Category: APPETIZERS

THE PERFECT APPETIZER

THE PERFECT APPETIZER
1 large rich, ripe tomato, sliced 1/4 inch and then halved
1 ripe kiwi, sliced
several large red seedless grapes, halved
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/8 cup lime juice
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
coarse fresh ground black pepper
Himalayan pink sea salt
Parmesan cheese, grated

  • Slice and arrange fruits on small appetizer plates.
  • Sprinkle each plate generously with the sugar, salt and pepper.
  • Whisk together the lemon juice, lime juice and white wine vinegar.
  • Pour vinegar mixture over each plate.
  • Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
  • Server immediately.

FAMILY TIME, CHEF TALK AND THE PERFECT APPETIZER

This past week I went and spent some time with my aunt in the “home” – no surprise there, but it’s not everyday I run into Angel.  Angel is the “chef” for the home.  Yep, they have a real chef to cook for them.  She makes the most amazing chocolate chip cookies and as soon as I dissect and replicate her recipe, I’ll share it.  You see she doesn’t actually give away her recipes.  She makes me work for them.  I’m still working on replicating her linguini with shrimp in a garlic cream sauce.  They have a family dining room and you can make reservations to eat with your loved ones.  I would gain 20-30 pounds if I did this regularly! 

Anyway, I digress.  She and I were chatting the other day about how well salty and sweet or tart and sweet or tangy and sweet work together to meld flavors.  So I came home and recreated one of her suggestions with my own additions and it was a huge hit!  It would be so colorful for any upcoming holiday.

THE PERFECT APPETIZER
1 large rich, ripe tomato, sliced 1/4 inch and then halved
1 ripe kiwi, sliced
several large red seedless grapes, halved
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/8 cup lime juice
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
coarse fresh ground black pepper
Himalayan pink sea salt
Parmesan cheese, grated

  • Slice and arrange fruits on small appetizer plates.
  • Sprinkle each plate generously with the sugar, salt and pepper.
  • Whisk together the lemon juice, lime juice and white wine vinegar.
  • Pour vinegar mixture over each plate.
  • Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
  • Server immediately.

Fire Day Friday: Wanton Wontons

One of the wonderful byproducts of grilling and smoking is that I usually have a little extra cooked pork, chicken, or steak left over. This week I had a bit of hickory smoked pulled pork. It wasn’t really even enough for two bbq sandwiches but it was enough for 8 appetizer servings of these fried wontons.
These slightly spicy wontons make great appetizers for a formal meal or as the star of a tailgating menu.
Wanton Wontons
8 servings (3 wontons each)
¾ cup shitake mushrooms, diced
¼ cup carrot, diced
¼ cup red bell pepper, diced
1 Tbsp ginger, diced
1 clove garlic, diced
½ cup napa cabbage, diced
2 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
½ cup pulled pork
3 Tbsp sweet chili sauce
½ tsp fish sauce
½ tsp rice vinegar
½ tsp Sriracha sauce (hot chili garlic sauce)
Teriyaki sauce
24 wonton wrappers
Preheat a saute pan or wok over medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of oil.
Add the mushrooms, carrot and saute for 4 minutes.
Stir the bell pepper, ginger, and garlic. Saute another 1-2 minutes.
Turn off the heat and stir in the napa, cilantro and pulled pork. Let the residual heat of the pan wilt the napa and cilantro for a minute.
Mix the sweet chili sauce, fish sauce, rice vinegar, and sriracha sauce. Stir that into the pan mixture.
Place about 2 teaspoons of the mix on each wonton wrapper. 
Wet two edges of the wonton wrapper. Pull one corner over to the other corner.   Seal one edge and work as much air out as possible. 
Seal the remaining edge. Repeat with remaining wontons.
Preheat a deep fryer or a deep skillet with oil to 350f. Add the assembled wontons 3-4 at a time and cook for 30 seconds. Flip them over and cook another 30 seconds or until golden brown.
Drizzle with terriyaki sauce, red pepper flakes and serve with a cold beverage.
The crispy crunchy shell and the spicy fillings will make you “wantin’ wontons”.  yeah, I know, that’s a bad pun.

PICKLED EGGS

 I used to make these for our VFW and they were a favorite!

PICKLED EGGS
1 dozen JUMBO eggs
1 1/2 cups vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 onion, sliced into thin rings
1 whole dried chile pepper

  • Hard boil the eggs.
  • Drain and fill with cold water. Allow eggs to sit in cold water for 20 minutes.
  • Peel the eggs and place in a glass jar, alternating with the onion rings. Add the red pepper.
  • In a medium saucepan combine the vinegar, water, sugar, salt and cloves. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer 5 minutes.
  • Pour the hot vinegar solution over the eggs. Cover tightly and let stand in refrigerator for several days before serving.

PICKLED EGGS

I used to make these for our VFW and they were a favorite!

