Sausage-Stuffed Mushrooms

This is a dish from the way-back, when Kim and I used to take any excuse to throw a (often-themed) party...and these mushrooms usually made an appearance...with the oft-repeated warning that they're heck-a hot right out of the oven and to WAIT so you don't burn your poor mouth.  Posted now by request from All-Knowing Jen!

Sausage-Stuffed Mushrooms

1 1/2 lbs medium mushrooms (about 30)
1/2 lb. pork sausage
1/4 c. seasoned bread crumbs [or plain and season as desired]
1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese [or mix of moz&parm or other Italian blend]
parsley for garnish [and/or in stuffing mix]

1.  Remove stems from mushrooms; chop stems.  Set both aside.
2.  In [good-sized] skilled over medium heat, cook sausage until well-browned.  With slotted spoon remove sausage to paper towels to drain. Spoon excess drippings from skillet.
3.  In hot drippings, [or added butter, if needed], over medium heat, cook chopped mushroom stems until tender, about 10 min., stirring frequently.  Remove skillet from heat; stir in cooked sausage, cheese, and bread crumbs.
4.  Preheat oven to 450F.  Fill mushroom caps with sausage mixture.  Place stuffed mushrooms in [suitably-sized] jello-roll pan [or 9x13 glass dish or cookie sheet with sides].
5.  Bake about 15 min. [LET COOL FOR A FEW MINUTES OR YOU'LL BURN YOUR MOUTH!!!]

Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp with a Chili-Garlic Remoulade

I made this for our progressive dinner on New Year's Eve. I had appetizers and we loved this. We had extra sauce and used it on hamburgers which we almost liked even more!

I got this from The Noble Pig's blog. She has GREAT pictures with things done step by step!

I cannot get a link to work again!! Here is the link http://noblepig.com/2008/10/17/devils-on-horseback.aspx



For the shrimp:
24 large shrimp, shelled and deveined
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1-1/2 teaspoons prepared garlic-chili sauce
1 teaspoon salt
6 strips bacon, quartered
Wooden skewers

For the Remoulade:
2/3 cup mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon prepared chili garlic sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 green onions, finely chopped (both white and green parts)

In a non-reactive bowl, marinate shrimp for 15 minutes with wine, lemon zest, garlic-chili sauce and salt.

For the Remoulade, stir together mayonnaise, lemon juice, chili-garlic sauce, green onions and salt. Cover and chill until serving time.

Quarter 6 strips of bacon in half lengthwise and then again across the middle. In other words, one piece of bacon will be cut into four strips.

Soak wooden skewers in water for twenty minutes before skewering shrimp. Wrap each shrimp in a piece of bacon, securing bacon with wooden skewer, neck to tail in a half-moon. Add three to four shrimp per skewer.

Position oven rack so the food will be 3-4 inches from the heat. Preheat broiler. I broiled the shrimp on low for about twelve minutes and I turned them three times for even browning. DO NOT WALK AWAY FROM THE BROILER. Watch your shrimp very carefully. All ovens are different. My cooking times could be very different from yours. Just make sure shrimp are opaque and bacon is cooked through and crisp.

Chicken Enchilada Ring

I am making this one for the football game this weekend!! We really like it and am hoping it goes over good for a group. I had it at a Pampered Chef party years ago and am now getting around to post it!!

Go Vikings!! (For those of us from MN!)

2 cups coarsely chopped cooked chicken (about 12 ounces)

¼ cup chopped pitted ripe olives

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese blend

1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies, undrained

½ cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Pantry Southwestern Seasoning Mix

2 plum tomatoes

1 lime

2/3 cup finely crushed corn tortilla chips, divided

2 packages (8 ounces each) refrigerated crescent rolls

1 cup salsa

1 cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Chop chicken and olives using food chopper; place in bowl. Add cheese, green chilies, mayonnaise and seasoning mix.

2. Seed and chop 1 tomato. Slice lime in half. Squeeze juice from one half to measure 1-teaspoon juice. Reserve remaining lime for garnish. Add chopped tomato and limejuice to chicken mixture.

