Hor's Douevre Platters

I follow Cheese by Numbers on Instagram.  I know her posts look so simple but it's actually harder than it looks.  So while I practice one of my latest happy hour bite platters, I'll post them, mostly so I recall what I've done.  I bought this cool looking platter for about $15 and love the size and shape!  It can be dinner for 2 or a platter to serve many with drinks ahead of dinner. 

Below is a simple pre-dinner platter using a dinner plate.  We have a new media room and I made this one night while we enjoyed a cocktail.

Cheese By Numbers (as found on Instagram) my first try

I began following CheeseByNumbers after I saw Melissa Mullen on Rachel Ray.  I need to get better at this but I had a lot of fun putting it together.  I easily could've added some sprigs of herbs and grapes, but I couldn't find Champagne Grapes which is what I wanted.  On the left is my jumping off point.

This is what a made.  Beginning at the top left corner and serpentining around the tray:  Grains First Crackers, Pepperoni, Camembert wedges with Pomegranate,  Pistachios behind the Olives, Kalamata Olives - in a bowl I made about 17 years ago, Sliced Gouda, Blue Cheese Spread with Pomegranate, Crisp and Buttery Crackers, the small bowl is for local honey, Fontina Cheese wedges, Blackerries, Duck Liver Pate, not seen Whole Cashews, Hard Salami.  

Lots to learn but lots of fun, too! 

Here's one that served 10 people on Thanksgiving Day, pre-feast.  

Barbeque Shrimp meets Sushi

Using Pinterest, I saved a picture of something like this but when I went to review the recipe I got an error message.  This past Thanksgiving, while in the Outerbanks, we had an Asian inspired night and my sister, D, made something similar to what I had previously pinned.  

I hosted a party last night and did a mix of the 2 things I had in mind knowing all the while I would be blending the ingredients with New Orleans style Barbeque Shrimp seasoning.

This recipe made 20 stacks.  Cook 1 Cup Nishiki Rice as directed on the package.  Once done, place it into something like a large flat bottom bowl or platter so it can cool.  I like to use a flat bottom wooden salad bowl in order to give me a lot of surface area.  Dress the rice for Sushi sprinkling the following: Mix together 1 Tbl Rice Vinegar, 1 1/2 tsp Sugar, 1/2 tsp Salt.  Using 2 forks lightly toss until the seasoning is combined with the rice.

Using a total of 3 Avocados, mash 1 1/2 Avocados and dice 1 1/2 Avocados.  Add the juice of 1/2 Small Lemon, Salt and Pepper and 1/2 Cucumber, peeled and seeds removed then diced.  Mix together gently.  Refrigerate until you are ready to assemble.

Cook the Fresh Shrimp (in my case I cooked 24 of them) over medium heat in 2 TBL Butter.  Once almost done, add the Juice of the other 1/2 Small Lemon, 1TBL Worcestershire Sauce, 1-2 TBL of your favorite Barbeque Shrimp Seasoning.  Toss to coat and turn off heat.  

To assemble, I used a tall 2" round metal timbale mold.  Using wet fingers, press 1 1/2 to 2 Tbl Prepared Rice to the mold.  Continue making the rounds until the rice is gone.  Add desired avocado to the rice, top with a single shrimp.  

If you want a more refined look, you can also add rice again to the the top of the avocado and then remove it from the mold.   Then top that with a shrimp placed on its side and drizzled with the barbeque butter.  I thought this was plenty of rice for the very large shrimp I used.   For my first time, I thought this was quite tasty.  

Brie Bites in Phyllo Cups

This is one of those simple recipes.   I don't know what magazine this came from.  I cut it out and threw the magazine away when I was getting ready to move.  I made a couple of adjustments after making it a second time, so this is what I have.  

Preheat oven to 350.  

Buy 2 Packages of Phyllo Cups in the frozen secion.  They come pre-baked and 15 per box.  Place them on a cookie sheet.

Cut the rind off an 8oz Wheel of Brie.  Cut into strips about 1/4" thick.  Cut the strips into pieces about 1" long.  Add 1/2 tsp Red Pepper Jelly to the bottom of each cup.  Place Brie piece on top of the jelly and press down lightly.  Top with a Pecan half.  Brush the pecan with Melted Butter.  

