Roasted Beet & Goat Cheese Bites

Mmmm beets.  Roasted beet & goat cheese bites are perfect bite size hors d'oeuvres for NYE.  I love a roasted beet and goat cheese salad, this is my take on a deconstructed version served as a finger food. Made like this, they're incredibly easy amd scrumptious. You can prepare the night before so they're ready to go when you're ready to impress your guests.

ingredients

4 medium beets, washed and thinly sliced
1/4 cup of Chèvre goat cheese
A handful of micro greens or fresh herbs
1 tablespooon of olive oil
Oil to toss beets
Kosher or sea salt
Fresh ground pepper

preparation

Preheat the oven to 225 degrees. Toss beets in olive oil and lay them in a single layer on a baking sheet.

Place the baking sheet in the oven and let them roast for about 1- 1 1/2 hours. Make sure to flip them during that time.  Remove from oven and season with a bit of salt and pepper.  Set aside to cool.

Top each beet with a dollop of goat cheese and place your choice of greens on top. Arrange on a plate and serve.  Enjoy!

Pochettes of Feta, Tomato & Basil

  

"Cook with your heart, because cooking is celebration and food is love" 

          - Padma Lakshimi

I know this recipe seems a bit labor-intensive, but it is well worth it when you want to impress your dinner guests with something spectacular. It is a definite crowd pleaser. The thing to remember is not to let working with the filo pastry intimidate you. Just stay calm and give your self lots of time for the project. I assemble the pochettes a couple of hours ahead and pop them in the oven just 10 minutes before guests arrive, keeping them warm in the turned-off oven if necessary.

© 2007 Padma Lakshmi Tangy, Tart Hot & Sweet 

ingredients

1 1-pound package filo dough (about 30 sheets measuring 17 inches by 12 inches)
5 plum tomatos
10 ounces Greek feta cheese, crumbled
2 cups loosely packed, finely chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon crushed dried red pepper
Salt (optional)
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, clarified ( I used ghee)

preparation

Remove the filo from the refrigerator 30 minutes before starting. 

Slice the tomatoes lengthwise and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Squeeze gently to eliminate excess liquid. It’s important to get the tomatoes as dry as possible. Wipe dry, inside and out, with a paper towel. When the tomatoes are dry, dice them.

 In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, feta, basil, and crushed red pepper to form a salad. Add a pinch of salt only if needed.

Prepare the filo dough by laying out a clean dishcloth on a flat surface. Make sure both surface and cloth are large enough to accommodate the flat filo. Stack the filo on the cloth, and cover with another dishcloth. With hot water, dampen and wring out a third cloth and lay that flat over the top cloth.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Cut the filo stack carefully—with kitchen scissors, as knives tend to tear the pastry—into 8-inch squares. Remove 3 squares of the filo at a time, keeping the rest under the towels.

Take 1 sheet and brush it with the clarified butter. Place a second sheet of the filo at a 45° angle over the first, and brush this with butter as well. Place the third sheet of filo at a 45° angle over the second, and brush this with the clarified butter.

Now spoon 1 to 2 tablespoons of the tomato salad onto the center of the filo. Gather together the corners of the filo and twist the packet ends gently, as you would the ends of a hard-candy wrapper. Fan out the ends into a rose floret. Then peel down the petals to fan out a nice crown. Brush the top of the pochette with more clarified butter. Repeat this process until you have about 10.

Place the pochettes on a baking sheet in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until the sides are golden brown. Serve warm.

© 2007 Padma Lakshmi Tangy, Tart Hot & Sweet 

Bacon Wrapped Dates

Everything is better with bacon and dates are no expectation! 
Bacon wrapped dates is a great BBQ appetizer for the end of summer or as a way to start your fall at a picnic in the park. They are so addicting, and your guests will love munching on these plump, sugary, and salty bite-sized babies. 
Be sure to allow time to cool because they are molten hot straight from the oven! 

ingredients

1 12 oz package of bacon (make sure not to purchase thick bacon slices) 
1 package of medjool dates from Trader Joes 

preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I cover my cookie sheet with parchment paper, but feel to cover with aluminum foil. Meanwhile, wrap the slices of bacon around the date. If needed to hold bacon onto the date, place a toothpick through the center. Make sure to place the wrapped date seam facing down on baking sheet. Repeat until all the dates are wrapped in the bacon. Bake for about 25 minutes or until bacon is crisp. Let cool for about 10 minutes before serving! Enjoy!

