Best Bar Nuts
11 oz can unsalted assorted nuts
1-2 Tbs fresh rosemary, finely minced
1/2 - 1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 T brown sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbs unsalted butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread nuts on cookie sheet and toast in the oven until they are lightly golden brown, about 10 minutes - don't let them burn!
Combine rosemary, cayenne, brown sugar, salt and butter in a sauce pan and heat on low until sugar dissolves. While the nuts are still warm, mix with rosemary/butter mixture. Toss thoroughly and spread on cookie sheet to dry.
Additional Ideas:
Add 1 Tbs of fresh lemon zest
Add 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Bench notes: This was from a contest of NYC bars a few years back (don't remember exactly, but I started making these in 2006), and it's still one of my favorites. I think it's the rosemary that really does it for me. This time I used 10.1 oz of Brazil nuts that were a gift at Christmas. They are one of my favorite nuts. I also added something this year that I hadn't before about a 1/2 tsp of sumac. It has a neat lemony/citric kind of taste to it and I've been waiting for something to try it in.
Let's start by saying I've made several changes to this recipe by blending it with another couscous recipe I have some where in the back of my head.
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Yield: 24
Pastry Cups
Vegetable oil cooking spray
Flour, for dusting
Two 9" unroll and bake store-bought pie crusts
Special equipment: 24-count nonstick mini-muffin pan; 2 1/2-inch round
cookie cutter
Salad
1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
Zest of 1/4 large orange
Juice of 1/2 large orange (about 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice)
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/3 cup couscous
One 11-ounce can mandarin oranges in light syrup, drained and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Dressing
tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cook's Note: To toast the almonds, arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 6 to 8 minutes until lightly toasted. Cool completely before using.
For the pastry cups: Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 24-count nonstick mini-muffin pan with vegetable oil cooking spray. Unroll the pie crusts on a lightly floured work surface. Using a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, cut 12 circles of dough from each crust. Press the dough into the prepared muffin cups. Bake until light golden, 10 minutes. Cool completely before filling, 15 minutes.
For the salad: Bring the broth, orange zest, orange juice and cumin to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the couscous and remove the pan from the heat. Cover the pan until the liquid had been absorbed and the couscous is tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Fluff the couscous and break up any lumps, using a fork. Toss together the couscous, mandarin oranges, almonds and parsley in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
For the dressing: Whisk together the oil, orange juice, vinegar, salt and pepper in a small bowl until smooth. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss until coated.
Bench Notes: As mentioned, I made changes, but was pleased w/the results - first, no cups, just couscous. I left the cumin out of the broth and used veggie broth instead of chicken broth (which I do quiet often). I substituted sultanas soaked in slightly heated orange juice
for the mandarin oranges. I added 1/3 of a diced red onion that I had slightly pickled in red wine vinegar and continued with the rest of the recipe. It was great room temperature and quite pretty with a nice mix of flavors.
Soppressata and Cheese in Puff Pastry
Recipe Ina Garten
1 package (2 sheets) frozen puff pastry, defrosted
2 Tbs Dijon mustard
12 thin slices soppressata salami
6 ozs Gruyere cheese, grated
1 egg beaten w/1 Tbs water, for egg wash
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place a piece of parchment paper on a sheet pan.
Lay one sheet of puff pastry on a floured board and lightly roll into a ten inch square. Place it on the sheet pan and brush the pastry with the mustard, leaving a one inch border. Arrange the soppressata in overlapping layers on the mustard and sprinkle the grated cheese evenly on the soppressata, also avoiding the border. Brush the border with the egg wash.
Lightly roll the second piece of puff pastry into a ten inch square. Lay the pastry directly on top of the first square, lining up the edges. Brush the top with egg wash, cut three large slits for steam to escape and chill for fifteen minutes.
When the pastry is cold, trim the edges with a very sharp knife to amke a clean edge. Bake the pastry in the center of the oven for twenty to twenty-five minutes, turning once while baking, until puffed and brown. Allow to cool for a few minutes, cut into squares and serve hot or warm.
Bench notes: Chilling the pastry after you've put it together is important. I used Fontina because my deli only had smoked Gruyere which didn't sound good to me on top of salami. May try a different salami in the future. The top puffed up nicely and brown even though I forgot the egg wash the top, but the bottom didn't crisp up as much so that was unfortunate. Might try with a different salami or even ham and perhaps add a minced shallot.
German Potato Salad
Recipe courtesy Anne Burrell
Yield: 4 servings
2 pounds white new potatoes, cut in half
Kosher salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
8 bacon slices, cut into lardons
1 onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 bunch fresh chives, finely chopped
Toss the potatoes in a medium saucepan, cover generously with water and season generously with salt. Bring the pot to a boil and reduce to a simmer until the potatoes are fork tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and reserve.
