Category Archives: Appetizer

Back Away From The Asparagus & No One Will Get Hurt

Posted on by
26

Marinated Asparagus. The taste will "Stalk" you in your dreams. HA! I slay myself! (If you click on the photo, the dressing shows up better)

I was a weird kid. Yes, I know I’m also a weird adult but my point is that it started years ago. It was just a hobby then. Now I have it down to an art form. But moving on. I was a weird kid. I never turned up my nose at things like spinach, brussel sprouts or asparagus. On the contrary, I inhaled them. Which was great until the one time that asparagus spear got stuck up my nose upon inhaling…

What? You really expected me to make it through a paragraph without a bad one liner? You must be new to my blog.

But I really did love all of them. No inhaling involved *insert bad Bill Clinton joke here* Mind you, the spinach and asparagus I had a kid were always canned. Sad as it is, I didn’t have fresh of either until I was well into my 30’s. For the longest time, I preferred the canned versions because they were familiar. The fresh tasted funny to me. But they grew on me. No really. They did. Makes wearing a skirt interesting.

I’d lie and tell you that I’ll stop now but you’d know and I’d know that I was lying so why bother?

“It was the dawning of the Age of Asparagus, age of asparagus”

Ahem. Yeah. Again; moving on. Loved them, ate them, wore them. Ok, I think that catches us up now. Continue reading →

Dip Because I’m A Dip

Posted on by
16

 

 

Hard to take a decent picture of dip. I mean, it's DIP... 😛

When I was a kid, people who were ditzy were called dips or dippy. I have no idea if that was a regional thing or just that the people I knew were strange. Please don’t answer that. But suffice it to say that I fell squarely into the dippy category.

Thus the title of this post. I mean, this dip has chicken, cheese, bacon and green onions in it too but titling this “Dip for the chicken” or “dip for the bacon” just didn’t make much sense to me. I can be a bit chicken at times (like when eating liver is involved) but I am not related to pork products in any way. Hmmm, I’ve been known to be piggy. As for cheese, we all know I can be cheesy but “Dip for the cheese” just sounds stupid.

Fine, I admit it!! I couldn’t think of a good post title and this is all just a coverup to make it sound planned! It was “Dip-Gate”! A vast right wing conspiracy!! Erhmmmm, sorry, I think I was channeling Hilary Clinton. *Shudders* Now THERE’S a frightening thought.

Sigh. I really need to get out more.

Moving on.

Still have a couple of big holidays coming up. You may have heard of them. And they tend to be big eating holidays too. Not like Columbus Day… or Groundhog Day. Personally, I don’t go overboard on yummy foods for those two.

In my family, it has become a tradition to have our big meal on Christmas Eve. It has also become a tradition that the meal is mainly appetizers and finger foods. Mind you, with my kids and hubby that still means enough food to feed a small country but still… appetizers.

One of the things we all enjoy is dips. Not so much the ubiquitous kinds like cold french onion dip with chips (I save that for maybe a twice a year craving and TV) but more substantial ones. Preferably with meat. Lots of meat. Or cheese. Lots of cheese. Or even better, with both.

You’ve all probably heard of Buffalo Chicken Dip by now, even if you haven’t tried it. Hot cheesy dip that is SUPPOSED to taste like buffalo wings. Too often however, tasty as it is, it bears no resemblance to wings. With that in mind, I had no qualms keeping the same basic idea and taking it even farther down the path away from “Wingdom”. Ha!! You thought I was going to say that I had created one that tasted exactly like a scoopable buffalo wing. Admit it… you did, you did you did..

