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.

Printer Friendly Version

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.

Printer Friendly Version

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

100th Post Dinner Celebration

Thanks to Adrienne for the sweet banner!

We cannot believe it, but we made it to 100 posts on our little blog! Staci and I thought it would be fun to celebrate with some dear friends and have an evening of yummy food and delightful conversation. We are sad that we could not have had all of our loyal blog readers over for dinner...perhaps someday! Anyways, thank you to each and everyone of our readers. It is always so heartwarming to hear that you enjoy reading the blog (and especially when you try out the recipes!) as much as we enjoy cooking new foods and writing our posts!

We chose a Mediterranean theme and dined on hummus, couscous, cinnamon spiced chicken, grilled veggies with green goddess dressing and a yummy yellow cake with chocolate sour cream frosting!

Here are some fun and festive pictures from the evening! Recipes will follow over the next few days!

Thanks again for reading!

Dinner parties are fun reasons to pull our all of your wedding gifts!

Roasted Butternut Squash with Brown Butter Sage

While I have loved the yellow squash and zucchini of summer for a good portion of my life, I am completely new to the acorn and butternut squashes of the winter. I got my chance this week when a beautiful little butternut squash appeared in my produce share. As I searched for recipes this one caught my eye because of the use of brown butter sage, which I have heard of used with both sweet potatoes and winter squash.

I have a confession to make. Tonight, while making this squash to go with our baked chicken, I let myself get distracted and completely burned the sage. It happens to all of us at one point or another. Luckily for Robert and I, once the burnt to a crisp sage leaves were picked away, the squash was still delicious boasting the nuttiness that brown butter provides. When making this dish, save the brown butter sage until the squash and main course are ready and watch it closely. It doesn't take long to go from perfect to ruined.

Printer Friendly Version

Roasted Butternut Squash with Brown Butter Sage


Ingredients
1 butternut squash
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter
6 leaves of fresh sage, chopped

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Cut the ends off of the squash and discard.

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the skin from the squash.

 Slice the squash in half lengthwise,

 and remove the seeds and strings with a spoon.

 Cut into 1/2 inch strips and place on a baking sheet.

 Drizzle with the olive oil and toss to coat. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until squash is tender when pierced with a fork.

 When the squash is done, chop the sage leaves.

Heat a skillet over medium high heat and add the butter.

 When the butter is golden and smells nutty reduce heat to medium and add the sage until it turns dark green and crispy.

 Drizzle over the squash, season with salt and pepper and serve.

Source: PBS Kitchen Explorers

Oven-Roasted Tomato Soup

So I am not feeling top notch tonight. Certainly feels like the first cold of the season has hit me with all it has got! What better food to make for yourself when you are feeling under the weather than tomato soup? Bunker and I love this recipe because it is so much healthier than the cream filled versions, but it is just as flavorful, especially with the addition of oven-roasted tomatoes. This is a rather easy recipe, but slightly messy because you have to get out the food processor, but very much worth the mess!

We paired our soup with a grilled ham and cheese for Bunker and just a plain old grilled cheese for me! Enjoy on a cold winter night, or when you have the sniffles.

Printer Friendly Version


Ingredients:
2 cups of cherry or grape tomatoes cut in half
1 28 ounce can of whole tomatoes
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
2 cups of chicken stock
1 tablespoon of honey
A dash of salt and pepper
A dash of Italian seasoning

Steps:
1. Roast the 2 cups of cherry or grape tomatoes in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes. I added a touch of olive oil and a bit of Italian seasoning.

2. Gather the rest of your ingredients.

3. Add the olive oil and garlic to a large pan and saute for about 5 minutes.

4. Add the can of whole tomatoes to the garlic.

5. Add the roasted tomatoes to the tomato and garlic mixture.

6. Add the chicken stock to the tomatoes.

7. Remove from the heat and pour into your food processor.

8. Puree until smooth. Mine still had a bit of texture which is just fine.
9. Add the tomato soup back to the pan and add the honey and seasonings.

10. Pour into serving pieces and enjoy with a toasted sandwich!