I know I've been largely MIA.... as penance thought I'd try to throw out a couple festive EASY make ahead appetizers each week as the holidays stroll up and get us. These are so good and truly best if they are made the day before but not required.
This recipe will make about 80 kabobs.... cut it down as you need, but they keep as a yummy snack for a few days in fridge so don't skimp too much :) Tortellini Kabobs WHAT YOU NEED: 1 package of tortellini [I used the mixed spinach and white so I'd have even more color] 1 quart cherry or grape tomatoes [halved] 3 yellow or orange peppers [cleaned & cut into small squares] 1/2 cup of your favorite Italian Dressing or Vinaigrette 80 6-inch bamboo sticks Cook your tortellini as per package instructions to al dente, drain and set aside to cool while you cut your vegetables. Once prepped start kabob-ing.... tomato "cap up" then green tortellini, then pepper, then white tortellini and finish with a tomato "cap down" line up in a Tupperware or glass 9x13 dish drizzling lightly the dressing on each layer before piling the next on top. No need to separate these, I've had no sticking issues. Cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to use. They are bright, festive and no fuss appetizer or light luncheon item. Enjoy!
This recipe came up on a single Dad's wall on Facebook I know and I thought to myself.... I'm trying it and all I can say is, it will go in the arsenal..... Really yummy and better yet really REALLY easy.
Just a quick treat to share.... this was one of my Featured 5 and I've made it several times now. SAVE THIS RECIPE. It's a keeper.... nice combo of tacky & fresh :)
WHAT YOU NEED: 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed 1 can of corn, drained... I used the sweet yellow & white combo 1/2 can diced tomatoes, drained 1/2 red onion, diced finely 2 avocados, firm but ripe... chopped 1 can diced green chilis 1 pkg Good Season’s ZESTY Italian Dressing [dry mix] 1/4 cup of olive oil 1/8 cup of vinegar [I used champagne vinegar]
WHAT YOU DO: Mix all ingredients together, I did them in order listed and combined each as I added....I did not mix the dressing separate, just sprinkled and poured and mixed well again.
I've served with homemade tostadas or Frito Scoops..... YUM!
Life has been crazy hectic, I feel like I've been working on this one post for a month of Sundays but it was worth it to share these!
In planning our dessert station for a recent event and I got a little obsessed with the idea of dessert shooters. Then while trying to find the perfect CHEAP shooter glasses online I ended up finding a good deal on porcelain Japanese Soup Spoons.... so my obsession then became what the heck was I going to put in these.... I googled and googled and just didn't find anything that moved me.... until when looking through images of spoons I saw a picture from a site called Decorno.... which really is not a foodie site but apparently the brother-in-law of the blogger is a foodie and he made Crème brûlée in Japanese Soup Spoons for a party. I was like SHUT. UP. But, alas no instructions at all. So, back to google but NOTHING. I tried commenting to see if I could get to the brother-in-law some how but nothing.... I found the Brother-in-law featured on another fairly prominent foodie site in a segment about bite size desserts but still no real recipe.... they referenced another Crème brûléerecipe and made a flip comment about just shoving it in the spoons but as I looked at the recipe I thought there is NO way this recipe would translate into spoons, it was a broiler version. I wasn't sure about much but was pretty sure the spoons would need to be individually torched.
Anyhow, enough kvetching.... I decided to wing it and just start cooking. I need to admit that while I have eaten oh-I-don't-know-maybe-a-thousand Crème brûlée in my life I had never cooked one.... I read dozens of recipes and much to my families delight it became a week of nightly Crème brûlées ... ultimately I came up with this recipe. In short, these are little treats are incredible.
NOTE: This recipe made enough Crème brûléefor
100 spoons.... but I only needed 50 ...AGAIN a win for my family!
WHAT YOU NEED:
1 quart heavy whipping cream
1 vanilla bean
1 tsp Madagascar Vanilla
6 egg yolks {large}
1/4 cup regular sugar
approximately 1/4 cup Turbinado sugar for topping
a baking torch :)
WHAT YOU DO:
Preheat oven to 325F.
Set a pot of water to boil, depending on the size of your pan, I'd say 6-8 cups. You will need this for your "Bain-Marie."
Water set to boil, pour the quart of heavy cream into a saucepan; slit the vanilla bean and gently scrape the seeds from inside, add both the pod and the scrapings to the pan and heat over medium high heat, stirring frequently for approximately 4 minutes.
While the milk is heating, in a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. When milk is steamy but not quite to a boil strain the creme into the egg yolk mixture and combine well.
Set up your Bain-Marie: place 2 large ramekins {3.75 inch diameter} in a 9x13 pan and pour boiling water around them so they are about 1/2 way submerged.
Pour your Creme mixture into the 2 ramekins, carefully place pan in oven and bake for 45 minutes at 325F.
Then increase heat to 350F for 15 minutes more, they should be golden brown and look fairly "set" but still soft. Place the Bain-Marie on a heat resistant surface and allow the Creme to cool to room temperature in the pan.
Once cool, you are ready to load your spoons.... I loaded mine and stored on a jelly roll pan in refrigerator overnight {cover with Saran}. There's no "magic" to loading but they stayed neater when I spooned the creme into the spoon rather than dipping.
When you are ready to serve, take out of fridge sprinkle each spoon with approximately 1/2 tsp of the Turbinado {raw} sugar
and torch to perfection.
ENJOY!
I found this video helpful in the process although I did not use her recipe specifically...
Honey Roasted Bruschetta with Ricotta & Fresh Basil
Oh my goodness I haven't been on since Friday.... serious withdrawal over here. I was joking with David that you guys were either saying thank goodness she has given us a break or OMG has something happened to Heidi there's been no activity on Young Grasshopper for three days... this is unheard of!
Well, here's my story Barbara and I {a.k.a. The Gourmet Girls} had there biggest catering job to date! A 40th birthday party for a good friend that consumed all of my waking time last week and so while I have been cooking up a storm and racking up pictures and recipes and potential posts I haven't had a spare minute to post.
Honey Roasted Bruschetta with Ricotta & Fresh Basil
And so, despite the fact that I have a very large trial in two days and I shouldn't be on here playing with all of you I thought I might perish if I didn't share at least one recipe and so I thought I'd pick a relatively easy one that is an awesome app. A real crowd pleaser... could be for a party, a luncheon or a book club or just your lunch and that is my honey roasted bruschetta. This recipe originally came from a Food & Wine Annual cookbook and it has been a real go to for me over the years. A lot of time I make my own ricotta, other times I don't, I'll never admit which is the case at any given moment but it's always fabulous.
The tomatoes can be made in advance and still be absolutely delicious, I usually make them two or three days ahead of time. Leftovers can then be frozen and I have used these tomatoes to cook fish, pork and chicken as sort of a marinara type sauce. The bread can be made a day in advance and stored in a sealed baggie.