Place in oven for 8-10 min until chesse is melted and bubbly.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Avocado Caprese Salad

This was another video that was floating around.  You hardly need a recipe.

Heat 1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar with a Pinch of Sugar over medium heat.  As soon at it starts to simmer, remove from heat.  The water will evaporate to create a more concentrated thicker Balsamic Glaze. 

Cut Avocado in half and remove the pit.  Brush with Lemon Juice to keep from turning brown.  Cut Mozzarella Pearls  and Grape Tomaotes in half.  Add these to the avacado cavity.  Drizzle with Oil Olive and Balsamic Glaze.  Add S&P and Basil.  Serve at once. 

Mini Baked Crab and Corn Dip Cups

I better put this in here before I forget what I did!!  I bought 8oz of Fresh Crab Meat and a 1 package of Wonton Wrappers and that was enough to inspire me to make up this finger food which was served during the Wild Card NFL games.  I made 24 cups and had enough filling to make an additional 8-10.  

Peel and cook in boiling water 2 Ears of Fresh Corn for 2 minutes and quickly rinse in cold water.  Remove corn from cob.  Place in bowl. 

Beat 3 oz Cream Cheese with 1/2 Cup Sour Cream.  Beat in 1 Egg.  Mix in 1 Cup Parmesan Cheese.  I used fresh, already grated Parmesan but you can kicked it up if you want to grate your own.  Add Salt & Pepper to taste and 1/2 tsp Thyme, 1/4 tsp Paprika.  Stir in Corn and 8 oz Crab, lump is best but don't get claw meat  

Preheat oven to 375.  Melt 2 Tbl Butter.  Using a Cooking Spray, lightly coat the cups of a mini 24 cup pan.  Using a biscuit cutter, cut 24 Wontons in rounds.  Add a wonton to each cup and butter the inside with melted butter.  Add filling until just slightly below the top of the cup, these will rise a little.  Bake for 20 minutes or until the filling looks set and the cups are browned.  Serve at once.  

NOTE: You can add either sauteed Minced Shallots or thinly sliced Scallions to the mixture for additional flavor.  I opted to go without but next time I will add one of them.  The crab flavor is more prominent without these flavors.  

Lemon flavored Ricotta with Tomatoes

I really wasn't sure how to label this recipe.  Before we moved, I cut out recipes that interested me before throwing the magazines away.  Sometimes the picture and recipe weren't on the same page.  This must have been one of those times because I can't find the recipe.  

My in-laws visited in late July and I had a lot of various cherry tomatoes growing in my raised bed at the community garden.  I happened upon this photo in my file but couldn't find the recipe ~ I really wanted to use the tomatoes so I made one up!  I got lucky, it turned out tasty!   Yesterday, my brother S, his wife D and son J overnight, visited overnight as they treked across the state to see the total eclipse of the sun.  

Again, I had lots of tomatoes and knew they would like this kind of hors d'oeuvre.  Turns out I was right!  This time I decided to photograph the results and post the recipe the way I made it.  I can see in the original photo that there may have been sesame seeds and I didn't add them.  In other words, feel free to change it up any way you wish.  Things such as flavoring the ricotta with blue cheese and adding bacon.  Or crisping the shallots first.  It's quite forgiving as long as the flavors combine well.  

Our Harris Teeter makes a perfect bread for this sort of recipe called Pane di Casa.   It's a large loaf allowing me to top the individual slices before cutting them into thirds.  It makes a perfect 3 to 4 bite hors d'oeuvres.  You can lightly grill the bread first but I prepared them al a minute as we chatted around the kitchen island catching up, so we used untoasted bread.  Once there was 1 for everyone we began eating.  

Add 8 oz. Ricotta to a bowl.  Next, Zest 1 Lemon, then juice the same lemon into the bowl.  Add 1 teaspoon or 2 of Fresh Parsley and Salt and Pepper to taste.  Stir.  Slice bread to desired thickness.  Cut in half Cherry Tomatoes in assorted sizes and colors.  Slice both halves of an Avocado (I have a tool that makes this faster).  NOTE: 1 Avacado and 2 cups cherry tomatoes made 5 slices of bread.  Thinnly slice a large Shallot.  

