Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp with Maple-Mustard Glaze

Last Year's Post: parmesan pork cutlets with herb salad
Two Years Ago:   Roasted Carrots with Herbs

There are plenty of bacon-wrapped shrimp recipes out there, but this is my favorite for one reason - the sauce.  Tangy and a little sweet, it kind of reminds me of honey mustard but better.  Brushed on bacon and shrimp and onion, it's one of the best shrimp recipes I've ever had.

The first few times I made this, I struggled with getting the bacon cooked enough without overcooking the shrimp.  The solution was to partially cook the bacon in advance so it crisps up faster on the grill (or grill pan, if it happens to be winter).  I read about various ways to par-cook bacon (boiling?  no thanks) but the simplest seemed to be to put it in a skillet and just cook it halfway, then blot the strips and put them in the refrigerator to firm up a tad.  Maybe the refrigeration wouldn't be necessary if you start with thick-cut bacon, but thicker bacon will be even harder to get cooked on the grill without overcooking the shrimp.  You want a thinner cut here.The shrimp are only on the grill for 2-3 minutes per side so thinner bacon has a better chance to cook than a thick cut.

These shrimp would make a fabulous appetizer, but we like them for dinner.  Last night we served them alongside polenta with spinach and it was truly restaurant quality.

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Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp with Maple-Mustard Glaze

Serves 4

1 ½ lbs jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails left on

1 strip of bacon for every 2 shrimp

½ red onion, cut into 1” chunks

Glaze

4 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

¼ cup maple syrup

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Tabasco to taste (start with 8 drops and go up from there)

To par-cook the bacon, heat a large skillet on medium-low and fry the bacon until some of the fat has rendered and the strips have softened considerably but have not started to brown or crisp.  Remove to paper towels and blot, then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to firm up.

When ready to grill, remove the bacon strips and cut each one in half crosswise.  Wrap a piece of bacon around each shrimp and thread onto skewers.  Thread the red onion pieces on a separate skewer.  Set aside.

To make the glaze, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.  Whisk in the mustard until fully blended, then whisk in the remaining ingredients.  Put half the glaze in a small bowl to take to the grill, and leave the rest in the saucepan over low heat to keep warm.

Preheat a grill to medium-hot, about 400d.  Brush the shrimp and onion skewers generously with glaze and grill 2-3 minutes per side, until the bacon is brown and crisp and the shrimp are firm and pink.  Remove the skewers from the grill and brush with the glaze that was kept warm in the saucepan.  Serve any remaining glaze from the saucepan with the shrimp and onions at the table.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Last Year's Post: White Chicken Chili
Two Years Ago:   Baked Potatoes with Broccoli Cheese Sauce

I used to actively dislike Brussels sprouts until I tried this recipe which was a total revelation.  For some reason, roasting them until tender gives them an entirely different flavor.  They're so good you'll want immediately start popping them in your mouth like a snack, which is why I like to serve them with a little crunchy salt on top as an appetizer with drinks.  Of course, they're a perfect side dish to any meal and a great addition to a holiday table but they're so good you really need to eat them more often than just at holidays.

Try to get the smallest Brussels sprouts you can find, because they're easier to eat and more tender.  Plus they're cute.  I had to go to three different stores to find these because the big box grocers had giant, unappealing sprouts. I finally found these cute fresh ones at guess where, my local Sprouts store.  :-)

If you think you don't like Brussels sprouts, try them this way to see what you think.  And if you like Brussels sprouts already, you'll love this.  They even smell really good when they're in the oven.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Serves 6

1 ½ pounds small Brussels sprouts

3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Coarse salt for garnish, optional

Preheat oven to 400d.

Cut off the brown ends of the Brussels sprouts and pull off any yellow outer leaves.  Mix in a bowl with olive oil and a good sprinkling of salt and pepper.  Spread them out in a sheet pan and roast for 35-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp and browned on the outside and tender on the inside.  Sprinkle with coarse salt (or more regular salt) and serve immediately.

Grilled Shrimp Quesadillas

Last Year's Post: healthy white bean dip
Two Years Ago:  chicken quinoa salad with nectarine vinaigrette

Ahhh, summer.  Ideal summer foods are light, simple and tasty.  If they involve grilling, so much the better.  These shrimp quesadillas fit the bill in every way - they involve a grand total of five ingredients (not counting vegetable oil, which really shouldn't count) plus two brief grill visits to create something pretty special and very delicious.

You start by grilling some shrimp and red onion.  While they grill (a total of maybe 10 whole minutes) you could a) sip a glass of wine and enjoy the breeze or b) shred some cheese for the next step.  If you're really good you can do all three at the same time, but stay close to the grill - those shrimp go fast.

When the shrimp and onion are done, the onion is chopped and the shrimp sliced in half to form crescents.  Dump the cheese, onion and shrimp on flour tortillas and grill until pretty, folding partway through.  Serve with your favorite salsa or pico de gallo - just nothing too hot or bold that might overpower the shrimp.

