A Month-of-Recipes: Mediterranean Medley

It happens to me every February. Here we are at the end of the month, and I have more recipes left than days to share them. To solve that problem, I combined several with a relationship to the Mediterranean. So you get more than one recipe today! Three in fact. More than that if you count in how to use the leftovers.

To get your party started, I included tzatziki, olive spread, and Greek Greek Yogurt Dip for your appetizer pleasure. A suggestion for an appetizer party is to do it thematically. Break out the ouzo and retsina to serve with these three. To complete the theme, add garlic-basil dipping oil, grapes, cheeses, veggies, crackers/bread, and hummus (no, I’m not sharing my recipe today--maybe another time). Now that’s the way to party Mediterranean-style!

Tzatziki (makes a little more than 1 ¼ cup)

½ medium cucumber, shredded

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Drain cucumber shreds and minced garlic, then blot with a paper towel to get rid of excess liquid.

In a small mixing bowl, combine yogurt, cucumber, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Thoroughly blend. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Use leftovers on sandwiches or salads. Mix with hard boiled eggs, shredded cooked chicken, or tuna for salad.

Olive Spread (makes more than one cup)

8 ounces cream cheese (low-fat okay), room temperature

Handful green olives with pimiento

Handful of pitted, medium black olives

In mini-food processor pulse olives to chunky. Add cream cheese and pulse until olives are evenly distributed. Refrigerate for at least one hour. Bring to cool (from cold) before serving with crackers and veggies. Leftovers make a terrific sandwich spread with meat and cheese.

Greek Greek Yogurt Dip (makes one cup)

1 cup Honey Greek Yogurt

2 tablespoons Greek Seasoning (on the spice shelf at your grocer)

Mix Greek seasoning into Greek yogurt and blend thoroughly. Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

This is a good dip for fruit or veggies. Serve leftovers on a chicken or ham sandwich instead of mustard or mayo. Use as a creamy salad dressing.

DH’s Ratings: Tzatziki--3 Tongues Up (not a cucumber fan)--tasted “too green” to him; Olive Spread--4 Tongues Up--he liked it better on a sandwich than as an appetizer; Greek Greek Yogurt--3 Tongues Up--as mentioned  earlier, he’s not generally a fan of sweetish appetizers

A Month-of-Appetizers: Bacon-Wrapped "Stuff"

I was watching an episode of Chopped in which every round had to feature bacon. It reminded me of an upscale version of what has been happening at State Fairs the last few years: How many weird ways can you serve bacon?

On Chopped they had bacon that can sell for $600 a pound in Spain? $600? I’ll never complain about bacon prices at the grocery ever again! And here I thought varieties of bacon meant which company packaged it or whether it was smoked with apple wood! Just goes to show you!

DH is very health conscious, so we don’t have bacon often. In a sop to more healthful eating, I only buy nitrite-free/nitrate-free bacon. Still.

Bacon is addictive--the smell, the taste, the crackling in the pan. There is no flavor comparable. And appetizers made with bacon disappear first from my table. Don’t forget to include Date Bites for Date Nights posted earlier this month if you are doing Bacon-Wrapped Stuff for your party.

Bacon-Wrapped Stuff (makes about 30)

10 strips nitrite-free/nitrate free bacon

1 tablespoon brown sugar

30 “stuff” to wrap: ideas--medium shrimp, whole water chestnuts, tiny potatoes--see Note-, Lil’ Smokies sausages, medium mushrooms, or something else!

[Choose one item or make a combo for a prettier plate]

Set oven to broil and place rack 3-4” from broiler.

Cut bacon strips into third, cross-wise. Toss with brown sugar and set aside for a few minutes.

Wrap “stuff” with bacon. Place on rimmed baking sheet, not touching, seam-side down.

Broil for 8-10 minutes (or until bacon is crispy), turning once. Secure bacon on the “stuff” with toothpicks and serve immediately.

NOTE: If using tiny potatoes, get the smallest you can. You might have to cut bacon strips in halves instead of thirds to cover. Prepare potatoes before wrapping with bacon by cooking 2 minutes in microwave. Cool enough to handle before wrapping. Continue as above to broil.

DH’s Rating: 5 Tongues Up for everything but the Lil’ Smokies. He thought the bacon and sausage together was too much. The slight brown sugar sweetness was a nice surprise that he liked a lot, especially on the shrimp.

