10 posts tagged “appetizers”
Does making a blog post on a Friday night totally give away the fact that I lead an incredibly lame life? Probably. Is getting really excited about the National Spelling Bee that's currently on ESPN even worse? I don't know, but I don't care. I absolutely love watching it every year. At any rate, here is a quick post from the ol' Macbook as I'm watching the spelling bee and cracking up that one of the spellers thought "numnah" was actually "numbnuts." Hilarity!
First, a quick reminder that the next deadline for Eat to the Beat is a month from today, June 30. This is the event that asks you to pair some type of food or drink with an artist, song, etc. We had some great entries last time, so I am hoping to get some great participation this time around too!
Second, this is the easiest appetizer you will ever make. It uses 4 ingredients and there's a good chance you have them all in your kitchen right now. Okay, I admit I don't usually have premade phyllo cups in the freezer. But, they are a nice staple to have because you never know when you will want to make a last-minute appetizer and not have time to run to the store. These were, in fact, a last minute appetizer for the barbecue we decided to have with a couple friends on Memorial Day.
I was so lazy with these that I didn't even chop the basil prettily and did a quick chiffonade instead. But hey, these tasted great anyway. You can't go wrong with warm cheese, can you?
Goat Cheese & Sundried Tomato Phyllo Cups
Let a log of goat cheese soften to room temperature.
Drain and chop some sundried tomatoes. Mix them in with the softened goat cheese and add a little fresh ground pepper.
Spoon the mixture into the phyllo cups and bake at 350 till the cheese is warm and the phyllo cups are crisp.
Sprinkle over some fresh chopped basil and serve.
The other day, I was reading Lindsey's blog and came across her post for Jamaican Jerk Shrimp, based on a recipe from the folks over at Blanchard's in Anguilla. As you may remember from my post last year, Tom and I honeymooned in Anguilla and we ate some of the best food of our lives there. Seriously. So good. Blanchard's was Tom's favorite restaurant on our honeymoon (it was a close second for me).
I came across this recipe at a great time, because Tom and I are actually celebrating our second anniversary today! Well, I shouldn't really say we are "celebrating" it today, since we're having a really easy pasta dinner and watching TV tonight. :) But, we will be celebrating it on Saturday at Blackbird!
Neither of us had the shrimp at Blanchard's, but if it comes out of the Blanchard's kitchen, I assume it has to be good. And this was really, really good. Despite what appears to be a relatively long list of ingredients, I had everything on hand except the peppers and scallions (and I ended up omitting the scallions). We had this with some roasted green beans and pineapple-black bean rice. We were just missing a white sandy beach. And a few days off work. And cucumber peels. And rum punch.
These would also make for some great appetizers!
Jamaican Jerk Shrimp
Blanchard's
1 Tbsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp. light brown sugar
1 Tbsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 Tbsp. freshly squeeze lime juice
2 scotch bonnet peppers, minced (I used habanero peppers)
1 small onion, minced
3 scallions, thinly sliced (I didn't have this so I omitted)
2 lbs. shrimp, peeled and deveined
Prepare the grill or preheat the broiler.
Make the sauce: combine all the dry ingredients and mix well. Slowly whisk in the oil, soy sauce, vinegar, orange juice and lime juice. Stir in the peppers, onions and scallions and mix thoroughly. Simmer for about 10 minutes over medium heat.
Sprinkle the shrimp with salt and pepper and grill or broil until done, a few minutes. Top (or toss) the shrimp with the sauce and serve immediately.
Nutritional Information (per 1/2 lb. of shrimp): Calories: 204 / Fat: 8.3g / Carbs: 8g / Fiber: 1g / Protein: 24.5g
I'm fairly certain that beets are the new black. People used to fear the beet, or so it seems. They'd wrinkle their noses when ordering a Greek salad in one of my family's restaurants and proclaim, "Hold the beets." Those who'd never tried a beet wouldn't even consider giving it a shot. And, I'm pretty sure a large percentage of people wouldn't be able to identify a raw beet if they saw one.
