Steamed Shrimp & Vegetable Dumplings

Merry (belated) Christmas everyone! Hope you all had a fabulous holiday break even if it was just a day or two. My sister-in-law, Kathy, was my secret santa this year & part of my present that she got me was a bamboo steamer! Like the food nerd that I am I couldn’t wait to try it & I did. I love it. I don’t know why I never felt the need to get one before but now I’m so glad I have one - Thanks Kathy! It makes me feel healthier just thinking about it (- hello 2015 resolutions)!

I usually buy the veggie gyoza at Trader Joe’s & sometimes the shrimp ones. I love them & probably will continue to buy them & stash them in my freezer but I wanted to try my hand at making my own. After perusing the inter webs for a dumpling recipe I collected my findings & an inventory of what I had on hand to come up with this light but tasty recipe. 

Do you have a bamboo steamer? If so, what do you make in yours?

Thanksgiving Appetizers

clockwise from top left:  Balsamic Glazed Roasted Grapes with Lemony Ricotta Toasts;
Zucchini Butter; Simple Toasts with Marscapone, Chives & Sea Salt; Garlicky Pretzel Pizza Rolls

It's getting close! It's almost Thanksgiving. If you're not hosting you're probably bringing an appetizer. Here are some of my favorites from this year. What are you making?

Crispy Cauliflower Nuggets

In the words of my husband, “these don’t even taste like cauliflower.”

I gave these to Chris as an appetizer one night. They were a great way to tide him over while I finished cooking dinner, so I know they’d be perfect for the holidays too without getting your overstuffed before the stuffing. These are a great way to make cauliflower fun to eat & don't really taste like "veggies" they just taste good.

P dot S cauliflower has a ton of vitamin c in it - who knew? So make these & feel good about ’em!

Zippy Zucchini Bites

I made these zippy zucchini bites for my coworker's birthday (along with these). I call them zippy zucchini bites because I couldn’t remember the name from the original recipe I found on Pinterest when my coworkers asked me what they were. I called them zippy because they have sweet mint, spicy harissa, zesty lime & tangy goat cheese all rolled up into one little tasty bite, hence the original name. To me that warrants the name zippy, which is also just fun to say & who doesn’t love some alliteration(? <— nerd alert).

I’d make these again. You can make them ahead of time. I chilled mine overnight & then served them at room temperature. I think they’d be a perfect fresh bite for pre-Thanksgiving appetizers because they’re not heavy & really easy to eat! They're also gluten-free & a great non-carb to have on the table. Plus, any kind of rolled appetizer always looks super pretty & fancy, so your guests will be super impressed.

Simple Tapas: Spicy Baked Chickpeas

I love tapas for two reasons. One reason I love them is that they remind me of my first date with Chris. He took me to a great tapas restaurant. That was my last first date :) The other reason, which Chris didn’t know on our first date is that I love to taste different things. So I love ordering tapas. Granted there is a lot of work that usually goes into these tasty little dishes even if you’re just getting a taste. I found this quick & easy tapas dish for spicy baked chickpeas that from Claire Robinson’s 5 Ingredient Fix show (sigh I miss that show - so if you’re listening Food Network Gods please bring it back!). It’s a super easy snack to make & have on hand when guests come over for the holidays. Plus, this dish is primarily chickpeas so you can secretly provide some nutrition for your guests too!

Fresh & Simple Tomato Salad Crostini

It’s tomato week here & I hope you’re enjoying it as much as I am. I heart tomatoes! As promised I’m back with a different take on Monday’s Fresh & Simple Tomato Salad recipe. Today, I bring you Fresh & Simple Tomato Salad Crostini. It’s a perfect summer appetizer that you can make on the grill & serve while you’re still grilling your meats & veggies. I like to serve mine on the cutting board I cut the bread on - again less dishes makes a happy Heather!

Garlicky Pretzel Pizza Rolls

On a day when it’s semi-cooler I suggest you make these. Perhaps a great snack for watching the World Cup. I made these for Easter - yes I know that was a while ago but they are timeless snack worthy of a post even if it comes in mid-June.

I started off with visions for replicating this recipe. Things didn’t work out as planned. I tried to make the dough suggested in the recipe that is supposed to be like Auntie Anne’s pretzels (I LOVE AUNTIE ANNE’S PRETZELS). Alas, the milk I used was too hot & I’m pretty sure that I killed the dry active yeast because although it was Easter, it did not rise again. Being that I was making these rather last minute I had to use what I had - so I used pizza dough i had in the fridge.  I used the same method as making pretzels (remember these yummies?) so I think they were pretty close to the initial recipe. The result was tasty & I don’t think anyone (but me) missed the Auntie Anne’s pretzel dough. The next time I make these I will try that recipe again (I WILL!!!). 