Next, assemble by speading ricotta mixture, topping with cherry tomatoes, avacado, and shallots.  Drizzle with very high quality Olive Oil, top with freshly ground Salt and Pepper.  I find the flavors come together if you let them sit for about 10 minutes.  Serve at room temperature with libations!

PS- The next day, I made French Toast with the leftover loaf, cutting thick slices and serving with with berries and Vermont Maple Syrup.  

Blackened Shrimp Tacos with Peach Salsa

We've been eating lighter now that it's hot.  Yesterday I had a hankering for Shrimp Tacos with a zesty Peach Salsa, so I picked up what I needed just before dinner.  Let's say this was a nod to Louisiana.

The Peach idea came from years ago, when a guest chef at the local farmer's market found things at the booths and cooked fish and served it with a simple fresh peach salsa.  I thought it was the coolest idea.  We are talking 15 years ago, so though there is no way I could duplicate what he did I made my own quick Salsa.

Rinse Shrimp, peel devein, pat dry, and add 5 to each skewer, this just makes for easy grilling.  Drizzle with Olive Oil and season with Blackening Seasoning on both sides, I like Paul Prudhomme's the best.

For the Salsa, Dice 2 Ripe Peaches.  Mince a few strips of Jalepeno - use them to your liking depending on how much heat you want.  Add 1 tsp Freshly squeezed Lemon Juice.  Season with 2 tsp minced Cilantro and if you want, 2 tsp Minced Red Onion.  Drizzle with 1 TBL Olive Oil and stir.

Shred lettuce, I used Red Cabbage and Spinach, but you can use micro greens, napa cabbage, sprouts of any sort, really whatever you want.

Preheat Grill til hot and grill shrimp, turning once.  Warm the tortillas in a dry skillet so they are pliable.

We have taco tenders and I recommend them. Assemble tacos by placing shredded greens in the bottom, add 3 shrimp and top with Salsa.  We sampled Gluten Free Tortillas but I didn't care for the texture at all.  I would stick with flour tortilla's or if Gluten Free is needed, I would rather make my own with gluten free flour.

Gougeres

I moved to a new state about a month ago and am in a new Reading Club.  We read the book, The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah.  The story is set in France when the Germans occupied the country during WWII.  Though they probably didn't enjoy a food like this during that time on account of food shortages, this is said to have originated in the Burgundy Region of France.  

I have on my blog a Dauphine Potato recipe as well as Profiteroles, both based on simple Choux Dough recipes.  This dough is similar and is made savory with the addition of cheese, in particular Gruyere.  

In looking for a recipe to give a nod to the French, I found this recipe in my book where I have indexed recipes from late food magazines.  I've never made them so this is my first go at it.  Based on the font of nearby recipes on other pages, I am fairly certain it came from Food and Wine, December 1988, wow, so practically 30 years old!

Remove 6 Large Eggs  from the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature.  5 are for the recipe itself and 1 to brush on the Gougeres before baking.
NOTE: This recipe calles for a total of 5 EXTRA Large Eggs ~ so I made an adjustment on account of using Large Eggs
Preheat oven to 425.   
Grate 6 oz Parmesan Cheese and 1/2 Cup Gruyere Cheese into a bowl.  Set asside.  
In a medium bowl, combine 1 Cup Flour, 3/4 tsp Salt and 1/2 tsp Freshly Ground Pepper.  Set aside.

In a large heavy saucepan, combine 1 Cup Whole Milk and 1 Stick Unsalted Butter.  Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring as the butter melts.  Remove from heat immediately and add the flour mixture all at once.  Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon just until the dough masses into a ball and doesn't cling to the sides.  

Transfer dough to a mixing bowl and using the paddle beater, on medium, add a total of  5 Large Eggs, one at a time, mixing after until each egg is completely absorbed.  The dough should appear smooth and satiny and hold it's shape when a small amount is scooped with a spoon.  Add the Cheese Mixture and mix until throughly.  








I am going to use parchment paper on my sheet pans so they lift easily.  You can either pipe, scoop or spoon 2 tsp of batter into mounds leaving 1 1/2" of space between each.  

Beat remaining egg, and brush each gougeres with the egg glaze before baking.  Bake for 15-18 minutes until rich golden brown.  The recipe called for 10 minutes of baking time but I clearly needed more time.  