Squash Blossoms Stuffed with Goat Cheese

Happy Meat Free Monday!  Every summer, I obsess about squash blossoms. I bought the squash blossoms from Nichols Farm at the Wicker Park Farmers Market.

These blossoms are so delicate, yet delicious and savory in so many forms. I decided to stuff them with goat cheese and pan-fry them in a light batter to a golden crisp perfection. It's time consuming to prepare and stuff the blossoms because you MUST handle the flower carefully. You have to remove the pistil from the center of the flower without ripping the petals. I found it best to use your kitchen or herb scissors to cut off the pistil because by ripping it out one might ruin the flower. Whenever you buy squash blossoms, remember to use them the as soon as possible (within 1 day). 

ingredients

8-10 squash blossoms, pistil removed 

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/2 cup of breadcrumbs

1/4 cup of goat cheese, crumbled

Olive oil for frying 

Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper to taste 

preparation

In a bowl, slightly beat the egg.  Prepare breadcrumbs on a plate. Feel free to add flour, cornstarch or beer to the breading process. I prefer to use just herb-flavored breadcrumbs because the blossoms are so delicate.  Add about a teaspoon of crumbled goat cheese to each blossom and twist the top of the flower tighten and enclose.  Dip each goat cheese stuffed blossom in egg and than in the breadcrumbs.

Heat about an inch of olive oil or other oil in a frying pan over medium high heat.

Carefully place each blossom in the hot olive oil and fry until golden crisp on both sides (several minutes per side). Remove and drain on a paper towel. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper. We enjoyed dipping the stuffed blossoms in some of your favorite hot sauce. Delish! Enjoy! 

Cucumber Feta Bites

I love making these crisp, light and refreshing bites. I always have all the ingredients on hand. With my herb garden in bloom, I try to incorporate my fresh herbs in every meal I make. I served these as an hors d'ouerves at my Mother's Day brunch and my guests told me they could eat the whole tray by themselves.  I also enjoying making these as a snack. It's a perfect and a cooling bite for summer!

ingredients


2 cucumbers, washed and cut lengthwise (Seedless preferably)
1/4 cup of Feta cheese, crumbled (Goat's milk feta is my favorite!)
1 tablespoon of fresh mint chopped (you can use mint, parsley or dill)
Fresh ground pepper to taste
A pinch of Sea Salt


preparation


Once you cut the cucumber lengthwise begin to scoop out the middle with the seeds. (I used the scoop insides to make a tzatziki sauce for my grilled lamb.) Mix the feta, fresh herb, pepper and salt. Spoon into the gutted cucumber center. Slice the stuffed cucumber into 1 inch pieces or bite sized wedges. Serve immediately. 

Mini Marinated Mozzarella & Sun Dried Tomato Bites

I love hosting and cooking for my friends and family. No matter where I serve my guests, they always seem to like my kitchen the best. I served these special appetizers bites at my Mother's Day brunch. They are super easy to make and will leave your guests impressed. You can prepare a day or two before your event and just assemble the bites that day. I adapted this recipe from Southern Living.

ingredients

1 16oz (1 lb) Trader Joe's All Natural Fresh Mozzarella Log, cut into 1 inch squares.
(I cut into 16 pieces, one per guest)
16 small sun dried tomatoes or slow roasted tomatoes
2-3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil (enough to coat each cube)
1 teaspoon of Archer Farms Grinder of Sea Salt & Garlic ( you can use garlic powder and salt)
1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon of dried basil
Freshly ground pepper

preparation

In a mixing bowl, mix olive oil and the next in 4 ingredients. Add cubes of mozzarella to seasoned mixture and coat the cubes evenly by gently stirring or tossing.  Cover and refrigerate let the cheese marinate up to 24 hours. Place cheese cubes on serving plate. Top cubes with sun dried tomatoes and garnish with a rosemary stem, a piece of basil or you can just use a toothpick. Serve and enjoy!

