Seared Scallops and Foie Gras

This year's contribution to our annual Valentine's Day meal is by far the fanciest, most decadent, and most gorgeous addition to the recipe family. Previous years brought us the good ol' surf n turf and the unique duck pizza. This year I copied a recipe from Top Chef, pretty much the only reality show I can stomach. For those of you who have not tried foie gras, it is fatty duck liver that melts in your mouth in buttery savory sweet amazingness. It's so decadent that you can't eat very much at once, which is good because it's freakin expensive. $28 at Wegman's for ~5 oz.

There are several components to this dish: a french toast-like bread called pain perdu, apple preserves, spiced pecans, maple foam, and of course the scallops and foie gras. You can make the preserves and pecans ahead of time, but the rest needs to come together simultaneously so unless you are a Top Chef it would be good to have a sous chef slash willing husband available.
I don't have any fancy equipment to make the maple foam, so I used my immersion blender and scooped the foam off the top, immediately before serving so it would hold. It's not as thick as a foam you'd see in a Colicchio restaurant, but it tastes the same.
We meant to have this as an appetizer (2 each), with a seared duck breast salad as an entree, but we were too full to make the duck. Full disclosure: we also had a pre-appetizer of cheese.
I halved the recipe for the apple preserves (already halved below), but you could probably also 1/2 the pecan and foam recipes as well. We have leftover pecans which is actually not a bad thing, but did throw out a lot of foam.

Read more »

Thanksgiving Part III: Harvest Focaccia

This focaccia is a bit more time consuming than other focaccia recipes I've made but oh lordy is it worth it!! The grapes and turbinado sugar ("sugar in the raw" as you may know it) sweeten the salty bread just enough but not too much as to make it a dessert bread. I intended to serve it alongside the meal but we ended up eating a bunch as soon as it came out of the oven; it smelled too good!

Read more »

Awesome Peanut Sauce for Satay

I found this recipe for chicken satays with peanut dipping sauce a while ago and haven't looked back since. Once you make this, you'll never make another peanut sauce again! With a food processor and a reasonably short shopping list, this sauce is a cinch to make and lasts a while in the fridge. Serve with grilled chicken (or any other meat, or tofu - can you grill tofu??) skewers or veggies. When I use chicken, I marinate it first in a simple Asian marinade (either a homemade mix or Makoto Ginger Dressing).

One ingredient this calls for is a shallot, which I use all the time as a more mild onion. Shallots are great for dressings, marinades, and sauces and don't need to be cooked to have a great, mild flavor. Today's shallot is brought to you by Frieda's - it came along with the Meyer lemons and red pearl onions.

this is a shallot, my friends

Read more »

Spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pie)

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all had as great a holiday as I did. I know I promised my next post would be on preserving lemons, but you'll have to be patient. They are still sitting in the fridge a'preservin' and I didn't feel like taking them out for photos just yet. So instead I'm posting a recipe for an amazing appetizer I used to buy frozen all the time (...and eat the entire tray myself, but who's counting). I decided a while back that I wanted to try my hand at making spanakopita myself. This particular recipe has three different kinds of onions, but don't fear because the end product is definitely not overwhelming in the onion department. However, the flavors meld deliciously with the spinach and feta cheese. Serve that up in a flaky, crusty phyllo dough and your guests are sure to swoon! I won't lie, working with phyllo dough is time-consuming and can be frustrating at times when the dough breaks apart, but it's totally worth it for special occasions.

Read more »

Goat Cheese, Fig, and Prosciutto Tarts

ok so those greens don't look very appetizing - next time will add after baking!

There is stiff competition between my love for crostinis and my love for puff pastry appetizers. There is just so much that can be done with both options! Come to think of it, the majority of things you put on/in a puff pastry can probably go right on crostini toast too. I just blew my own mind.

I reject the notion that tailgating has to equate burgers, hot dogs, and chili. Maybe I'm just getting old, but lately I love bringing some more fancy options to supplement the staples. When the opportunity arose to tailgate at Maryland's homecoming last month, I went full force on the appetizer/snack train. These tarts were one of my culinary contributions. Modified from a galette recipe to make them more finger-food friendly, they are sure to please a crowd for any fall event. Leave off the prosciutto for a vegetarian dish, if you must.

