Category Archives: Appetizer

Jun 22 6 comments
Appetizer, Recipes, Vegetable, Vegetarian

Fresh Refrigerator Pickles

picklesinjar

I saw this easy recipe a few months back and have been patiently waiting for some beautiful pickling cucumbers that I could turn into perfect pickles. At the Farmer’s Market last weekend I saw these in their crisp green glory and knew it was time to dig out the recipe.

pickleingredients2 picklesandgarlic

A little bit of chopping and a few minutes later I had the prettiest jar of pickles. We tried our first spears last night and they are so fresh and crisp. We could only wait the minimum of 24 hours to get our first taste and I look forward to eating them as they continue to sit in the sweet, salty and spicy brine. They have a vinegary kick and not much heat, but I look forward to the flavors concentrating. I can already tell I’ll be making these all summer long.

Flavor update:  After 24-48 hours the flavor was mild and the spears are fresh and crisp. After 4 days in the refrigerator, the pickles are very flavorful with some good heat. Still crisp, fresh and now taste like the super-hero cousin of your grocery store dill pickle.

Spicy Dill Pickles

Recipe from Eating S/F

about 8 to 10 kirby cucumbers, quartered

1 1/2 T. fine sea salt

2 T. sugar

1 1/2 C. distilled white vinegar

2 T. coriander seeds

8 garlic cloves, peeled and halved

3 jalapenos, halved with seeds mostly removed

8 dill sprigs

1. Pack the dill sprigs, cucumber spears and jalapenos into a clean 2 qt. glass jar.

2. In a container with a tight sealing lid (I used a small ball jar) combine salt, sugar, vinegar, coriander seeds and garlic halves. Seal the top and shake vigorously until the sugar and salt dissolves.

3. Add brine to the jar with the vegetables and pour 2 cups of water in as well. Add more water until vegetables are completely submerged.  Seal tightly.

4. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours before eating and store up to one month.

topofpickles

Jun 08 4 comments
Appetizer, Recipes, Vegetarian

Caramelized Onion Hummus

Caramelizedonionhummus

Boy, do I love hummus. It is super easy to make and completely delicious. I photographed the hummus with crackers, but my new favorite hummus dipper has become sliced red peppers. They add the perfect amount of sweetness and then I don’t feel guilty because I’m not dipping carbs into my hummus. Did you know that red pepper has more vitamin C than citrus fruit? Crazy, but true.

I was in charge of providing hummus for the second bridal shower for my sister-in-law and since it was a special occasion, I felt it warranted special hummus. I made two varieties and while both were a hit, the caramelized onion hummus seemed to be the crowd favorite. I also preferred the nice combination of the sweet caramelized onions and the kick from the roasted garlic. The roasted red pepper and feta hummus was good, but unfortunately the red pepper and feta flavor was not very apparent. Maybe next time I’ll decrease the amount of garbanzo beans  to bring out the other flavors. Marc preferred the roasted red pepper hummus, though. It was smoother and would be very tasty on a veggie sandwich. Try these unique hummus recipes the next time you’re ready to change things up.

Caramelized Onion Hummus

Recipe from Messy Vegetarian Cook

Serves 8-10 as an appetizer

Caramelized Onions

2 medium sweet onions, thinly sliced

3-4 T. extra-virgin olive oil

Hummus

15 oz. cooked or canned garbanzo beans

2 T. tahini

juice of 2 lemons (about 6 T.)

3-4 gloves garlic, still in paper

1/3 C. extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 t. coarse salt

1. Put cloves (that are still in their paper) in a dry skillet over medium heat. Let cook until blistered on the sides. Peel and set aside.

2. Put 3-4 T. of extra-virgin olive oil in the skillet and heat over medium to medium-high heat and add thinly sliced onions. Toss to coat in the oil. Stir frequently for 20 minutes, watching closely so they do not burn. Cook until uniformly brown and allow to cool a bit.

3. In a blender or food processor combine all of the ingredients including onions until smooth. If you like very smooth hummus you can add water for a smoother consistency. I would not recommend using oil since there is quite a bit already in the hummus. Chill for a few hours or overnight for best results.

4. Sprinkle with smoked paprika to garnish, if desired. Serve with pita, tortilla chips or my favorite, red pepper strips.

