Edamame Pate

Edamame Pate

1 ¼ cups shelled edamame

·     ½ cup walnuts, toasted

      2 tablespoons of sesame oil

·     1/3 cup mint leaves

·     1 green onion, chopped

·     1 tablespoon tamari

·     3 tablespoon lemon juice

       toasted black and white sesame seeds, garnish

1. Purée edamame, walnuts, sesame oil, mint, green onion, and tamari in a food processor until finely chopped. 

2. With motor running, add lemon juice. 

3. Process until smooth.

Roasted Red Pepper Almond and Garlic Dip Romesco

Roasted Red Pepper Almond and Garlic Dip

½ cup almonds, whole, toasted
1 red pepper, roasted 
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
3 large garlic cloves, roasted

1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon of thyme

1 teaspoon oregano

2 tablespoons olive oil

1.  Fine chop almonds in processor.

2.  Add the rest of the ingredients, except the olive oil; process to coarse puree.

3.  With machine running, pour olive oil through feed tube and process until puree thickens slightly.

4.  Season dip to taste with salt and pepper. 
5. Serve in a small bowl with veggies, bread, crackers, etc. 

Spicy Sweet Curry Hummus

Spicy Sweet Curry Hummus

3

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 cups cooked chickpeas

1 cooked medium sweet potato

¼ cup olive oil

Juice of one lime

1 ½ teaspoons curry powder

1 tablespoon of fresh ginger or candied ginger

½ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons vegetable broth

1. Add garlic and salt to food processor.

2. Pulse to chop the garlic into very small pieces.

3. Add the chickpeas, sweet potato, olive oil, and lime juice.

4. Process for 30 seconds, then add curry powder, ginger, and broth.

5. Process for 1 ½ minutes.

6. Taste and adjust salt if needed.

7. If you would like the hummus a bit thinner, you can add 1 or 2 additional tablespoons of broth.

Pea Pesto Crostini

Pea Pesto Crostini

3

2 cups of fresh peas

1 garlic clove

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

2/3 cup olive oil

8 (1/2-inch-thick) slices baguette or ciabatta bread, preferably day-old

8 cherry tomatoes, halved

1. Pulse together in a food processor the peas, garlic, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.

2. With the machine running, slowly add 1/3 cup of the olive oil and continue to mix until well combined, 1 to 2 minutes. 

3. Season with more salt and pepper, if needed.

4. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.

5. Preheat a stovetop griddle or grill pan over medium-high.

6. Brush both sides of each of the bread slices with the remaining 1/3 cup olive oil and grill until golden, 1 to 2 minutes.

7. Transfer the bread to a platter and spread 1 to 2 tablespoons pesto on each slice.

8. Top each crostini with 2 tomato halves and serve.

Creamy Beet Dip

Creamy Beet Dip 

4

1 1/2 pounds beets, halved

Parchment paper

3/4 cup light sour cream

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon of fresh dill

Pinch ground cardamom

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 small clove garlic

Whole-wheat pita wedges and/or fresh cut veggies (optional)

Dill sprigs for garnish

4

1. Heat oven to 425°F.

2. Roast beets on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, turning once halfway through, until soft, 45 to 60 minutes.

3. Remove from oven and let cool.

4. Peel beets under running water.

5. In a food processor, combine beets, sour cream, 2 teaspoons juice, dill, cardamom, salt, and garlic; blend until smooth.

6. Transfer to a bowl and garnish with zest and dill to taste.

7. Serve with pita, if desired.

Fruit Spring Rolls

Fruit Spring Rolls

8 strawberries, thinly sliced

1 kiwis, thinly sliced

1 banana, thinly sliced

1 mango, cut into matchsticks

1 apple, cut into matchsticks

¼ lemon

1 cup baby spinach

6 rice paper wraps

6 sprigs of mint

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

¼ cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Pinch of sea salt

¼ cup heavy cream

¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Drizzle some lemon juice over the apples to prevent from browning.

2. In a large pot, add warm water and soak the rice paper wraps for about 20-30 seconds, turning it as you’re turning the steering wheel.

3. The wrap should be pliable, but still slightly firm, as it will soften while you put the filling.

4. Put the rice paper wrap smooth side down and arrange the fruits on one-half of the wrap and place a sprig of mint.

5. Fold in the nearest end over the filling, fold in 2 sides of the wrap, and then tightly, but carefully roll it.

6. To prepare the caramel sauce for dipping, place the butter and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat.

7. Melt the butter and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

8. Add heavy cream and cook for about 5 minutes, whisking frequently.

9. Add vanilla extract and salt.

10. To make the chocolate sauce for dipping, heat the heavy cream in the microwave for 30 seconds or so.

11. Pour it over chocolate chips and let it stand for a minute.

12. Stir until smooth.

Caramelized Onion Mushroom Apple and Gruyere Bites

Caramelized Onion Mushroom Apple and Gruyere Bites

10

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion, thinly sliced

4 oz. portabella mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 1/2 granny smith apples, cubed into 1/2" cubes

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1 1/2 oz. grated gruyere cheese

2 tablespoon chives, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 package (1 pound) of frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 egg, beaten

10

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. 

2. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Set side.

3. In a large skillet, heat the oil and cook the onions (with 1 teaspoon of salt) until golden brown, about 30 minutes. 

4. Remove and set aside in a large bowl. 

5. In the same skillet, sauté mushrooms until tender, about 5 minutes. 

6. Remove and set aside in the bowl with the onions.

7. In the same skillet, melt the butter and add in the apples with the sugar. 

8. Cook until softened, about 10 minutes. 

9. Remove from pan and add to the large bowl with onions and mushrooms.

10. Add the cheese, chives, and thyme to the bowl and stir to combine the mixture well. 

11. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

12. With a pizza cutter, cut the puff pastry into 2-inch squares and place them on the lined baking sheets. 

13. Using a pastry brush, brush beaten egg on the squares.

14. Using a tablespoon, place filling in the middle of each puff pastry.

15. Bake for 25 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through and switching the baking sheet on the top rack to the bottom and the bottom to the top until the pastry is golden brown and crisp.

16. Let the tarts cool a bit before serving.

Fig and Blue Cheese Savories

Fig and Blue Cheese Savories

Here is an easy recipe using nicer ingredients.  Pretty darn tasty too.  

1 cup flour

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

1/2 teaspoon oregano

dash of cinnamon

Freshly ground black pepper

About 3 tablespoons fig preserves

1. Heat the oven to 350°F.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. Place the flour, butter, blue cheese, oregano, cinnamon, and a few grinds of black pepper in the bowl of a food processor and process until the dough just comes together and starts to form a ball.

4. Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times to pull it together.

5. Then roll out to a 1/8-inch-thick circle with a floured rolling pin.

6. Cut rounds out of the dough with a floured 1-inch round cutter and transfer to the parchment-lined baking sheet.

7. Reroll the scraps (no more than once) and cut more rounds.

8. Using the back of a rounded ½ teaspoon measure or your knuckle, make an indentation in the center of each dough round.

9. Spoon about ¼ teaspoon of the fig preserves into each indentation, using your finger to push the preserves as best as possible into the indentation.

10. Bake the savories until the preserves are bubbling and the pastry is lightly golden on the bottom, 10 to 12 minutes.

11. Let cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Roasted Carrot Rosemary Hummus

Roasted Carrot Rosemary Hummus

3

8 medium carrots, scrubbed

2 heads garlic

1 large yellow onion

3 1/4 cups of cooked cannellini beans 

1/3 cup olive oil, plus extra for oil roasting 

1 1/2 tablespoon fresh rosemary

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

dash of cayenne

dash of smoked paprika 

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. Cut garlic heads in half, drizzle with oil and wrap in foil.

3. Chop carrots into 1″ pieces and quarter the onion, then lightly coat with oil.

4. Roast everything on a sheet pan for 45-50 minutes until carrots and onions are tender and browned and the garlic cloves are soft and can be easily squeezed out.

5. In a food processor, puree roasted veggies with the beans, slowly pouring in the oil to reach desired consistency.

6. It may take about 5-10 minutes to get a smooth hummus.

7. Add rosemary, salt, pepper, cayenne, and smoked paprika.

8. Give the mixture another whirl for a minute or so.

Baked Brie Bites

Baked Brie Bites

3

2 sheets all-butter puff pastry, thawed but still cold

1 large egg, beaten

2 tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

4-ounce piece of cold Wisconsin Brie Cheese cut into 12 slivers

24 - 36 slivers of toasted almonds

1/3 cup cherry jam or other jam of your choice

Coarse ground sea salt

3

1. Open puff pastry sheets and cut into thirds along fold creases.

2. Cut each panel into four pieces.

3. One sheet of puff pastry will yield 12 rectangles.

4. Combine egg, cinnamon, and milk.

5. Brush 12 pastry rectangles with egg wash.

6. Place a small sliver of Brie (rind and all) on top of egg wash on 1 half of pastry rectangle.

7. Top with 1/2 teaspoon cherry jam and 2-3 almond slivers. 

8. Stretch and fold the puff pastry over the cheese, almond, and jam half.

9. Use fork to press edges together, sealing well.

10. Repeat with remaining rectangles.

11. Pierce top of bites lightly with a fork.

12. Place rack in center of cold oven; preheat oven to 375°F.

13. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and place bites on sheets.

14. Brush tops with egg wash.

15. Sprinkle with a bit of sea salt.

16. Bake 12-14 minutes or until golden brown.

17. Remove from oven and cool slightly before serving. 

18. Best when served warm.