Roasted Eggplant Dip

I'll be the first to admit that this dip isn't the prettiest of appetizers. But let me tell you, it sure is delicious. Robert's aunt made this for us on one of our visits and I found it to be highly addictive. The good part is it's all vegetable so you don't have to feel guilty when you go back for seconds, or thirds, or fourths as the case may be. :)

In Greek restaurants this is sometimes called Baba Ghanouj, and is served with fresh pita bread. I like to serve it with freshly toasted baguette slices brushed with a mix of olive oil, minced garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes. The toasts give the dip a little kick that I find brings it over the top. For sake of time on Sunday, I didn't make the toasts and instead served it with pita chips. If you have the time, however, do your self a favor and make the toasts, you'll be glad you did.

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Roasted Eggplant Dip


Ingredients
2 large eggplants
2 teaspoons cumin
1 tablespoon tahini
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 large garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Rinse and dry the eggplants then prick the eggplants all over with a meat fork.

Place in the oven directly on the rack with a cookie sheet on the rack below to catch any juices.

Roast for 30-40 minutes or until eggplants are collapsed.

Remove the eggplants from the oven and remove the stems, cut in half and remove the pulp discarding the skin.

In a food processor, combine the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt and eggplant pulp. Pulse a few times to combine.

Transfer the mix to a bowl and stir in the cumin.

Serve with toasted bread or pita chips and enjoy.

Source: Adapted from Vegetable Harvest by Patricia Wells

Classic Hummus

When Suzie and I decided to have a Mediterranean theme for our celebration dinner, I knew that I wanted to make homemade hummus for an appetizer. I first tried fresh hummus when I was in college working at a coffee and wine bar. The owner was Lebanese, and every day she brought over several fresh servings of hummus for us to sell to patrons. One bite of Mrs. Cerone's hummus and I was hooked. There were several nights when I would take a plate home after work for my dinner. Just pita, carrots, and fresh hummus.

Since college I have tried several hummus recipes, and while few can compare to Mrs. Cerone's, this one comes awefully close. I found this recipe on Food & Wine's website and I've made some changes to spice it up a bit. This hummus is best served with pita chips or carrot sticks either as an appetizer or throw in some cheese and fruit for a light meal.

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Classic Hummus


Ingredients
1 15 ounce can of chickpeas, drained with 1 tablespoon of liquid reserved
2 large garlic cloves, pressed
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup tahini
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika, plus more for garnish
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions
Combine the chickpeas with the liquid, garlic, lemon juice, tahini in a food processor.

Puree until it makes a chunky paste.

 Scrape down the sides and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, paprika, cumin and salt.

Puree until smooth.

Place on a plate or in a bowl and sprinkle with paprika and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of oil.

 Serve with pita chips or carrot and celery sticks.

Our appetizer spread for the dinner party: Cheese, hummus, eggplant dip (recipe coming tomorrow) and pita chips. Yum!

Source: Adapted from Food & Wine

Homemade Salsa

One of my favorite snacks is chips and salsa. While there are certainly jarred salsas that I enjoy, nothing beats the flavor of fresh, homemade salsa. Over the past three years I have used several recipes and I think I have finally found the right one for me.

My dad is in town for the week, so I decided it was time to see if he also approved of this new salsa recipe. You see, a few years ago I gave him some jars of the recipe I was using at the time and he complained that it wasn't spicy enough. So I made sure that this batch had a good kick. (Don't worry, you can adjust the spice level by the amount of seeds you remove from the jalapeno)

He loved it! Dad said it was so spicy it made his head sweat, which apparently means it was the perfect level of spicy. Who knew! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

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Homemade Salsa


Ingredients
1 28 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
2 cans Ro-Tel tomatoes
2 jalapenos, chopped (seeds removed for a mild spice)
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Instructions
In a large food processor add the whole tomatoes and Ro-Tel.

Add the chopped jalapenos, (I removed the seeds from only one and it was pretty spicy. For medium heat remove seeds from 1.5 peppers and for mild remove all the seeds)

lime juice,

cumin,

onion,

garlic,

salt and pepper

and cilantro.

Pulse the food processor until it reaches the desired consistency. I like mine smooth, not chunky so I pulse mine about 10 or so times.

Pour into a small bowl and eat with tortilla chips.

Source: Adapted from the Pioneer Woman

Gorgonzola Dates

Gorgonzola dates are one of my favorite go to appetizers for dinner parties, both those hosted in my home and those at friends houses. There are many reasons to love this appetizer: it's simple, transportable and so delicious. The dates have a sweetness about them that pairs perfectly with the strong flavor produced by the gorgonzola and the saltiness of the bacon. The combination is both delicious and completely addicting so do yourself a favor and reserve this for evenings when you can share it with friends, otherwise you may end up eating the whole plate yourself!

Please forgive the lack of step by step photos in this post. I completely forgot to take photos while I was making this and the result was too good not to share anyways!