Read more »

Garam Masala Lamb Dumplings

I love dumplings - pretty much any combination of meat in a dough pocket is delicious to me and thankfully almost every culture has their own version! This particular recipe reinvents the Chinese-style dumpling by using lamb and Indian spices. The first time I made it, I made the dough myself but decided to buy the pre-made wonton wrappers for the second go-around and I didn't taste any difference (the only difference was the time saved!). I'll include the dough recipe at the bottom in case you want to go the 100% homemade route.

Read more »

Leek and Bleu Cheese Crostinis

Have I mentioned my love for crostinis? Well, here's another variation on the amazingly versatile and fancy-seeming appetizer. This one's topped with leeks, blue cheese, and bacon crumbles for good measure. Another gem from smitten kitchen (although the bacon was totes my idea - omit if you want vegetarian). I brought it to a fancy ladies' brunch and it was a hit.

Read more »

Crostinis with Rosemary, Roasted Tomatoes, Prosciutto, and Ricotta

I love me some crostinis. What a versatile, easy appetizer that can be thrown together with pretty much any combination of cheese, meat, and vegetables.

For my sister's bachelorette party we started off with a very mature, fancy cocktail hour, not long after which things obviously degraded into the usual bachelorette party shenanigans. But let's not focus on that, shall we? Back to the sober, adult-like part.

We snacked on homemade guacamole, sweet potato chips, a delicious cheese selection, and these crostinis topped with herbed roasted tomatoes, prosciutto, and ricotta cheese. A divine combination!!

Read on for the easy recipe...

Read more »

Beef Empanadas

My sister is getting married in Puerto Rico next month, so my mom and I decided to throw her a Latin-themed bridal shower to get everyone pumped for the big tropical wedding weekend.

We had the entree portion catered by Manna restaurant in Takoma Park, a great authentic Dominican/Puerto Rican take-out joint. I had to test the food prior to hiring them so I went there for lunch once and had the mofongo, a dish that I fell in love with last time I went to Puerto Rico. It was bangin! Fried, mashed plantains served over a salad with all sorts of fixins and crispy pork. Delish. Mofongo isn't great for a catered event since it can get soggy if left out, so instead we got a mixed grill of seasoned beef, chicken, and shrimp along with some fried yuca, fried sweet plantains, rice and lentils, and black beans. Everything came out SO flavorful and the guests raved. If you are in need of authentic Latin catering, or are just driving through Takoma Park, I highly recommend stopping by Manna for a bite. They are so darn friendly too!

Anyway, back to the subject. For appetizers, my mom made tortilla roll-ups, a classic app in my family (perhaps I'll post it in the future), we had chips and a variety of salsas/guacamole, and I made beef empanadas. Smitten Kitchen never fails me!! I made the filling and the dough ahead of time so that the day of, all I had to do was roll out the dough, fill and bake them. Luckily I had my aunt as a helper, because this is time-consuming work, especially when you're trying to decorate a house for a shower at the same time.

You can buy pre-made empanada disks to save time, but if you do have the time to spend, homemade dough is much better. See below for the dough and empanada recipes.

Read more »

Everything Chickpea Crackers

Don't be fooled by the "Chickpea" in the title - these awesome crackers still have a bunch of butter in them so while they're healthier than many, they're still delicious crunchy flaky crackers.

I've made crackers once before and tried to top them with tons of goodies like poppy seeds, sesame seeds, chipotle powder, etc. but after they baked, all the toppings slid right off. This time, I brushed the crackers with an egg wash before sprinkling on the toppings. Worked like magic!

Don't be afraid by having to break out a rolling pin; these are incredibly easy to make.

Read more »

Valentine's Day

Every year, we decide last minute that we want to try to get away on Valentine's Day and make a feeble attempt at finding a good deal on a B&B within a couple hours of the DC Metro area. Needless to say, it usually falls through due to our lack of planning (note: it did work out excellently once, when we spent the weekend in a B&B near Luray, VA). Anyway, we inevitably end up staying in and cooking a delicious fancy meal. To be honest, cooking in is so much less stressful than planning a weekend away and ends up being more romantic!