Serve warm or at room temperature.  
Can be made ahead and reheated before serving.  Bon appetit!!

Martha Stewart's Oven-Dried Tomatoes

I am in the process of relocating to a new state.  The sad thing is, my new kitchen is nothing like the one I have.   So with this move comes cleaning stuff out and just reducing "my stuff" whether kitchen equipment, bowls I love that have a chip, or things I haven't used in years, it's all going to a new home before I depart.

I have years of Martha Stewart Living magazines, fully in tact.  I am going through them one by one and ripping out anything that is still of interest and pitching the magazine.

The other day I came across this oven roasted tomato recipe that I recall  wanting to make when I first read this issue years ago but somehow never found the time to do so.  We are having company for New Year's Eve and it will go nicely with the Asparagus with Brie Sauce (from Savoir Faire) my son plans to make as an hors d'oeurve.

This is really very simple and I could kick myself for not making it sooner.  You just have to plan ahead because it roasts for hours.  I decided since tomatoes aren't exactly in season, that I would buy four varieties of cherry tomatoes.  The recipe calls for "paste" tomatoes which appear like romas in her picture but they were sort of pale and these cherries will roast a little faster, say four hours rather than five hours.  Mine are roasting now and smell delicious!

So preheat the oven to 200.  Line a sheet pan with Parchment Paper.  Cut 16-20 Cherry Tomatoes in half.  Place them on the sheet pan cut side up.  Cut thin Slices of Garlic and place on each tomato.  Drizzle with good Olive Oil.  Add Fresh Thyme and season with Salt and Pepper.  Place in oven, in my case for four hours.  Check every 30 minutes after the first few hours.  Serve at Room temperature with a crostini, a peice of fresh spinach, a slice of Mozzarella Cheese, really what ever you have on hand.

They can be placed in a jar with additional Olive Oil and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

It's January 1, 2017.  Happy New Year!  I can tell you these were delicious.  5 of us ate them all along with the appetizer my son made.  Wow, I can tell you I will be making these often.  Thank you Martha Stewart!

Baked Brie

It's been a long time since I have posted anything to my blog.  I have been very busy and my blog has gone to the last rung of my priority list.

Last Christmas, at our tennis party, the hostess, my friend MAS, made this Baked Brie appetizer.  It was delicious!!  She sent around the recipe a few weeks ago and I decided I wanted to prepare it for a Thanksgiving Day appetizer.  I normally don't eat a lot so this appetizer will be a welcomed sight as I sip a Whiskey Sour - a Thanksgiving tradition thanks to my sister D and brother-in-law, L!

This recipe works well with a 10" Wheel of Brie.  Preheat over to 350.  Place the wheel of brie on a rimmed plate that you will serve from so you are not left trying to tranfer the soft brie.  Bake Brie for 20 minutes - til soft.

Meanwhile, prepare the topping.  Melt 1 Stick of Butter with 1 Cup of Brown Sugar over medium heat, until the sugar disolves.  Add to the mixture 1 Diced Granny Smith Apple, 1/2 Cup Crainsins, and 1/2 Cup Chopped Pecans and stir until everything is coated.  Remove from heat.  Add 2 Tbl Grand Marnier.  It will bubble as the alcohol evaporates.  Once it is done bubbling, pour over the hot brie.  Serve immediately with Sturdy Crunchy Crackers or Crunchy Bread Rounds.  Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Homemade Mozzarella Caprese Salad with Grilled Bread

I made Homemade Mozzarella for the second time.  This turned out better than the first time because I pulled it longer.  It was firmer and held its shape better.  One gallon of milk made 2 generous 8oz portions of cheese.   

For lunch I ate Slices of Mozzarella and Fresh Tomatoes drizzled in Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar, topped with Cracked Pepper and Hawaiian Black Salt.  I placed the tomato and cheese on Grilled Slices of Bread.  It was delicious!!

Sticky Garlicy Ginger Wings

Just in time for football season!  I just love wings during a football game!!  What I like about these most is they are made in the oven so they can be cooking with very little fuss and served at halftime.  My family enjoys the combination of garlic and ginger so I thought, why not put them together for a zesty and sticky honey glaze with an Asian twist and the results were great!

