, here's a recipe named for her. That's right: tartar sauce. Just kidding! The tartar sauce is to garnish the Pronto Pups.

Let's start with the obvious: a Pronto Pup is a Hush Puppy. And if you're an adult who has managed to avoid eating a Hush Puppy in your lifetime, might we trade places? I grew up convinced that I hated Hush Puppies, which is sensible when you consider the fact that I hated onions and a Hush Puppy is the world's best place for hiding onions you don't know about til you bite into one, but it's completely insensible when you think about the fact that I don't remember having actually tasted a Hush Puppy until one time in Kentucky when I ordered catfish at a cookout and had to eat one... as a teenager.

this is an overcrowded fryer. do not be like me.

If you're from the UK and still have no idea what I'm talking about, a Hush Puppy/Pronto Pup is a deep-fried ball of savoury batter, generally served with other fried things like fish or shrimp, and dipped in ketchup, tartar sauce or mayonnaise. Some are slightly sweet, some include chunks of onion in the batter, and the perfect puppies are just this side of moist on the inside with a crunchy golden exterior shell. In this version, the cornmeal/polenta really helps get the outside to crunch without affecting the inner texture, and as someone who spent most of her life unconvinced of the merits of Hush Puppies, these Pronto Pups might have me finally changing my mind.

Serve these alongside grilled or broiled fish, sauteed spinach and a glass of white wine for the perfect weeknight treat... and don't forget the tartar sauce!

Note:

As listed below, this will make a very lightly sweetened but still savoury Pronto Pup, which is how we like them in the Recipe Box kitchen. If you prefer yours sweeter, ditch the onion powder (or, if you don't have a child's fear of onions, swap the onion powder for finely minced sweet onion).

the verdict:

4 spoons out of five. The lover of Hush Puppies in this household adored these Pronto Pups; the non-lover (me) thought they were really good.

one year ago: mocha cake with caramel frosting
two years ago: Creative Casserole
three years ago (new!): Teriyaki Tuna Steaks

The recipe:

Pronto Pups

the directions:

Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, sugar and onion powder and stir together with a fork.
Lightly beat the egg, then add it to the dry ingredients.
Add the milk very gradually, beating it in with a fork JUST until batter comes together and cleans the sides of the bowl- batter should be very thick, almost like cookie dough (I used about a teaspoon less milk than listed here).
Heat a small pot of oil until very hot.
Scoop heaping tablespoons of batter into boiling oil and allow to fry until golden brown.
Do not overcrowd your fryer.
As soon as pronto pups have turned golden, remove them to a cooling rack topped with a double-thickness of paper towel to allow to drain.
Serve warm with tartar sauce (below), ketchup or mayonnaise alongside your favourite seafood.

the ingredients:

1 c (120g) flour
¼ c (40g) polenta (cornmeal if you're stateside)
2 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp onion powder
1 egg
¼ c (60ml) milk
Oil for deep frying (Enough to fill your pot to a depth of 3 inches)

---

The recipe:

Tartar Sauce

the directions:

Combine all ingredients and stir well.
For best flavour, mix ingredients 1 day before use.

the ingredients:

½ c (115g) mayonnaise
1 tsp onion, minced (NOT a red onion, even if you're in a pinch, which I learned the hard way when my first batch of tartar sauce came out pink)
½ tbsp capers, minced
½ tbsp green olives, minced
½ tbsp cornichon or dill pickle, minced
½ tbsp parsley, minced

Spaghetti Two Ways

These recipes are both basically ''take a box of spaghetti, make a sauce, then eat it!' but one of them involves stirring sliced hot dogs (wieners, in the parlance of the recipe, which, since I am 12, is hilarious to me) into the finished sauce. As this sounds revolting, I am lucky because I live in a country with little to no respect for the hot dog so I was unable to find hot dogs and had to make this with chorizo,* thus combining both recipes into a simpler single version with optional chorizo sprinkles.

Since both recipes require some kind of pre-made sauce base that obviously doesn't exist anymore, I made my own sauce from scratch (-ish) using their additions to dress it up. I had mine with chorizo and Judson tried it without, so you can make it either way, or, if you're feeling really authentically 1950s, go ahead and stir in some sliced hot dogs. What could be better?

I made this for us one night when it was raining (not snowing for once!) and I couldn't be bothered to cook anything that required much thought but still wanted to be in the kitchen because it's always the warmest room in our flat. I really love mindless cooking like making pasta sauce or chili sometimes- the kind of thing where you just chopchopchop sizzlesizzlesizzle simmersimmersimmer taste and adjust, then start again from the beginning. I love zoning out to an old episode of the Golden Girls, my favourite playlist, or an audiobook (my newfound passion- I can read twice as many books at a time now!), listening to the rain and filling the kitchen with steam and good smells until it's time to eat, and this recipe is no exception.

Very much intended to be a 'clean-out-your-fridge' type recipe, this sauce is the kind of thing you'll never make the same way twice because it's completely dependent on what you've got to hand; have an open jar of anchovies you need to use up? Throw 'em in! A stalk or two of celery that are going soft? Chop 'em up! Half an onion, one shallot, and a piece of leek? In they go! A carrot? Fine! A handful of strawberries? WHOA, no. This is not a free-for-all, you know.

Anyway, here's how I made mine, based on what the original recipe recommended to add to a prepared sauce base, but as I said, edit it to your heart's content. You can cook this for as little as 30 minutes including softening time, but it's going to keep getting better the longer you leave it, so if you have time, do your prep a few hours before you need it and then let it simmer for a few hours so the flavours really blend. It'll be worth it.