3. Reserve 2 tablespoons crushed chips; add remaining chips to chicken mixture and mix well.

4. Sprinkle reserved crushed chips cupboard. Unroll crescent dough. Place dough sticky side down, onto crushed chips; press down lightly so chips adhere to dough. Separate dough into triangles. Arrange triangles; chip dies down, in a circle on round stone with wide ends overlapping in the center and points toward outside. (There should be a 5-inch diameter opening in center.) Using large tablespoon scoop chicken mixture evenly onto widest end of each triangle. Bring points of triangle up over filling and tuck under wide ends of dough at center of ring. (Filling will not be completely covered.) Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

For garnish, cup remaining tomato into 8 wedges. Cut remaining half of lime into 4 slices; cut in half. Arrange between openings of ring. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Guacamole with mango and pomegranate

Yeti made this last week for Wednesday dinner, and it was awesome. I'm glad I hadn't read the recipe before I ate some, because I probably would have been scared away by the raw onion. But I don't even remember tasting it. Good stuff!

4 ripe avocados (about 2 lbs.)
1 cup finely chopped white onion
2 fresh serrano chiles, finely chopped (2 tablespoons), including seeds
1/4 cup fresh lime juice, or to taste
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup pomegranate seeds (from 1 pomegranate)
3/4 cup diced peeled mango
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Lime wedges to garnish

Halve, pit, and peel avocados. Coarsely mash in a bowl. Stir in onion, chiles, 1/4 cup lime juice, and 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, then fold in pomegranate seeds, mango, and cilantro. Season with salt and additional lime juice. Garnish with lime wedges.

(Recipe is from Epicurious.)

Cream Cheese Chutney Dip

I am ashamed to even try to call this a recipe, but it's good and fits the theme.

4-8 oz of cream cheese on a plate (spread it around if you want it to look pretty)
spoon Major Grey Mango Chutney on top (use less if you don't want it too sweet)

Spread this on crackers. I find water crackers and Wheat Thins work well. Delicious!

December's Theme - Party Food

Our normally scheduled Wednesday Fun will be usurped today by the monthly theme update. Hope y'all don't mind, but I've still got unpacking & laundry to do from our Thanksgiving trip!

(I will put up a poll, too, but actually, I'll be scheduling to leave it up for two weeks so I hopefully get a large number (well, relatively speaking, that is!) of you to weigh in on it.) (ShoNuff, feel free to do a poll with your review anyway next week, if you'd like!)

Anyway, December's theme is Party Food! Hooray! Since there are so many get-togethers, parties, and, of course, New Year's Eve coming up, let's hear your recipes for dips, appetizers, finger food, cute little desserts, etc.

Here's a few we've got so far:**

• Diplowhat shared some Taco Salad Dip that is making me hungry.
• Or you could go with her Dead Sister Dip. (But maybe call it something festive!*grin*)
  
• Also in a TexMex-y vein, we've got Nectarine's Chicken Enchilada Ring.
• I really love Tomato Bruschetta, even if it's way better in summer.
• Syl's Cucumber Sandwiches make me think of summer, too, but that never stops me from eating them!
  
• The Sexy Blonde posted a Roasted Bell Pepper Antipasto that I think sounds more "pro-" than "anti-!" (Sorry, I couldn't help myself.)
  
• Nectarine shared some Caramel Dips for Apples. Nice if you want something in addition to or instead of a cheese/creamy sort of dip.
• Apple Berry Salsa is also from Nectarine - again, also a nice fruity option.
• A more exotic option than (or addition to) a veggie tray could be Diplowhat's Miso & Cucumber.
• Pusher's Peppered Tuna Skewers might go great next it, too!
• And if you're looking for another seafood option, The Sexy Blonde shared a recipe out of the South Beach Diet cookbook for a Salmon Ball.
• Also along healthier lines, this time from Cooking Light, she also posted Proscuitto-Wrapped Figs Stuffed with Bleu Cheese.
  
• Pusher's Soft Pretzels. You might think "Oktoberfest" thinking about pretzels, but color your salt green & red with food coloring & you've got an officially holiday-looking snack!
• No one can guess what's in the sauce for Nectarine's Crazy Meatballs, but it doesn't stop them from coming back for more!
  
• If you want to be fancy, and are willing to stand in front of a pan of oil for a while during your party, you could make these Crisp-Fried Vegetables that are really good, if not at all make-ahead-able.
• And how can you not end with some classic (and colorable) Cream Cheese Mints from Pusher?

** As always, if I've missed a recipe you think should be on this list, let me know & I'll add it. I only looked through the Appetizers/Cocktail food label, so there could very well be other good recipes under Snacks or Desserts or whatever. Thanks!

