Crispy Iberian Pork Bites

When all else fails, serve dinner on colorful toothpicks.

So easy, very little hands on time, relatively neat to eat one-handed while doing homework, and totally customizable with whatever you happen to have on hand in the spice cabinet, meet your new best friend on a busy school night.

No lemons? Use limes. Not feeling the cumin and paprika? How about lime juice, soy sauce, freshly grated ginger, and a splash of fish sauce for an Asian vibe instead? Use the Spanish-style version below as a jumping off point but then feel free to play around. The flavor profile possibilities are limitless. Try lime, chili powder, cumin, and fresh cilantro for a taco-like feel. Or how about lemon juice, red wine vinegar, thyme, and oregano for a Greek take? Ooh, serve those with some sliced tomatoes and cubes of good Feta cheese. Whatever you do, don't forget the cute toothpicks.

Crispy Iberian Pork Bites
adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

2 pounds pork shoulder, trimmed of some, but not all fat
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp paprika
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 tbsp kosher salt
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup minced onion
1 tbsp olive or canola oil

Cut the meat into 1x1-inch cubes. Put the meat in a large, nonreactive bowl and toss with all of the remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour and up to 2 days.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Scatter the meat on a rimmed roasting pan in a single layer. Roast for about an hour, stopping to stir the meat occasionally. You want it crisp and brown on all sides, but not burned. Remove the meat from the pan with a slotted spoon. Serve on toothpicks with lemon wedges and/or Cumin Yogurt Dip.

Baked Parmesan Green Bean Fries

We've turned our beets, kale, apples, and Brussels sprouts into chips, so why not green bean fries?

The real trick with these bad boys is getting them to crisp up, since crunchy fries are clearly superior to squishy ones. It's a delicate balance between mush, crisp and burnt and quite honestly, it's hard to get every last fry perfectly crisp, but here's what I've learned in my trials.

1. Use the thinnest green beans you can find. Haricots verts are ideal. 
2. Make sure your beans are completely dry. If you rinse them, get every last drop of water off them before you add oil or cooking spray.
3. Do use oil or cooking spray. You need something to help the cheese adhere to the beans. Otherwise, you end up with roasted green beans with a side of crispy Parmesan, which while not an awful situation to find yourself in, is not the point of this exercise.
4. Convection bake if you can. If you don't have a convection oven, it's no big deal but if you do, use it.
5. Don't open the oven door once you turn off the heat. No peeking!

OK. Now you're ready to begin.

Parmesan Green Bean Fries

1 pound hericots verts or thin green beans
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
2 ounces Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp canola oil or cooking spray

1. Preheat a convection oven to 375 degrees (or 400 degrees for a regular oven). Combine the Panko, cheese, salt, and garlic powder in a small bowl and toss with your hands to combine.

2. Place the dry green beans on a sheet pan in a single layer. Toss the beans with 1 tablespoon of oil OR give them a good douse of cooking spray. Sprinkle the cheese mixture on top, gently turning and pressing the topping onto the beans. Some will fall off. Don't sweat it.

3. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the oven off but leave the beans where they are. Do not open the door - not even for a sec to check on them. Let the beans cool in the oven for at least an hour or longer if you want to max out your crispiness.

4. Serve with a dip of your choice...garlic aoli, vinaigrette, or a simple side of marinara, which makes for a flavor combo that's slightly reminiscent of mozzarella sticks. Just sayin.

Crispy Brussels Sprouts Chips

Building. We're always building on past success. Of course I use the term very loosely as it pertains to feeding my kiddos.

Kale chips are a hit. Even Looly is coming around, albeit slowly. Beet chips are hugely popular with most of the family and I suspect Looly will come around on those eventually too. So then, Brussels sprouts chips?

Along with beans, beets, kale, and most things colorful, vegetarian, and healthful, Bean has always loved Brussels sprouts. Two Thanksgivings ago, as a two-year-old, she sat on the counter eating raw "baby lettuce" while I prepped to roast them for the rest of us - the "rest of us" being the adults of course. Looly was not convinced and at that point I wouldn't have even entertained the notion of putting a leaf of any variety in Roo's mouth for fear of gagging. But this is a new realm. And in this realm, we make chips out of Brussels sprouts.

Crispy Brussels Sprouts Chips

1&1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts
2 tbsp olive oil
Kosher salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Chop the ends off the Brussels sprouts and discard any wilted or yellow leaves. Separate each sprout into individual leaves. This is the perfect job for eager little fingers that want to help! When you get to the dense core and can't remove any more leaves, you can toss it, save it for another recipe, or feed it to Bean.
2. Spread the leaves in a single layer on 2 rimmed baking sheets. Toss with oil to coat. Bake 10-15 minutes, shaking pan occasionally, until leaves are crisp and brown on the edges. If some leaves brown faster than others, remove the crisp leaves and continue baking others until they are all nice and crisp. Season with salt to taste.

No surprise, Bean went barmy for these. And once again Looly and Roo were not impressed, but they each managed a few nibbles. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the evening was Mufasa, who was nearly as enthusiastic as Bean. That's success in my book. These little munchies are staying in rotation and might just make it to the Thanksgiving table this year.