Oh heck no. As much as I love wings, I kinda like that the dips aren’t perfectly like them. But being me, as usual, I couldn’t leave well enough alone. So try MY version of Buffalo Chicken Dip. Hot, gooey, cheesy, chickeny (yes, that is now a word) bacony (hey; spell check didn’t say anything. I guess bacony really IS a word!), oniony (damn; not a word. Stoopid spell check.) and oh so yummy with tostitos or celery (if you’re feeling strangely healthful which is a waste of time with this dip) or off of your fingers. You may want to let it cool before you try that last one though. Just sayin’. I will not be held liable for burned fingertips :-p

Newly Revised Deluxe Version Of Buffalo Chicken Dip

  • 2 10 ounce cans chicken, well drained
  • 1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing
  • 1/2 to 3/4 (if you’re brave) cup hot sauce (I use Franks Red Hot)
  • 1 3 ounce package bacon bits (yes, you could make your own bacon but this is meant to be easy, not work)
  • 3 cups cheddar cheese
  • 1/4 cup blue cheese (I’d put more if I could but no one else in the family likes blue cheese, the boogerheads)
  • 3 green onions, thinly sliced
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese, hot sauce and dressing.
  3. Stir in the chicken, breaking up any large chunks (but don’t mush the crap out of it; leave some pieces), the bacon, the green onions and 2 cups of the cheddar cheese.
  4. Spoon into a lightly greased 2 quart baking dish or 9 inch pie plate.
  5. Top with the rest of the cheddar cheese, the blue cheese (and some extra green onions if you want)
  6. Bake at 350 until lightly browned around the edges and bubbly, about 20 minutes.
  7. Serve with veggies of tostitos or fingertips.

Did I mention How Much I Love Pumpkin??

Posted on by
41

If the rising amount of Pumpkin recipes on my blog and my drooling comments on all of your pumpkin posts hasn’t made it clear, I LOVE PUMPKIN!! Whadda ya mean, you couldn’t hear me!? Ok, I’ll say it again.  I LOVE PUMPKIN!!!  Yes, yes, I know. I’m very subtle when it comes to displaying my likes and dislikes. I bet that not a one of you knew I loved chocolate, Twinkies or Cheetos did you? Or that I absolutely hate beef liver? Shocking huh? I really need to learn to express myself better don’t I? Oh… by the way.. I LOVE PUMPKIN!!!

Autumn in the blogging world is obviously the time when we see a plethora (dontcha just love when I use big words… like “I want a  plethora of Twinkies and Cheetos”. Now THERE’S an awesome sentence!) of pumpkin recipes (as well as apple and pear recipes and Thanksgiving style recipes and…and…and.. *drools yet again*). I absolutely love this time of year.  Not sure I made that clear before either hehe. Seriously though, I do. I love the weather, the way people seem more chilled out (and not just cause they are cold) and I definitely love the foods. Especially…erhmmm… pumpkin.

One thing I notice though is that there are many more sweet Pumpkin recipes than there are anything else. Mind you, you’ll never see me knocking that (I love love love my Pumpkin Cranberry Bread Recipe   as well as the 5000000 pumpkin recipes I’ve printed out in the last few days) but Pumpkin is wonderful in so much more than sweets mmmmmmmmaaaaaan!

The other day I received an email that had a recipe for Pumpkin Hummus. I was all over that one! I love hummus. It’s one of my favorite snacks or light meals. So combine that with my love for Pumpkin and I knew I had to try this. So I did. And it was bland and downright boring which is why I’m not sharing where I got it. I don’t want to show where I got a ick recipe.  So we all know me right? No way could I just say “oh well, that’s that. I’m done.” Nope. I had to fix it… cause that’s the kind of a gal I am. Or something.

And fix it I did. I make a curried Pumpkin risotto that I love. I mean, it’s absolutely amazingly good! Yes btw, I will be sharing that recipe here during the Pumpkinish season. So the risotto popped into my mind and I figured “why not?” So I added some curry powder to the pumpkin hummus mix, a bit more salt, a touch of red pepper and oh my gosh, is it good! It has a tang from the lemon mixed with a meld of exotic flavor from the curry and garlic. All topped off of course by the wonderfully fresh UNSWEETENED flavor of pumpkin. If you like Pumpkin and want a light meal, side dish or snack, try this. I served it with onion flatbreads. My husband, peasant that he is, didn’t like it. But that’s ok… more for me 😀