Have you noticed how sometimes you get wings that are not fall off the bone tender?  I created this recipe to ensure they would be fall off the bone delicious.  Many wings are fried and though I love hot wings done that way, it produces a ton of work since they are cooked in small batches AND makes an incredible mess.  Get the picture?  More work for Cinderella. 


First, in a Tupperware marinade container, make the marinade.  If you don't have one, use a 1 Gallon zip lock bag.  Combine the following:  4 Tbl Tempura Dipping Sauce, 2 Tbl Rice Vinegar, 1/2 tsp Sesame Oil, 1 Tbl Spicy Stir Fry Sauce, 1 Heaping Tbl Corn Starch, 1/8 tsp Red Pepper Flakes, 3 Tbl Honey, 1 Tbl Sherry, 1 tsp Toasted Sesame Seeds, 3 Pressed Garlic Cloves, 1 Tbl Fresh Grated Ginger.

Next, Rinse and using a boning knife, cut up 18 Wings.  BTW, these cost about $11. I threw away the first joint but you can leave it attached or you can save it to make stock.  Split the remaining wing into 2 drummettes as you can see pictured.  Place the cut wings in the marinade as you go.  Cover the container (or zip the bag). Turn over about every 20 minutes over a period of an hour.  I made a Napa Cabbage salad while these were marinading and it all went well together.  That recipe will be in a separate posting.

During the last 10 minutes, Preheat oven to 375.  Using heavy duty foil, line a sheet pan.  NOTE: Do not throw away the marinade.  Remove the wings and place in a singe layer on the sheet pan and place in oven.

Pour marinade into a sauce pan.  Add an additional 2 Tbl Honey and 2 Tbl Canola Oil and over medium heat, boil just around the edges.  While wings are baking, baste them about every 20 minutes with this sauce.  After 1 hour, don't baste anymore, reduce heat to 350 and continue to bake for an additional 20 minutes.  Get a platter ready and thinly slice Scallions for a garnish.  Remove from the oven and place on a warm platter.  Garish and serve at halftime!  Hopefully your team is up.

Homemade Mozzarella

My sister, D, gave her daughter a cheese making kit a few years ago and they have been making Mozzarella Cheese from scratch since.  I finally bought a kit and am going to give it a go.  I am really excited and hope you are, too! 
First step is to find "Pasteurized Milk" since I can't use Ultra-Pasteurized Milk." I found the grocery about a mile from my house sells pasteurized whole milk, so I bought it yesterday.

Yeah!  This morning I made the cheese.  First I had to watch a video a number of times because there are critical steps of stirring, timing, and temperature to be mindful of.  The kit I have is from Ricki Carroll, about $25 online.  It will turn 40 gallons of milk into cheese.  Each gallon makes about 16-20 ounces of finished cheese, though that is a rough estimate without weighing it.  If you venture into this, you will find that you work with One Gallon of Whole Milk at a time.

Pictured is the finished product ready to eat.  Next time I know to pull the cheese more times than I did to make it more elastic and therefore more stringy.  I also learned to have an ice bath ready so once the cheese is formed to my liking, I have it ready.  My first two balls were still warm and flattened as they cooled on a plate.  I decided to eat one of those "mistakes" first.  All in all, it took me longer than the 30 minutes but next time will be faster.  And all and all, it is delicious!!

Chicken Parm Meatballs

OK, I made these but I didn't make them up.  My friend pinned a photo and I pinned it after reading the recipe.

I made a slight variation on account of the chicken coming in 1 lb packages.  I am actually going out to dinner tonight so these are for my son and his babysitter, L.  They are going to eat them over pasta with marinara.  The only real change I made was, with 2 lbs of chicken (the recipe called for 1 1/4 lbs) I increased the bread crumbs and the parmesan cheese and I also adjusted quantities to my taste.  I reduced the fennel in case my son isn't crazy about the flavor.

Here is the link to the blog from which the recipe comes from.  It's a neat blog.

http://www.dinneralovestory.com/chicken-parm-meatballs/

Next time I may make them using 3 lbs of chicken because they smell really good!  Oh, and I tasted one without the mozzarella cheese and they are good, so a definite 3 on lbs next time.