Soft Pretzels

Thanks for the inspiration, Ms. Huis! Saturday's wine tasting was Riesling, so I made a batch of soft pretzels for the occasion. I have changed my poll response accordingly. This recipe is lifted straight from Alton Brown on The Food Network site, which probably breaks all kinds of fair use laws, but I suspect y'all won't turn me in.

My notes:
I've always heard that pretzels are difficult to make. If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook, these are a breeze.

I couldn't find pretzel salt, so I used coarse sea salt instead. It was maybe a little intense for my tastes, but still a serviceable substitute. I also toyed with the idea of using margarita salt, since I think of that as being softer and slightly less salty. But maybe that's just the influence of the tequila. Also, I measured my flour by weight and it came to barely 4 cups. Maybe 4-1/2 sifted? Perhaps related to that, everywhere he says to oil a surface? Oil it. This is sticky dough.

The best thing about these is how intensely buttery they taste, even though there's only 2 ounces of butter in the whole recipe.

The recipe:
Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 2 teaspoons kosher salt
* 1 package active dry yeast
* 22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
* 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
* Vegetable oil, for pan
* 10 cups water
* 2/3 cup baking soda
* 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
* Pretzel salt

Directions

Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Wednesday Fun 105- Modern Cafe review

Pusher and I first went to The Modern Cafe picking it off a list for a charity event. We were both a bit familiar with it (she a bit more than I) but hadn't made it there. That was our mistake.

The food is tremendous! It's mostly dishes you know but with their own flavorful twist. Pot roast that melts in your mouth with a delicious creamy horseradish sauce, spicy pork with cous-cous, and meatloaf that only your French dream-mother would make. The menu seems to shift regularly so those that get bored with the relatively brief menu don't have to long to wait for a change.

The Modern also seems to draw an impressive mix of client. I've seen people doing family generational dinners, hip couple dinners (no that wasn't us... real hip people), teenagers hanging out, and older (retirement age) just getting a good meal. You have to do something right to get that mix.

I also need to mention the wine list. It's a list that shows someone there knows about wine. There isn't a bottle for over $40 (so $20 and under if you were getting them retail) and they stay away from household names. This means those who aren't adventurous might be a bit scared (though a large percentage of their list is available by the glass), but the advantage is the wines are world view that "wine nerds" would say are a great value. These are often the areas or grapes that haven't yet hit huge. The capper to the wine is that on Tuesdays they do half price bottles!

The last thing I need to discuss is the look. It's "Modern" as in modern art and has largely been restored in that vein (restored is relative as the booths are clearly of that time and haven't been restored). The building is from before plumbing so when you go to the basement to "rest" there are exposed pipes (all painted and clean). The place has character and I highly recommend you go... let me know when and maybe I can join you.

Caramel Dips for your Apples

Here are three great dips to eat your apples. We usually make the cream cheese one but they are all good! I have also dipped popcorn in so do not stop at just apples. Enjoy!!

Caramel Dip
1 jar Mrs. Richardson's Caramel ice cream topping
1 small jar marshmallow cream
Pour Mrs. Richardson's in a microwave safe bowl and heat to warm. Mix in marshmallow cream and serve.

Caramel Apple Dip
1 block Cream Cheese
¾ cup Brown Sugar
¼ cup white sugar
½ tsp vanilla

Mix together and warm. I serve in a small crock pot. If I am in a hurry I warm in the microwave first. Otherwise I just put everything in crock pot let warm and mix.


Autumn Apple Dip
1 cup cottage cheese
1 tsp brown sugar
¼ tsp vanilla

Mix together. Can also serve with graham crackers or ginger snaps.

Apple Berry Salsa

Yields: 3 cups (16 servings)
2 med. Granny Smith Apples
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 pint strawberries, diced (about 1 ½ cups)
2 tablespoons apple jelly or apricot jam
2 kiwi, peeled and diced
Baked Cinnamon Chips (see recipe)
1 small orange

Peal, core and slice apples. Coarsely chop apple slices. Dice strawberries and kiwi. Put fruit in bowl. Zest orange to measure 1 teaspoon. Juice orange to measure 2 tablespoons full. Add orange zest, juice, brown sugar and jelly to fruit mixture; mix gently. Spoon into serving bowl. Serve with Baked Cinnamon Chips.


Baked Cinnamon Chips
Yields: 64 chips (16 servings)
8 Flour tortillas
1 tablespoon Sugar
¼ teaspoon Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spray tortillas with water. Combine 1-tablespoon sugar and ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly over tortillas. Cut each tortilla into eight wedges. Bake 8 – 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned and crisp. Remove from baking sheet; cool completely.