Curried Pumpkin Hummus

  1. 1 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
  2. 2 to 3 tablespoons tahini
  3. 2 teaspoons  garlic powder
  4. 2 teaspoons onion powder
  5. 2 1/2 teaspoons mild curry powder
  6. 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
  7. 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste. I’m not a big salt person but many of you may need more)
  8. 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
  9. 1 teaspoon olive oil
  10. 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
  11. 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • In a food processor, combine all ingredients until smooth and creamy.
  • Taste for seasoning.
  • Spoon into serving bowl and drizzle with a little more olive oil and sprinkle with a touch more curry powder.
  • Eat.
  • Feel good about it because this is actually quite good for you.
  • Cheer because I’m so good at figuring out ways to add extra superfluous (another big word… didya see that?) recipe directions because I hate short recipes.

You Say Pizza I say…Well… I Also Say Pizza. Sorry.

Posted on by
44

Growing up in Chicago I learned to love pizza. Contrary to popular legend (and silly TV travel and food shows that keep the myth alive) not all of Chicago pizzas are deep dish. Deep dish has its place sure, but ya know what? I didn’t have deep dish pizza until I was an adult. All the pizza I had as a kid growing up on “Da Sout’ Side” was thin crust and cut in squares not wedges thankyouverykindly. To this day, it’s how I prefer my pizza. On that note, tell me/us about YOUR favorite pizza. What kind of crust, what toppings? My favorite is a thin crust with sausage, mushrooms and extra cheese. Preferably from Artese pizza in Chicago… which I haven’t had since I was about 15 *sobs*. These days I settle for chain pizza because the rural part of Kentucky isn’t exactly a hot spot for good pizza. We also make it home made. My hubby is the pizza king around here when it comes to traditional. I’m the one who likes to shake things up and do it differently. Gee… imagine that. ME? Not doing things the normal way? Nahhhhhhhhh.

One thing I’ve been making for years is what we call pizza bread. Basically, it’s what they call Stromboli or Calzone (both different but similar enough that I feel no guilt using the names more or less interchangeably. Doubt the pizza police are gonna get me 😛 ) but…not. Calzones are usually a half moon shape and strombolis are usually rolled. Mine is neither. It’s one big huge…well… stuffed pizza.  But I cheat by using frozen bread dough. This IS me after all. You know I try to bring you things that are tasty, usually quite bad for you hehehe but as easily done as possible. No exception here.

This is cheesy and gooey and meaty and saucy and…ok, so obviously it has all the flavor levels of pizza.  Suffice it to say that it’s yummy. This is great for a light meal with salad or cut into strips for snacks while watching  TV or hidden somewhere where nobody else can find it and heated up when you’re alone…

 

I have specific filling ingredients listed here but you can sub your favorites. Just be careful not to overstuff. No matter how well you think you have it sealed, put too much sauce, too much cheese or too much filling in it and it WILL break open and make a mess.

Stuffed Pizza Bread

  1. 2 loaves frozen bread dough, thawed (lay it out on foil, lightly grease it & leave till thawed)
  2. 1/2 cup pizza sauce (spaghetti sauce works fine too)
  3. 1/2 cup Tyson Italian Sausage crumbles
  4. 4 ounces (about 10 thin slices) hard salami
  5. 4 ounces Canadian bacon
  6. 12 ounces shredded mozzarella or provolone cheese
  7. 1/2 to 2/3 cup shaved Parmesan cheese
  8. 1 large beaten egg for egg wash
  9. 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella, provolone or “pizza” cheese
  10. Basil Oil for drizzling and extra sauce for dipping if desired
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • On a lightly floured board (or counter like I do 😛 ) roll one loaf of the thawed dough out to about 8×11 or the approximate size of a sheet of copy paper.
  • Transfer to a large greased cookie sheet.
  • Layer the dough with the pizza sauce and toppings.
  • Roll out other loaf to about one inch larger in diameter than you did the other.
  • Brush beaten egg all around the edges of the filled loaf.
  • Carefully drape other loaf on top and seal edges with your fingers. Fold under if necessary.
  • Brush top of stuffed pizza thingamajigger with beaten egg then sprinkle with shaved Parmesan. Drizzle with basil oil.
  • Bake at 350 until golden brown, about 30 minutes.
  • Let rest for about 15 minutes before cutting or you’ll just have cheese everywhere. Sounds yummy yes, but rather unfair to the poor sods who get the middle of the loaf with no cheese in it 😛

Hello? This Is Exotic Deliciousness Calling You! Pick Up Please!!