Grilled Creole Shrimp with Mixed Greens

Aren't these shrimp beautiful, succulent and colorful? I love making these as an appetizer or a last minute dinner.  My boy, the grill and a girl are the perfect cooking trifecta. We believe in deveining and gutting both sides of the shrimp because it really grosses us out.  

ingredients

4-6 or 1 pound wild caught raw shrimp

1-2 tablespoons of Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning

1-2 freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice

2 cups of mixed greens or mache, washed and dried 

preparation

preheat the grill to medium high. 

For the shrimp:

Peel the shrimp, devein and wash the shrimp.  Add shrimp in a bowl. Season by sprinkling 

Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning on both sides of the shrimp and squeeze fresh lime or lemon juice. Let it marinate for about 10-15 minutes. 

Grill the shrimp for about 2-3 minutes per side or until cooked through. Shrimp cooks very quickly and easily can become overcooked and chewy. 

Arrange the salad on a plate. Place the grilled shrimp on top of the salad and squeeze the fresh lime or lemon juice over shrimp and salad. Serve and enjoy! 

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

I heavily pour tomatillo salsa on my food. I literally can drink it. I love it so much that I need salsa verde rehab. I roasted the tomatillos because it's packed with flavor. You can make this salsa with fresh tomatillos by just skipping the roasting step. Both salsas are great in texture, and refreshing. Serve it with chips, tacos or on a grilled fish.

ingredients

5-6 tomatillos, husked and halved 

1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed and halved (remove seeds for a milder salsa) 

1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped

5-6 sprigs of fresh cilantro leaves 

Sea or Coarse Salt ( heaping teaspoon) 

Freshly squeezed lime juice (optional) 

preparation

Preheat oven to broil.  Place the tomatillos and jalapeno on a baking sheet, seeds facing up, on top rack. Roast for about 4-5 minutes until roasted and blistered. Use tongs to flip the tomatillos and peppers face down and roast for another 4-5 minutes. 

Remove from oven and place the tomatillos and peppers along with the roasting juices in blender or a food processor. Add garlic, cilantro and salt to mixture and pulse to combine all the ingredients. Blend at a low speed to create a salsa puree.  If salsa needs be to thinned, add water. Season to taste with salt and freshly squeezed lime juice.  Enjoy!

slow roasted tomatoes

I am a TOMATO girl.  I crave them and there isn't any style of them in which I don't like.  My favorite is biting into a tomato like it's an apple. Sprinkle a little sea salt into the bite..... so yummy!  I grew up on fresh tomatoes from my family's gardens. I love tomato basil soup and my father's secret tomato egg scramble.  Once a week, I require a poppy seed bagel shmeared with chive cream cheese with a slice of tomato. I LIVE for tomato season. This recipe makes tomatoes that are out of season still delicious, sweet and perfect to eat!  I use these tomatoes to make a tomato soup, panini, stuffed chicken breasts, or I add them to a pasta dish. If you make a batch you can keep them up to a week in the fridge by placing the tomatoes in a air tight container.  I use a jar with a drizzle of olive oil. These tomatoes also make a great little snack or condiment. It's a basic recipe that is a staple to use in your cooking!

ingredients

Organic Tomatoes, cut in half horizontally
Olive oil
Sea or Kosher Salt

preparation

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
Place tomatoes on a baking sheet, seed face up, rub or drizzle a little bit of olive oil on the tomatoes and sprinkle a pinch a sea salt.

Bake for about 3-4 hours or until they look sun dried (shriveled and dried)

Serve immediately or place in jar and refrigerate.

{Skinny} Spinach, Onion & Feta Tart (Spanakopita)

A girl tries to eat and cook skinny. My friend, Becki, and I love heading to Athenian Room for a weeknight girl’s dinner. She is a strict vegetarian so we split the spanakopita and have Greek salads. We have countless conversions on how greasy their spankopita is, so the skinny in me decided to create a healthier version. Working with phyllo (filo) dough can be a hassle and intimidating but the outcome is delicious.  Stay Calm and Carry (Phyllo) On.

ingredients

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 bunch organic spinach bunch, roughly chopped

1 egg 

½ cup of goat’s milk feta

1-2 Tablespoons of olive oil

1 Package phyllo (filo) dough (using eight 17”x12” phyllo sheets)***

4-5 Tablespoons of ghee (I used Purity Farms Ghee) or olive oil. 
Ghee is a healthier substitute for butter is a staple in Indian and Ayurveda cooking. 

