Summer Bruschetta!

 Hey Everybody! Today I’m going to be showing you how I make a delicious bruschetta. I created this dish about three years ago and it has been a staple at every family party since. It’s especially great in the summer when all of the vegetables used are in season. However, it works well all year too! The awesome thing about this is that you can either serve it as a hors d'oeuvre type thing, with a grilled chicken breast, or even some type of dinner as a side dish. So, lets get started!

First, you want to thinly slice a loaf of French bread. I chose this type of bread because it has a specific type of crust, which allows it to toast very nicely.  It works especially well if you buy the loaf of bread the day before, that way it is a little bit stale, which makes cutting it much easier for you. However, it works just fine if you buy it the day of too.

After you’ve sliced all of the bread, arrange them on a cookie sheet, as shown above, and brush them with a little bit of oil: this will help them become crispier. After you have lightly coated all of the slices in oil, put them in the oven at 350 degrees until they feel crispy to the touch.

While your bread is in the oven, thinly slice some zucchini (as shown above.) I find that for one loaf of French bread, two zucchinis seem to be enough. Toss them in a pan with a little bit of butter or oil, whichever you like, and sauté until they are cooked. You can tell when they are cooked because they will become slightly translucent and flimsy.

Do the same thing with summer squash. I find, again, that two of them is just enough for one loaf of bread.  

 Then, while your bread is toasting and your squashes are sautéing, thinly slice up some Roma tomatoes. I usually use about four to six, depending on the size.

 

Next, chop up some basil. I used about 6 large leaves and finely chop them. Don’t forget to keep an eye on your bread and squash at this point. Keep occasionally stirring your sautéing vegetables, and check on the bread every once in a while too. 

Once your bread has toasted and your vegetables are all cooked thoroughly, it is time to assemble. First, you want to take a slice of toasted bread, and lay a slice of your tomato on top. Then, a slice of summer squash, and on top of that, a slice of zucchini. Then, garnish the top of the bruschetta by sprinkling a few pieces of the chopped up basil on top.

To finish it off, add a few pieces of shredded mozzarella cheese. Once you have completed assembling all of the pieces, put them back into the oven: just long enough so that the cheese melts and everything heats back up again. This also helps the flavors meld together a little bit more.

 Once they come out of the oven, they should look something like the picture above. I definitely recommend trying this out, as it can be used for many things and is a very aesthetically appealing dish. You are sure to impress people with this one! Enjoy!

Until Next Time, 

Kristen

Jalapeno poppers!

Hey everybody! Just a quick post for today. However, nonetheless delicious. Jalapeno poppers have become a staple hors d'oeuvre in our house whether we are having company over or not. They are very versatile as they work great for everything from tailgating to higher class dinner parties. They truly are pleasing to the palate because first, you get the crunch and sweetness of the grilled bacon, but then gooeyness of the melted cream cheese, and then finally the palate is washed over with a light heat from the jalapeno. However, the heat is not too much because the cream cheese is there to balance it out. I definitely recommend trying it out!

First, you want to start by halving jalapeno peppers. If you see in the picture above, the white, or light green part of the pepper that the seeds are held on by is called the membrane. It is a common misconception that the heat from peppers is all in the seeds. However, although the seeds do contain a minimal amount of capsaicin, the chemical that makes peppers hot, the membrane actually has higher levels of capsaicin than the seeds do. Therefore, you are able to control how much heat you want the pepper to have by regulating how much of the membrane you remove.

Next, scoop out the seeds and membrane of the pepper. I usually take out as much of the membrane as I can, as there are still some traces of capsaicin in the pepper's flesh, in order to avoid overpowering the popper with heat. However, if you can handle and enjoy the heat, go for it. Go big or go home, I suppose!

After you're removed the insides of the pepper, fill it with cream cheese. There are many variations of cream cheese on the market, such as chive, onion, etc. Choose one of those if you'd like. I, however, like to stick with the classics and change up my bacon preference. 

Next, you want to select the bacon that you are going to use. Do not use the kind that comes basically pre-cooked that you just heat up in the microwave. It will cook far too fast on the grill, and you wont get the right texture. I chose to use maple bacon, because, as my brother says, "Even vegetarians like maple bacon." 

After you've chosen what type of bacon you want to use, wrap your cream cheese stuffed jalapeno in it and secure it with a toothpick like shown above.

Next, just toss them on the grill and turn them over once until the bacon is cooked. It should look something like the above. Definitely try this recipe out and let me know how you like it!

Until next time, 

K

Fish Tacos!

ayooooooo! Im back, and with a fabulous summer recipe; not that it couldn't work all year long too :) Today we're going to be making fish tacos with a mango relish, and a chile verde sauce. I know it sounds like a lot, but take a deep breath because really, its not as hard as it sounds at all. It will however, take about an hour to get it all done since there is a lot of cutting and you'll have to roast the peppers before making the sauce. However, if you prepare everything the night before, and just cook the fish the day you want to have the dish, this could potentially be a great meal to have after a day at work. Okay, enough talking, lets get going!

