Isabelle's Guacamole

SATURDAY, AUGUST 21ST, 2010

First wedding recipe! We were having fajitas, and love love love them with guacamole, so I thought it would be a great opportunity to try out one of the recipes that Isabelle contributed to my wedding cookbook.

Ingredients:

3 avocados, halved, seeded and peeled*
1 lime, juiced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 medium red onion, diced
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced*
1 tbsp chopped cilantro*
1 clove garlic, minced

{Note. Because it was only for SB and me, I only added 2 avocados and 1 tomato. Unfortunately, the grocery store did not have fresh cilantro, so I did not add it to the guacamole. Next time!}.

1. First I cut up the avocado, and removed the pit.

2. I then mashed the avocados in a medium bowl, until it was fairly smooth (thank you for the tip about the potato masher - much easier than a fork!).

3. I then added the salt, pepper, cumin, and cayenne, and mashed them up again.

4. I then folded in the tomatoes, onions, and garlic (here you would add the cilantro)...

5. ... and added the lime juice.

6. We ate it right away, but it if you are going to serve it on it's own, refrigerate it for a few hours in order for it to cool.

This guacamole was absolutely delicious. Both SB and I loved it. The tomatoes are such a great idea, as they add a bit of freshness to it, and the mix of the other flavours was great. Thank you very much, Isabelle, for this great recipe! I can't wait to make it again.

Mushroom-Thyme Appy

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20TH, 2010

3 stars (out of 5 - pretty tasty, but not absolutely amazing)

I decided to make another vegetarian slow-cooker recipe, and thought that this appetizer looked good (also, I'm trying to acquire a taste for mushrooms). It was quite good and pretty tasty - I particularly liked the tangy-ness that the wine added; however, it wasn't absolutely amazing. I think I would like to try this again with another herb... perhaps rosemary?

Ingredients*:

3 green onions, chopped
2 packages of mushrooms (2x 227g), roughly chopped
1/4 cup olive oil (a little bit less)
1 tsp dry thyme
1/4 tsp salt
Pepper, to taste
1/3 cup plain cream cheese
1/4 cup dry white wine
Baguette

{*Note. This is enough for quite a few people (see pics below), so if you are making it just for two people I would make only half of this.}

1. First, I chopped the green onions and added them to the slow cooker along with the olive oil, turning the slow cooker on "High".

2. While the green onions were being cooked, I chopped up the mushrooms. I used a food processor, so they were chopped up very finely; however, with the length of time that they cook in the slow cooker, you could probably chop them up fairly coarsely.

3. I then added the mushrooms, thyme, and salt to the slow cooker, and stirred the mixture well. I switched the slow cooker onto "Low" and let the mixture cook for 6 hours.

4. After the mushrooms were very soft, I again stirred the mixture thoroughly. If there is any excess liquid, it should be drained.

5. ... and added the mushroom mixture, cream cheese, pepper, and white wine to my food processor, and mixed until smooth.

6. I placed it in a bowl, and served with baguette (you can toast these if you choose).

Overall, I thought this was a pretty good appy. It was easy enough to make, although I wasn't really sure why the slow-cooker was necessary. I felt that you could cook the mushrooms on the stove just as easily, and they would be ready in 10 minutes. I actually quite liked the flavour, even though it has a very strong mushroom taste. I just think that there might be a better herb to add to make it better. I would definitely recommend it, though!

Eggplant-Feta Rolls - Appy

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16TH, 2009

4.5 stars (out of 5)

This was another great recipe shown to us by my sister during her visit last September. I think that they're a fabulous addition to my appetizer collection, and provide some very unique flavours. They are a bit time-consuming, but worth it in the end!

Ingredients:

1-2 large eggplants, cut into thin slices (~10 slices each eggplant)
1 red chili, cut into tiny pieces*
2-3 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
3/4 container of feta cheese, crumbled
Juice of one small-medium lemon
Olive oil
Black pepper

{Note. We could not find a red chili, so we substituted this with 1 tsp red pepper flakes (adjust to your own level of spiciness). Also see the previous post about how we used this recipe as part of the main course}.

1. First, we took our eggplants and sliced them length-wise into thin slices (see thickness in the second pic below).

2. As we heated a medium skilled over medium-high heat, we cut up the mint into small pieces. This is a bit time-consuming with a knife, so using kitchen scissors may be a good idea.

3. Then, in a medium-sized mixing bowl, we crumbled the feta, and added the lemon juice, mint, and red pepper flakes, and mixed well.

4. When the skillet was hot, added some olive oil and then grilled each side of the eggplant slices for about 2 minutes per side. You want them to be golden and medium soft (tender).

5. Once done, we added a heaping spoonful of the feta mixture to the end of each of the strips (do as they come off the grill).

6. We then rolled them up...

7. ...and stacked with the seam facing down on the plate.

Overall, these had such a different taste than many other appy's I have had, and spiced things up a bit. And they were very delicious! The only changes I would make was to use less oil (they were a bit oily sometimes), and to somehow make them easier to eat (quite messy, which might not be great at a party). We ended up eating them as appy's one night, and then as part of our main dish another night, and they worked well as both (see Caramelized Mushroom & Onion Mashed Potato post). Another great treat from Ash!

Cheesy Artichoke Dip

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9TH, 2009

5 stars (out of 5 - delicious appy!)