Hope you have a fabulous weekend :)

Simple Toasts with Marscapone, Chives & Sea Salt

We have a toaster oven at work. I may really be the only one that ever uses it. I love toast. If i can have a sandwich with toasted bread - i’m toasting it. Usually I’ll bring in al the components to make a sandwich but don’t make them into an actual sandwich until I’ve toasted my bread about five minutes before I eat it. Sounds high maintenance but it’s really not - it’s toasting bread. It’s so simple & really for the short amount of time I have to dedicate to make my sandwich all the more delicious - well I’m going to make the commitment.

So you see, toast seems fancy but it’s not.  So if you’re having a dinner party & need a quick appetizer make these simple cheesy toasts. There will be no leftovers & everyone will be so impressed that you too the time to make (easy) fancy toast - they really will.

Baked Quinoa-Crusted Chicken Fingers

The other day I reopened the cookbook, The Food of Latin America: Gran Cocina Latina by Marciel E. Presilla.  I perused the vast index to find something to make for dinner. I found the recipe for quinoa-crusted chicken fingers that I’ve had at Cucharamama a few times & have loved. They’re a great twist on the basic chicken finger.

First, you marinate the chicken so that it’s sure to be juicy & flavorful - if you wanted to stop right there you probably could & have a really nice grilled chicken dish. Then, you “bread” it with cooked quinoa instead of breadcrumbs - genius!  At Cucharmama they deep fry theirs (& that’s what the recipe in the book says to do) but I baked them. They were still crunchy & tasty especially with my simple go-to honey mustard dipping sauce that I jazzed up with some paprika.

I know I’ll be making these again. There were no leftovers.

Polenta Squares with Sun-Dried Tomato & Walnut Tapenade

This past weekend my sister-in-law, her hubs & my sweet little niece came over for a visit. I channeled my inner mother, went out on a limb & tried a new recipe that I had never tried to serve our guests.  I tried this recipe for polenta squares with sun-dried tomato & walnut tapenade.

I think it came out pretty tasty, although now looking back at my photos & the photo they show on food52.com, my polenta squares look a little thin (note to self: next time I’ll make them a bit thicker). I have to admit I was a bit spastic at making my squares or rectangles as I now see that’s really what shape they were. I’ll note where I spazed out in the directions in hopes you'll learn from my mistakes.

PS: happy birthday to my cool-little-dude nephew, Chris! I love you!

Christmas Eve Traditions: Crab-Stuffed Mushrooms & Struffoli

It's Christmas Eve! It's also a Tuesday. While I know I have been posting tips on Tuesday I'm taking a holiday break & keeping with cooking traditions that Chris & I continue each year - making crab-stuffed mushrooms (get Chris' s recipe here) & struffoli (get my great grandmother's recipe here).

My informal tip for this Tuesday would be to stick with your family traditions & what you know how to make - although my mom is a bit more adventurous & would try new things - do what works for you. The idea is not to create extra stress in the kitchen. Merry Christmas Eve y'all :)

Fall Flavors: Winning Recipe As Seen On LaurenConrad.com

Usually Mondays aren't my day & yesterday didn't really start out so great but I was smiling by the end of it.

A few weeks ago I concocted & entered this recipe to Lauren Conrad's fall flavors recipe contest & yesterday I found out I was one of the winners! (YIPPIE!) You can check it out & the other winners on LaurenConrad.com.

To top off my winners-high I came home to a sweet piece of mail that was just what my spirit needed plus I got the great news that one of my best friends welcomed her first baby into the world (congrats Suz & Sam!). Yesterday was a good day. Hope your Tuesday is even better!

Roasted Butternut Squash & Caramelized Onion Flatbread with Goat Cheese & Greens

In honor of fall I'm working roasted butternut squash into my meals. Since I love to make this flatbread so much I thought it would taste even better with butternut squash & it did! Plus, I got to use that naan bread I whipped up in yesterday's post.

This dish would be perfect for an appetizer to share with friends or an entree if you eat it all by yourself!  It has the right amounts of sweet & savory going on with crisp & creamy textures as well. It's also hearty enough that you won't miss the meat in this vegetarian flatbread.