PICKLED EGGS
1 dozen JUMBO eggs
1 1/2 cups vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 onion, sliced into thin rings
1 whole dried chile pepper

  • Hard boil the eggs.
  • Drain and fill with cold water. Allow eggs to sit in cold water for 20 minutes.
  • Peel the eggs and place in a glass jar, alternating with the onion rings. Add the red pepper.
  • In a medium saucepan combine the vinegar, water, sugar, salt and cloves. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer 5 minutes.
  • Pour the hot vinegar solution over the eggs. Cover tightly and let stand in refrigerator for several days before serving.

CREAMY FRENCH ONION ARTICHOKE DIP

Hi everyone.  Tamy here filling in for Diana as her schedule is completely chaotic with school beginning this past Monday.  I know she normally brings you healthy recipes, but with football pre-season in full swing, I thought I’d bring you this family favorite dip for game time!

CREAMY FRENCH ONION ARTICHOKE DIP

The original recipe called for:
4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
15.5 ounce container of french dip
15.5 ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon scallions
1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper

  • Whisk cream cheese until fluffy.
  • Stir in dip and artichoke hearts, cheese, 1/4 cup green onions, parsley, garlic powder and pepper.
  • Refrigerate until ready to serve.
My version calls for:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
16 ounces sour cream
KNORR French onion soup mix
1 1/2 cups artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 large bunch green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

  • In a small food processor pulse artichoke hearts, garlic, green onions and Parmesan cheese until smooth.
  • In a small mixing bowl blend together the sour cream, Knorr mix and cream cheese until smooth.
  • Add artichoke mixture and blend well.
  • Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Pizza Roll Up Burritos

So have you every had those frozen pizza rolls?  I’ve bought them. We eat them occasionally.  They are extremely greasy, fatty and like a million calories for 4 of them.  Not filling at all either.

These remind me of those but are like 10,000 times better!  I love how they get crispy in the oven, with out all the fat. They are also super easy to handle without all the mess.
I posted these on my other blog awhile back and recently made them again.  They deserve anther look.  They were incredibly simple and everyone loved them.
They are a little higher on the calories than I usually make but these are very filling!  I was completely satisfied with 1 of these bad boys and a side of watermelon.  

I thought about making these more like enchiladas and pour a bit of pizza sauce over and a bit of cheese but decided these were much neater. It certainly would have made a pretty presentation that way though!
We made extras and froze them for lunches.  We just take them out, thaw and microwave them for an awesome lunch. Or a snack in my kids’ case!
Pizza Roll Up Burritos

Adapted from Penny-Pinching Provisions


2 pounds ground turkey, 93%
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
2 ounces pepperoni (about 50 slices), cut in half
1 (15 ounce) can pizza sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano
10 slices mozzerella string cheese
10 – 100 calorie whole wheat tortillas


Cook turkey in pan until it’s almost done.  Toss in onion and pepper and cook for about 5 minutes or until ground turkey is no longer pink.  Add pepperoni slices, oregano and pizza sauce and simmer for a couple of minutes to warm.  Add about 1/2 cup pizza mix on tortilla.  Place 1 piece of string cheese along the middle on top and roll. Place seam side down in 9 x 13 pan.  I was able to put 9 in the pan, we just stuck the 10th one on a tortilla the next day for lunch.  Bake in oven at 350 for about 15 – 20 minutes until cheese is melted. 


Total calories = 3743 calories
10 servings = 374 calories per burrito


1 Pizza Roll Up Burrito + 2 cups watermelon = 474 calorie dinner

Tabbouleh (Lebanese Parsley Salad)

Tabbouleh is a well known Lebanese dish, and they even have a National Tabbouleh Day held each summer in Beirut. I am sure like many nationally known dishes each family has their own version of how they make it. Some will use flat leaf parsley and some use curly parsley, but where mine differs from an authentic Lebanese tabbouleh is the amount of parsley. They use mostly parsley and a little bulgar thrown in, so it’s mostly green in appearance.
I still have to get used to eating mostly parsley, which is supposed to be very good for you. The bulgar (cracked wheat)used in the salad is small or fine, which is soaked soft before using. If you can only find medium soak it a little longer. I used sumac in mine, but you can skip it if you can’t find it, it’s a little lemony in flavor.

Dressing:
1 tablespoon sumac
1/2 cup lemon juice (fresh squeezed)
1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp Lebanese mixed spice

Mmmm..smell that nothing like beautiful squeezed lemons…so fresh…gosh I sound like Giada!

Ingredients:
2 bunches flat leaf parsley (washed and dried)
4 green onions (sliced thin)
1 handful fresh mint or basil (sliced thin)
1/2 cup bulgar (soaked and drained well)
3 tomatoes (diced)
salt and pepper
Cabbage or romaine lettuce leaves for serving

After the parsley is washed and dried chop it finely, try not to overwork the parsley…you don’t want to bruise it. Make sure parsley and the bulgar are dry, mix together in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and toss together until well mixed, squeeze on the lemon juice, and then olive oil, you don’t want it too wet, just nice and moist. Salt and pepper and one last toss together and you have a refreshing summer salad!