First, you want to wash your peppers, I chose anaheim peppers, which is a member of the chile verde family. I charred them in the oven at, I believe, 350 until they turn black on the outside. Then, you want to toss them all into a paper bag for a minute or so in order to steam them. This will all make the process of removing their skin easier. It will also soften them which will help make the meat of the pepper softer, so it's easier to make into a sauce.

Once they have been charred, you want to remove the skins, stems, and seeds. They should look something like the above picture once you've done this.

This is going to be the mixing agent that we'll be combining with the peppers. This will be perfect because, although these peppers aren't anything near as hot as some of the other varieties out there, they still have some heat to them. This will help balance it out giving you the flavor of the pepper, without overpowering the palate with heat to the point where you don't get the awesome flavor of the pepper.

Blend the peppers up at fine as possible, then add a dollop or two of sour cream as you go. You don't want it to be too creamy so make sure you add it in small amounts as you go. Then, I added some fresh scallions, parsley, and cilantro in order to make the flavors a little bit more complex. This will also help the after taste be more than just heat, but rather flavor with some heat.

Once you're done it should look something like the above picture.

Now, time for the relish! Your knife skills will be impeccable by the time you're done with this dish. First, dice up a red onion. Remember to use the trick I taught you in the pizza entry's onion video in order to save time. See, its all full circle now ;)

Next, chop up some mango. What do you know, theres also a video for how to cut a mango on the pizza entry. I couldn't have planned for it to work out this well :)

Then, chop up 2 avocados. A tip for avocados, in order to prevent them from oxidizing, or turning brown, if you're only going to use half of it. In order to preserve the remaining half, keep the pit in there and drizzle it with a little bit of lemon or lime juice. The pit physically prevents it from oxidizing, while the acidic juices freeze the actual enzymes that oxidize.

Next, dice up some red bell pepper.

Now, you guessed it, chop up some tomato.

Next, add the juice of one lime to the bowl. 

Add some fresh chopped parsley, too. I also added a can of black beans figuring it would add to the southwestern type flare we have going on here. I have never added them before but it was nice to have a textural change in there, as well as to add some protein.

I also peeled a lime and took out some of the pulp and added it to the bowl. A quick tip; if you can see on the right hand side of the lime, there is a thin white, almost paper looking thing that separates the slices. That is the membrane of the lime and it has two layers. If you cut so that the membrane is attached to the piece of lime, the amount of juice you'll get out if that slice is going to be decreased immensely. Therefore, cut around it.

It should look something like this once its all been stirred together.

Also shred some cabbage up. This takes the place of lettuce in a typical mexican taco.

Now, onto the fish. I chose to use tilapia because it is a firm white fish, which comes in handy when you're cooking for this dish. Although you will be cutting it into chunks after its cooked, its just easier to be in control of the size rather than having it fall apart on you and become shredded. You can find tilapia at any basic fish market, as well as the fish counter at your local grocery store. Season the filets with salt and pepper on both sides.

I decided to grill mine, but put a piece of aluminum foil on the grates of the grill in order to avoid direct heat to the filets. Flip over half way through the cooking process. You'll know that they're done when you can stick a fork in the filet and it flakes.

Then, just cut the filets into chunks. 

Now, assemble the taco and you are finished! Layer it fish, then relish, a little bit of shredded cabbage, and some chile sauce. You can also add a little bit of shredded cheese, which adds a nice touch. Definitely try this recipe and let me know how you like it in the comments below!

Until next time, 

K

Stuffed Artichokes!

Hello lovelies! SO, before my dad's grandmother, Nonny as we called her, passed away, she used to make amazing stuffed artichokes. However, she never gave anybody her recipe, so I tried last summer, I believe, to make some, then just kind of forgot about it. Then, this year when I was taking one of my many strolls around the grocery store, I saw some artichokes that looked insanely fresh and in season, so I decided to give it another try. I attempted to make them by picking out ingredients that I thought would meld together well and be able to make the classic italian dish and do it some justice in the process. My dad loved it so much, that he said it was actually better than Nonny's! Therefore, I decided to make them again and show all of you how I did it!

First, you want to wash the artichoke and cut the stem off so it is flush with the bottom. Then, break off the bottom layer of leaves. This will make sure that none of your pieces, or leaves rather, are stringy, because the stem is very stringy and if you don't take the first couple of layers of leaves and the stem off, they will bring some of the stem with them and its just gross. The one of the left has been done, and the one on the left hasn't. You can see the difference in the how they look between the one that has been prepared and the one that hasn't. Also, be careful because on the tips of the leaves, there are little spikes that can actually cut you. A lot of people cut them off of each individual leaf, but personally, I think its a waste of time and its not like you eat that part, so I don't bother. Steam it for about 15 minutes, so its almost fully cooked.