A note about this recipe - it's from Rick Bayless, one of my favorite chefs.  He calls for a young Manchego cheese, which is Spanish.  He probably specifies young cheese because it gets stronger as it ages and again, he doesn't want to overpower the shrimp.  It was very good with Manchego but you could certainly substitute Monterey Jack if you felt like it.  You could also add lobster or crab in addition to the shrimp to make the quesadillas really special.

One quesadilla per person makes a light dinner with a side salad, or you could cut them into small pieces to use as an appetizer or part of a Mexican party table.

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Grilled Shrimp Quesadillas

Makes 6 quesadillas

½ medium red onion, cut into ½-inch rounds 12 ounces peeled and deveined shrimp  ¼ cup vegetable oil, divided 3 cups (about 12 ounces) shredded young Manchego cheese 6 (8-10 inch) flour tortillas Salsa, for serving

Heat a gas grill to medium-high on one side, medium on the other, or light a charcoal fire and let it burn until the charcoal is covered with white ash, then bank the coals to one side. Using an oil mister or pastry brush, oil each onion round on both sides and lay on the hottest side of the grill. Cook, flipping them half way through, until soft and grill-marked, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool, then cut into ½-inch pieces.

Place shrimp on skewers for easy cooking.  Oil the shrimp on both sides and lay the hottest side of the grill. Cook, flipping halfway through, until just cooked through, about 5 minutes total. When the shrimp are cool enough to handle, cut them in half through the back making two crescents.

Lay the tortillas on the cooler side of the grill. Top each with about ½ cup of cheese and cook until the cheese starts to melt.  Divide the grilled onion and shrimp among the tortillas. When the cheese is about half melted, fold the tortillas in half, enclosing the filling. Cook the quesadillas until the tortillas are lightly grilled and the filling is warmed through, about 2 minutes per side. Serve with your favorite salsa.

Zucchini, Goat Cheese and Lemon Tart

Last Year's Post: Cold Pasta Salad with Smoked Salmon, Peas and Asparagus
Two Years Ago:   Melon Ribbon Bowls

This beautiful and delicious tart originated with Maria Sinskey of Sinskey Vineyards, home of Ina Garten's favorite rose wine.  Ina was so impressed she included it in her new book, "Cooking for Jeffrey".  It tastes as good as it looks - maybe even better, because the picture doesn't tell you about the lemon and goat cheese under all that zucchini.  It's a perfect light summer meal with a glass of cold, bone-dry rose and would be equally impressive on a buffet table cut into thin slices.  I fiddled with the recipe only a little bit by cutting out the salt in the goat cheese mixture since the zucchini already has plenty of salt, and by upping the amount of lemon because it really tastes fabulous.  Be sure your goat cheese is at room temperature before you start, otherwise it will be too stiff to spread.

The homemade pastry crust is easy to work with and very light and flaky, but you could easily substitute a premade pie crust if you want. A great tip I recently learned for making a nice round crust - roll the dough out slightly larger than you need, then fold it in fourths and trim around the outside edge to make it even.

 It's going to be difficult (and time-consuming not to mention frustrating) to cut the zucchini slices thin enough and uniform enough without a mandoline so if you don't have one already I would suggest you buy one before trying this recipe -they're not expensive.  It's very useful for slicing all kinds of foods to a uniform thickness - it's invaluable for au gratin potatoes, for example.  Some mandolines have their own stand, but it stores more compactly without one.  The important part is to make sure it comes with different types of blades and that the slicing thickness is adjustable.

The original recipe uses only zucchini, but I added in some summer squash for a little color variation just for fun. The dough needs to chill for 30 minutes and the zucchini slices drain for 30 minutes so it takes a while to assemble plus it bakes for 40 to 50 minutes.  The good news is that I assembled the tart and put it in the refrigerator for 45 minutes while I ran an errand before baking without anything bad happening, so I assume you could assemble the tart an hour or so in advance.  In addition, it's just as good warm or at room temperature so you could bake it a few hours in advance of serving.  The next day the leftovers were equally good cold and the tart crust was still crisp and flaky.

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Zucchini, Goat Cheese and Lemon Tart

Makes 1 (11”) tart; 6 main dish servings or 12 buffet servings

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into ½” cubes

½ teaspoon white wine vinegar

5 tablespoons ice water

1 ½ pounds zucchini (can substitute some yellow summer squash)

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

8 ounces plain creamy goat cheese, at room temperature

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves

Zest from one small lemon

Place the flour, ¾ teaspoon salt, and the butter in the bowl of a food processor and pulse 12 to 14 times, until the butter is the size of peas.  With the processor running, pour the vinegar and ice water through the feed tube and continue to process and pulse until the dough just comes together.  Dump out onto a floured board, form into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice the zucchini (and summer squash, if using) to 1/8” thick on a mandoline.  Place the slices in a colander set over a plate and gently toss with 2 teaspoons of salt (the salt will draw out some of the moisture).  Set aside for 30 minutes to drain.  Spread the slices out on a clean dish towel, cover with a second clean towel and gently pat to remove some of the moisture.  Place the slices in a bowl and gently toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

With a fork, mash together the goat cheese, thyme, lemon zest and ¼ teaspoon black pepper.  Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400d.