Here's what I did.  In a bowl mix, 2 lbs Ground Chicken,  3/4 Cups Whole Wheat Bread Crumbs (I make my own by freezing the ends of the bread and grinding them up while frozen when I have 15-20 ends.  I store the frozen crumbs in a zip lock bag.) 3/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese, 1/4 Cup Diced Onion, 1 Tbl Chopped Parsley, 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt, 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper, 3 Cloves Pressed Garlic, 1/2 tsp Fennel, 1 Beaten Egg, Zest of 1 Lemon.

Preheat oven to 400 and line 2 sheet pans with foil.  Mix the meatball mixture together by hand and using a scoop so it goes faster, scoop enough that they will be larger than a golf ball. Finish shaping by hand.  Mix together 2 Tbl Marinara Sauce and 3 Tbl Olive Oil.  Brush this on the top of each of the meatballs and bake for 15 minutes. 

This is how it's written.  Switch to the broiler.  Cover each meatball with Marinara and top with a Slice of Mozzarella Cheese.  Broil until golden, about 3 minutes.

The second time I reheated these I changed it because the meatballs were not hot in the middle.  This worked much better.  Keep (or heat oven) to 400.  Top each meatball with Marinara.  Add a 1/4" slice of Mozzarella to each Meatball.  Drizzle with Olive Oil and add a shake of Oregano.  Bake for 10 minutes.  

These would also make a good sub sandwich.  Warm oven to 450.  Cut the roll lengthwise and add meatballs.  Add Marinara and top with cheese.  Bake for 5-7 minutes. 

Baked Brie - Breast Cancer Awareness

Last week for Breast Cancer Awareness, I baked 2 Bries Filled with Fresh Strawberries and Toasted Almonds. I added the traditional ribbon logo.  Unfortunately, someone tossed my Brie marker during clean up, :-(.
Thaw 1 Package of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets.  Buy (2) 8oz Wheels of Brie, be sure to check the date.  Toast 1/2 Cup Sliced Almonds in 1 Tbl UnSalted Butter.  Dice 3-4 Strawberries.  In a bowl, beat 1 Egg with a Splash of Water to use as glue.
Preheat oven to 400.  Using a small amount of flour, roll out pastry until you are able to get 2 circles about an inch in diameter larger than the Brie.  Cut the 2 circles.  Place Brie on 1 circle and paint the sides of the brie with the egg wash.  As you fold up the pastry, make folds as you go, pressing the dough into the sides of the brie.  Add 1/2 of the Almonds and 1/2 of the Strawberries.  Again, paint the sides (now the dough) with the Egg Wash.  Center the 2nd circle of pastry on top and fold the pastry over pressing the dough into the sides.  Brush entire top and sides with the Egg Wash.  Using the leftover dough and the point of a sharp knife, cut your design.  Add it to the top and again brush with Egg Wash.  I added a small sprinkle of Sanding Sugar but it's not necessary.  Cut a 12" diameter round of Parchment Paper and crinkle it to be about an 1" larger in diameter than the brie.  Place Brie on top careful not to poke holes in the pastry.  Two of these fit easily on 1 sheet pan.  Bake for 20 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.  Let rest for 5 minutes before placing both the brie and parchment paper on a flat serving platter.  Provide a sharp knife for cutting and serve with toast squares.  Enjoy!!

Chocolate Filled Raspberries

I saw this on Pinerest and thought it looked awesome.
I used 1 Pint Fresh Raspberries and 1/2 Cup Nestles Chips but you can use White Chocolate, Milk Chocolate or a combination.
I brought these to a tennis match one morning when I was partially responsible for snacks that day.  I assembled them in the morning and froze them before heading to the courts.  They were really tasty and easy to snack on!

Individual Oven Baked Eggplant Parmesan

Looks simple enough, right?  I made up this Oven Baked Eggplant Parmesan recipe because I wanted individual eggplant Parmesan that didn't absorb lots of olive oil.  Eggplant is like a sponge and if you cut it and immediately cook it, you'll have to use lots of oil.  When you salt it before cooking and let the water drip out, it will cook without much oil at all.  If you are short of time, this is a good alternative.