But it seems the fear of the beet has lessened significantly, and lately, they've been popping up everywhere--in magazines, food blogs, cooking shows, healthy eating lists. In fact, I'm pretty sure every restaurant I have gone to in the last year has had some sort of roasted beet appetizer on the menu. Roasted beet and goat cheese salads are the new(ish) thing. And you know what? More often than not, I'll order one. I, for one, have always loved the beet. And coupled with goat cheese? I'm on it. Is this salad so popular that it could one day end up on one of Anthony Bourdain's overrated menus?
I don't think so. It's too unfussy, too pure. It's simplicity at its finest, and its tastiest.
So, of course, that's what I decided to do with the beets I bought on sale last week.
Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Salad
3 large red beets
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, smashed
2 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
2 Tbsp. pine nuts
parsley or other fresh herbs, chopped (optional)
salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 425. Wrap each beat individually in aluminum foil. Roast the beets on the middle rack until tender, about an hour to an hour and a half. Once cool enough to handle, peel the beet and dice it.
Meanwhile, whisk together the vinegar, oil, garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Let it stand for a bit for the flavors to marry. Pluck out the garlic clove and then toss the diced beets with the mixture.
Top with goat cheese, pine nuts, and parsley.
Having a food blog and frequently making new meals may make it seem that I am in the kitchen for hours at a time but don't let me fool you--I'm pretty lazy. During the week, I will rarely make anything that takes longer than 15 minutes to prep and although I am a little more ambitious on the weekends, I still dread certain things like chopping vegetables for an hour or making things that need time to cool/rise/set/etc. before they can even start the cooking or baking process.
This is where the cheater's version of spanakopita comes into play. I hate working with phyllo. Hate it. Am I a terrible Greek or what? Some people, like Peter, have even made their own phyllo and I am too lazy to even use the one that comes in the freezer section of my grocery store. I mean, the layering, and the buttering/oiling of every layer, the need to make so many layers, the keeping the phyllo you are not using moist as you are building layers. Forget it! I will do it time to time to make baklava or tyropites (cheese pies) and don't get me wrong, I love phyllo. But it's not something I want to do very often. So I make my spanakopitas with puff pastry.
This may have started as an easy way out, but let me tell you that it's possible I now prefer spanakopita this way. Of course, for me it's also a nice change of pace since I usually eat the phyllo version my family makes. Tom just prefers the puff pastry over all. In fact, he has been begging to to make these for months and months. I don't make them very often because I can eat 10 in one sitting. This is no joke, people! I decided to freeze half the batch before baking them off this time (without the egg brush), to help me out a little in that department.
For a more authentic spanakopita, you can certainly make the recipe below with phyllo, or just double the recipe to make a standard spanakopita filling.
Puff Pastry (Cheater's) Spanakopita
Makes 18 spanakopita triangles
a little olive oil
1/2 cup sliced leeks or about 1/4 cup diced onion
fresh dill, to taste
fresh parsley, to taste (you can tell this recipe is very technical)
1/2 lb. fresh spinach (right around 1 bunch)
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
2 eggs, divided
salt and pepper
1 box (2 sheets) puff pastry dough, thawed
Preheat oven to 375.
In a large skillet, heat a little bit of olive oil until shimmering. Add the leeks or onions and saute until tender. Stir in the spinach and then turn off the heat. The spinach will start to wilt down, but not much.
Meanwhile, roll the puff pastry dough into a square, making it slightly thinner and then cut each sheet into 9 equal squares by making 2 horizontal cuts and 2 vertical cuts.
To the spinach mixture (you can move it to a bowl if you like), add the feta, parsley, dill and salt and pepper to taste. Beat one egg and add that into the mixture.
Spoon about 1-2 Tbsp. of the spinach mixture in each puff pastry square. Brush the sides of the square with a little water and then being 2 opposite sides together to form a triangle. Press with your fingers to seal. Place on a baking sheet. Beat the second egg and then brush the tops of the triangles with the egg. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until golden.