Parchment paper

Pastry Brush 

***Will be posting an upcoming recipe on remaining phyllo (filo) sheets
Parcels of Tomato, Feta & Basil

preparation

Remove phyllo (filo) dough from the refrigerator 30 minutes before starting preparation.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium high heat. 

Cook onions for about 2 minutes and add spinach and cook for 4 minutes or until wilted. 

Remove and place in a bowl.  

In the same bowl, add egg and feta and mix until combined. 

Add salt and pepper only if needed.

Prepare the parchment paper by tearing sheets large enough so an entire sheet of phyllo can be flat with excess paper. 

Placing parchment paper on top of a baking sheet.

In a saucepan, melt the butter.  Set aside and make sure to have your brush ready.

Place the 8 sheets of Phyllo (filo) dough on a clean dishtowel. 

Make sure to keep the dough flat.  Cover with another clean dishtowel. 

Dampen and wring out a third dishtowel and lay that flat on top of the second dishtowel. You must keep the dough moist!

Take one sheet of phyllo at a time, keeping the rest under the dishtowels.

Place sheet one of phyllo on the parchment paper. Brush it with butter.

Take another sheet of phyllo and place over sheet one. 

Brush sheet two with clarified butter. Repeat until all eight phyllo sheets are buttered and laid on top of one another.

Spoon the mixture of spinach, onion, feta and egg onto the center of the pile of phyllo sheets and spreading it evenly being sure to leave a frame of phyllo dough.

Fold the edges of dough upward and inward, creating an outer crust or rim. Lightly brush the folded crust with butter.  

Place baking sheet with prepared tart in the oven. 

Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden.

Serve warm or at room temperature.  Serves 4-6 

Kat's Kale Chips

A Girl eats, cooks and juices this cruciferous vegetable all the time.

Kale chips are the way to get your family eating this healthy vegetable. These kale chips are the REAL skinny and guilt free chip. Once you start, you won't stop.  They're light, crunchy and absorb the flavors of sea salt perfectly!!

ingredients

1 bunch of kale 

Olive oil to drizzle 

Sea salt 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Wash kale, remove leaves from stalk and discarded stem

Make sure to the kale leaves are torn into 1" or 1 1/2"- inch  pieces 

Toss kale with olive oil.  I use about 1-2 tablespoons depending on how many leaves I have

I always start small and you can always add more olive oil

Spread out on to a baking sheet/pan

Sprinkle sea salt  

Optional Seasoning/Toppings:

or you can season with Parmesan or Asiago cheese, chili flakes (my favorite, I love 'em flakes!)or your seasoning of choice. 

Bake for 11-15 minutes until lightly brown and CRISP and move on baking sheet /pan

Serve and eat like real potato chips! 

Most importantly, as you nosh you are in taking vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants! 

Grilled Manchego Sandwiches with Apricot Preserves & Thyme

Who doesn't love a grilled cheese sandwich? This is not your average grilled cheese. I try to eat and cook with non-processed foods, this is a healthier and a  fancier version. It's great for lunch with a small salad or cut into small bites as hors d' oeuvres. It will be an instant crowd pleaser. Make sure to purchase a young aged manchego cheese because it's softer and melts faster. 

ingredients

4 slices of rustic multi-grain bread or your bread of choice 

(sourdough, country, ciabatta, etc)

3 ounces of thinly sliced Spanish manchego cheese (about 1/4" inch thick)

1-2 tablespoons apricot preserve

1/2 teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves 

Butter at room temperature, I used French or Irish Butter 

preparation

Take one slice of the bread. 

Spread a thin layer of apricot preserve on each slice

Take other slice and place cut or broken up manchego cheese and make sure to cover entire face

Sprinkle thyme leaves over cheese

Place the slice with the apricot preserve over the cheese slice

Butter the outside of sandwich

Heat your grill pan (I use my Le Crueset square skillet grill) 

Grill for about 5 minutes until pan side is nicely browned

Flip carefully to brown other side

Serve immediately!