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?

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!

Tomato Bites

I wanted to make these little munchies while we watched the JETS game but Chris doesn't care for olives to make these tasty apps more home team I substituted grape tomatoes for the olives.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup grated Cheddar
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 20 grape tomatoes

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour and butter until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Mix in the Cheddar and Parmesan and knead lightly to combine. Form the mixture into a disk. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
2. Unwrap the dough, take a small piece and cover a tomato, making sure the pastry surrounds the olive and there are no gaps. Flour your hands and roll the tomato-encased pastry into a ball; put it on an ungreased baking sheet. Repeat the process with the remaining pastry and olives. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. (Can be made a day ahead and held in the refrigerator.)
3. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Put the baking sheets on the middle shelf of the oven and bake until the pastries are light golden, about 10 minutes. Remove the bites from the oven and arrange on a serving platter.