Julie has renewed my faith in eggplant. I have never been particularly fond of eggplant. As a kid, it was pretty much the only Greek thing (meaning, moussaka), I wouldn't touch. I just remember it being mushy and well, just generally not good.
I haven't had eggplant in a number of years, though, and recently I have seen a plethora of amazingly good looking eggplant recipes on some of the food blogs I frequent. One of the first was Julie's eggplant croquette. Now, it's true that Julie could make pretty much anything sound and look good. Her blog is amazing and her food pictures are absolutely incredible. She could probably photograph mayonnaise, my most hated ingredient, and I would rethink my distaste for it.
After browsing the ingredient list, though, this sounded like something I would like--the eggplant being the only iffy thing. Since this wasn't an eggplant-only dish, I decided it would be a great way to ease myself back into eggplant. And you know what? It was really delicious. Tom really liked the croquettes, too.
Mine didn't turn out quite as beautifully as Julie's, but they tasted absolutely delicious.
I made just a couple minor changes to the croquette. I sauteed the onion for just a bit because I don't particularly like raw onions. I also added a little (maybe 2 Tbsp?) of grated romano cheese. And, obviously I didn't make the onion relish, partly because I had some leftover spicy parsley tomato sauce (which was a GREAT complement) and partly because Tom and I are not condiment folks and, as a result, I didn't have half the ingredients for the relish! :) Thanks, Julie!
Since I really liked Bobby Flay's German Potato Salad recipe I thought I would try another (my second) Bobby Flay recipe tonight, so I tried his ginger-soy-lime marinated shrimp. Yum! I did use peeled shrimp, though. I skewered them with peapods before grilling, and they were delicious.
Remember the wontons that were going to make a reappearance so they didn't get wasted? Well, here they are! And, even for their original purpose!
I decided to make some potstickers/dumplings with the leftover wonton wraps. I tried about 4 different sealing techniques before I realized I was absolutely terrible at all of them and went the super easy, albeit not terribly pretty, triangle route.
I got this recipe from Shawnda and modified it. The filling was great although, thanks to my unlevel stove, the frying/steaming didn't go QUITE so smoothly.
I then just made up my own dipping sauce.
Pork Potstickers
Adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride
1/2 lb. ground pork
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2/3 cup green onions
1 cup napa cabbage, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. fresh ginger, minced
1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
Wonton wrappers (about 30)
1 Tbsp. vegetable or canola oil
Most potsticker recipes do not call for cooking the pork, so if you want, you can just mix all the ingredients together (except the vegetable oil) and start stuffing/wrapping.
But, like Shawnda, I am a little scared of raw pork so I cooked mine first. If using this method: cook the ground pork over medium heat until done and drain. Add the garlic and ginger and saute until just fragrant. Add the onions, soy sauce and cabbage and cook until the greens are wilted. Off the heat, add the toasted sesame oil and stir to combine.
Let mixture cool just a bit and add it to the bowl of a food processor. Process the filling until it reaches the desired consistency.
Lay a wrapper on a flat, dry surface put a Tbsp of mixture in in the middle. Using your fingers or a pastry brush, wet the wonton wrapper surrounding the filling and fold the dumpling...well, any way that is easiest for you.
Add oil to a clean skillet over medium heat. Add dumplings and brown them on one side, about a minute or two.
Add 1/3 cup water to the pan and cover tightly. Remove from heat when the dumplings are golden brown on one side and the wrappers are cooked, about 4 minutes.
Ginger-Soy Dipping Sauce
1/4 cup lite soy sauce
2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tsp. fresh ginger, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. green onions
Combine all ingredients (I make this before the dumplings so the flavors can meld for a while) and serve with potstickers.
Often times, I believe I could be diagnosed with Foodie Sickness. While other people think about work, school, television, etc. I think about food. And sometimes, I am inspired by really random things. Most people, when they see a three part dish at CB2 they really want to buy solely because it's so inexpensive but can't think of a real use for, they leave it there and never think about it again. Me, I leave it there, but don't stop thinking about it. Too shallow for things like sauces and condiments, too small for things like nuts. What could I possibly do with it?
