As easy as it looks!

This recipe is totally easy - plain and simple. I love making appetizers or finger foods, small plates, tapas, or whatever you call them :), but so many times, they really require more work, more ingredients and a lot more effort than a main dish would. Not that it stops me, but this dish that works as an appetizer or main course and it is really as easy as it looks. It will be done and ready to eat in about 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Tasty Lettuce Wraps
Note: My friend J (not the jam J, a different J) and I used to make this when I lived down in Miami about 5 years ago. I have since lost the original recipe, and I can't find the cookbook, but have pared down the recipe so much that it is totally different and one that I now call my own. For those looking for great Asian cookbooks, I'll try to dig it up and post some more recipes from it eventually.

Ingredients
1-2 heads butter lettuce (also called Boston or bibb lettuce)
1 jar hoisin sauce
1 can sliced water chesnuts, minced
1 knob fresh ginger
1 package ground turkey (or chicken or pork)
Kosher salt / freshly ground pepper
Garlic powder and/or minced fresh garlic
Vegetable oil

Steps
1. Add a swirl of oil to a saute pan and bring up to medium heat. Add fresh garlic (if you are using, not totally necessary). Saute for a few seconds. Add ground turkey. Break up the turkey with a wooden spoon until it is in small pieces, rather than large clumps (think sloppy joe style). After it has been cooking for a few minutes, season with salt/pepper/garlic powder.

2. Peel ginger (about a 1-inch knob) and use grater or zester to add it to the turkey mixture.

3. Add jar of hoisin sauce (the amount depends on the size of the jar - I usually get an approximately 8oz jar and add about 3/4 of it; if your jar is smaller, add the whole thing and if its bigger, use a bit less) and water chestnuts. Mix throughly. Let mixture continue to cook for a few minutes (lowish heat) until it is bubbling and uniform looking.

4. While cooking, wash, dry and separate lettuce leaves. I serve a portion of the hoisin turkey mixture in a small bowl with lettuce on the side for a dinner (with other side dishes; salad, dumplings, etc). Also works great as an appetizer - serve family style and let guests make their own wraps. This would be great paired up with sesame noodles and Asian-style chicken salad!

5-ingredient Appetizer

This is seriously so good and so easy. Tim and I love appetizers - we always order one when we are eating out and love to make them at home with some wine or just as a snack. I would so much rather have an appetizer than a dessert. Don't ask me why I don't have more appetizer recipes - probably because we eat them too fast to get a good shot.

Anyway - here it is - the 5-ingredient appetizer!

Mushroom or Tomato Cheesy Triangles (photos of tomato version)

Ingredients

Pita bread (4 rounds)

Shredded Parmesan and/or mozzarella cheese

Extra virgin olive oil

Baby bella mushrooms or grape tomatoes

Kosher salt/fresh pepper

Steps

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

2. Decide if you are going to use mushrooms or tomatoes :) If you are using mushrooms, put a bit of olive oil in a pan on medium heat and saute those babies up! Takes a few minutes, swirl them around once in a while. I like the mushrooms to get brown, so make sure you don't add any more liquid to the pan! If you are using grape tomatoes, you can halve them or put them in the pan whole and do the same thing. They take a few more minutes if you use them whole because you want them to pop and get a little broken up. Salt/pepper to taste when they are almost done.

3. While the vegetables are cooking, cut each pita into 4 wedges and put on a parchment-lined or foil-lined baking sheet. Put a drop of olive oil on each one and put into the oven for a few minutes - let them get a little toasty, but not brown. Take them out of the oven and let them sit until the vegetables are ready.

4. When the vegetables are done cooking, spoon a bit onto each wedge. Don't be shy - load them up! After you use up all the vegetables, add the cheese on top - I like to use a mozzarella and Parmesan combo. Pop them back into the oven until the cheese is melted. Remove and EAT!

[Sorry that my photos were taken before the cheese was melted, but if not, I probably would have nothing to post!]

Tax Day: Black Bean Dip

This - in my opinion - is a seriously awesome dip. It is easy, delicious, fun, and cheap! Cheap being the keyword for April 15th, US Income Tax deadline day. Hopefully this tax season wasn't too hard on your wallet, but if you are watching your pennies - here is a great, cheap dish for a party or for a quick meal.

Black Bean Dip

Ingredients
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 sweet onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tomato, chopped w/juice
1/2 lime, juiced
Handful cilantro, chopped (optional to some, but not to me!)
Pinch of cumin
Swirl of extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt/freshly ground pepper
Splash of broth/stock (if needed)

Steps
1. Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil on medium heat in a saucepan for a few minutes or until softened (but not browned).