Posted on by
53

Recently I was contacted by the wonderfully gracious Jen; one of the lovely people from Kelapo, which is a  company that sells coconut oil. Very very yummy, OMG this smells fantastic coconut oil. Jen asked me if I would be interested in receiving  some of their coconut oil to use and tell all of you about. I of course jumped on that chance because I am a piggie butt foodie who loves coconut oil.  Hmmm, it probably would have sounded better had I said that I graciously accepted out of the kindness of my heart and because I am the consummate professional food blogger wouldn’t it have? Yeah, well, we all know better. That piggie butt factor was a large part of it though I DO like the idea of being able to maybe give some exposure to a growing company, as I understand the “trying to grow” part myself.

Seriously (well, as much as is possible for me) I really do love coconut oil. But all I had ever used before was the large vats of it you can buy from your local grocery store. That stuff is pretty darn good but Kelapo’s coconut oil just blew me away.  I spent the first few days after getting it just taking it out of the cabinet 75 times a day and smelling it. The smell is so…. pure. It is the essence of the tropics in a small jar. Again, comparing that to the store bought, the store bought smells good but there is always a bit of an off smell to it… the smell of something produced in large large large quantities without any love behind it. Kelapo’s oil wasn’t like that. Like I said, the scent was pure. Coconut, nothing added.

Coconut oil can be used in so many ways that you can’t really use vegetable oil or olive oil for. Well, I suppose you could but it just wouldn’t be the same. One of the things I did with this and it’s not so much a recipe as a technique which is why I’m not posting it as a recipe (but yes, facebook fans, this is the bonus I was referring to.) is make a body butter from it. Just go buy a small tub of cocoa butter. Mix the full tub with about 1/2 cup of Kelapo’s coconut oil (easiest if you melt all this over a low heat). Stir while it melts to mix well, then pour into a clean jar (small canning jars work well). You can scent this with maybe two drops of coconut extract (or maybe a drop of peppermint oil to create something a bit more energizing. Mmmm, coconut mint scented) to intensify the scent but it’s not really needed. This smells fantastic as is! Just scoop out a small bit after your shower and rub in well to those rough spots like your knees or elbows or wherever your skin is really dry. You will be sniffing yourself all day (though if you manage to sniff your elbow, I want photos) and you will be soft as a baby’s tushie. You can also use a small amount of plain coconut oil in a hot bath. But be careful! It IS oil and will make it quite slippery.

Cooking wise, I wanted to make something simple with this; something that highlighted the flavor of the coconut oil but yet had more flavors to it… flavors that fit with it and didn’t overpower it. I think I succeeded quite nicely if I do say so myself. I oven roasted some potato wedges in coconut oil and some Indian spices. God help me, I can’t stop eating them lol. I WAS going to have these as a side dish to my dinner (the rest of the family ate earlier) but this has BECOME my dinner, they are so good. The coconut flavor is wonderful. It’s subtle yet definitely present and mixed with the flavors of the curry and spices it is out of this world. My husband was grinning at me saying he hasn’t seen me eat this well in a long time. And yep, it is because of the Kelapo’s coconut oil and NO, I’m not just saying it because they gave me some. I have given bad reviews before and won’t hesitate to do so if it’s deserved. This however deserves every single glowing word I’m saying. Before I get to the recipe for the potatoes, I wanted to share the coupon code that the Kelapo people are giving my readers. It is good for 20% off of your purchase until 9/29/2011. Seriously; go buy some of the coconut oil. Cook with it. Slather it all over your body lol. Smell it 75 times a day like I did. But buy some! It’s wonderful!