A Month-of-Appetizers: Cheesy Rosemary Cream Scones

 

Before we get into today’s appetizer, I have to let you know that Mission Impastable, Kindle-version, went live this week. If you’ve been waiting to read this mystery with recipes, now could be the time. Check it out at http://amzn.to/1dttdrq

I have a modest reputation among friends and family for my lemon cream scones with cranberries and almonds (archived in the recipe on this blog). Well-deserved, I might add (she says with no sense of modesty).

All I did here was tweak my sweet scone recipe to make a savory one. Take one of your favorite recipes and play with it. Just keep proportions of wet and dry and you’re good to go!

  

Cheesy Rosemary Cream Scones (2 dozen)

3 cups flour (+ more for kneading)

3 teaspoons baking powder

zest from one lemon

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon pepper

1 tablespoon rosemary

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1¼ cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated; divided

Heat oven to 400°. Prepare two cookie sheets.

Combine flour, baking powder, zest, salt, pepper, and rosemary.

Add cream. Stir until just moistened.

Mix in 1 cup cheese. Knead dough on lightly floured surface 6-7 times until smooth.

Tip: handle scone dough as little as possible to keep it tender.

Divide dough in quarters. Divide each quarter into six balls. Pat each ball flat into a 1.5-2” disk and place at least 2” apart on cookie sheets.

Top with remaining cheese and bake for 10-13 minutes or until golden brown. Serve room temperature.   

DH’s Rating: 5 Tongues Up  He liked the savoriness of the spice and cheese scones in contrast to the breakfast scones I usually make. Any leftovers get eaten with soup or served as a side bread with meals.

A Month-of-Appetizers: Baked Brie

So sorry to be posting this late. Every year it seems I get behind and lose a day. But no worries. Later today, I’ll put up a second recipe. Wouldn’t want you to be cheated!

I’ve been making a version of baked Brie for decades after a friend served it at her party in the 1970’s. The origin of the recipe is lost in the mists of time, but there are dozens of versions via the Internet these days. Just keep on trying until you find the one you like. (Pick me! Pick me!)

My version for you has cinnamon to kick it up a notch from what the neighbors serve as baked Brie. Also, you might be tempted to just dump on pecans without toasting them. Unh unh. Pecans change flavor with toasting.

So your choice: pedestrian, no toasting; spectacular, toasted pecans. Also, put away the Triscuits and Wheat Thins. You want a cracker that is bland and will not compete with the cheese flavors. You can use day old French bread, too.

As an added benefit this is another one of those two-fer appetizers: the umami taste of cheese and the sweet taste from brown sugar and honey perk up the appetizer party.

Baked Brie

1 small round of Brie (~ 8 ounces give or take)

½ cup pecan pieces

3 tablespoons brown sugar

3 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Carr’s Water Crackers (or some other high quality, plain cracker)

Heat oven to 350°. Put a square of parchment paper on a baking sheet and center the Brie on it.  Bake for about 15-20 minutes until oozy to the touch. Remove from oven to the heat-proof serving dish you’ll be using to serve on. Let sit about 20 minutes.

Spread pecans on same baking pan (sans parchment paper) and toast for about 5-10 minutes (until fragrant). Alternatively, toast them in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly to keep from burning. When fragrant, remove from heat.

Mix brown sugar and honey in a small pan and heat to a boil over medium heat. Let it get foamy (a couple of minutes) and then stir in cinnamon.

Pour evenly over Brie (letting some drip over sides) and sprinkle on the pecans. Serve immediately.

DH’s Rating: 3½ Tongues Up  He doesn’t like his cheese sweetened. Too bad. More for me!

A Month-of-Appetizers: Pumpkin Soup Shots with Coconut Cream

Talk about your different appetizer! While looking for new pumpkin soup recipes (my current fave is below), I came across a recipe for Pumpkin-Carrot Shooters at http://yhoo.it/Mlntst

It intrigued me to think of soup as an appetizer, but why not, eh? So I took the concept (and their coconut cream recipe) and adapted it to smaller glasses filled with my pumpkin soup. I have lots of these fancy cylinder shot glasses (you can buy sets that include teeny spoons) because I serve lots of mini-desserts. Each glass holds just over ¼ of a cup. Perfect for an appetizer shooter!

