recipephile

Quick Bites - Carol's Cheesy Cheese Ball

Last week I flew from SFO to Pittsburgh to begin my ten day home for the holidays with my family.  The day after I landed my business partner and I had to head down to DC for a meeting.  We decided to stay with my cousin Carol and she invited the entire clan over for dinner.  Julee, Paul, Lukey, Tara, Little Paul, Carol, Aunt Joan, Uncle Skippy, Rob, Lissa, Carly, PJ, Amy, Andrew and Kate were all on hand for an incredible meal prepared by my kitchen savvy cousin Carol.

She had me make the cheese ball, which I had never made before, and it was pretty simple.  Just cube up two pounds of sharp cheddar cheese and place into the bowl of a food processor.  Add 1/2 can of good beer -- we used an ale -- two cloves of minced garlic, 2 tbsp of dijon mustard, red pepper flakes (about a tsp) and process until smooth and spreadable. 

Remove the cheese and roll into two separate balls.  You can serve both or freeze one for later use. If you do not want that much just cut the recipe in half.   Serve with crackers and if you want, you can roll the cheese ball in crushed walnuts.

Quick Bites -- Fried Zucchini

The other night I got together with my friend Jeffrey for leftovers.  On the way over to his house I stumbled upon the most adorable little vegetable stand. At the corner of 19th and Eureka in the Castro district of Sna Francisco two little girls were selling veggies that were grown at their relative's farm in Healdsburg, CA.  Is this the new lemonade stand? They even asked me if I wanted to be on their email newsletter list, which I immediately signed up for. How can you say no to spam from a 7 year old??

So I took the zucchinis to Jeffrey's and we decided to make fried zucchini.  To prepare the zucchs we used a mandolin and sliced them into very thin rounds.  Jeffrey prepared a mixture of flour, granulated garlic (dried), cayenne pepper and freshly ground black pepper (for 1 cup of flour about 1 tbsp of each dried herb). 

The we coated the slices well and fried them up in extra virgin olive oil.  Once they were crispu and brown we drained them on a paper towel, salted and drizzled with some fresh lemon juice.

They were amazing. 

Quick Bites - Chorizo and Roasted Garlic "Tostadas"

When my sister, brother and I were younger the three of us were fascinated by my father's Aunt, Antoinette. She loved to play Indian poker with us, which is popular variation of classic poker. Using one deck of cards, the dealer deals a card, face down, to each player around the table. The players then place the cards on their foreheads with one hand, so all players except themselves can see what they’re playing with. We always played the games with pennies and every time she heard we were coming for a visit she would say "bring your pennies".

In addition to her crazy poker game she also lived in Tucson and was a fan of the Tostada. She made these for us all of time, but as I grew older and started eating at Mexican restaurants I realized that her "tostada" was really a quesadilla. Tostada is a Spanish word translating to "toasted" in English and, in Latin American cuisine, refers to a flat tortilla that is toasted or deep fried.

So this weekend my friends threw a Treso de Mayo party (the third of May as opposed to the fifth) and I made a version of Antoinette's "tostada". My Chorizo and Roasted Garlic "Tostadas" were a hit.

Note that if you already have roasted garlic in the fridge this recipe will take no time, but if you do not have the garlic, place your cloves into a big piece of foil, add olive oil, tent to allow the garlic some space to cook and place in the oven at 350 for about 30-45 minutes.

- 1 lb of chorizo, sauteed over medium heat until cooked through
- 1/2 medium sized onion sauteed over medium heat until translucent
- 20- 30 cloves of garlic, roasted and mashed using a mortar
- 2 cups each of cheddar and monterey jack cheese
- 20 medium sized flour tortillas

Spread a little bit of the roasted garlic onto 10 of the tortillas. Place about 1/4 cup each of the cheeses onto one of the tortillas, cover with about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the chorizo on top of the cheese, add about 1/4 cup each of the cheeses on top of the chorizo and then place another tortilla on top of the meat and cheese pile.

Place into a sautee pan or grill pan and toast on each side for about 3-4 minutes. Once one side has toasted use a spatula to flip over.

Complete until all of your meat and cheese has disappeared in between two tortillas. Cut into triangles and serve.

Quick Bites - Olive Tapenade with Toasted Baguette

Olive tapenade is one of the simplest dishes to prepare, people love its flavor and always gobble it up. One of the best things about this simply delicious appetizer is that it keeps for days. It also freezes beautifully so you can pull it out at the last minute, defrost, toast up some baguette and be ready for company in minutes.

This is very easy to make.

- 1 baguette, sliced thin and toasted. I do this first and make the tapenade while the bread is toasting. SET THE TIMER or your mind will wander and you'll end up with burnt toasts.

- 3 cups of pitted Kalamata Olives
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp of freshly ground black pepper
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- A few fresh rosemary sprigs (about 1 tsp)

Place all of the ingredients into a food processor and chop until diced (not smooth). Remove and serve with toasts.

Quick Bites - Salmon Mousse on Cucumber Rounds

You may have read my posting the other day about the cucumber salad that my new BFF Tina made.  I had leftover cucumbers and had to figure how to use them before they turned into mush.  Another good friend, Colette, had said to me the night before that I should use them as the base for a canape. 

Hmmm....  My head was spinning with what to place atop cucumber rounds.  It needed to be something of substance and, in my opinion, intense and well balanced flavor.  Jeffrey had trout the night before and as he was telling me about it all I could think of was mousse.  First I thought I would make trout mousse, but while I was shopping at the market the salmon looked so good I settled on using a deliciously pink slab of one of my favorite, Omega rich fishes for the appetizer.