Coupon code to be used at Kelapo is Cupcakes20 (case sensitive). It’s good through 9/29 so go…shoo… buy. Ummm, after you read the recipe and drool.

Indian Spiced Roasted Potato Wedges With Coconut Oil

  • 2 pounds potatoes (I used Yukon gold), cut into 4 to 8 wedges (depending on potato size)
  • 1/4 cup Kelapo coconut oil
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon good quality mild curry powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
  2. In a small bowl, mix together all your spices and the salt.
  3. Spoon (if solidified which coconut does at fairly high temps compared to other oils) onto a foil lined 13×9 inch baking sheet. Put into oven long enough to melt the oil.
  4. Tilt the pan to let the oil cover the bottom of it.
  5. Making sure to coat each one in the oil (just turn it over and move it around in the oil… it isn’t rocket science 😛 ), lay your potato wedges on the baking sheet in a single layer.
  6. Sprinkle the potatoes with the salt/spice mix
  7.  Roast at 425 until the potatoes are tender and golden brown, about 45 minutes. It helps to brown them if you put the pan on the lowest rack on the oven about halfway through cooking.
  8. Transfer to a serving plate; taste to see if it needs more salt and then enjoy them… because I promise you, you will. Then go buy 322 containers of coconut oil. 😛

*I received a jar of Kelapo Coconut Oil to use and review. All opinions in here are my own*

Yes, We Have No……Tomatoes.

Posted on by
15

Hard to make a bowl of roasted tomatoes look good. You just have to trust me 😀

 

When I was a kid, I was allergic to tomatoes. I was also allergic to strawberries which back then, bothered me a great deal more than the tomatoes, even if tomatoes ARE a fruit. You try being a little kid and not allowed a peanut butter and strawberry preserves sandwich. *sobs piteously* I guess I must have outgrown that one fairly young though because I remember eating strawberry things in my childhood. Oh well… moving on. Tomatoes. Allergy. Hives. Itch. Ouch. Mom!

The tomato thing lasted into early adulthood then just disappeared as childhood food allergies can sometimes do. It didn’t hurt that I didn’t really like tomatoes anyway other than ketchup which didn’t seem to bother me. It was only raw maters and I was happy without them. Such a young stupid pup I was. I think growing up in Chicago the tomatoes I had were hard store bought rocks so I thought they all tasted like that. This was before the day of farmers markets in cities, of CSA’s, Heirloom tomatoes, etc etc etc. If you didn’t live in the country and/or grow your own, you got pale pinkish rocks for tomatoes. End of discussion.

As I grew older and started cooking more outside my comfort zone, I was forced by the circumstances of cooking to try tomatoes. Surprise surprise (please use a Gomer Pyle voice when you say that; it’s much more fun), I liked them. Still not the type to really pick up a tomato and salt it and eat it (though I get in the mood at times) but I love to grow them, I love to cook with them and I love to eat them in salads and other ways. But my favorite way to eat plain tomatoes is oven roasted. I love love love them. Did I mention that I love them? I have kind of given a condensed version of this recipe in This Post but it was tucked into a separate recipe so I wanted to give it by itself. The recipe being, btw, oven roasted tomatoes. These are soooooo delicious made this way. The flavor is concentrated but they aren’t as chewy as sun dried which means they make a good accompaniment to things like sandwiches and salads. You can eat them without trying to take a bite and having the whole piece of tomato pull out BECAUSE they aren’t so chewy. They are also extremely simple. If you can slice a tomato and turn on an oven, you can make these. The possibilities for uses are endless. Where ever you would use sun dried maters, you can use these yet you can use them MORE places because, as I mentioned (because I’m repetitive like that) they aren’t so darned chewy. They are yummy just eaten out of hand…erhmmm… bowl… and you can’t get much healthier snack wise than something like this.