Taco Salad Dip

This isn't really a salad, but the salad theme made me remember this. It always goes over very well at pot lucks, etc. Hope I'm remembering quantities right.

Mix together:
8 oz cream cheese
5-8 oz (small container or a bit less) sour cream
1/2 - 1 package taco seasoning (try using 1/2 the package first and add more if you think the flavor is too weak)

Place on bottom of 9" pie plate.

On top place aprox:
1 c. shredded lettuce
1/2 c shredded cheese (or to taste)
and about 1/4c-1/2 c salsa, scattered along the top.

Enjoy with tortilla chips.

Crisp-Fried Vegetables (or Fish) with Hot & Sweet Dipping Sauce aka Vegetable Tempura

Mr. Kluges requested this recipe the other day, and then proceeded to be the chef that night. He even asked for fresh fish to do with it, and put it in the batter & cooked it in the oil after he was done with the vegetables and it was DELICIOUS! And I don't tend to like fish.

So if you're craving some yummy veggies, these are it. I'm totally going to have to remember this recipe for those times when we end up with a lot of small amounts of assorted vegetables from the CSA... This could also be a good appetizer, but you've got to let them cool enough you don't burn yourself, but still have them nice and hot. But if you're having one of those get-togethers where everybody is in the kitchen anyway, they can just eat them as they come out of the pan and cool a tish!

Crisp-Fried Vegetables (Or Fish)
with Hot & Sweet Dipping Sauce
(aka Vegetable Tempura)

From Classic Vegetarian Recipes.
Serves 4.

vegetable oil, for deep-frying
500 g / 1 lb. 2 oz. selection of vegetables, such as cauliflower, broccoli (yum), mushrooms (my fav!), courgettes (zucchini), bell peppers, and baby sweetcorn cobs, cut into even sized pieces. [Green beans and onions are also yummy.]

Batter:
125 g / 4.5 oz / 1 c. plain (all-purpose) flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. caster (superfine, but reg is ok) sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
3 Tbl. vegetable oil
200 ml / 7 fl. oz. / scant 1 c. warm water

Sauce: [Also good on plain brown rice]
6 Tbl. light malt vinegar
2 Tbl. Thai fish sauce or light soy sauce
2 Tbl. water
1 Tbl. soft brown sugar
salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp. grated ginger root
2 red chillies, deseeded and chopped finely [we skip]
2 Tbl. chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)

1. To make the batter, sift the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the oil and most of the water. Whisk together to make a smooth batter, adding extra water to give it the consistency of single (light) cream. Chill for 20-30 min.

2. Meanwhile, make the sauce. Heat the vinegar, fish sauce or soy sauce, water, sugar and a pinch of salt until boiling. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

3. Mix together the garlic, ginger, chillies and coriander (cilantro) in a small serving bowl. Add the cooled vinegar mixture and stir together.

4. Heat the vegetable oil for deep-frying in a wok or deep-fryer. [We use a dutch oven or large skillet.] Dip the prepared vegetable in the batter and fry them, a few at a time, until crisp and golden - about 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

5. Serve the vegetables accompanied by the dipping sauce.

Chicken Enchilada Ring

Chicken Enchilada Ring
We made this last night for a bowl party of just our family. (It was on our menu earlier this week but it did not get made so we made it into a party item.) My family just loved it and we will be making it again soon.

2 cups coarsely chopped cooked chicken (about 12 ounces)
¼ cup chopped pitted ripe olives
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese blend
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies, undrained
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Pantry Southwestern Seasoning Mix
2 plum tomatoes
1 lime
2/3 cup finely crushed corn tortilla chips, divided
2 packages (8 ounces each) refrigerated crescent rolls
1-cup salsa
1-cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Chop chicken and olives using food chopper; place in bowl. Add cheese, green chilies, mayonnaise and seasoning mix.

2. Seed and chop 1 tomato. Slice lime in half. Squeeze juice from one half to measure 1-teaspoon juice. Reserve remaining lime for garnish. Add chopped tomato and limejuice to chicken mixture.