And then as I am walking home, I think hmm...that dish would be cool for a "trio" of something. But what? And then (follow the train of thought here), I recall reading about the Royal Foodie Joust hosted by the Leftover Queen and it all makes sense. A trio of bruschetta, of course! Oh, and, for the record--I didn't go back and buy the plate.
This month's royal foodie joust called for the use of dried fruit, nuts, and cheese in a dish. Hmm. I like all of these things (though not always together). My immediate thought was a sundried tomato pesto (tomatoes are fruits!), so I went with it. Then, I decided to sort of mimic the idea of the three ingredients and the "pesto" in the other two.
Remember how when you were freshman in highschool, it was educationally valid to start your papers with "Webster defines (whatever your paper is on) as....?" Well, I am going to slip back into that for a second and say that Webster (or some other linguist) probably defines pesto as a puree of basil, pine nuts, garlic, cheese and olive oil. But for the purposes of this essay...I mean, blog entry...I am going to define it as a puree of nuts, garlic and cheese. And why not? And while we are on the topic of definitions, most people think the tomato topping adorning bruschetta is actually called "bruschetta." But bruschetta is really just toasted bread, typically rubbed with garlic. Okay so I only rubbed one of the breads with garlic (the French) but I did toast them all. :)
So after all those random musings, I bring to you, the trio of bruschetta "pestos."
The first of the trio is a "pesto" made with toasted pistachios, rosemary, goat cheese and dried figs on ezekiel bread. My friend Cara had a great idea to do this on rosemary bread but since I was working with what I had, I went with the ezekiel and added some fresh chopped rosemary to the mixture. This bruschetta is drizzled with honey.
The second of the trio is a sundried tomato pesto made from my basic pesto sauce and the addition of sundried tomatoes. Some sauted mushrooms top it, as does a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. It's on your standard French baguette.
The final bruschetta is a "pesto" made from toasted pecans, cream cheese, dried cherries, a pinch of sugar and a splash of vanilla. It's on top of cinammon bread and brushed with some chocolate.
All of the toppings were made in a mini food processor. I don't really have recipes for these because I just sort of added the above ingredients to the mini food prep and tasted as I went along. It's really up to your tastes and the consistency you are going for. These are just some ideas if you are looking for a new way to enjoy bread with cheese and really, who isn't?
I'm really looking forward to seeing what everyone else comes up with for the challenge. If you think my idea is good, please feel free to visit the forums and vote for me :)
Oh, and sorry for the dark pics. My crappy kitchen lighting is not conducive to food photography :)
Some food tastes good but it doesn't look pretty. In fact, I don't think it's meant to look pretty. It's just meant to comfort you. Oh and fill you up :) Tonight was one of those meals. I think Giada calls things "rustic" when they are homey and not picture perfect. So we'll call this our rustic Greekfest.
Yesterday Tom went to the butcher and surprised me by bringing home lamb! So, we had saganaki/lamb kabobs today, with some tzatziki, pita, Greek style peas and potatoes (which I make like my green beans but with dill instead of parsley), and saganaki. All the recipes are already on my blog with the exception of saganaki (not much of a recipe but I will post it below).
Mmm tzatziki! It came out damn good this time because there was Greek yogurt at the store (last time I settled for regular and it didn't strain as well as I would have liked).
And saganaki!
1. Cut about a 1/2" slice of kefalotyri or kasseri cheese.
2. Dip the cheese in a beaten egg (I also add a little lemon juice).
3. Dredge in flour seasoned with some fresh pepper.
4. Melt butter in a skillet.
5. Cook cheese in butter until it is browned and melty.
6. Splash with brandy.
7. Flame the brandy (shake pan a little).
8. Say "OPA!"
9. Squirt with fresh lemon.
10. Eat on pita and say "mmmm."
Kefalotyri=le yum.