Oven Roasted Herbed Tomatoes

  • 1 pound Roma (Plum) tomatoes, sliced in 1/4 inch slices (You can of course use more or less tomatoes. I tend to do them about a pound at a time.)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons McCormick Grill Mates Garlic and Onion Medley Seasoning (don’t use garlic and onion powders. Part of the tastiness of this comes from the caramelized pieces of garlic and onion)
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed Rosemary
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Line a 13×9 inch baking sheet with foil (trust me… use the foil.)
  3. In a large bowl, CAREFULLY toss the sliced tomatoes with the olive oil.
  4. Put the tomatoes in a single layer on the baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with the garlic/onion medley and the rosemary.
  • I had some cherry & grape tomatoes I needed to use so I just tossed them in there too.
   5. Roast the maters at 325 degrees until they are slightly shriveled (remember; we’re not going for the tough chewiness of sun dried or many hours of 200 or so degree heat like some oven roasted tomatoes. These will still be soft and pliable.) but still moist, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. You’ll end up with a sheet of this-
6. Let cool and then transfer them to your mouth a bowl. Store covered in the fridge.

Sometimes Simple Is Best- Even When It Has A Touch Of Fancy

Posted on by
68

Some of these with a glass of Shiraz and it was a wonderful meal

I’ve never been a fancy person. I mean, for heavens sake, I openly admit that two of my favorite foods are Cheetos and Twinkies. I’d say that qualifies as simple tastes. I also like Liverwurst, pickled herring and ham and cheese sandwiches (those rare times I even eat sandwiches that aren’t hot and gooey) on smooshy white bread spread with butter. Not sure if I just qualified myself as having simple tastes or just never having progressed past age six in my eating habits. 😛

But I do prefer simple foods for the most part. I have the worlds worst appetite especially for a heavy woman and forget to eat half the time. Were it not for my husbands prodding, I would probably live on tea, yogurt and the occasional lean cuisine meal. Give me some cheese, some bread, (a bottle of wine and thou? sorry; tangent) fruit and I’ll be happy unless it’s one of those times when I have a craving for a 20 inch thick ribeye steak cooked to a perfect medium rare.

So what I’ve made today appeals to me a lot on both the simple level and the not too much level and I hope it does to you also. Like the post title says, it has a bit of fancy to it. This comes with goat cheese which unless one owns a goat and makes it oneself is fancy based on price alone if nothing else (thank God for finding it on sale!). But otherwise, this is a simple homey meal (or appetizer) that is fairly quick to throw together and yet fancy enough to serve to guests. That goat cheese thing does that. Makes people think it’s fancy when in reality goat cheese has been a source of food for many many centuries.

Give this a try. I think you’ll like it. 🙂 The creamy slightly salty cheese with the fresh Spinach and the sweet caramelized tomatoes all atop of piece of crusty French bread is pure Heaven.

Goat Cheese, Spinach & Oven Roasted Tomatoes Bruschetta

  • 1 loaf French Baguette
  • 4 ounces goat cheese
  • 1/2 pound oven roasted cherry or grape tomatoes (the store bought ones in oil are fine if you prefer)
  • 1 6 ounce bag prewashed baby spinach leaves, stems removed and thoroughly dried
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • olive oil if roasting your tomatoes yourself
  1. If roasting the tomatoes yourself, preheat oven to 325. Slice the tomatoes in halves or quarters. Sprinkle with salt, pepper (and I also use McCormick Garlic/Onion Grill mix. It has nice pieces of both the onion and the garlic and adds both flavor and a wonderful aroma to the roasting tomatoes.) and drizzle with a good quality olive oil. Toss to coat the tomatoes well.
  2. Roast at 325 until the tomatoes are nicely caramelized and softened. You’re not trying for the texture of sun dried tomatoes here; just browned and soft.  Let cool somewhat.
  3. Slice your baguette into thin slices. Toast if you prefer it crunchier. I heated mine up in the oven but didn’t toast it.  Spread with the goat cheese and top with a spinach leaf or two and a little bit of the tomatoes.
  4. Eat and enjoy the simple things.