Recipe: Watermelon, Feta and Mint Salad

Here is another recipe included in the menu for my friend’s baby shower last week. It’s refreshing, but make sure you are making this when watermelon is in season – the success of this recipe is heavily dependent upon a great tasting watermelon.

We served this along side the Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps as part of the first course.

served in ramekins so the juice wouldn't run into the lettuce wraps

Watermelon, Feta and Mint Salad
makes: 12 servings (about 1 cup each)

3 cups 2-inch chunks fresh watermelon
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 T chopped fresh mint

Directions
1. Combine all ingredients together in a bowl then serve. It’s that easy.

recipe adapted from epicurious

Recipe: Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Here is another recipe included on the menu for my friend’s baby shower last week. Something else she loves other than grilled turkey and bacon sandwiches? Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps. We wanted to make something with a peanut dressing, so we ended up at this one.

We served this with the Watermelon Feta and Mint Salad in a little ramekin side bowl.

This is a great summer salad recipe, too. You don’t have to put it in the lettuce wraps – instead, you can just mix it up, leave it in the fridge and have it around for a satisfying and pretty healthy snack.

Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps
makes: 36 lettuce wraps (plus some leftover salad for later)

Peanut Dressing
8 large garlic cloves
1/2 cup soy sauce
2/3 cup fresh lime juice
4 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons peanut butter (smooth or chunky – it doesn’t matter)
4 teaspoons chopped peeled fresh ginger root
1 Tablespoon chili garlic sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Salad
9 oz rice stick noodles (vermicelli size – very thin)
2 pounds boneless, skinless hormone-free chicken breasts
3 medium carrots, peeled and julienned (cut into about 3-inch long pieces)
3 medium cucumbers, peeled seeded and julienned (cut into about 3-inch long pieces)
1 cup shelled edamame (soy beans)
1/3 cup coarsely chopped roasted salted peanuts
2 heads Boston or Bibb lettuce, washed

Directions
1. To make the dressing, combine garlic through pepper in a food processor. Process until smooth, then add oil to combine all ingredients. Put half aside for the salad dressing, and use the remaining half to marinate the chicken breasts.

2. Cook rice noodles according to package. When drained, cut the noodles into 3-4 inch pieces using a scissors then add to a large mixing bowl.

3. Cook the chicken. You may grill or roast the chicken. We grilled the chicken since it was such a beautiful day and we didn’t want to heat the house too much before the guests came over.

• To Grill: Heat grill to medium-high heat. Cook chicken for about 10-12 minutes, turning once.
• To Roast: Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken in a roasting pan and roast for about 12-15 minutes.

When chicken is cooked through, move to a cutting board and slice. Add chicken to the noodle bowl.

4. Add carrots, cucumbers and edamame to the noodle and chicken bowl. Toss with the reserved peanut dressing.

5. To assemble, put about 1/2 cup of the noodle salad into one leave of lettuce. Serve with crushed peanuts as a garnish.

recipe adapted from epicurious

Healthy Recipe: Turkey Sausages with Apricot Mustard Sauce

I’ve never made homemade sausages before, but these were very good and I will make them again. These sausages are formed into patties, so I didn’t have to bother with the casings and all of that.

I made these for a book club brunch, and they were met with rave reviews. Because these are so lean, you may need to use more breadcrumbs than what I’ve listed here – just work with the consistency until it will form a patty. I know they look somewhat like crab cakes or fish cakes, but there’s nothing fishy about them – just herby savoriness.

Turkey Sausages with Apricot Mustard Sauce
Makes: about 2 dozen 3-inch patties
Time: under 60 minutes

Get the recipe when you

Recipe: Little Zucchini and Basil Fritattas

I went to my first LAN party a couple weekends ago at a coworker’s house. (Before you skip on to the next post, YES, there is a recipe included here.) It was SO MUCH FUN. Aside from the fact that a group of us play shoot-em-up video games over the lunch hour every day at work, it’s so much more fun to spend at least 8 hours playing on a Saturday. Yes, I officially reached geek status with this event. And I’m OK with that.