Redpepperhummus

Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Hummus

Recipe adapted from h420ad

Serves 20 as an appetizer

3 cloves garlic

2 (15 oz.) cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1/3 C. tahini

1/3 C. lemon juice

1 red pepper, roasted

1/4 t. dried basil

8 oz. feta

salt and pepper to taste

1. Take a fresh red pepper and put in a skillet or directly onto a gas burner until all sides are blackened. Put pepper in a bowl and cover with foil tightly. After about 15 minutes or when the pepper has cooled, pull the stem out and peel the skin off. The steam will have loosened the skin. Remove seeds and pulp. Roughly chop the roasted pepper and set aside.

2. In a food processor or blender, combine garlic, garbanzo beans, tahini and lemon juice. Process until mixture is smooth. Add roasted red pepper, basil and feta; process until the peppers are finely chopped. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Transfer hummus to a bowl and chill until ready to serve.

Apr 17 2 comments
Appetizer, Recipes, Vegetarian

Grilled Fresh Artichokes

artichokes

Inspired by some of my favorite food bloggers and chefs like Jamie Oliver, I am making a serious effort to cook seasonally. Not only does it ensure that I’m eating fruits and vegetables at their peak, but usually these items are on sale because they are in abundance. That’s the best win-win I can think of. Being in Michigan means our in-season bounty is short-lived, but thanks to many great farming communities in the area we do have a pretty good selection from May to October. Last week was asparagus fest and this week I’m all about artichokes. I’ve had them before when I was young, but I had never prepared them myself. I went to the grocery store and saw some beautiful globe artichokes and quickly purchased them, but still had no idea what I’d do with them. That afternoon I found a recipe Jaden of Steamy Kitchen had posted for grilled artichokes and it all seemed like perfect timing. We were expecting great weather and I was thrilled to find the recipe.

grilledartichokes

These turned out delicious. They have a distinct vegetal taste heightened by the slight charring from the grill and accent of lemon. It was the first time Marc ate fresh artichokes and we had a good laugh when he put the tender heart in our bowl destined for compost along with the discarded tough leaves and I gasped, “That’s the best part!” I served the artichokes with a quick spicy mayo and we had fun enjoying the experience together. That’s another wonderful thing about artichokes, it’s an experience. Dipping the leaves and savoring the tiny morsels of tender meat. I wanted to try the eggless chervil mayonnaise David Lebovitz had posted as the dipping sauce, but I ran out of prep time. The only small change I’ll make to Jaden’s recipe next time is maybe adding some white wine to the steaming liquid for the artichokes as advised by a friend of mine. The recipe is simple and delicious, but I didn’t really feel like the garlic and bay leaf added too much flavor to the artichokes and next time I want to go with lemon and white wine and see how it turns out.

Grilled Fresh Artichokes

Recipe from Jaden of Steamy Kitchen

serves 4-6 as an appetizer or 2-4 as a side

2 lemons, cut in half

6 garlic cloves

1 T. coarse salt

1 bay leaf

4 fresh artichokes

2 T. olive oil

Your favorite dipping sauce, this is my favorite quick spicy mayo recipe

1. Rinse each artichoke and cut off the top 1 inch of the artichoke and 1 inch off of the bottom stem. Peel and break off the first few layers of leaves until they start appearing smooth and light green. Rub the top of the artichokes with one of the lemon halves.

2. Bring a large pot with 4 inches of water to a boil. Throw the lemon half that you used in step 1 into the water, squeezing a bit to release the juices into the water. Add the salt, garlic cloves and bay leaf. Place the artichokes in a steamer basket in the pot and lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until the base is easily pierced with a knife.

3. Cut each artichoke in half lengthwise and use a sharp paring knife to remove and discard the fuzzy choke. Brush each half with olive oil and also brush the remaining lemon halves with olive oil as well.

4. Heat a grill pan to high heat (or use an outdoor grill). When hot, add the artichoke and lemon halves, cut side down. Grill for 5 minutes. Serve with dipping sauce of your choice.

Nov 05 1 comments
Appetizer, Recipes

Slow Roasted Tomatoes

Slowroastedtomatoes

When I saw this beautifully simple recipe on one of my favorite blogs, Spork or Foon, I knew one day it would be mine. A couple of weeks back, the stars aligned and it was time to make it. I went to an apple orchard with the in-laws and this orchard also had a produce stand with some gorgeous heirloom tomatoes for .99/lb. What? I know! So I grabbed about 2 pounds worth, but was seriously considering asking how much for the entire stand. The yellow, orange, green and pinkish tomatoes could not have been more attractive. While wondering what my next move was with these precious tomatoes and then I remembered Teanna’s post. It happened to be my birthday the following week and I was traveling to my hometown to spend it with my family and some close friends. I love bringing food for my family, but since they live 3 hours away, I end up baking/cooking on Thursday night so we can leave from work on Friday evening and the treats are not usually consumed until Saturday or Sunday. Not exactly the way to bring the freshest representation of your favorite recipes, but, BUT, this recipe is great because Teanna notes that it can be chilled up to 5 days ahead of time and brought up to room temperature when you’re ready. It was a thing of beauty. These tomatoes had almost 2 full days to marinate and all I had to do is remember to take it out 2 hours before the party. I picked up a fresh baguette from one of my favorite bakeries in my hometown and yep, appetizer euphoria. Party goers were pleased and I was a happy birthday girl.