Of course you can adjust the amounts and ingredients to what you like. I made it once with diced cucumbers…just a small amount mind you, but my husband (who doesn’t like cucumbers) could really taste them in the salad, and he didn’t like that. So now I leave them out. Oh, and you can make yours more authentic by adding mostly parsley and making it look green!

CRAB APPLE BOATS

CRAB APPLE BOATS
2 large cucumbers
2 medium apples, peeled, cored and chopped
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained really well
4 ounces flaked crab
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vinegar

  • Peel cucumbers.  Halve them and spoon out seeds.  Dry the insides.
  • In a bowl toss apple pieces with the well drained pineapple and then with the krab.
  • In a small bowl whisk together the sour cream, vinegar, salt and pepper.
  • Fold into krab mixture.
  • Spoon into cucumbers and chill several hours before serving.

CRAB APPLE BOATS FOR THE BEACH PARTY

It’s beach party time at Seaside Simplicity. Time to grab your virtual beach towels and flip flops, and head on over to the beach!  You can follow me over.  This week I’m taking my CRAB APPLE BOATS.

CRAB APPLE BOATS
2 large cucumbers
2 medium apples, peeled, cored and chopped
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained really well
4 ounces flaked crab
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vinegar

  • Peel cucumbers.  Halve them and spoon out seeds.  Dry the insides.
  • In a bowl toss apple pieces with the well drained pineapple and then with the krab.
  • In a small bowl whisk together the sour cream, vinegar, salt and pepper.
  • Fold into krab mixture.
  • Spoon into cucumbers and chill several hours before serving.

Veggie Tales by Kris: Tapas!

When you go to Spain, except a lot of pork and cheese.
But the vegetables are bountiful!
The average french fry may not seem like a vegetable, but the Spanish Tapas classic “Bravas” is a must!

I just got back from Barcelona, and this dish was so delicious.
Puts the beloved French Fry to shame in my opinion (gasp!)

I’ve made Bravas before, but definitely learned a little secret across the pond!


PATATAS BRAVAS


3 large Idaho potatoes, cubed
grapeseed oil (you’ll need to fill your pot 1/2 with oil so that the potatoes are covered. Leave room for bubbling over!!! YIKES!)
Sweet and Hot Paprika Mixture (1 tbs)
salt and pepper to taste
Hot Sauce
Mayo (the secret!)

Peel and cube 3 large Idaho potatoes (these are the best for frying). You can put them in a large bowl of ice water to keep from browning and to get some of the starch out. Prep your fryer or a tall pot (not too wide) with grapeseed oil. Grapeseed oil is great for fring. You can use canola oil too but I think that shit is evil! Use a thermometer to test the oil. At about 350 it’s ready. Fry your potatoes a few at a time. When they are golden brown, put them on a plate with papertowel. Sprinkle salt, pepper and smoked paprika on each batch and keep them in a warm over (about 200) while you fry them all up. Drizzle hot sauce and mayo over the potatoes or mix them together and serve on the side.

MY BRAVAS in BARCELONA!



I originally served these potatoes with this sauce, but in Barcelona I had it with the hot sauce and mayo and I like that simplicity much better. After my time in Spain, when it comes to food,  I’ve learned… SIMPLE IS BEST!

Happy Weekend!

SALVITXADA ala Tamy

I was reading an email article from Tasting Table about Salvitxada and it sounded scrumptious.  So I set off on an internet search for other recipes.  Catalan Salbitxada sauce is eaten with “calcots”, a special kind of green onion from Cataluna. Char-grilled green onions with Salbitxada sauce make both a good “tapa” and side dish for spring and summer. Tasty and easy to make, try this sauce with all types of grilled vegetables, not just onions. Traditionally made with a mortar and pestle, a food processor makes this sauce a snap.

Here is the recipe I came up with for us and what’s left – it was scrumptious!

SALVITXADA ala Tamy     Makes 2 1/2 cups
4 tablespoons blanched almonds, toasted and ground to a fine coarse
4 fresh mild hot peppers, (membranes and seeds removed) finely chopped
8 cloves garlic, finely minced
4 ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons blood orange vinegar*
3/4 cup canola oil**
salt and pepper to taste

  • Heat oven to 350 degrees. 
  • Place almonds in hot oven to toast for 5-7 minutes. 
  • Place in a food processor or mortar and pestle and coarsely grind.
  • Peel and dice tomatoes and set aside.
  • Finely chop the peppers, removing the seeds and membranes. 
  • Peel and finely mince the garlic. 
  • Mash ground almonds, peppers and garlic into a paste using a mortar and pestle or food processor.
  • Mix in tomatoes, parsley and vinegar.
  • Pulsing the food processor, drizzle in the canola oil until sauce becomes thick. 
  • Add salt and pepper to taste.
  • Serve with grilled “calcots” (green onions) and/or chips and other grilled vegetables.

*Most recipes call for red wine vinegar, but I changed it for flavor alone.
**Most recipes called for olive oil, but I am not an olive lover – I even hate the smell so I changed it up for us.