I said I’d bring something over and decided to make spring rolls (which were mediocre so I’m not even going to include the recipe here) and the recipe I’m about to talk about.

These were quite good, and you can make them gluten free if you want. Just use a gluten free flour. These were great because they were easy to eat in your hand but not greasy. These would be great as a brunch item too.

The recipe calls for a regular size muffin tin. If I were to make these again, I would make them in a mini muffin pan so there were more. In this case, I would cut the zucchini smaller instead of sliced, but keep a few sliced ones for the garnish.

Little Zucchini and Basil Fritattas
Total Time: 35 min
Active Time: 15 min
Makes: 12

Ingredients
2 T dry breadcrumbs*
2 T olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, thickly sliced
2-3 zucchini, sliced into 4mm-thick rounds
8 eggs
8 basil leaves, sliced
3/4 cup grated parmesan
100 g feta (preferrably marinated)
1/2 cup self-rising flour**

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Butter a 12 hole nonstick muffin pan. Dust each hole with crumbs then tap out the excess.

Place the olive oil in a large skillet. Gently head the oil over medium-low heat for 1-2 minutes until the garlic starts to sizzle. Remove garlic and discard.

Increase heat to medium-high. Fry zucchini on both sides until golden. Drain on absorbent paper.

In a large bowl, lightly whisk eggs with a fork with the basil, salt and freshly ground pepper (enough to cover the surface of the mixture) until just combined. Stir in the Parmesan and flour until combined.

Divide the fried zucchini and feta throughout the muffin tin. Place 12 pieces of zucchini aside as a garnish.

Pour the egg mixture into each muffin hole (about 1/4 cup) and top with a slice of zucchini.

Gently tap the sides of the muffin tray to ensure the mixture has spread throughout the muffin hole.

Bake for 20-25 minutes – until the the fritattas feel firm when gently pressed and spring back.

Remove from oven and allow them to settle in the pan for about 10 minutes before gently easing them out.

based off of this chow.com recipe

*I typically bake in stoneware, so I don’t need to grease anything. I skipped the breadcrumb step altogether. If you don’t have stoneware, I use rice breadcrumbs as a GF alternative.

**Use gluten free flour here instead if you wish to make these GF.

Curried Cranberry Wontons

These are really good for throwing an informal get together at your house. I remember growing up and my mom making crab wontons when friends would be coming over for dinner. My sisters and I would always sneak a couple off the tray before anyone showed up so we could sample them too.

My friend and I created this variation a couple years ago for her annual holiday party. It combines some of our favorite flavors into a pretty tasty appetizer.

You can keep them warm in a 200/warm oven or just serve them right away (they’re best if they’re warm but we’ve also served them at room temp for an hour or so – they usually don’t last that long anyway). They’re good with sweet and sour sauce or hot mustard.

Curried Cranberry Wontons
makes approx 40

8 oz cream cheese, at room temp
4 oz chevre goat cheese
2 scallions, sliced green and white parts
1 T red curry paste
1/3 c dried cranberries (try to avoid Craisins as they’re overly sweet – I like the organic ones from my local coop that I can buy in bulk – but if Craisins are all you can buy, go for it)
1 jalapeno, diced (use the seeds if you want the wontons spicy)
wonton skins
water
oil for frying

Combine the cream cheese, goat cheese, scallions, curry paste, cranberries, and jalapeno, in a mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly.

In a heavy skillet heat 1/4″ of oil until hot. While the oil is heating up, put some water in a little dish and lay out wonton skins on a working surface. Place about 1 1/2 t of mixture on each of the wontons. Using your finger or a pastry brush, wet two sides of a wonton and then fold over into a triangle. The water should seal each side.

You may stop at this point with triangles or you may go one step further and wet the two long ends of the triangle and fold into the middle to form a little pouch. This is a great way to mark whether or not they’re are spicy or not spicy if making a double batch.