Clockwise from left: roasted cauliflower, flowers from my honey, crab legs, and filet mignon

On this year's menu were Alaskan king crab legs, grilled filet mignon, and roasted cauliflower with dates. To start, we made a warm almond-crusted manchego cheese appetizer. Decadent, nutty, and unhealthy, it was the perfect way to start a romantic evening. I bought the king crab legs from Cameron's, a seafood market near my office. Don picked out the filets and decided to wrap his with bacon, obviously. The crab legs were steamed in beer, lemon, and garlic then served with melted garlic butter though they really didn't need anything. The filets were rubbed with a simple salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and olive oil mixture then grilled to medium-rare perfection.

For the appetizer recipe and meal pictures, see below.

Read more »

Mozzarella Asparagus Crostinis

I had unexpected company come over one night, so had to make an appetizer from ingredients that were already in the fridge, since planning and shopping wasn't an option. Everyone has mozzarella cheese in some fashion or another, lemons, and bread. Add a vegetable and - voila! - crostinis! I used asparagus but really any tasty vegetable you like can be used (broccoli, spinach, or eggplant are some ideas).

For the simple recipe, see below:

Read more »

Christmas 2010 - Spiced Nuts

I spent this Christmas with my husband's family and I wanted to give each in-law something simple but delicious. I got the idea for homemade spiced nuts from one of my food blogs and decided to go with it. I found adorable glass containers with green lids at World Market, filled them with the nuts, then used baker's string and little cardboard tags to create a no-fuss "wrapping." Easy and elegant!

The chipotle and rosemary spiced nuts combine herby with smoky with sweet in a perfect balance. They are amazing. Ina Garten has done it again!

If you aren't making Christmas gifts anytime soon (and if you are you're weird), these are highly recommended for any party. Serve them warm or cool; they are delicious either way.

Read more »

Tomato and Goat Cheese Tartlets

A couple weekends ago we jet-setted to Amherst, MA for July 4th Part Deux with Don's family, since Part Un was with my fam in the Catskills. We spent all day Saturday on a big river water-skiing, jet-skiing, party barging, and basking in the gorgeous weather. To replenish ourselves from all the playtime, we had plenty of great food cooked by different family members. I love potlucks! I wanted to make something relatively easy that wouldn't steal me away from the merriment for very long, so decided to try out a tart recipe from Ina Garten I bookmarked a while ago that uses the ever-simple frozen puff pastry. Her recipe makes 4 main-course tarts but I thought it would work just as well to cut into appetizer-sized tartlets. To make things easier, I cooked the onions in the morning then assembled everything right when ready to throw in the oven.

Read more »

Game Night App Night!

Last week we hosted a game night at our house, and I took the opportunity to try out a few appetizer recipes rather than making a full meal. I love the variety of a bunch of appetizers and so did our guests! On the menu was Balderdash the game served with a side of cheese & crackers, spinach & artichoke dip, Indian-spiced lamb dumplings, samosas a la Candace, and two phyllo creations: phyllo triangles with basil, zucchini, and pine nuts; and feta and walnut phyllo rolls.

I made the lavash crackers two days early and re-toasted them that day. Before baking them initially, I sprinkled them with a variety of seasonings including cayenne pepper, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, cumin seeds, garam masala and paprika. I made these gorgeous stripes of different seasonings and was so excited about it. However, silly me didn't try hard enough to get all those seasonings to incorporate with the dough. I probably should have really pressed them in well. Instead, 85% of the seasonings fell off almost immediately upon lifting the crackers off the baking sheet. Oh well! I made the spinach artichoke dip that day as well which was actually served as an app to Carrie and John; the leftovers were reheated and served at game night. It's health(ier) and delicious!

The evening before game night, I assembled both phyllo apps and stored them in the fridge covered tightly with saran wrap. I also made the dumpling filling. That way all I had to do the day of was throw the apps in the oven, wrap the dumplings, and steam them. I used gyoza wrappers I bought at Maxim, the Asian market near work, rather than making my own dough. Wrapping all those dumplings was a pain but I had tons extra to freeze!

Rather than transcribe all the recipes, I'll just link right to 'em for ya. See the pics below for the recipe links.

Read more »

Superbowl Snack Stadium

Stadium (note the two kitties lurking in the background)

For the second year in a row, Don created a superbowl stadium made entirely of snack food. This year was a little more evolved than last year's field of store-bought guac surrounded by cheesy poofs. We got the idea from some blog somewhere and scaled it back (these people went ALL out with deli meats, all sorts of sausages, and other items costing tons of $$).

Read more »