This is pretty easy to make:

- 3 cucumbers sliced into rounds (each round should be about 1/2 - 3/4 inch)
- 1 lb piece of salmon
- 8 oz of whipped cream cheese
- 6 oz of sour cream
- Juice of 1 large lemon
- 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Prepare your salmon by pan frying over medium heat with a little bit of olive oil.  In a large bowl add all of the ingredients (except for salt and pepper) and mix well with a hand blender.  Place in refrigerator.

Scoop out seeds of each cucumber round without going all of the way through.  Place about a tsp or two of mousse into each round and garnish with a small sprig of dill.

Arrange on a platter and serve.

DELICIOUS!

 

Quick Bites - Jelly, Chili Sauce and Cheese

The title sounds odd right??  How can these three things ever go together??  Well they do and while I was traveling in Indonesia and Thailand I made a point of sharing my love of sweet, hot and savory foods combined into one delicious appetizer. 

Sambal Asli is a very popular brand of chili sauce in Southeast Asia.  It has a distinctively sweet and hot taste that matches perfectly when mixed with pineapple jelly or orange marmalade and then served with sharp white cheddar cheese.

While in Bangkok I met a wonderful woman named Karen Jones.  Karen works as a principal and Reiki specialist and took me under her wing after my friends left to travel on to Vietnam.  She introduced me to some incredible people, took me to great restaurants and so I decided to return the favor by welcoming she and some of her friends to my hotel room for appetizers and drinks.

As I strolled around grocery store (I love going to grocery stores in other countries) I stumbled upon Sambal Asli and immediately thought that it should be mixed with marmalade and served with sharp white cheddar cheese and crackers.  I felt that the juxtaposition of the Asian chili sauce with a more western style jelly and cheese was a perfect complement.

This is very easy to make and if you cannot find Sambal Asli, it can be ordered online (http://importfood.com/sakm1401.html), then use the hot chili sauce that is often found in grcery stores throghout the USA.  It is called Serachi and has a green top with a rooster on the front.

Here is what you will need...

Quick Bites - Tina's Cucumber Salad

My friend Tina is visiting from New York and what better reason to throw a dinner party... right?  Together we made a delicious fish and rice dish and Tina suggested we pair it with her easy to make cucumber salad.  This Asian inspired dish has the most amazing flavor and can be prepared in minutes.  According to Tina, it is best after it sits for a while.  So make it about 30 minutes ahead of time and stir about every 5-10 minutes.

Here is how you make this dish. Remove the skins from four cucumbers with a peeler.  Scoop out seeds with a spoon and discard. Add equal parts, 1/4 cup of each, of rice vinegar and white sugar. Throw in a pinch of salt and a dash or two of sesame oil.

Serve with fish or chicken or just eat it up all on its own.

Quick Bites - Pea Soup With Carrots, Onions and Brown Rice

On my way home from the gym I realized that hunger was setting in so I decided that a nice warm soup on this rainy and chilly day in the city by the bay would be perfect.  This is where I ended up breaking some of my rules.  For the longest time I was a purist and would never think of using canned chicken broth or vegetables, but I wanted soup and I had no homemade broth in the freezer.

So I bought 1 qt of organic free range chicken broth and a can of peas.  After arriving home I noticed a 1/2 bag of mini carrots and a medium sized red onion in the fridge.  They were both chopped and placed into a soup pan with all of the chicken broth, the peas and about 4 tbsp of brown rice.  It took about 1/2 hour to get the rice to the proper consistency and when it was I used my hand blender to thicken the soup.  Salt and freshly ground black pepper was added to taste.  You will love this soup and it is so very easy to make.  Top it off with some parm cheese and it is ready to go.

Quick Bites - Citrus Yogurt Sauce

My friend Jeffrey made dinner last night and served salmon with yogurt citrus sauce.  The sauce was so amazing and he used my absolute favorite Greek yogurt.  As I watched him make the sauce (it only took a few minutes) he was telling me that he puts this on just about everything.  It balances out heavy foods like lamb, complements lighter flavors like fish, and also makes a great dip for pita wedges. 

Last night, this yogurt sauce went over a salmon fillet that he had simply broiled for about 10 minutes - skin side down, with only salt, pepper, olive oil and lemon slices - and then baked at 350 for another 8-10 minutes to make sure it was cooked evenly.  A 2 3/4 pound fillet fed seven of us.

1 tub unflavored Greek yogurt (12-16 oz.)
zest of 1 lime and juice of 1/2 lime (2 tablespoons)
zest of 1 orange and juice 1/4 orange (2 tablespoons)
2 cloves finely minced garlic
3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon honey
salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste

That's it!  Tasty, easy, and sneakily healthful!

Quick Bites - Cream Cheese, Crab and Cocktail Sauce

My mom makes this all of the time and it is delicious and so easy to make.  The headline says it all.  Get once package (8 oz.) of Philadelphia Cream Cheese (I use the new product with a 1/3 less fat -- it tastes just as good), 1 lb of jumbo lump crabmeat (if you are on the east coast this is easy to find, but on the west coast you may need to use dungeness crab), 1/2 jar of Heinz Chili sauce with 2-3 tsps of horseradish mixed in) and lemons for garnish.

Spread the cream cheese onto the bottom of a porcelain pie pan or other serving dish that is about 1 inch deep. Place the crab on top of the cream cheese and cover with cocktail sauce and horseradish mixture.  Squeeze 1/2 lemon on top and use the other half as garnish.

Serve with crackers.