Continue folding wontons until they are all put together. (This is a great way to get helpers involved too.)

Test to make sure the oil is hot enough by placing one wonton in the oil. It should make popping and sizzling sounds right away. If it’s hot enough, fry 4-6 wontons at a time. Fry them until slightly brown on each side (they will continue to cook once out of the oil) – and make sure you turn them once. When done, place them on a paper towel-lined tray.

Serve when ready.

If you’re looking for a beverage to serve this with, sake is always a good choice or a nice Gewurtzeminer would go well with it too.

Steamed Pork Dumplings

This is one of my favorite appetizers to make. It’s easy, healthy, and delicious.

Steamed Pork Dumplings

1/2# ground pork
1 1/2 t grated fresh ginger root
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small carrot, grated
1/2 c grated purple cabbage
1 T tamari
1 1/2 t sesame oil
1 egg beaten
salt + pepper
optional spicy version: add 1/2 t Sriracha
40 wonton skins

Boil water in a large pot with a bamboo steamer on top.

Mix together pork through salt + pepper. Put some warm water in a small dish. Lay out wonton skins on flat surface. Spoon about 1-2 t of pork mixture onto wonton skin. Wet your finger and run it along the edges of the wonton. Grab two opposite ends of the wonton and pull them up and connect them (the water will bind it together). Then grab the other two ends and pull them up and bind them with the other 2 sides. It will create a sqaure with a fluted top.

Place prepared dumplings onto bamboo steamer. Steam for about 12-15 minutes.

Serve with a teriyaki or sesame/ginger/soy dipping sauce.

If you’re looking to pair this with wine, try a Gewurtzaminer or Riesling. Those wines match very well with Asian foods.

Proscuitto, Gorgonzola & Fig Crostini Recipe

I made the tasty hors d’oeuvre for a party this Saturday night. My friend and I just made it up and it turned out to be excellent. It has the right balance of salt and sweet. It’s extremely easy to make, and you can make up the crostini the night before to save time.
Proscuitto, Gorgonzola & Fig Crostini
1 French baguette
2 garlic cloves, crushed
extra virgin olive oil
8 oz high quality blue cheese (Stilton, Gorgonzola, etc.)
1 package fresh figs (we used black mission figs)
6 oz proscuitto

Preheat oven to 350. Slice the baguette into 1/4″-1/2″ slices on the diagonal. With the crushed garlic, rub each of the pieces of bread. Place on a baking sheet and brush each side with olive oil. Bake for about 6-8 minutes just until lightly toasted (these will go back in the oven, so the longer they cook now, the crispier they will become). Cool and place in ziplock back if making a day ahead, or set aside if continuing directly.

Preheat the broiler.

Slice the blue cheese and place slices on each piece of crostini. Slice the figs into thin slices (cut off the top stem, then slice lengthwise – discard the ends and keep the beautiful fleshy middle pieces). Place the figs (1-2) on each piece of crostini. Place a small piece of proscuitto on top – just enough to cover the top.

Broil for 5 minutes until the proscuitto is crispy but not browned.

Enjoy! This hors d’oeuvre goes very well with the classic Champagne Cocktail.

Tzatziki – Greek cucumber yogurt sauce recipe

There are many ways to enjoy tzatziki: served over dolmades, on hot dogs with grilled onions, but tzatziki is especially good with warmed pita bread.

Tzatziki
2 medium cucumbers, peeled
4 garlic cloves
1/4 c fresh dill (you can add fresh mint too if you like)
2 cups yogurt (the best kind of yogurt to use is Labna which I get at Hold Land Deli & Bakery – the thicker, yogurt-like spread is the best; it makes the tzatziki very thick and easy to dip)

Puree all the ingredients together and chill. This tzatziki recipe is always better at least 1 day after you make it so the flavors can meld together. To serve, heat a saute pan with olive oil over med-low heat. Place a pita bread in the pan and warm on both sides. When the pita starts to brown and bubble up, it’s ready to go.