Here's one more Halloween recipe before I switch my focus to fall comfort food and holiday cooking. I'll keep it short and sweet with these gorgeous figs. Fresh figs, herbed goat cheese, mixed salad greens, pumpkin seeds all topped with a balsamic reduction. Not just for Halloween, this salad can be an elegant addition to any meal. Check out the easy recipe below.Enjoy!
Alien Pods (Fig and Goat Cheese Salad with Balsamic Glaze)
Serves 8-10 8-10 fresh figs 2 oz. herbed goat cheese 1 cup balsamic vinegar, reduced to 1/4 cup 1 T butter 1 T honey 3 cups mixed greens 1/2 cup salted pumpkin seeds In a small sauce pan, heat 1 cup vinegar over medium heat and reduce thickened to ~1/4 cup. Add 1 Tbsp butter and 1 T honey and set aside.
Use a 1/4 teaspoon as a makeshift melon-baller to portion out the goat cheese and roll into a small balls. Refrigerate to firm up the cheese if needed.
Trim stems and cut an X down the stem side about 3/4 of the way through the fig. Add goat cheese ball inside cut fig. Place figs on a bed of mixed greens and then sprinkle balsamic glaze over figs and lettuce. Top with pumpkin seeds and serve.
Fun variation: Serve individual salads in red cabbage bowls like this...
I’m not saying this spicy salami spread is as good as traditional nduja, but I am saying this takes about 3 months less time to make, and still delivers most of the characteristics that make this Calabrian delicacy so amazing. And just in case you’re not familiar with nduja, a few of those characteristics are a rich, spicy, super-savory flavor, and soft, luxurious texture.
Finding some decent salami to use should be simple enough, but depending on where you live, the oil-packed Calabrian chilies may not be as easy to acquire. Any decent Italian market will carry them, so ask your Calabrian friends where they shop, but if that doesn’t work, you can find them online as well. Or, you could use another spicy, jarred pepper product like Sambal, or simply use fresh hot chilies like Fresno, or cherry peppers. If it’s spicy, and it’s a pepper, it will work.
You can substitute bacon for the pancetta, but since bacon is smoked, your final product will taste significantly different. Not bad, just different. In any event, the wonderful ways you can use this are extensive. I gave a few ideas in the video, but other highly recommended uses include adding it to pasta sauces, salad dressings, ravioli fillings, and even as a pizza topping.
Having said that, this stuff is so unique, and delicious, your guests might not leave you with much to experiment with, which is fine, since this is so fast and easy to produce. So, with peak entertaining season right in front of us, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for about 2 cups Spicy Salami Spread (Nduja):
4 ounces sliced or diced pancetta, cooked, fat reserved
1/3 cup seeded hot Calabrian peppers
3 tablespoons Calabrian pepper oil from the jar
12 ounces sliced salami
1/4 room temp butter
2 or 3 tablespoons olive oil, or as needed to adjust the texture to your liking
Happy New Year everyone! I am so glad it's a new year! I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that 2016 definitely had its challenges. And as witheach new year, I find myself looking forward to a fresh start. A time to shrug off the old year and embrace the potential of the new. I like to use this time of year for self-reflection and focus on renewal. It's another chance to try something different, make lists, set goals and get stuff done. But, before I plow headlong into 2017, I need to remind myself of the good that happened this last year. More times than I'd like to admit, I tend to focus on the negative and forget that the negative always comes with a dose of positive. And only through deliberate hindsight is it visible to me. I won't recite a long list of blessings or things that I'm thankful for here, I'll reserve that for my journal. But one thing I'm thankful for this past year, was being able to take the Professional Chef series atChef Tech Cooking School these last 4 months. I've learned so much and can't wait to apply what I've learned as I develop my recipes and share them with you on the blog. Here'smy meatball rendition of Chef Teri's Grilled Lamb Kabobs.I absolutely love meatballs so I made her recipe into these immenselyflavorful and comforting bite-sized kabobs.Perfect for entertaining or a small plate meal.
Here's to another year of accomplishments and the challenges that lie ahead.
Happy New Year!
Grilled Lamb Kabobs with Yogurt Garlic Sauce
(Slightly adapted recipe from Teri Appleton Villanueva) Makes ~12 Main Dish Kabobs or 48 Appetizer Kabobs
Yogurt Garlic Sauce 1 cup plain whole Greek yogurt 2 Tbs. lemon juice or orange juice 2 Tbs. tahini 1 clove garlic, finely minced 1/2 tsp. fine sea salt Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.