I haven't forgotten about cooking, I've just forgotten about the blog. Luckily, I have a million things to do around the house today and, since I am looking for a reason to procrastinate, I remembered I haven't visited the old Vox site in a while. So, here I am, typing away in an office that needs a MAJOR cleaning.
At any rate, I made a nice dinner last night for two friends who recently celebrated birthdays. Unfortunately, I only remembered to take a picture of the very first thing to come out of the oven (stuffed mushrooms). Doh! So, last night we had:
- Stuffed mushrooms
- Goat cheese-marinara bake with garlic crostini
- French Onion soup
- Filet of beef bourguignon with mashed garlic redskins and roasted asparagus
- Chocolate lava cakes
Stuffed Mushrooms
I have made these a few times and everyone always loves them. The best part (for me) is that there is no crab in there since I am not a seafood kinda gal. And who doesn't love bacon?
4 tablespoons butter, divided
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
5 slices bacon
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
10 oz. fresh spinach
1/3 c. heavy cream
12-16 large stuffing mushrooms
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
1. Preheat oven to 400 and grease a cookie or baking sheet (or just use a silpat)
2. Cook bacon, drain, and crumble. Set aside.
3. Remove stems from mushrooms. Arrange caps in baking dish and finely chop stems.
4. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in saucepan over medium heat and add onion. Cook 2-3 minutes before adding garlic and spinach. Cook spinach down and make sure garlic and onion are tender.
5. Mix in bacon, chopped stems, and cream. Bring to a boil and then remove from heat. Mix in cheese, salt, and pepper.
6. Stuff mushroom caps generously with mixture. Drizzle 2 tablespoons melted butter over. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Goat cheese-marinara crostini
Probably one of the easiest things ever to make, and one of the best. Pat a log of goat cheese until it is slightly flat, and put in a small, shallow baking dish. Pour homemade or your favorite jarred pasta sauce around the sides of the cheese, coming just up to the cheese (but not covering it). Bake at 325 for about 20 minutes or until it starts getting bubbly. During the last 10 minutes, toss in a baking sheet with some slices of French bread that you have brushed with extra virgin olive oil so they become nice and toasty. Once the crostini are out of the oven, rub them with a fresh head of garlic.
French Onion Soup
I have made a creamy onion soup before, but never a plain old onion soup. I looked at a couple recipes and each seemed as though it was missing something, so I made up my own and it was delicious! The other good thing was that I was able to make this earlier in the day and refrigerate it until it was ready to reheat and pop in the oven. The added bonus, of course, is that soups always taste better after they have been resting for a bit.
This makes about 6 bowls of soup (I used the standard oven-proof bowls so I could melt the cheese on top).
7 medium yellow onions, sliced
6 tablespoons unsalted butter (I only keep unsalted in my fridge)
4 thyme springs, leaves stripped
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup dry sherry
4 cups beef stock
2 cups chicken stock
French bread croutons (did the same thing I did for the crostini, above)
Gruyere - 2 cups shredded or 6 slices
In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions, bay leaf, and thyme leaves and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions begin to turn golden brown--about 25-30 minutes.
Add the sherry and cook until it is almost evaporated and onions turn brown, about 15 minutes.
Add the beef and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer, and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Ladle the soup into the oven-proof bowls. Top with a French bread crouton and a handful (or slice) of the gruyere. Bake at 450* until cheese is bubbly and starts to turn brown, about 8-10 minutes.
Filet of Beef Bourguignon
I used Ina Garten's recipe. It was great, primarily because it uses such a great cut of beef ("the Cadillac of meats" as the butcher called it). It was tender and flavorful. The only problem I had is that there it too little sauce. Between the deglazing and simmering of vegetables the sauce reduces quite a bit so I would probably 1.5x the liquid if I were to make this again.
I served this with some mashed garlic redskins [boiled the redskins until cooked, drained. To to the warm pot, added some butter (to melt) and some roasted garlic. Re re-added potatoes and mashed. Added salt, pepper, and a little parmesan cheese] and roasted asparagus.