*Truly, this country has so little respect for the hot dog that the only ones I have ever seen in my shop come full-length in a can packed in water, and the label is, of course, an American flag. Once upon a time, the existence of those water-packed canned weiners was the most embarrassing thing about being an American abroad.

The verdict:

3 spoons out of five. I'm knocking off one spoon because this is no spaghetti bolognese made with fresh tomatoes when they're actually in season, but for a recipe that cleared out my fridge of all the veg I would otherwise probably have had to toss, it's great. And I'm knocking one more spoon because the chorizo didn't really add anything and I can all but guarantee the requested hot dogs would have been even worse.

ONE YEAR AGO: TOLL HOUSE MARBLE SQUARES
TWO YEARS AGO: ASIAN CHICKEN TWO WAYS

the recipe:

Spaghetti

the directions:

Saute the anchovy in the oil in a deep saucepot until it melts.
Add the celery and stir well, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 4 minutes, until slightly softened.
Add the garlic, onion, bell pepper and mushrooms and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until well-softened and slightly browned, at least 10 minutes or up to 20 minutes.
Deglaze the pot with a generous glug of wine, turn up the heat to medium and add the tomato paste. Stir to combine, then add the passata and stir well.
Bring to a simmer, add red pepper flakes, then taste.
If needed, add sugar, salt and additional red pepper flakes.
Reduce heat to medium-low and either allow to simmer with the lid on for up to an hour, or cook your spaghetti.

To serve, place spaghetti in four individual bowls, top generously with warm sauce, sprinkle with cheese and, if desired, add a sprinkle of chorizo. Note that according to this recipe, adding the chorizo turns this into 'Frank n' Spaghetti Supper.'

the ingredients:

Customise the below to fit what you have in your kitchen:

3 anchovies
3 tbsp olive oil or the oil from the anchovy tin
2 celery ribs, chopped very fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ onion, chopped coarsely
1 bell pepper, chopped coarsely
1 handful white or chestnut mushrooms, chopped coarsely
1 glug red or white wine
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 box tomato passata
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbsp sugar or brown sugar
2 tbsp salt or to taste
4 servings of spaghetti
Fresh grated parmesan or pecorino

Optional: 1 generous handful of chorizo, chopped coarsely

Ribs in Tomato Barbecue Sauce

Summer in Scotland is practically here and while that does mean that I am still wearing my heavy coat to work, haven’t yet given up my boots for the season and still have to dress Holtzmann in her tiny coat/cape at least once a week before we go out, it ALSO means that the days are longer (it’s still light at 9:30pm and we still have 6 more weeks of lengthening days ahead of us!), the sun is brighter and everything is finally green.

This is also the first summer that we’ve had access to the garden behind our flat (not for any good reason except that no one in our building uses it and we didn’t want to be the ones to dislodge Spidertown, the Edinburgh suburb that had built up in front of the doorway), and let me tell you- it’s an awesome garden. I take it for granted because I spend a lot (read: all) of my mornings out there trying to coax an alternately sleepy or rambunctious Holtzmann into doing her- ahem- business, but I stopped to think about it this week and that garden is the stuff dreams are made of. Or, at least, the stuffmy dreams were made of when I was a kid living in the sticky Florida heat and spending all my time reading about faraway European gardens. I mean, seriously, this garden has got it all: a wrought-iron fence, ivy and roses climbing up the crumbling stone wall, daffodils and tulips tangled with brambles and hydrangeas and a single tree, nearly three stories tall, planted in the perfect spot to block the view into the Italian restaurant’s kitchen that also shares a window into the garden with us.

So of course, with new and exciting access to the garden, we’re planning all kinds of cookouts down there in the coming months. It’s the perfect spot to bring a glass of wine and an excited puppy at the end of a long day, and soon we hope to host our first garden dinner party… though we might have to provide blankets for our guests, as Scottish nights still leave a little to be desired.

But if you’re lucky enough to live somewhere warm, where the nights aren’t yet too hot to be outside and the days aren’t yet demanding you stay in the AC, then these are the perfect thing to make outside on a grill (and if, like me, you do live in the frigid north, you can make these just as tasty in your very own kitchen). Not too sweet, not too tangy, this sauce is the perfect middle-of-the-road barbecue sauce sure to please everyone you make it for, even if they’re from Scotland and don’t know the difference between Eastern & Western North Carolina style barbecue sauce. (Just make sure you really like the people you invite over to eat these ribs with you, because you’re all going to be a mess afterward).

Some notes, of course:

I can't get two of the five ingredients of this sauce recipe, so I improvised with what I can get my hands on, and that's what is listed in my notes below. If you're stateside, you can follow the ingredients as listed in the image of the recipe.

The verdict:

4 spoons out of five. Still the best barbecue sauce I’ve made from the recipe box, but I have strong barbecue standards, people.

Barbecue Sauces, Previously: Spicy-Sweet Barbecue Sauce and Simple Barbecue Sauce

One year ago: Smoked Haddock Fish Pie
Two years ago: Diva cake

the recipe:

Tomato Barbecue Sauce

the directions:

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.
Brush oil over foil large enough to completely enclose ribs.
Salt and pepper ribs generously on both sides, then seal foil packet around them and cook until almost done, approximately 15 minutes, depending on your oven.
While ribs are cooking, mix together remaining ingredients in a small saucepan and heat to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes or until sauce is very sticky and onions are tender.
When ribs are almost done, open foil packets and brush ribs generously with sauce.
Allow to finish cooking, then brush with additional sauce before serving, preferably with corn on the cob and a fresh green salad.

the ingredients:

2 lbs ribs
Vegetable oil for brushing
1/3 c black treacle
1/3 c golden syrup
1/3 c scant brown sauce
1 tbsp vinegar
1 c tomato passata
¼ c onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt to taste