Kabobs 1/2 cup pine nuts 4-5 garlic cloves 2 1/2 tsp.smoked paprika 1 1/2 tsp. sea salt 2 tsp. cumin 1/2 tsp. black pepper 1/2 tsp. coriander 1/4 tsp. ground cloves 1/8 tsp. nutmeg 1/8 tsp. cinnamon 1/8 tsp. cayenne (add more for more heat) 1 1/2 lbs. ground lamb 1/2 cup grated onion, drained 1/3 cup fresh parsley, minced 1/3 cup fresh mint, minced 1 1/2 tsp. unflavored gelatin
12 Naan bread or 6 Greek style pita bread cut into 2" rounds Fresh mint, finely chopped (garnish) Process pine nuts, garlic, paprika, salt, cumin, black pepper, coriander, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cayenne in a food processor until a coarse paste forms, 30-45 seconds. Transfer to a large bowl. Add lamb, onion, parsley, mint, and gelatin: knead until combined and mixture feels sticky, about 2 minutes. For Appetizer kabobs: Cut Greek style pita bread into 2" rounds using a small cookie or biscuit cutter and arrange on a large platter. Portion meat using a small cookie scoop and roll meat into 1" meatballs. Pan fry in small batches until browned on all sides. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of yogurt garlic sauce onto pita rounds and top with a skewered lamb meatball and garnish with fresh mint. Enjoy!
For Main Dish kabobs, divide into 12 equal portions. Shape each portion into 5-inch long cylinder about 1 inch in diameter. Using skewers to thread kabobs, gently pressing to adhere. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to 24 hours. Grill for 4-7 minutes, flip skewers and continue to cook until browned on second side and meat registers to 160 degrees, about 6 minutes more. Transfer to platter and serve with Naan Bread and drizzle with yogurt garlic sauce.
I have a real fear of spiders. Spiders creep me out. I squeal like a little girl when surprised by them. My nightmares are usually about spiders. When I was younger, in my 30's, I used to have a recurring nightmare about tons of spiders coming down all around me while I slept at night. I'd sit up in bed, yelling and swatting the spiders away...I seemed awake, but I was still very much asleep. Thiscame much to the surprise of my husband when we first started dating. The first time it happened, he leap up out of bed, flipped on the light, ready to kill the spiders I was pointing at. As Iwoke up from my nightmare looking at my 'then' boyfriend inattack-ready sleepy confusion with a flashlight and a flat-soled shoe in hand. I was relieved as I realized it was a dream. I rolled over and said, "Sorry,I was just dreaming." He was so not happy to be standing and not sleeping. The good news is that he eventually got used to being startled awake by his arachnophobic girlfriendandhe still married me. And luckily for me, I don't have that recurring spider dream anymore. Knowing I hate spiders, I'm a little surprised that the three things I've purchased this year for Halloween are all spiders. I got this cute little dish pictured abovefrom Ross Dress For Less. Then, I bought three wrought-iron spiders and a pair of spider earrings from Roger's Gardens Halloween Boutique. I like to think of it as therapy really.I'm desensitizing myself through retail therapy. Yeah, that's it.
Anyway, my husband called this dish, Spider Caviar after he saw how I plated it and it stuck! He said, "It looks like spider eggs...what's that fancy fish eggs stuff called?" It's super easy to make and super delicious with a garlicky olive flavor. It can be made any time of year not just for Halloween.Enjoy!
Spider Caviar (Mixed Olive Tapenade)
Makes ~1 cup 2 cups olives (I used a mix of black and green olives) 2 T capers 2 T sun dried tomatoes 2 cloves of garlic 1/4 cup basil, fresh 1 t oregano, dried 1 t lemon juice fresh ground pepper 1/4 cup olive oil
Sliced Bread Points Add all ingredients to a food processor and puree. Refrigerate until ready to use. Serve with fresh baguette slices.
