appetizers

appetizers / main courses — 2 Comments
7
Oct 09

Thai Chicken Tenders

I started off calling this post “Skewerless Chicken Satay,” but it felt oddly deceptive. Because for me, Chicken Satay translates roughly as “Peanut Sauce on a Stick,” and there’s no peanut sauce (and no stick) in sight. Not to say that you can’t serve these chicken tenders with peanut sauce. Because that would be mighty delicious, but I didn’t do it here.

Instead, I looked for a way to make a classic Thai appetizer into a convenient weeknight dinner. I love the light flavor of chicken satay. It’s subtle but distinctly Thai. And that yellow color. And those delicious brown grill marks. They make me weak.

So it’s really no surprise that I loved this dinner, and even more because it was so simple to throw together. Without the tedious skewering of chicken satay, I spent less than 10 minutes on prep work. And in the time it took the chicken to marinade, I was able to make the rest of the meal.

Recipe after the jump…

appetizers — 3 Comments
21
Sep 09

Roasted Beet, Orange and Goat Cheese Napoleon

This appetizer takes very little work, but despite it’s simplicity it oozes with class and elegance. It would be ideal for a dinner party because it can be put together ahead of time. But it’s also an easy way to add a bit of unexpected restaurant flare to a weeknight dinner. If you don’t have the energy to layer everything, I’m guessing that it would be equally delicious mixed together and served as a salad.


This dish was an experiment, and I was a bit hesitant to taste the results, even though they looked particularly beautiful. But roasted beets are highly underrated, and the pairing of their sweet earthy flavor with creamy goat cheese and bright, fresh orange is remarkable.


Recipe after the jump…

appetizers / main courses — 5 Comments
10
Aug 09

Mini Buffalo Pizzas & Blue Cheese Dressing

I often find myself craving buffalo chicken for no apparent reason. In the heat, it’s the cool and creamy blue cheese dressing that appeals to me, and in the cold, the hot sauce beckons me unrelentingly. Today was one of those days when it was all about the blue cheese dressing. Standing in the grocery store with no idea what to make for dinner, I discovered myself next to the blue cheese when suddenly the craving struck. I wasn’t in the mood to fry up a batch of wings, but the thought of pizza with buffalo chicken, doused in blue cheese dressing had my mouth watering.

I’m sure that pizza dough is quite easy to make, but it’s certainly easier and faster to buy. Store-bought pizza dough is surprisingly good, and because I’d resolved to make my own blue cheese dressing from scratch, I wanted a plain, simple backdrop for the other flavors in my hand–nothing too bold or outrageous.

There are several tricks to make something ordinary into something slightly fancier, but the easiest by far is taking something usually served in a large batch and shrinking it down. This, in addition to the fact that I didn’t feel like making a whole big pizza, inspired me to miniaturize, and my experimentation worked out nicely. The whole thing took about 15 minutes to put together and 12 minutes to bake. That’s less time than it takes to get delivery, and it’s so, so much tastier.

Recipe after the jump…

appetizers / snacks — No Comments
7
Aug 09

Tzatziki Bites

This summer’s weather has kept me mostly indoors. First, it was cold and rainy (for an entire month straight, Don’t get me started.) and I stayed inside to keep warm and dry. Since then, it’s been oppressively hot and humid, and I’ve spent most of my time inside trying to keep cool. Mind you, my cooking has kept the kitchen extra hot, but I sit under the ceiling fan and suck it up, because quite frankly, it’s no better outside.


But every once in a while, we get a perfect warm, but not hot, dry sunny day that tempts me outside with a promise of perfect relaxation. And on those days, heating up the kitchen with a hot stove is the last thing I want to do. In fact, spending time indoors at all seems like blasphemy.


Today was one of those days, and blog posting be damned, I was not going to waste my afternoon chopping, mincing, roasting and sautéing. Instead, I made the easiest, most refreshing snack I could think of off the top of my head, and threw it together in 5 minutes. Tzatziki, that delicious cucumber-yogurt-garlic dip from Greece, sounded perfect, but I wasn’t in the mood for what would inevitably turn into an endless supply of chips and dip. By deconstructing tzatziki, I cut down on chopping and ended up with something that was beautifully suited for a perfect summer day.

Recipe after the jump…

appetizers / main courses — No Comments
29
Jul 09

Zucchini and Carrot Fritters

I learned my lesson this time: don’t make things that require standing over the stove on a hot, humid summer day. That said, the final product of my sweat and tears was both simple and delicious, and would be a great meal to make on a cooler day in the summer, when zucchini is pouring in like a flood. After all, there’s only so many times you can stick zucchini on the grill, mix it in with pasta, or add it to a salad. Sometimes, you just need a little crunch.


Carrots are almost the opposite. Ever-present, carrots are ubiquitous yet frequently ignored except as a trusty constant in salads and a crisp, healthy vehicle for dip. While people attempt to find different uses for zucchini (even baking it into cakes to add moisture), the carrot is mostly ignored.

Make the carrot fritters first, because they’ll retain their crunch better than the zucchini will. While they’re cooking, you can keep the finished fritters on a plate in an oven set to warm to keep everything hot.


Recipe after the jump…

appetizers / snacks — 11 Comments
22
Jul 09

Honey Feta Spread

I’ve always loved feta cheese. It’s creamy, but not overly rich. Salty, but with a background tanginess that balances things out a bit. It seems that feta is primarily known for its presence in greek salads, but it’s just begging to be used in different ways.

When feta is cooked, it doesn’t become ooey-gooey like mozzarella or fontina. Instead, it retains its shape, becoming soft and spreadable but with a hint of its signature crumbliness. Honey brings out the creaminess in feta, downplaying the saltiness just a bit.

This is one of those dishes that keeps you in limbo for a little while before you finally give in to liking it. No doubt it’s a weird combination of flavors, and at first it’s confusing. But then you’re intrigued enough to take another bite, and you realize it’s interesting. Another, and you just might like it. Another, and you’re on your way down that dangerous path towards eating the whole thing. Fortunately, with only 3 ingredients, it’s really easy to make in small batches (actually, it’s really easy to make, period).

Made in a larger batch, this would also make a great dish for a party.

Recipe after the jump…

appetizers / snacks — 5 Comments
20
Jul 09

Bruschetta with Roasted Peppers and Almonds

It’s unfortunate that bruschetta has become synonymous with tomato, garlic, mozzarella and basil on toasted bread. I can’t deny that in peak tomato season, the classic American version can be an immensely satisfying snack on a hot day. But on occasion, the classic combination could do with some mixing up.

Enter red peppers. I love roasting them, because they become the perfect blend of soft and crisp. It’s so easy to do, yet it seems undeniably fancy. Usually, you roast the peppers whole, then put them in a paper bag or covered bowl to steam. Then, you take the skins off the peppers, cut them open and take out the seeds. It’s an easy, but sometimes unpleasant process when you open the peppers and near boiling steam trapped in the center gushes out onto your hands. So today, I did it differently.

I decided to go the easy, lazy route here, and I couldn’t be more thrilled with the results. I cut the peppers in half and took out the seeds while they were raw, and kept the skins on after roasting to keep all that tasty charred flavor and color.

Almonds add a bit of crunch crunch to the mix, and goat cheese adds some salty deliciousness to balance it out. All in all, it’s a perfect summer treat.

Recipe after the jump…