Heirloomtomatoes

Slow Roasted Tomatoes or Pomodori Al Forn

From Teanna of Spork or Foon via Bon Appetit via Molly of Orangette (yes, it’s that good that you just want to share)

The recipe calls for plum tomatoes and I can’t wait to try the original recipe, but I used my heirloom tomatoes and cut them into thick slices. Also, I used California Olive Ranch olive oil and the party goers raved about it. It is recommended by Cook’s Illustrated and I first found out about it on Local Lemons. Reasonably priced and very delicious.

1 C. good olive oil (divided)

2 lbs.  heirloom tomatoes, cut into thick slices about 3/4″ (or use 2 lbs. plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise)

1 1/2 t. dried oregano

3/4 t. sugar

1/2 t. salt

2 garlic cloves minced

2 t. minced fresh parsley

1 baguette, thinly sliced (toasted or fresh)

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Pour 1/2 C. olive oil into a 13×9x2 glass or ceramic baking dish (I lined mine in foil). Arrange tomatoes in dish, cut side up. Drizzle with remaining 1/2 C. oil. Sprinkle with oregano, sugar and salt. Bake 1 hour.

2. Using tongs, turn tomatoes over.  Bake 1 hour longer. Turn tomatoes over again. Bake until deep red and very tender, transferring to a plate when soft (time will vary depending on ripeness), about 15-45 minutes longer.

3. Layer tomatoes in a medium bowl, sprinkling garlic and parsley over each layer, reserve oil in baking dish. Drizzle tomatoes with reserved olive oil, adding more if necessary to cover. Let stand at room temperature for 2 hours.

4. Serve with toasted or fresh baguette slices.

Do Ahead: Cover, chill up to 5 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Sep 10 2 comments
Appetizer, Beef, Recipes, Salad, Side Dish, Vegetarian

The Tastiest Labor Day Weekend

sirloin with bleu-onion sauce and portabello mushrooms

I love how Labor Day just kind of sneaks up on me every year. I try not to think about it too much and then all of a sudden, it’s a welcomed surprise.  I do this kind of mental psych-out with my Netflix queue, too. I’ll put movies I’d like to see on my list and I do not revisit the synopsis of the movies so that it is almost a complete surprise. Hmm..not sure what that says about me.

Friday and Sunday evening we got together with good friends and really enjoyed the food and company. Friday evening we went to a restaurant with friends that are expecting a baby in about 4 weeks! The husbands took up half our table with their fajitas and giant beers, Lynn had a pasty (the Northern Michigan favorite) and I had grilled buffalo shrimp over rice. Everything was tasty and we were able to enjoy our meals outside because of the beautiful weather. Sunday evening we took a drive to another good friends’ house and had a tasty Labor Day barbecue with a pretty fruit and cheese tray to start. We also enjoyed rum and cokes and white wine on their deck and even got in a couple games of Ladder Ball. The mosquitoes also had quite the feast, compliments of everyone but Marc and we had to take the party inside. Is that weird that Marc never, ever, ever gets bug bites while I’ve had at least 40 bites this summer? At least.

Saturday evening we were on our own and I had a sirloin steak for 2-3 defrosting, 1/2 C. of bleu cheese left over and I had purchase baby portabello mushrooms a few days earlier that needed attention. Ree of the Pioneer Woman made the most delicious looking ribeye steaks with onion-bleu cheese sauce that I knew my husband would love. I thought it would be the perfect way to use the rest of my bleu cheese and if Ree was swooning over it, well then it must be made, right? I just had to pick up some heavy cream and I had the rest of the ingredients. LOVE that. Since my mushrooms were looking at me so sadly from the fridge, I decided to cook those up, too. So, if you can imagine…Marc grilled a 1 1/2 lb. sirloin to medium rare perfection and then this delicious steak was sliced and  perched on the silky onion-bleu cheese sauce and then I topped it with portobello mushrooms. Oh yeah, that’s right. And I did steam some fresh green beans, too, as some sort of “hey, there are still greens on the plate” moment. I told Marc that this dish is easy and impressive enough that it would be perfect for entertaining a few people. Oh so yummy. I also told Marc that I can’t believe I shut mushrooms out of my life for so long and that this meal made me very sad about that. Until, oh, 6 months ago, I would not let mushrooms near my plate. I’m still not a big fan of the plain white mushroom, but these baby portobellos sauteed up? Whole ‘nother story.