3. Reserve 2 tablespoons crushed chips; add remaining chips to chicken mixture and mix well.

4. Sprinkle reserved crushed chips cupboard. Unroll crescent dough. Place dough sticky side down, onto crushed chips; press down lightly so chips adhere to dough. Separate dough into triangles. Arrange triangles; chip dies down, in a circle on round stone with wide ends overlapping in the center and points toward outside. (There should be a 5-inch diameter opening in center.) Using large tablespoon scoop chicken mixture evenly onto widest end of each triangle. Bring points of triangle up over filling and tuck under wide ends of dough at center of ring. (Filling will not be completely covered.) Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
For garnish, cup remaining tomato into 8 wedges. Cut remaining half of lime into 4 slices; cut in half. Arrange between openings of ring. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Crazy Meatballs

Crazy Meat Balls

1 16 oz sauerkraut
1 16 oz whole cranberry sauce
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 8 oz bottle chili sauce
1 ½ Cups brown sugar

Mix above ingredients well. Buy one bag of meatballs (6 lbs frozen meatballs) and put in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. (I have to use a bigger roasting pan). Pour the sauce over the meatballs. Bake meatballs at 375˚ uncovered for 1 ½ hours. (Until thick)

I will also put these in a crockpot for a party and they serve great. No one can guess what is in it but they always come back for more.

Simple Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin Open Face Sandwiches

I just posted this over at Musings & Mutterings, but I just know if I want to remember how I did them, I'm going to be looking over here, so I figured I might as well double-post these. Fun, and not as time-consuming as I thought they'd be.

Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin Open Face Sandwiches

First, we used a pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the cheese. I used American slices (NOT individually wrapped!) and did three at a time. Peeling the outside edges before taking off the cutter works well.


After cutting out ALL the cheese slices, I cut out the jack-o-lantern faces. Again, keeping them together as the three-at-a-time I did before worked well, except that last one was always a little tricky to get the eyes and nose out. Still, MUCH better than one at a time!


Then it was time to cut out the bread. Unfortunately, that was one slice at a time, but it didn't go too badly. Pushing the cutter down and then wiggling the whole thing around on the cutting board for a little bit helps get through the last bit cleanly. Again, peeling off the outer edges first makes it easier.

Then I buttered the breads and we put a cheese pumpkin face on each.



Done!

(Aren't they cute?!)

(And all the leftover cheese and bread bits were used up in an egg bake for supper that night! Brilliant, if I do say so myself!)

Wednesday Fun #54 - Bring something to share

I want to know, when someone tells you to bring something to the office pot-luck or to some other get-together, what is your go-to dish?
Do you always bring dessert? Do you always bring appetizers? Do you use it as a chance to try a new recipe on a captive audience? Or do you bring an old stand- by? Do you throw together something easy? Or do you go all out and make the complicated recipe you don't usually have time for?
I know some people who will make dishes they LOVE - because then they are forced to share and not eat it all themselves in the cozy seclusion of their own home. And I know some people who make things they know their co-workers like, but they don't really care for themselves. What do you do? Please to discuss. Share recipes too if you like!

Miso & Cucumber

Sorry I don't post much anymore. Lack of food stuffs that are safe or that you know and lack of appliances make it hard. But, here's a snack you might enjoy - and it's healthy.

Miso (soybean paste) and cucumbers. You should be able to buy miso at any Asian grocery store or maybe even Trader Joes. This is a popular Japanese snack food, especially with beer. I suggest using the miso that isn't totally paste yet, but has some bean left in it.

Use large chunks of peeled cucumber, about 1" or more in length, add a small drop of miso on top (about 1/2 to 1 tsp) and enjoy. It is crunchy, salty, and very good on the health scale (except for the salt content.)

Next time I go to our favorite Japanese place, I'll try to remember to take a picture for you so you can see the pretty presentation.

Separate note: some friends also like to use the miso as a dip for carrots etc. However, I think the water content of the cucumber is better suited with miso.

Tomato Bruschetta

Yesterday I was SO HUNGRY for tomato-covered bruschetta. The tomatoes, and basil, and garlic....yum! We'd gotten a large bunch of basil from our CSA the week before, so I'd thought to pick up some tomatoes...

I sort of made this recipe, which I'd gotten at a cooking class (with Chef Jeff). Didn't measure a thing, used regular tomatoes instead of Roma and a fresh CSA onion instead of the red onion, didn't toast the bread....

But it didn't matter. Because what I ended up with was absolutely, positively what I was hungry for. I'd made some dough from the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day earlier in the afternoon, so I baked up a loaf of that, and for supper, all I had was fresh, homemade bread mounded with tomato-y goodness.

