Stuffed hot peppers with roasted red pepper and tomato sauce
Jul 29, 2010 Appetizers, Pastas and Sauces
Reader beware: consuming hot peppers with this delicious filling and sauce creates the powerful and hard to resist “addicting-spicy”. This is when something is spicy but delicious at the same time, and you are physically unable to stop eating the spicy food. Your hands simply will not stop grabbing the fork and lifting it to your mouth. The disease has not yet known to be fatal, but is sure to last until the last bite has been consumed.
Consider yourselves warned.
Peach week is over, although the peaches are not all gone. I froze some and plan to use them for something fun soon. After all the cool peach desserts, I decided it was time for something hot.
Tags: baked peppers, bobby flay stuffed peppers, stuffed jalapenos, stuffed peppers
Peach Week Kickoff with Peaches in Wine
Jul 20, 2010 Appetizers, Desserts, Drinks, Peaches, Snacks
I hereby call this week… (drumroll please…)
Peach Week.
The reason?
I have a ton of peaches.
I know I’m starting this sort of in the middle of the week so it’s not really Peach Week, more like Peach mid-week or Peach Weekend, but nevertheless, we are going to talk peaches for a few posts. Since I’m drowning in peaches over here I feel like it’s all I can think about, therefore it’s all I am going to write about for a few days.
I hope that’s ok with you.
Tags: bellaire peach, peach dessert, peaches and wine, peaches in wine, peeling a peach, peeling peaches, Porter peach, Red Haven Peach, wine poached peach
Homemade Edible Fruit Arrangement
Jul 11, 2010 Appetizers, Healthy, Tips and Tricks
It all started with a dream…and a very tight budget.
The dream of the perfect wedding shower for my friend Melissa that included an edible fruit arrangement.
Here is Erin who hosted the shower, with Melissa (the bride) admiring the napkins that Erin picked out. Melissa loves the small details.
The edible bouquet was going to be fun. We had the rest of the menu planned out but we wanted a way to display the fruit that was cute and different. Special touches like that are what make showers special, right?
So, we looked online and quickly found that fruit bouquets are expensive. A tiny one was over $60, and we didn’t want to focus on that as something we spent a lot of our money on. But Erin kept looking at the picture of the arrangement on the screen longingly, and after a while she said, “I think we could make that.”
I had my doubts, but I was willing. The day of the shower I showed up to Erin’s apartment with all of the fruit that the arrangement in the picture contained, and Erin was ready with a melon baller, skewers, a bucket, a cookie cutter, and a foam block. We used one of the green foam blocks you would used in a flower arrangement that crumble green flakes when you rub them. That worked perfect.
And we started cutting fruit. The melon baller was giving me LOTS of trouble, but we were able to form the balls well enough for them to look like spheres and stick them on the arrangement. The pineapple was cut with a flower shaped cookie cutter. The grapes and strawberries were just washed and used as is. That part was easy.
We laid a bunch of kale on top of the foam block to hide it, and then Erin stuck all of the skewers into the block. It may have been easier to stick them in as she went, because she did stab herself several times putting the fruit on the skewers with forest of sharp skewers around. It worked out though.
After a while, it started to look pretty much like the picture.
And it looked great with the rest of our spread.
If you want to try making one of these, basically all you need is a LOT of grapes (they go on almost every stick), some pineapple, honeydew, and strawberries. You’re welcome to copy off of our picture! If you come up with a different but cute arrangement send me the photos. I would love to see them!
Tags: edible arrangement, edible flower arrangement, fruit arrangement, home made edible arrangement, home made fruit arrangement
Perfect Guacamole
May 3, 2010 Appetizers, Dips and Spreads, Mexican
I love people who love guacamole. Sometimes when I hear an acquaintance say that they like guacamole I secretly think about being their best friend. I can envision cutting up tomatoes and garlic with them and laughing because we are so excited about what is about to go into our mouths. It’s weird, but I’m not lying. That actually happens.
There used to be only one way I would make guacamole and I didn’t really know any other way. I would mix up avocado, tomatoes, cilantro, jalapenos, and red onion and splash a little hot sauce in. It was fine back when that was the way, but my friends, I have a new way. Someone I don’t know (but I want to become best friends with more than anyone else) taught me how to make the perfect guacamole for any mood. YES- Rick Bayless taught me how to make guacamole in 3 ways. Simple, Herby, or Luxurious.
Since it’s almost Cinco de Mayo, I thought this would be the perfect time to post these recipes. I have to tell you, if you like Mexican food Rick Bayless’s book Mexican Everyday is by far the best Mexican cookbook I’ve ever read. I’ve tried several things from it and every single recipe is awesome. A while back I made his tortilla soup and shared it with all of you. It’s amazing.
This guacamole is amazing too. Here is a picture of the salsa spread we had a a party, and I want to point out that the guacamole is going fast.
So, thanks to Rick Bayless here is a guacamole recipe that can be changed to fit any mood. I personally love it Luxurious.
Guacamole Three Ways: Simple, Herby, or Luxurious
Ingredients:
- 2 medium ripe avocados
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped or crushed through a garlic press
- salt
To make it herby, add:
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- about 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
To make it luxurious, also add:
- Fresh hot green chile to taste (Use 1 serrano or 1/2 to 1 jalepeno) finely chopped
- 1/4 small white onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 medium tomato, chopped into 1/4-inch dice
Directions:
Cut the avocados in half, running your knife around the pit from stem to blossom end and back up again. Twist the halves in opposite directions to free the pit, and pull the halves apart. Dislodge the pit, then scoop the avocado flesh into a medium bowl.
Mash the avocado with a large fork or potato masher. Sir in the garlic and about 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus any other sets of ingredients you’ve chosen. If your list includes white onion, rinse it first under cold water, then shake well to rid it of excess moisture before adding to the avocado. (This reduces the risk of having the onion flavor overwhelm the guacamole.) Taste and season with additional salt if appropriate. If not using immediately, cover with plastic wrap pressed directly on the surface of the guacamole and refrigerate- preferably for no more than a few hours.
Tags: guacamole, mexican appetizer, Rick Bayless
Savory Yogurt Cheesecake with Caramelized Onions
Aug 17, 2009 Appetizers, Dips and Spreads, Yummy
About a year ago I bought the Cooking Light Complete Cookbook. It’s funny that they call it the “Complete Cookbook”, because I know the magazine still exists. I’m sure after a while they will come out with another edition (if they haven’t already), and this will be out of date. It does have some great recipes in it. The problem is, they want me to use ingredients that are fat-free or reduced fat, and that is the only thing that really makes them “light”. Most of the time what will happen is I’ll start to make a recipe and realize that I already have a lot of the ingredients in their more fattening form, so I use those ingredients instead of what they want me to use…so they probably aren’t that light anymore. It’s alright though, because they are good, and if I ever want to make a low-fat pasta or cookie I have the recipe to do it. I just more often than not don’t.
Tags: appetizer, Caramelized onions, Cooking Light
