Showing posts with label Appetizer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Appetizer. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Fig & Olive Tapenade

My friend shared this with me when I asked her for a crowd pleaser recipe for an appetizer party I was attending. Its YUMMY and a huge hit. I thought it would be a great addition with the holidays approaching! And, I am sure some kids will enjoy it, who doesn't like cream cheese and crackers.

1 cup chopped dried figs
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup chopped kalamata olives
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic minced
1tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
8 oz block of cream cheese

Add figs and water in a saucepan over med heat. Bring to a boil and cook until the liquid has reduced. Remove from heat and stir in oil, vinegar, spices, olives and garlic and mix well. Season with salt and pepper and cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours.
To serve spoon over cream cheese, top with walnuts and serve with wheat crackers.

ENJOY!

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Fresh Spinach and Artichoke au Gratin

I wanted to make Spinach and Artichoke Au Gratin, but I wasn't sure how it would come out using fresh, uncooked spinach...most recipes call for the frozen stuff. I almost steamed the spinach or blanched it, but ultimately, laziness ruled the day and I just used raw spinach. Worked out fine! Again, there's a recipe I used as a jumping off point (here), but made some significant changes.

Not the most low-cal recipe, but both of my twins will eat vast quantities of this...the only way they'll eat spinach!


Ingredients:

1/3 pound spinach, coarsely chopped
2/3 of a 14 oz. can of artichoke hearts (non-marinated, drained), coarsely chopped
6 oz. cream cheese
2 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Soften cream cheese and butter in the microwave for about 20 seconds until it can be stirred together.

Mix in artichoke hearts, spinach, and parmesan cheese. Transfer to a baking dish (or just make the whole recipe right in the baking dish from the get-go...that's what I did!)

Bake for about 20-25 minutes. Serve with chips, bread, and/or veggies for dipping.

Fresh Salsa

I make a very simple, fresh salsa. All raw, very bright, uncluttered flavor. I make it with nothing spicy so my boys will eat it. It is one of the few relatively healthy foods they'll eat, so I keep it plain and find it's still outstanding. However, feel free to toss in some spicy peppers or hot sauce to jazz it up. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

Tomatoes (any kind...I've even made it with halved grape tomatoes)
Scallions
Cilantro
Salt
Diced jalepenos or other hot peppers, or tobasco sauce (optional, I usually omit so my kids will eat it).

Directions:

You may notice this recipe lacks quantities. Can I say it's all to taste? Well, I'm going to! But, I'll try to give some hints here in the directions.

Cut tomatoes in half and squeeze out seeds. You can use your finger to squish some out, or even just gently squeeze the tomato. You don't have to perfectly get all the seeds out. In fact, if I use grape tomatoes, I don't even bother seeding them. You just don't want your salsa to be drippy with seeds.

Dice the seeded tomatoes.

Finely slice the whites of the scallions. Reserve the green part for something else. I would say as a rule of thumb, if you're using medium sized tomatoes, you'll want to use one scallion for every two tomatoes. Or more or less, depending on your taste.

Chop some cilantro leaves. How much? Oh, it depends on how much you like it. I use a few sprigs for each tomato, then add more if I feel like it needs it.

Mix the tomatoes, scallions, and cilantro leaves, then start adding the salt. I use a salt cracker (actually, I let my boys add it), so I just keep tasting. It does take a bit of salt, and I don't like my food very salty. I've made it with very little salt, but I find it's the salt that really makes the flavors of the salsa pop. So be guided by your own taste buds on this one.

Eat immediately. We rarely have leftovers, but you can store it for a day or two. You'll probably have to drain off some excess water if you keep it in the fridge overnight, but it still tastes wonderful.