Then, you want to roughly dice up some onion. You wont really feel the texture of these when you eat the artichokes, but I just think it adds some nice flavor to the bread crumbs.

Heat some olive oil in a pan and then add the onion when it gets hot. Cook the onions down and sweat them out until they become almost translucent.

Then you want to mince up some garlic and add it into the pot as well. I used about 2 cloves. Let that cook on low heat until the onions become translucent. Once they become translucent, add some fresh chopped parsley, and let it cook in the oil until it just begins to wilt.

Then, you want to add your bread crumbs. I chose unseasoned because I like to season my own, but you can use italian seasoned if you'd like. Stir in the bread crumbs until they absorb all of the oil and look almost crumbly like in the picture above. Let them cook on medium low heat for a few minutes. If you need to, add a little more olive oil, or a little bit more bread crumbs until it gets to the right consistency. You want then to be able to be shaped so that they don't just fall apart when you put them into the leaves, but not too wet because we'll be adding more liquid later.

Next, whisk up some eggs. This will work as a binding agent for the stuffing.

Then, add about a half of a cup of the bread crumbs into the eggs and whisk that mixture together. This is important because since the bread crumb mixture will be hot, if you add the eggs into the pan, or all of the bread crumbs into the eggs, they will start to cook and you'll end up with scrambled egg chunks in your stuffed artichokes. By tempering the eggs, you can ensure that they reach a proper equilibrium with the bread crumbs so that they don't cook by themselves, and rather help bind the bread crumbs together when they cook. I also added about a cup or a cup and a half of fresh grated parmesan cheese.

Then, you just want to take a little bit of the breadcrumb mixture into each of the leaves.

It should look something like this once you've stuffed every leaf. Then, drizzle it with a little bit of olive oil on top and sprinkle with some more parmesan cheese. Then, steam it for about 5 more minutes, and you're ready to go! If you try this out, let me know how you like it in the comments! 

Until next time,

K

Lemon and Coconut Cupcakes!

Helllllo, everybody! Just a quick post tonight. I made some cupcakes for an event that my grandmother was going to, and figured that I would make a quick post about them, as they were a big hit. The cupcakes were lemon and coconut flavored and the post tonight is actually mainly going to be about the garnish that I used on the cupcakes, but I included a little bit after about how to make the cupcakes in case you were interested.

First, you want to boil about 2 cups of water, and put the lemon peel in the boiling water for about 5 minutes, or until the peel is tender. I shredded mine up in order to use it as a garnish but later found out it was much easier to keep the rind intact and cut it up after it had been candied. The simple syrup we'll be making to candy the lemons in becomes very thick, and its hard to separate the lemon from the syrup; but hey, you live and you learn. I'd just recommend keeping the rind in larger pieces if you decide to try this recipe out. The great thing about this, is that after you candy your peel, you can keep the mixture you candied them in as a lemon infused simple syrup!

After the peel becomes tender from being boiled down, you want to remove it from the water, and then add about 2 cups of sugar to the water mixture. Stir the water and sugar together, and then add the lemon  peel back into the saucepan. Now, the waiting. You want to let this lightly boil for about an hour. The lemon peel will start to curl up, almost, as you can see in the picture above. However, don't try to shorten the time when you think it's done if it hasn't been almost an hour. By letting it cook in this simple syrup, you are allowing all of the sugars from the syrup to break down and enter the peel, which, in turn, makes the lemon rind keep its flavor, but become unbelievably sweet. Once your peel as been boiling in the simple syrup for about an hour, remove it and let it dry. this will let all of the sugars harden and it will become like a hard candy. Be careful, because for sugar to melt down, it needs to reach quite a high temperature, and the lemon will reach an equilibrium with that temperature and become equally as hot. Feel free to leave the candies peel at this point and eat it just like this. I, however, chose to garnish some cupcakes with it.

CUPCAKES:

I make a boxed white cake, and added in about a cup of shredded coconut, as well as about 2 teaspoons of coconut extract. Then, I just followed the directions on the back of the box for baking instructions.

Then, the frosting, I added a couple teaspoons of lemon extract and some food coloring. Pretty simple, but just taste it and add a little bit at a time until it gets to your liking.

Then, I just put the frosting in one of my piping bags and frosted them up. 

These are the toppings I decided to use. Theres shredded coconut, mint leaves, the candied lemon peel, and some lemon candies.

I matched the lemon candies with the mint leaves, and then decided to top the other half of the batch in coconut and the candied lemon peel. If you try this out, definitely let me know how you liked it in the comments!

Until next time,

K