Chocolate Molten Cakes
I used Dave Lieberman's recipe (sidenote: I *puffy heart* Dave) but did half semi sweet and half bittersweet chocolate. I undercooked them a little (because I was so afraid of OVERcooking them) but they were still yummy. And, it's pretty much a given Iwill never make a perfect dessert since I don't like to bake.
PHEW. So, onto (or back to?) last week. Well, I don't really remember when we had these meals, but over the past week or two we have eaten...
Italian beef sandwiches
For "crockpot Friday," I just put a 2.5 lb. beef chuck roast in the crockpot after searing it a little. I heated up some beef broth (I would say to use about 1/2 cup for every pound of meat) and to that I added: 3 cloves minced garlic; 1 tablespoon oregano; 1 tablespoon basil; 1/2 tsp black pepper; 1 bay leaf, 1 tablespoon dried minced onion; 1 tablespoon parsley and a little salt. Poured that over the roast, cooked it on low all day while I was at work.
When I came home, I shredded the beef and let it continue to cook on low, uncovered (to thicken up/reduce the juices a tad) for about another hour.
I know the traditional way to serve these is with peppers, but I prefer a pepper cheese instead. So, I toasted up some sub rolls that I made into garlic rolls by adding a little butter, garlic and a spray of EVOO, and added cheese the last minute they were toasting.
Chicken with mushrooms, prosciutto, and cream sauce over egg noodles and with peas. Honestly, even ith modifications, I thought this was kinda "eh" at best. I think in general I am not a huge fan of sauces made with sour cream (despite loving sour cream) but I thought I would give it a whirl because we had leftover sour cream.
Beef Stew
This is one of those dishes I love experimenting with, be it changing up the ingredients, or cooking it in a crockpot versus an oven. The recipe below can easily be put in the oven instead of a crockpot. I just like the ease of the crockpot, and that I don't have to be home while it cooks. While this takes a lot more prep than a normal slowcooker meal, if I am making this on a weekday where I have to be at work, I do all the prep (vegetable cutting, etc) the night before. If you like a more tomato-y stew, you could throw in a can of diced tomatoes. I used to make this without tomato paste but realized even adding a tbsp or two really added some depth of flavor, so I do that, now.
If you make this in the oven, cook it in a covered dutch oven at 275-300* for about 2 hours. Stir the frozen peas in at the end, the same way you would for the crockpot version.
2 pounds cubed beef stew meat
4 cups red wine, divided
4 cloves garlic, minced, divided
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2-3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1.5 cup sliced carrots
1.5 cup sliced celery
4-5 potatoes, cut in fourths or eighths depending on size
1/2 cup frozen peas
8 oz. sliced mushrooms, stems removed and cut in half
2 bay leaves (or 1, if it's bigger)
1 Tbsp. dried parsley
1.5 tsp. dried thyme
1.5 tsp. dried rosemary
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 cups beef broth
1 tablespoon butter
2 small or 1 medium onion, sliced
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1. Place meat, 2 cloves garlic, and 3 and 1/2 cup red wine in a container. Refrigerate for a couple hours, or overnight.
2. In a large plastic bag, combine flour, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper. In batches, add meat and shake to coat.
3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add stew meat, and cook until evenly browned on the outside. Cook in batches if necessary so as not to crowd the meat.
4. Place the potatoes, carrots, celery and mushrooms on the bottom of the crockpot. Top witb browned meat, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper.
5. In the same skillet, melt butter and saute onions until softened. Add the tomato paste and cook off a bit and stir in garlic until fragrant.
6. Pour remaining 1/2 cup red wine and beef broth into the skillet, deglazing the pan and scraping the brown bits. Reduce slightly before pouring the mixture into the crockpot.
7. Cook on low for 7-9 hours or if I am home I like cooking on high for one hour and then on low for 5 or 6
8. When done, stir in peas
Damn, Gina! I think that finally gets up up to speed.