Preheat Oven to 375.  Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.  To 2 flat bottom bowls, for example pasta plates, add 1/4 Cup Olive Oil to one and 1/2 Cup Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs to the other.  Peel and cut 2 Medium Eggplants into 1/2" slices. Dip the Eggplant into the oil then into the bread crumbs.

Place on the sheet pan.  Lightly season with Salt and Pepper to taste.  Place in the oven for 40-45 minutes.  About 1/2 way through cooking, flip the eggplant over and bake until it is golden brown.  Up til now can be done up to a few hours in advacne.  When ready to eat,  add 1 Tbl of Marinara and top with 1 Tbl  Mozzarella Cheese.  Place back into the oven until the cheese is melted or you can load it up and bake until the cheese is brown.  These can be served as a side dish, placed on top of pasta with marinara, or even served on a soft roll and eaten as a sandwich.  All in all, for my first crack at, they were quite tasty!!

Burrata Mozzarella

To celebrate our son's adoption, we always go to an Italian restaurant on the exact date, regardless of what is going on in our lives.  We have exhausted all of the kid friendly family options.  Last year, since he was 9, we decided to venture to New Orleans.  After careful research, we chose John Besh's, Domenica, located at the Roosevelt Hotel.  We got there early on a Sunday afternoon. It wasn't overly crowded, likely because the Saints were not playing in the Dome, but we realized we were in no rush and could really enjoy this meal together.  I had read within the description of the restaurant, named for the day of the week, that Domenica in Italy was spent visiting and eating with family (and I suppose friends), all afternoon, enjoying course after course of domestic specialties, my kind of place.  After a quick review of the menu, we decided that's how we would spend this special day, too.  We each selected dishes that appealed to us individually and if the group concurred, we would order it.  We asked that each course be served one at a time, family style, and that's how it came.  My husband chose the Octopus Carpaccio (spectacular), I picked the Squid Ink Pasta (delicious) plus the Burrata Mozzarella (totally amazing), and our son picked the Homemade Lasagna (which was served in its own mini lasagna dish and was piping hot and bubbling over).

Unbeknownst to me at the time, Burrata Mozzarella is an imported soft mozzarella which, as you can see, is almost runny.  When the dish arrived, it appeared to me that they heated olive oil and added tomato halves.  This was placed directly on top of the cheese.  Then it was garnished with fresh pesto that was either stirred in or we stirred in.  It was served with crusty farm bread.

Yesterday I walked into Whole Foods and what was the first thing I see?  You guessed it, Burrata Mozzarella.  I bought it along with Yellow Cherry Tomatoes, and a Crusty Ciabatta.  I recreated what I thought to have been the dish I ate 10 months ago.  The first thing you have to do is get the cheese up to room temperature, so I picked a dish and got it opened right away.  I warmed the oven, then the bread.  In the meantime I warmed 2 Tbl Olive Oil and added about 10 Quartered Tomatoes.  When the oil was hot, I add the tomatoes.  Once they sizzled for about 15 seconds, I turned them off.  I whipped up a quick Pesto using Fresh Basil leaves I have growing.  I added a Small Handful of Walnuts, Salt and Pepper, and a Few Tbl Parmesan.  Once this was combined, I drizzled in about 1/4 Cup of Olive Oil.  I layered the Burrata with the oil and pesto and then cut the bread after it rested for about 5 minutes. Wow, it was so good!  I really need to go to Italy but in the meantime, I will look to the John Besh's of the world to help me recreate some of the specialties in my own kitchen.

smitten kitchen's Zucchini Fritters, take 2.

I made these again for the 2nd time in 3 days.  Truly they are that good.  I followed the original recipe in the previous post and made these few adjustments.

• I used 3 Zucchini as opposed to 2 and this also made 12 Fritters, a better number for the 3 of us.
• When I was at the CIA this summer, I bought cheese cloth, so this time I squeezed the water out of the grated zucchini in small batches using the cloth.  I got a drier result which made these cook up beautifully.  
• I decided not to add additional salt to my batter, however, on turning each fritter I sprinkled a bit of Kosher Salt to each Fritter and that was tasty.
• I heated an oven to 350 and placed the finished Fritters on a rack lined sheet pan so they were warm when we ate and still crispy on the edges.

Safe to suffice, I am happy with the adjustments I made!  This recipe is a keeper for us!!