2. Add black beans and lime juice and stir to combine with other ingredients. Let cook for about 5 minutes.

3. Add tomato and cumin; stir to combine. Let cook for approximately 10 minutes, maybe a little more. You are looking for the sweet moment when the beans begin to mush on their own and it starts to look like a dip rather than a bowl of ingredients. Trust me, you'll see it!

4. If the beans begin to stick to the bottom of the pot during cooking (which they usually do) or the beans look a little dry, add a splash or two of vegetable stock/broth (you can use chicken also if that is what you have).

5. As the dip is starting to come together, taste for seasoning and add salt/pepper to suit your tastes.

6. Once done (you want the beans to be a little smashed, but not a uniform mixture), turn off heat and add chopped cilantro. This not necessary if you really dislike cilantro, which I've recently realized that a lot of people do, but I think it is what makes the flavor awesome. The decision is yours :)

7. Serve warm with tortilla chips (we LOVE Tostito's lime chips), pita chips or use it in tacos, burritos, whatever. Would also be great with grilled chicken.

This dip is easily updated to make enough for a big crowd - just add some more beans and up the other ingredients proportionally. It really doesn't matter if you have a little less onion or a little more garlic. Enjoy!

St. Patrick's Day

Time to Party! St. Patrick's Day also just happens to be my mother-in-law's birthday - so, today, in honor of her birthday and St. Patrick's day (we are an Irish household), we had a small family party. Here is the menu:

Appetizers

Mini-Irish sausages wrapped in puff pastry (so good...)

Irish cheeses (Dubliner & KerryGold swiss) w/ crackers and blackberries

Shamrock sugar cookies (recipe below)

Main Dishes (all individual-sized)

Homemade macaroni & cheese

Shepherd's pie

Desserts

Vanilla 3-layer cake with strawberries and cream cheese frosting

(more) Shamrock sugar cookies

My mother-in-law's FAMOUS Irish soda bread

The soda bread is loved by all....as shown by my adorable cousin

So, since they came out so cute - I thought I would pass along the recipe for the sugar cookies. This dough came together really fast and I made it the day before and let it sit in the refrigerator until I was ready to roll and cut out the shapes. Sometimes sugar cookies can be a bit dry and boring (exciting to look at, but lacking in taste), but these were really good. I would definitely advise icing them with some type of frosting though to enhance their appeal :)

Shamrock Sugar Cookies (dough - Good Housekeeping Perfect Desserts; icing - me :)

Ingredients
1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

Steps
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Beat butter and sugar until blended; then mix at a higher speed until light and creamy.

3. Beat in egg and vanilla until blended; then add in flour and baking powder, mixing until just combined.

4. Divide dough into 4 pieces and wrap (I use wax paper and plastic wrap); refrigerate about 1 hour (or more) or until firm enough to roll out.

5. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface approximately 1/8 inch thick (the thickness can be changed depending on how chewy/crisp you like your cookies - adjust the baking time accordingly). Cut into shapes (I used shamrocks), place on parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for approximately 10 minutes.

6. Top with icing of choice and any other toppings (I used Wilton St. Patrick's Day themed sprinkles for mine). I was going to do a fancy piped icing, but ran out of time and ended up going with the old standby: sifted confectioner's sugar and water (or milk) with a dash of vanilla extract. There is no real ratio, just add the liquid until you reach the consistency that you are looking for (usually I'm going for spreadable and not too runny). The icing will harden after about 1/2 hour.

Simple & Light Ranch Dip

Good Morning! I have a bunch of great posts for this weekend :) The first is a great, easy ranch dip/dressing that I made last week. I don't know about you, but I'm always looking for a good dip - I have found it difficult to get really good flavor with a homemade dip, constantly forcing me to rely on hummus. Not that hummus is a bad thing (we love it!), but life needs some variety, right? Plus, my husband loves any kind of dip - ranch, hummus, dill, cheese, oil, whatever.

This dip/dressing is out of the latest issue of Everday food - a great magazine for easy recipes and fast weeknight meal ideas. If you can believe it, this dip actually tastes like ranch dressing! Not from a jar, doesn't have a ton of preservatives and other chemical crap, and its light! Try it out sometime; we served the dip with kirby cucumber, celery hearts, and toasted pita chips. I think grape tomatoes or radishes would be a great addition to the platter too. It is also perfect as salad dressing or sandwich condiment.