I made this tapenade originally to roll it into some fun Halloween inspired tortilla roll-ups or pinwheels using extra large orange tortillas. My idea was to add the black (tapenade) and some orange colored veggies and roll it up for a really cool looking Halloween colored appetizer. The roll ups I ended up making were so delicious with the tapenade, prosciutto, cream cheese, roasted red peppers, basil and crunchy red cabbage that they ended up looking more like a rainbow than my original idea of a black and orange pinwheels. And the photos turned out so gorgeous that I wasn't sure if the pinwheels were Halloween-ish enough...So instead of making these roll-ups it's own blog, I've included them below as a bonus recipe to the tapenade. Enjoy!
Halloween Roll-ups
Makes 14-16 slices
2 extra large orange tortillas 1 package cream cheese 8 slices of prosciutto 12-14 freshbasil leaves 2 T Roasted Red Peppers, thinly sliced Red Cabbage, thinly sliced 1 T Spider Caviar (Mixed Olive Tapenade) Using a butter knife, spread about 1/8" layer of cream cheese to the tortilla, make sure to cover the whole tortilla up to the edges. Starting on one side of the tortilla, place a thin row of red cabbage. Leave about a half an inch of space between each ingredient. Next place 6-7 leaves of basil in a line next to the cabbage. Then add 4 slices of prosciutto followed by the bell peppers and then add a narrow line of the tapenade. Now you're ready to roll...Starting at the tapenade side, begin rolling tortilla until tightly rolled. Useadditional cream cheese to secure the end of the tortilla to the roll as needed. Cut into 8 slices and serve. Repeat with the other tortilla. Enjoy!
I live for Halloween! I spend all year planning and experimenting with new, fun Halloween inspired dishes that not only look festive for Oct. 31, but taste super delicious and can be made any time of year. But if you ask me, Halloween is the perfect holiday that screams for ghoulish and fun appetizers! My husband calls them "Horror d'oeuvres"...So here are my top ten 'Horror' d'oeuvres. Happy Halloween!
A one bite appetizer of fresh cherry tomato and mozzarella topped with an eye-opening combo of green and black olives dripping with a sriracha olive oil, topping a crunchy mini toast.
You can't go wrong with an Antipasto Appetizer when it comes to feeding a crowd and this Dia de los Muertos platter will please your ghouls and goblins all night. Marinated Mushroom Skulls, Pickled Shrunken Heads, and mozzarella eyeballs sit along side the familiar cast of Artichoke Hearts, Olives, Pepperoncini, Summer Sausage and Roasted Red Peppers. Serve with plenty of crusty bread and wine.
These little morsels look like they have the ability to chase away the best dressed vampire of the evening with a whole clove of garlic front and center. Not so fast though, these cloves are mellowed by roasting and then married with a roasted mushroom skull dripping with a balsamic butter glaze. And as if that wasn't enough flavor, it sits on a toasted Panko bleu cheese crumble which adds a bit of crunch to this elegant 'horror' d'oeuvres.
Deviled Eggs are one of my favorite appetizers and adding Latin spices and avocado really sets these apart. But its the striking webbing of the egg white that make these an elegant and festive appetizer.
This appetizer will sure to be the talk of your party! Not only because of the life-size and realistic look of an amputated arm but also because of the deliciousness of each bite. Goat cheese, cream cheese, and mozzarella rolled with basil surrounded by thinly sliced prosciutto...slice off a fingertip, smear it on a cracker and enjoy!
This is one of my favorite appetizers any time of year! I molded this cheese ball in the shape of a brain but it can easily be molded in a rounded bowl for a less ghoulish presentation. Roasted red bell pepper puree and pesto layered with goat cheese, cream cheese and lots of garlic. This is so delicious that you will want to make sure you have plenty of baguettes on hand and have copies of the recipe handy, you will be asked for it!
Bacon wrapped anything is pretty much the best thing ever! Wouldn't you agree? These bacon wrapped shrimp smothered in a spicy Diablo sauce mimics fingers of your worst nightmare and the best part is that they're finger-licking good!
Nothing better than grossing out your Halloween guests by offering up roasted insects! Thankfully, these delicious morsels are not bugs but the perfect combination of sweet and salty. These cheese stuffed, bacon wrapped dates will disappear in a flash!
Zombie Vomit is a spicy black bean hummus with hints of cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, and lime that will keep your guests coming back or more. Make it super spicy with the extra gross factor by adding chopped chipotle peppers and black olives for a chunky vomit look. Make sure you have plenty of pita chips on hand.
Alien Pods (Fig and Goat Cheese Salad with Balsamic Glaze)