Pumpkin Shots with Coconut Cream (makes 12 shots)

½ small yellow onion, grated

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup pumpkin puree

2 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup heavy cream

In a medium pan, heat the grated onion in olive oil over medium heat for one minute.

Add pumpkin, broth, spice, and salt. Stir to combine completely. Stir in cream slowly. Heat to a simmer.

Emulsify with your immersion blender, food processor, or regular blender. Refrigerate. When cold, pour into shot glasses. Bring to room temperature. Top with Coconut Cream right before serving. Demonstrate to guests how to shoot the soup!

Coconut Cream (enough for 12 shot glasses)

¼ cup heavy whipping cream

dash of salt

¼ cup coconut milk

On medium speed, beat cream and salt to foamy. Add coconut milk. Beat until soft peaks form.

DH’s Rating: 3 Tongues Up  He doesn’t really like pumpkin soup (thus my search to find the perfect one he will like), and he thought soup as an appetizer was a pretty bad idea. “So people have to juggle two glasses and a plate?” He might have a point. He thinks it should stay as a first course sitting at the dinner table. With a spoon.

A Month-of-Appetizers: Beef Empanadas My Way

Empanadas are crescent-shaped dough pockets filled with spicy meat and baked or fried. I used to make these a lot, but had almost forgotten about them until I was preparing for this Month-of-Appetizers.

My memory of my creation of them is that we had empanadas in a restaurant, and, as I often do, I said, “I could make these!” So I did. Or…rather, I made a version that resembled what the chef had prepared. But not!

Beef Empanadas My Way (makes about 12-15)

1 pie dough

½# lean ground beef

½ medium onion, finely diced

salt/pepper to taste

1 clove garlic minced

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon cocoa chile powder

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 handful raisins

1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a cookie sheet.

Cut the pie dough with a 2 ½” -3” biscuit cutter to make 12-15 circles of dough. Set aside.

Cook ground beef in a small skillet, breaking up until it is tiny pieces and cooked through. Remove beef and add onion to the skillet. Cook until translucent. Add beef back in, add salt and pepper, and stir.

Add minced garlic to the mixture and cook 2 minutes more. Stir in brown sugar, cocoa chile powder, and cinnamon. Remove from heat. Add in raisins.

Fill dough circles with just enough empanada mixture so you can fold over to make crescents. Crimp the open edge to seal.  [You will probably have some meat mixture left. I often mix with cooked rice for lunch.]

Brush each empanada with egg wash. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from pan and serve immediately.

DH’s Rating: 3 ½ Tongues Up  He likes them, but he never requests them like some dishes. He’s not crazy about having fruit with his beef. As I said before, bless his heart, he’ll eat anything.

A Month-of-Appetizers: Mini-Quiches

One of the options for the Month-of-Recipes focus was eggs. One person thought that would be a good topic. One. Someday, I’ll share multiple egg recipes just to show people the range.

In our household, quiche is on the menu about once a month. And when there’s a party going on…all I can say is, why would you buy those little frozen quiches that taste like they were frozen at the same time as wooly mammoths?

Are these a bit more work? Surely. But the compliments will flow like beaten egg yolks!

Sharon’s Quiche (makes more than 12 mini quiches)

1 piecrust

¾ cup Asiago cheese, shredded, divided

4 strips crisp bacon, crumbled

1 cup fresh spinach, finely shredded

½ cup mushrooms, diced

4 eggs

1 cup heavy cream

1 large green onion, diced

1 teaspoon nutmeg

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375°. Cut rounds from piecrust to fit in the bottom of the muffin pan.

Put piecrust in pan gently. If you press it in too hard it will be difficult to get it to release.

Sprinkle bottom of each round with ¼ cup of the Asiago cheese. Put bacon crumbles over cheese.

In a small skillet, sauté the spinach and mushrooms. Drain. Put spinach/mushroom mixture on top of bacon.

Whisk together eggs and cream. Add onions, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Mix in ¼ cup cheese.

Pour over veggies. Sprinkle last ¼ cup of cheese over the top.

Bake for 45 minutes-one hour until risen, brown, and done in middle (insert knife to check when middle doesn’t jiggle when you move pan).

DH’s Rating: 5 Tongues Up  DH loves my quiche as a whole pie or in mini form. I think it’s because of my secret ingredient--nutmeg!