an adventure in cooking
The Food Matter’s Project recipe this week is Bruschetta, Rethought chosen by Chef Laura at Home.
And while this probably doesn’t technically fit any Italian’s “definition” of bruschetta, it is exactly what we needed to accompany our Mother’s day dinner of fresh clams in a sausage and white wine butter sauce.
Continue reading “Bubble Room Bruschetta ::: Bruschetta, Rethought”
If these enchiladas were not enough Mexican for you or you’re not ready to leave behind your Cinco de Mayo celebrations until next year, here’s a salsa that is simple and healthy.
Alissa chose this week’s Food Matter’s Project recipe and it is one everyone needs in their recipe arsenal. Head over to her blog BIG EATS tiny kitchen to hear all about the basic ingredients of a salsa. You can really go anywhere you want with the ingredients after you begin with the 5 basic needed for salsa, which is a great way to trigger your creativity in the kitchen if you are learning to cook.
Interrupting your :::Super Bowl Hangover Monday::: with your new favorite butternut squash dish.
When I saw that Sarah chose Chipotle-Glazed Squash Skewers as the first recipe for The Food Matters Project I was really curious to see what’s used to make the “Chipotle-Glaze.”
The glaze is pretty simple, made using a mix of chili peppers in adobo sauce (canned at your grocery store), olive oil, honey, and garlic. These squash skewers are a great dish to bring to a BBQ or potluck and a fantastic main dish if you are eating more vegetables and less meat.
Head over to 20somethingcupcakes for the full recipe.
The glaze is a blend of smoky, spicy, and sweet. I added an extra tablespoon of honey after tasting. I was a little worried because there are not many dishes I make that call for so much olive oil for, but a lot if it drips off while you roast the skewers. The recipe calls for the glaze to be muddled, but somehow I am without a muddler (makes no sense with my love of mojitos!). I used the chop option on a food processor for a few seconds.
{TIP: I had a hard time getting the bamboo skewers in the squash without breaking them, I think I soaked the skewers in water too long. So instead I used metal skewers. They were long enough to sit on the sides of my baking sheet which was perfect for roasting the squash cubes. The skewers suspended in the air above the baking sheet, which made it easy to turn them once in a while.}
Next time I make these I will add some pineapple and green bell pepper to the skewers for color & variety in flavor. Since I’m not used to eating only vegetables for a meal (especially not just 1 type of vegetable), adding something else to the skewers would make it more interesting and I think the flavors would go really well together.
You can also head here to see how the other members of The Food Matters Project fared.
::: Chipotle-Glazed Squash Skewers Recipe :::
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WHAT. A . LONG. WEEK.
It’s been exciting getting back to work and diving into the new year, but I do miss waking up and only thinking about Bikram yoga on the agenda for those few days.
One more day this week though! Let’s do it.
You know what would make this grueling week-after-an-amazing-break better? If you made these egg rolls. They make me happy. And they made my New Year’s Eve party guests very happy.
::: partaaay egg rolls ::
Whenever I see southwestern egg rolls on a menu I want them, but I am always turned off by the grease from frying. Why not bake them?
Southwestern Egg Rolls. In all their glorious, spicy, flavorful, hot, gooey, and crunchy goodness. They were really a fabulous idea, until I forgot the egg roll wrappers when I was at the grocery store.
#$%$!!!!
We dealt with it and used multiple won ton wrappers instead. That was not easy. Peter got stuck wrapping them because I didn’t have the patience.
So for the New Years Eve party I decided to make them FOR REAL. {seen above}
And it was worth it.
::: the annoying little mini me’s made w/ tiny wont ton wrappers :::
Preheat the oven to 400° F.
In a pan heat olive oil on medium heat. Cook chicken seasoned with paprika, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, salt and pepper for 8 minutes or until fully cooked. Should be quick since we diced it small. When cooked, set aside to cool.
While the chicken is cooking combine corn, black beans, green chilis, scallions, and lime juice in a mixing bowl. Once chicken is room temperature add chicken and cheese to the bowl and mix.
To roll the egg rolls, place wrapper facing you like a diamond. Put about 3-4 tablespoons of mixture in the wrapper. Fold up bottom side. Fold in both left and right side and use the egg wash to glue sides to the bottom flap. Pull top side over and seal tightly using egg wash. Make sure there are no holes, seal everything well. Place on a greased baking sheet. Spray tops of egg rolls with olive oil cooking spray.
Bake for 10 minutes, flip them completely over, then bake for ten more. They should brown on all sides and crisp.
Avocado dipping sauce: combine all ingredients in a food processor and grind until smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.
Spicy dipping sauce: Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Salt and pepper to taste.
::: keelymarie :::
These are great cocktail meatballs! I was on the hunt for a fantastic cocktail meatball for our News Year’s party. Criteria: one bite so you can stick with a toothpick, sweet & savory, with some sort of glaze.
Emeril came through when I found his recipe on FoodNetwork.com. To be honest, it was one of the few recipes I found quickly that sounded really appetizing. I did though, just find out that my Kitchen Aid mixer has a recipe in its recipe booklet that is similar, but calls for a cup of strong coffee in the sauce.
I tripled the below recipe since this was for a big group (yes I had 60+ meatballs) and used 1/3 ground pork for flavor. In terms of seasonings, everything from your cabinet is pretty much in here, but it’s because he wants you to use his “Emeril’s Essence.” Rather than have you make this essence (to set aside and only use 1/2 teaspoon of), I’ve just added a bit of each in my recipe. I also baked the meatballs and then put them in the crock pot with the sauce for a few hours instead of frying with oil and butter as he would.
{Adapted from Emeril Lagasse’s Cocktail Meatballs}
Preheat the oven to 375 ° F.
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the meatballs, except the non-stick spray…obviously. ; )
Mix well with your hands. Form into individual meatballs, about 1-inch in diameter. Spray a baking sheet covered in tinfoil with olive oil spray and place meatballs on the sheet. Spray the meatballs with some olive oil so they crisp up just a little (without drying out) while in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Put on low broil at the end if needed. {The meatballs should brown on the tops so they stay together in the crock pot.} You may have some grease to drain from the pan once they finish cooking in the oven.
Make the sauce by combining all the ingredients in a medium bowl, whisking to dissolve the sugar and combine. Adjust the seasoning, to taste. While the meatballs are baking, heat the sauce on medium-low heat in a sauce pan on the stove for at least 10 minutes. Pour the sauce over the meatballs in a crock pot on low and let cook for 2-3 hours, stirring carefully occasionally.
* Time saving method: If you don’t have time for the crock pot, pour the sauce over the meatballs on the baking sheet after the first 20 minutes. Bake for 15 more minutes until they have a nice glaze from the sauce.
Do you have a great family cocktail meatball recipe?
This is the first I’ve tried!
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