Light Ranch Dip/Dressing (Everyday Food Magazine)

Ingredients
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup light mayo
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
2 scallions, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
kosher salt/freshly ground pepper

Steps
Whisk together all ingredients. Season to taste. Store in the refrigerator.

Notes
When you add the scallions - go slowly. I prefer a little lighter onion taste, so I didn't use the entire recommended amount. I also used a bit more dill. I usually edit the ingredient amounts in my posts to show exactly what I did, but for this, I didn't because I think its definitely a personal taste sort of thing :) Enjoy!

A is for Asparagus

Or Aphrodisiac...

Now I know a lot of you out there seem to dislike Valentine's Day (from what I've been reading anyway) because its too "commercial" or too "fake;" however, I choose to celebrate this holiday for its many virtues. I mean, red, pink, hearts, chocolate, love - what's not to like? In our house, we love any excuse to celebrate and definitely don't think of it as a day where we are required to buy gifts or be thoughtful - we like to!

I usually like to make a fancy dinner or dessert on Valentine's Day, instead of going out. For example, last year I made Tim a full box of homemade truffles and candies as a gift and he mastered the art of filet mignon for our dinner. It was great - really fun to try and make restaurant-worthy meals at home. I hope to post a few Valentine's ideas this weekend for anyone looking for something new and exciting to make.


Anyway, I saw a great event going on over at Mele Cotte - Kitchen of Love - a round-up of recipes featuring ingredients known to be aphrodisiacs! How great is that? Here is my contribution - Phyllo-wrapped Roasted Asparagus - absolutely delicious and a definite aphrodisiac (or so says my husband - although I think he is just trying to get me to make them again :). These make a great appetizer for any party!

Phyllo-wrapped Roasted Asparagus

Ingredients
Phyllo dough, thawed
Prosciutto (very thinly sliced)
Asparagus (ends trimmed)
Extra virgin olive oil
Canola oil spray
Grated parmesan cheese
kosher salt/pepper

Steps
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Drizzle olive oil over asparagus and season with salt/pepper. Roll around asparagus to make sure they are equally covered in the oil and seasoning.

3. Set up your phyllo dough. Cut each sheet of dough into 4 pieces (one cut in the horizontal direction and one cut in the vertical direction to make 4 rectangles).

4. Prepare prosciutto - tear each slice into a few pieces (you only need a small piece for each asparagus). Wrap a small piece of prosciutto around the center of the asparagus and then wrap up in the phyllo. The prosciutto should be covered but the ends of the asparagus should still be visible.

5. Put spears on parchment-lined baking sheet. Spray lightly with canola oil spray (or other cooking spray) and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. Bake about 15 minutes or until browned and crispy. Enjoy!

What's In My Fridge II?

Here is the latest addition to my own little blogging event - What's In My Fridge? I started this last month as a way to challenge myself to use bits of leftover ingredients from my kitchen in a new and different way. Besides coming up with new recipes, it reduces my kitchen waste, which is one of my goals for the new year.

I really enjoyed my last recipe from What's In My Fridge? and this installment went just as well. This recipe is perfect for a fast weeknight meal as the ingredients only take a few minutes to throw together and the dressing is pre-made (although feel free to whip up your own dressing instead of using the pre-made stuff).


This recipe uses leftover chicken that I had made a few nights before (glazed with a soy & sweet chili sauce), but any cooked chicken would work. Like the last time, I made this as an appetizer, but it works really for any course. To make this more main dish friendly, you could make wonton chips and serve them along side of the salad.

Fresh Asian Chicken Salad in Wonton Cups

Ingredients
Fresh wonton skins
Non-stick canola oil spray (or other spray)
Leftover chicken
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
Slaw mix (I used broccoli and slaw)
Shredded carrots
1/2 lime, freshly squeezed juice reserved
"Asian" style salad dressing (I used Trader Joe's Sesame Soy Ginger Vinaigrette)
Sesame seeds, for garnish

Steps
1. Spray muffin pan with the non-stick spray and line cups with wonton skins.

2. Bake at 400-425 degrees until puffed, crisp and lightly browned (I left mine in one minute too long).

3. In the meantime, shred the leftover chicken into a medium bowl. Add lettuce, slaw and shredded carrots (the amounts should be to your liking - I used about 1/3 chicken, 2/3 vegetables). Lightly mix to combine.

4. Add lime juice and dressing, mix to combine. I lightly dressed my salad because I hate when my salad is soggy. Start with a little and add to taste.

5. Fill wonton cups and top with sesame seeds.

Enjoy!