Coat a large straight-sided saute pan lightly with olive oil. Toss in the bacon and bring the pan to a medium heat. When the bacon is brown and crispy, toss in the onions and cook them until they are very soft and aromatic, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the stock and vinegar. Toss in the potatoes when they are still warm and cook until the liquid has absorbed into the potatoes. Taste and season with salt if needed. Toss in the chives and serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes: This was the first time I made this recipe. I used Dutch yellow baby potatoes, about 1.5 pounds. They were adorable, but kept rolling off the damn counter. I did make a few changes to the process though. I removed the bacon after making it crispy and reduced the fat to a couple of tablespoons to cook the onion. I added the bacon back in when I added the chives. The chives were garlic chives from the garden. I also added a tablespoon of vinegar at the end. The vinegar taste had kind of mellowed with cooking, so this brightened it up considerably.
While the Boy is quite interested in the game, the MotH and I prefer to watch the commercials unless something interesting happens in the game. It's definitely the second food holiday of the year, the first being New Year's Day. Up next the Valentine's food holiday and more chocolate than you can think of - yuck.
Menu
Spicy Brazil Nuts - I'm just going to wing it on this.
Spinach Dip - for the Boy - he has been know to make sandwiches with this, yes, disgusting.
California Garlic Bread - so decadent and only for special occasions or I'd be a blimp.
Citrus Couscous - new, but have some ideas to change the recipe to incorporate an older couscous recipe I have.
German Potato Salad - new, because I like it.
Carmel Corn - new, it's a little sweet, but hopefully, not too much.
M&M Cookies - maybe, if I get to it.
We'll just see how it goes.
Sunday, February 6th - Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Green Bay Packers
Two teams that are legends in the NFL, but since American football is more like a girly sport now, I stopped watching years ago, I don't really care who is playing. This is all about the commercials - at least for me and MotH. I've already seen one on You Tube and it's so cute. The Boy, on the other hand, actually cares about this. Hopefully, this condition will cure itself over time.
 |
| Lemon Pie Cookies |
One of my favorite food holidays, Super Bowl Sunday is a great day to make dinner out of appetizers. I love to make appetizers, crackers, flavored nuts, and all sorts of small things. I can think of no other food holiday that sort of dictates that everything be smallish and bite-sized.
Menu:
Salsa and Chips
 |
| Baked Stuffed Jalapenos |
Baked Stuffed Jalapenos (new)
Buffalo Chicken Dip (new)
Spinach Dip with Hawaiian bread (Boy requested)
Apricot Jam Meatballs (new)
Lemon Pie Cookies (new)
 |
| Apricot Meatballs |
Looking at all the "new" items is a bit daunting, but that's the way I like it.
Victims of my overzealous menu:
Baked Brie - boo - that was the one thing I was making for me...but that doesn't mean it won't be made at some point this week -- for dinner - how evil.
Sun-dried tomato thing - not a big deal, just had an idea of what I wanted in my head, so the fact that it wasn't made isn't the end of the earth.
Ate hot pepper jelly for lunch this week, so wasn't jonesing for it quite so much by Sunday - gave it a miss.
Totally forgot to make fries. By that time I didn't much care and I don't thinkk anyone missed them anyways.
So the review of those that survived... (including the Saints - that was great!)
Cajun Popcorn - outstanding! I mean really good. I wasn't sure it was going to work, esp after pouring the hot sugar mixture on the popcorn - and making popcorn the old way was great and the house didn't have the fake chemical smell the micro-popcorn does.
Spinach / Artichoke dip - v.g. worth the effort - makes a lot of dip!
Sausage Balls - good as always - froze remaining for easy breakfast. I always have to look this recipe up on the internet... don't know why I don't have a copy - random.
Gouda / crackers - if you like Gouda, you're happy.
Buffalo Chicken dip - again makes way too much. Used can chicken hesitantly as I think that's kind of weird. Not bad, but next time I'll poach a chicken breast or use a rotisserie chicken.
Sliders - easy recipe and I'll make that again this week.
Mini Cheesecakes - excellent - no really, just easy and excellent.
Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! (sorry - had to). Not that I care about football... but I do love me some commercials.
MENU (likely to be revised as I realize I've taking on too much as usual)
Cajun Popcorn*
Spinach / Artichoke Dip* w/ Stacey's pita chips "The hype is not unfounded."
Baked Brie
Sausage Balls
Gouda / Crackers (Gouda from MURRAY'S!) What?
Buffalo Dip *
Meatball/Marinara Slides with fries *
Hot Pepper Jelly / Cream Cheese (home made - the jelly, not the cream cheese)
Mini Cheesecake *
Need something with sun-dried tomatoes... will try to find something acceptable.
* New
Shopping list is made and will be handled on Friday to avoid people...a goal I always have :)
Hopefully, will not add anything, but who knows... the Buffalo Bleu Cheese Slider looked good too...
Cajun Popcorn, Jenny McCoy
Spinach/Artichoke Dip, Kristen Swensson
Sliders, Publix
check out the links...they're good stuff.