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Gorgonzola Dates


Ingredients
Medjool dates
Applewood smoked bacon (1 slice per 3 dates)
Wedge of firm, aged gorgonzola cheese
2 medium lemons
White pepper
Kosher salt
1 stick of butter chilled, cut into 8 pieces
Balsamic Vinegar

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


Cut slices of bacon into three even pieces and set aside.  With a small paring knife cut a slit length wise in each date and remove seed within.  Cut a small piece of gorgonzola from the cheese wedge and fill date with gorgonzola so that date is fully stuffed.    Take a piece of bacon and wrap around the stuffed date, securing with a toothpick.  Place date seam side down on a greased rimmed baking sheet.  Once you have all your dates stuffed and wrapped, bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until bacon is browned and slightly crispy.

While the dates are cooking in the oven squeeze the juice of 2 medium lemons into a small medium-bottomed saucepan.  Add a pinch of salt and 1/8 teaspoon of white pepper to the juice and boil until reduced to 1 tablespoon.  Remove from heat and immediately whisk in 2 pieces of butter until melted.  Place pan over very low heat and whisk in butter one piece at a time until all pieces are incorporated into a creamy sauce.  Remove from heat and set aside until dates are done cooking.

When dates are ready, remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes.  Cover the bottom of your serving plate with lemon butter sauce, it should have thickened some as it cooled and drizzle some balsamic vinegar on top of the sauce.  Place the dates on the sauce and serve.

Bruschetta and Crostini

This past Sunday Robert and I were invited to a dinner party at a friend's house and we were tasked with bringing along an appetizer. Bringing an appetizer to someone else's house can be a tricky endeavor. Hot appetizers are generally less ideal given the fact that it's difficult to keep the appetizer hot during transport. For that reason I generally stick to appetizers that are intended to be served cold or at room temperature. Bruschetta and crostini are a great appetizer both for the ability to serve them at room temperature and the ease to which you can prepare the elements ahead of time and assemble once you arrive at your destination.

Now you may be asking, what is the distinction between bruschetta and crostini? Basically, crostini is toasted baguette that is topped with a pesto or other spread. Bruschetta is also toasted baguette or sometimes ciabatta and is topped with a combination of fresh tomatoes, herbs and sometimes cheese. I am not a person who enjoys raw tomatoes so while I enjoy the beauty of bruschetta, I do not enjoy the taste. I do, however enjoy sun-dried tomatoes and therefore decided to add it to the appetizer list and serve both crostini and bruschetta at once.

I got the inspiration for the bruschetta from a local pizza restaurant in Dallas known as Fireside Pies. The combination of fresh grape tomatoes, fresh arugala and goat cheese provides the taster with the fresh taste of a spring garden. Conversely, the sun-dried tomato pesto is rich and complex. The contrast between the two is perfect to make it a great appetizer combo.

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Fresh Spring Bruschetta


Ingredients
1 Baguette
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Soft goat cheese
Fresh arugala
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning

Instructions
Preheat the broiler. Cut the baguette diagonally into little rounds and place on a baking sheet.

Brush the bread with two tablespoons of the olive oil.

Place in the oven until the bread is toasted golden, about 2-3 minutes depending on your oven.

Remove from the oven and rub a garlic clove over the bread slices. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile cut the grape tomatoes in half and place in a storage container.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and Italian Seasoning and stir to combine.

Let the tomatoes marinate in the refrigerator for 15 minutes up until an hour before serving. When it's time to serve, begin by spreading a layer of goat cheese on top of each toasted baguette slice.

Top the cheese with arugala leaves,

and the marinated tomatoes.

Serve and enjoy.

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Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Crostini

Ingredients

1 baguette

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained

3/4 cup toasted walnuts

1 cup fresh basil, packed

3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

6 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

Prepare the crostini by slicing and toasting the baguette as described in the bruschetta recipe above. While the crostini are cooling, combine in a food processor the sun-dried tomatoes,

walnuts,

parmesan cheese, garlic,

basil,

salt, pepper and olive oil.

Process until smooth.

Place the pesto on top of the toasted baguette slices, serve and enjoy.

Roasted Tomatillo Guacamole

Last night I had the pleasure of hosting a girl I babysat in high school for dinner. She is no longer the little 7 year old girl, but a successful junior in college! Where did time go?? We spent the better part of three hours catching up and learning about what is going on in each others lives. Let me tell you, any 19 year old who can hold their own for three hours in a conversation with Robert is one well spoken and dare I say brave young lady!

I decided to make this guacamole to serve as the appetizer for our taco dinner. This has quickly become one of my go to guacamole recipes. One main benefit to this guacamole as opposed to the more standard variety is the acid in the tomatillos and lime juice serve to preserve the green color in the avocados far longer than any other guacamole. Which is great, since this recipe always makes more than we can eat in any one sitting.

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Roasted Tomatillo Guacamole


Ingredients
5 medium tomatillos, husked
3 large avocados
2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic salt

Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove the tomatillos from their husk, rinse and place on a foil lined baking sheet and cook for 25 minutes, rotating half way through.

Remove the avocados from their skin and remove the pit.

Coarsely chop and place in a large bowl.

Using a fork, mash until the texture is smooth.

Add the chopped cilantro, jalapenos, lime juice, garlic salt and pepper.

Remove the tomatillos from the oven and coarsely chop.

Add to the avocados and stir to combine.

Transfer to your serving dish and enjoy.

Source: Adapted from Peace Meals