Grilled Sirloin with Onion-Bleu Cheese Sauce

Very slightly adapted from the incomparable Pioneer Woman

Serves 2-3

1 1/2 lb. sirloin steak

salt and pepper to taste

4 T. unsalted butter

1 very large sweet onion (or yellow), sliced

3/4 C. heavy cream

1/2 C.  bleu cheese

1. Grill steaks to medium rare. We used our charcoal grill and it was about 4 minutes per side (depends on the thickness of your meat). You can also do this on the gas grill, in a cast iron skillet or in a grill pan (like Ree). Start making the sauce while the meat is grilling and let it rest for 10 minutes when it is done.

2. Saute onions in 4 T. butter over high heat. Cook for 5-7 minutes until the onion are dark and caramelized.

3. Reduce heat to simmer and pour in the cream. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until reduced by half.

4. Stir in bleu cheese until melted and transfer any accumulated juices from your rested meat to the pan.

5. Slice steak and serve over generous portions of the sauce.

Sauteed Baby Portabellos with Thyme

www.dulanotes.com (my recipe)

If you want to top your steak and onion-bleu cheese sauce with these, start cooking at the same time as you prepare the onion-bleu sauce.

16 oz. baby portabellos, washed, sliced and stems removed (I know many people say to just wipe with a damp cloth, but Jacques Pepin says that I can wash my mushrooms, so I do)

2 T. butter

1- 1 1/2 t. kosher salt

1/4 t. pepper

1 t. dried thyme

1. Melt 2 T. butter in 12″ cast iron skillet or other large skillet. When butter just melts, add your mushrooms to the pan.

2. When mushrooms just begin to wilt, add salt (start with 1 t. and add more, if desired), pepper and thyme (before you add thyme, rub it between your finger to release extra flavor). Stir. Check for seasoning, make sure it is to your taste.

3. Cook mushrooms until they have become brown and aromatic, about 10 minutes.

Now, you may be wondering what we had on Labor Day, itself. Well, I was in a motivated mood, so while I had Marc organizing his pile of papers in the office, I painted our large front window and a soffet that I’ve been itching to paint for about 2 years. Marc told me he needed to patch around the recessed lighting at least one more time, but I finally asked if  I could just paint it and success! In anticipation of getting some things done around the house, I made most of our feast ahead of time, but sadly, I have no pictures. By the time we got around to dinner it was late, it was raining and we were starving. Not a good situation for photo taking. I will attach links to the recipes I used and when I make these again, I’ll make sure to post the pics!

window painting

Grilled Flank Steak with Chimichurri (via Rox at Tasty Kitchen)

This was very tasty, but I thought that the 2 T. salt in the marinade made the steak a bit too salty and I love salt! I commented on her post to see if there was a misunderstanding, but other than that, it was very good. The steak was so tender and the chimichurri was a fun new experiment. I made a 1 1/2 lb. skirt steak and there was plenty of chimichurri left over. I’m going to try to pour the rest over pasta and see how that goes. The steak was medium rare after grilling it for 4 minutes per side and a 10 minute rest.

Jalapeno Poppers (aka Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Thingies via Pioneer Woman)

Holy good! This was a lovely start to the meal considering we were starving. Well, we felt like we were. These are head and shoulders above any frozen jalapeno popper you’ve ever had and they are so easy. Not much harder than spending way to0 much for one of those party boxes. The jalapenos have a bit of heat, but they are not too spicy with the seeds removed. Instead of following PW’s oven directions, we put these babies on the grill for about 10 minutes and they were perfection!

Grilled Corn Salad (via recipegirl.com)

Over-the-top yummy and so easy. When Marc grilled our sirloin, I had him throw on 6 ears of corn (I used 6 and not 5 because the cute, older man that sells me his tasty produce sells them in bunches of 6 and I didn’t know what I’d do with the extra). I also subbed in sweet vidalia onion for the red onion because I had it on hand. When the corn cooled, I assembled the salad and let it sit overnight, as suggested, and my husband was very happy with this dish. Not only do bugs not bite him, he does not like eating corn on the cob. What?!? I know. Since he cuts the corn off the cobb every time I make it, I think he loved not having to do any extra work. A beautiful summer dish. Thanks Recipe Girl!