Balsamic Glazed Roasted Grapes with Lemony Ricotta Toasts

I really enjoy flavors that mix salty & sweet. Throw in some creamy & crunchy ingredients & you've named all of the attributes I think the perfect snack should have.

I found this recipe on food52.com (yes I enjoy their recipes if you haven't noticed).  It caught my eye when I read roasted grapes & ricotta in one title.  It sounds like my ideal cheese plate all in one. I knew I had to make it.  I didn't have all of the ingredients that the original recipe calls for so I ad-libbed with my own & i spooned mine over some hearty toasts.

It's a pretty unique recipe. I posted this image on instagram & two of my girlfriends debated whether it was a photo of grapes or garlic.  Both are valid responses in my world, but it was grapes in this instance. I highly recommend this recipe, even if you don't have time to roast the grapes make the lemony ricotta & eat it with a spoon.

Roasted Garlic, Onion & Blue Cheese Grilled Empanadas

I've talked about my love of the tasty restaurants in my neighborhood before. Cucharamama is one Hoboken's best. It's usually saved for special-occasion-date-nights. They have a huge range of artisanal South American small plates that they cook in a wood burning oven right behind the bar!  On our most recent visit to Cucharamama we had the Empanadas de Cebolla y Queso
or cocktail empanadas filled with onion confit and spanish cabrales blue cheese. They're one of the most perfect bites that are both sweet and savory all at once, not to mention cute! Naturally I had to try my hand at recreating them. Since I don't have a wood burning stove and I really detest turning on my oven during a heat wave I made my empanadas outside on the grill!

Grilled Peach, Brie & Basil Pizza

Happy belated 4th of July! Apologies for the radio silence from last week. I am back this week with tons of summer foods you're going to want to bring to your table, starting with this sweet & salty pizza that I will be making again and again and again.

I saw this recipe in Rachel Ray Everyday, but when it came time to make it I misplaced the magazine so I ad-libbed what I remembered the recipe to be.  Rachel Ray's recipe adds bacon - so if bacon's for you - go ahead, cook some up & sprinkle it on at the end.  Or you can skip the bacon & make it like me!

Wasabi Deviled Eggs

We all have our strengths, evidently making hard boiled eggs is not one of mine. Lucky for me it is one of Chris's. I was pretty excited to try my hand at making making my own after reading this article about the science of the perfect hard-boiled egg. Chris has forever boiled the eggs in our house. I actually told him I wanted to try it all by myself - you know like a big girl. Well this big girl failed with big flying colors.  My whites were mushy & my yolks… let's just say it would be a generous culinary statement to call them soft-boiled. How could I have failed so miserably? I claimed defeat & whined about it a bit. Chris grabbed more eggs (the organic ones I insisted on) at the store & showed me how it was done. In about 20 minutes we had perfectly hard-boiled eggs that I was able to make into my well anticipated (by me only) wasabi deviled eggs for our mini Memorial Day BBQ at our apartment this weekend.

How do you hard boil your eggs? Any tricks?

Mussels with Leeks & Cream

Every few months I rediscover mussels while I'm grocery shopping.  Two reasons to pick up a bag the next time you're at the super market they're (1) cheap & (2) quick to make. I think they're best served with a big glass of wine & some fresh crusty bread to sop up the sauce at the bottom of your bowl.

Click through for my super easy way to prepare mussels for your next quick dinner.

Baked Coconut Shrimp

 

Chris & I are big fans of coconut shrimp.  When I came across Bobby Deen's  more figure-friendly version of our normally fried guilty pleasure I had to try it.  This recipe for baked coconut shrimp uses egg whites & an oven for baking which means you don't have to clean up messy oil splatters & you can eat more - guilt-free! Oh & the dipping sauce is addictively delicious.

Click through for more photos & the full recipe.

Simple Mushroom Crostini

My husband, Chris, loves mushrooms & my sister, Jennifer,  kind of likes them.

I think it's kind of funny since my sister who is mostly vegetarian has only recently warmed up to them (she hated them growing up) & still isn't a huge fan.  Chris on the other hand has just recently started being force fed enjoying veggies more than his meat laden twenties because "that's what's for dinner" lately at our house.

The irony makes me laugh in my head.  I guess mushrooms are a meatier veggie, maybe that's why carnivores like them more than vegetarians (food for thought…).

Nevertheless, I have always liked mushrooms & even if they're not top on your list I will guarantee you'll love these simple mushroom crostinis.

Click through for the full recipe.



P dot S: make sure to check in tomorrow, I have some really exciting news for you!