Ingredients:

1 can artichoke hearts, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
Splash of lemon juice
1-2 cloves garlic
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 small package spreadable cream cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mayo*

{*Note. I use real mayo (or low-fat real mayo). I find that if you use Miracle Whip it tastes too sweet}.

1. First, I prepped all of my ingredients by chopping the artichokes, onions, and garlic. I added everything to a bowl and then transferred it to a casserole dish.

2. I then baked it, covered, at 350F until bubbly (about 30-45 minutes), stirring it once so that the sides don't burn and the middle gets cooked.

3. Serve with baguette or tortilla chips!

I love making this for parties, as everyone loves a warm appy. One problem is that you will want to serve it when everyone has arrived, as it cools quickly. This has been one of my favourite appy's (passed down from my mom) for a long time!

Slow-Simmered Curry Chicken with Bruschetta Appy

TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2009

3 stars (out of 5 - okay, but could be improved (see notes below))

Today LX is coming for dinner, so I wanted to try out the slow-cooker again. I like to use it when company comes over because then I'm not running around the kitchen cooking while they are here. SB and I decided on this slow-cook curry recipe, but I'm not completely sold as its base consists of salsa. We'll see - but I'm nervous about how it will turn out.

Ingredients*:

1.5 cups coursely chopped onion
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite-size pieces*
1 cup medium salsa*
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup fresh cilantro* (for dry see below)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp curry powder
3/4 tsp salt
Hot cooked rice

*{note. I used chicken thighs, as it has been my experience that chicken breasts are too lean to taste good after slow-cooking (too dry). I also only had dry cilantro, so I converted my 1/4 cup fresh to approximately 4 tsp dry... we'll see how that goes! For the vegetarian version, I followed the exact same steps, but used Yves Veggie Tenders (chicken) instead.

It was also suggested to me by LX and SB that it could be way less spicy - which I agree. Therefore, I would use mild salsa. I think as it cooked, the spices really came out and it was hot hot hot. Finally, LX suggested some additional spices to add flavour, such as adding a tsp or so of cumin. I also added quite a bit of curry powder in the end.}

1. First I chopped the onion and peppers and placed them at the bottom of my 4.5 qt slow-cooker.

2. I then placed the chopped chicken on top (I also have to thank SB for preparing the chicken yesterday - I just can't bring myself to cut off the fat and snip the meat up. Blaah).

3. I then combined the salsa, ginger, and garlic powder in a small bowl. By the way, does anyone actually know how to grate ginger? Impossible! I just turned to a juicy mush, and I was left with this weird stringy ginger in my hand. For my pot (my second prep of the dish), I ended up just "peeling" the ginger in with a potato peeler.

4. I spooned this combo over top of the chicken, and spread it out evenly. I added about 1/2 of the cilantro at this point- I think that dry herbs taste better cooked for a while, but I didn't want to add to much. I hope this is okay!

5. I placed the slow-cooker on high for 30 minutes, then on low for 5-6 hours, or until chicken was tender.

6. I then combined the remaining cilantro (2 tsp), sugar, curry powder, and salt in a small bowl and set it aside. I will add this to the slow-cooker for the final 30 minutes of cooking.

7. During the last 30 minutes of cooking, I added the remaining spices and started the rice. I ended up adding a lot more curry powder for flavour, and you could also add some cumin. When I opened the lid, it was very very liquidy inside, so I stirred it and let it cook with the lid off for a while. However, note that when you stir it, the meat is so tender that it falls apart a bit. I had to be careful!

8. When the rice was ready (I used Basmati), I served it onto the plates and spooned the curried chicken over top. I served a lot of rice, since it was so spicy!

Here is the meat one:

And here is the vegetarian one:


Overall, it was good, but could use less spice and more flavour. In the end my worries about the salsa were unfounded - surprisingly it mixed well with the curry flavours and had enough liquid in it to make the meat very tender. My veggy meat also held up very well in the slow-cooker, and was nice and tender.

Bruschetta

I also wanted to do a quick appetizer for when LX was here. I needed something sans dairy, and also something I didn't have to run to the store for! I decided on bruschetta, as I had two tomatoes in my fridge. This recipe is a bit of a cheat, as I use a mix, but I love this mix and it's easy! My mom buys them for me, and I'll post a picture in case anyone ever wants to look for it.

Ingredients:

4 ripe Italian tomatoes
1 tbsp bruschetta mix
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh basil (or more... I love it!)
Fresh garlic (optional)

We actually had 1/2 a baguette left from yesterday, so it worked out almost perfectly (the baguette does not need to be super fresh, as you toast it before serving). The only thing I was missing was the fresh basil... so it should be good, but always better with the basil. As you can see below, I also halved the recipe, as it was only for LX and I.

1. I chopped the tomatoes coarsely, and placed it in a small bowl. It's okay if some of the liquids get in the bowl, as it helps dissolve the dry mix. I then added the mix and lemon juice (you would also add the basil here), and stirred well.

2. I covered and placed it in the fridge until tonight (the longer the better). DO NOT add any garlic to this mix- it gets very very garlicky on its own.

3. To serve, I sliced the baguette and threw the slices in the oven until toasted. Then I served them with bruschetta on top. There is also the option of rubbing some fresh garlic on the bread before adding the bruschetta, but the last time I did this, it was so strong it basically burnt my mouth. Therefore, do so with caution.