It was summertime heaven.


Tomato Bruschetta
(makes 3-4 appetizer servings)

6 Roma tomatoes
1/4 c. diced red onion
1-2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp. fresh chopped basil (oh, just use LOTS)
3 Tbl. olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
3-4 1/2"-1" slices of fresh Boule bread (French bread may be substituted)

1. Remove the stem ends of the tomatoes; cut them in half lengthwise and remove the seeds.
2. Dice the tomatoes and place them in a 3-quart mixing bowl. (I'd only use pottery or other non-reactive material because I think the acidic tomato tastes funny otherwise.)
3. Add onions, garlic, basil, olive oil, salt and pepper; mix well.
4. Serve at room temperature.
5. Brush both sides of the bread lightly with olive oil and place on a 1/2 size sheet tray (or cookie sheet.)
6. Broil for 2-3 minutes or until slightly golden in color. Repeat procedure so that both sides are lightly toasted.
7. Remove from broiler, top with tomato mixture and serve.

Garlic scape pesto

Ms. Huis Herself's CSA boxes made me remember and dig up this recipe I found a while back online. It's from Greensgal at The Omnivore's Solution. I went ahead and posted her comments at the top. This may be horrible Internet etiquette...



One of the most fantastic uses I know is in Garlic Scape Pesto. Our very favorite omelet is folded over a ribbon of this pesto – yum! We also eat it plain as a spread on crunchy bread or crackers. It can be used to season steamed vegetables, a topping for brown rice, or as an addition to potato salad for a mild garlic flavor. Stir some into vegetable soups as a garnish and flavor enhancer. This freezes amazingly well and keeps many months in the freezer.

GARLIC SCAPE PESTO

1/2 lb. organic scapes, top bulbs removed (chopped into 1" sections)
1/2 C pine nuts
2 c. grated parmesan cheese (substitute romano or asiago)
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil (to achieve the correct texture)

Use only the tender parts of the scapes, peeling bottom ends if tough.
In a food processor, combine the scapes and pine nuts, pulse to chop into a rough paste. Add cheese and pulse. With processor running, drizzle in just enough olive oil to achieve a moist spreading consistency. Taste for salt and add some sea salt if necessary. It depends on the saltiness of the cheese.

Note: I substitute a “lesser” parmesan for economy sake. Using the finest parmesan doesn’t make a tremendous difference because of the strength of the garlic taste.

Possible additions: 1/2 C fresh herbs – parsley, dill, or cilantro
Place in processor with scapes and pine nuts.

Peppered Tuna Skewers

Okay, tuna probably isn't the best choice for a fish/seafood newbie since it's not exactly subtle. But I have this recipe on hand, so this is the one you get first. It's from epicurious.com. I've served it as an appetizer for weekly dinner a couple times. It comes together really quickly and it's always gone over very well.

Peppered Tuna Skewers with Wasabi Mayo

2 Tablespoons wasabi powder
1-1/2 Tablespoons water
1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 lb. tuna steak
2-1/2 Tablespoons soy sauce
Fresh ground black pepper

Pickled ginger

Combine wasabi and water to make a paste. Add mayo and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. It takes this long for the wasabi flavor to come through — an early taste-test will not give you an accurate idea of the flavor. Marinate tuna in soy sauce for the same 30 minutes. While that part is sitting, thread pickled ginger onto short skewers (I just use heavy-duty toothpicks). The original recipe suggests serving on a bed of watercress for pretty.

After the 30 minutes are up, drain the soy sauce from the tuna and pat the tuna dry with a paper towel. Add pepper to tuna. Heat vegetable oil over a medium-high flame until shimmery, and quickly sear tuna (about 2 minutes on each side for a good, 1-2" thick tuna steak — you want it to be rare in the center). Remove from heat, carefully cut into 3/4" cubes (the tuna will want to flake into its own shape, particularly the parts that are the most cooked) and add to ginger skewers.

Serve with wasabi mayo dipping sauce.

Note: You will have lots of extra sauce. I've used it up as another fish dish. Take filets of whatever fish you like and place them in an oiled baking pan. Spread wasabi mayo over the top in a thin layer, then sprinkle seasoned bread crumbs/panko/crackers/whatever over that. Bake. (I refer to Joy for baking time/temp for whatever type of fish I'm using. If it's a thinner, lighter filet, you may need to switch it over to broil for the last couple minutes to get the top nice and crunchy.)