Roll the dough out on a floured board to an 11” circle (tip:  roll the circle slightly larger, then fold the dough into quarters and trim the outside edge to make a smooth circle).  Place the dough on a sheet pan line with parchment.  Spread the goat cheese mixture evenly on the dough leaving a ½” boarder.  Lay the zucchini slices in tightly overlapping circles, starting at the very edge of the dough (the zucchini will shrink as it bakes).  Continue overlapping circles of zucchini until the whole tart is covered.  Drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with black pepper.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes until the dough is golden brown.  Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Spinach Puff Pastry Tarts

Last Year's Post: Persian Grilled Chicken with Saffron
Two Years Ago:   Toasted Couscous Salad

The filling for these tarts is very similar to Greek spanakopita, but puff pastry is substituted for phyllo dough which makes them much easier and faster to prepare.  You could cut them into small pieces for an appetizer, or serve them as a vegetarian entree with a tomato and cucumber salad on the side.  They're savory, crisp and light with the airy puff pastry and some crunch from the sesame seeds and pine nuts.

Valbreso sheep's milk feta from France is one of my recent discoveries.  I prefer it to normal chunk or crumbled feta that you find in the grocery store deli section, which I think is quite sharp and very salty.  The Valbreso feta is less salty and more creamy than other varieties, so it's worth looking for.  I've found it in upscale grocers, natural food stores and Costco (of course).

Puff pastry needs to thaw for about 40 minutes before unfolding, which gives you time to thaw the spinach and prepare the filling.  After rolling, cutting and assembling the tarts they bake for about 20 minutes, so start to finish the recipe takes a little over an hour.

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Spinach Puff Pastry Tarts

Yields 2 - 6” square tarts

1 sheet of Puff Pastry (thawed according to instructions on the packet)

1¼ cups frozen spinach

¼ yellow onion, finely diced

1 clove of garlic, grated

1 tbsp olive oil

½ cup ricotta

½ cup feta, crumbled

¼ cup pine nuts, toasted (optional)

Salt and pepper, according to taste

1 egg + 1/2 tbsp water for egg wash

Sesame seeds for garnish

Preheat oven to 425d.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Thaw spinach in the microwave and drain well.  Place in a clean dishtowel and squeeze to remove as much liquid as possible.  Set aside.

Heat olive oil in a skillet on medium heat and sauté the onion until it turns soft and translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds, then add the spinach.  Stir to combine, then place the pan off the heat to cool.

 While the spinach mixture is cooling, season the ricotta cheese generously with salt and pepper in a large bowl.  Add the cooled spinach mixture to the ricotta and mix thoroughly with a fork. Add the feta and optional pine nuts and mix gently to combine.

Whisk the egg and water together in a small bowl and set aside.

When ready to assemble, unfold the puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface and roll to form a roughly 12”x12” square.  Cut in half horizontally and vertically to form four 6”x6” squares.  Divide the filling equally between two squares and spread evenly to within ½” of the edge on all sides.   Place another sheet on top of the spinach mixture and use your fingers to press down and seal the edges around the spinach, then use a fork to crimp the edges.  Brush the top of the pastry with egg wash and lightly sprinkle with sesame seeds. Make three small slits in the top of each tart with a sharp knife to allow steam to escape while baking.

Transfer the tarts to the prepared baking sheet and bake for 20-22 minutes until golden and puffed.  Cut in half to serve.

Spiced Pecans

Last Year's Post:  Sugar Snap Pea Salad
Two Years Ago:   Kale and Pancetta Salad

Just a warning, these pecans are addictive.  They're a perfect nibble with a cocktail, and make a great gift.  But actually I like to make and keep a batch in the freezer for a different reason entirely - they're great in salads.  We had a green salad with smoked turkey, apple, blue cheese and these pecans last night, and the salty/sweet/spicy notes of the pecans really added that extra something.  I could also see adding them to your favorite chicken salad sandwich, or a cold pasta salad.

They're really easy to make as long as you keep your eye on them while they're baking and stir them occasionally so they don't get too brown on one side.  The salt and sugar don't melt, but they do stick to the nuts and give them a nice additional crunch.  Just be sure to stir the nuts well so the spices and sugar are evenly distributed before they go in the oven.

My suggestion is to make the recipe once as written, then increase the cayenne if you want them spicier.  As written, they have a little kick but not enough to prevent you from probably eating too many.  Like I said, addicting.

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Spiced Pecans

Makes about 2 ½ cups

1 (10 ounce) package pecan halves

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 300d.

Place pecans in a medium bowl.  Melt butter in a heavy small pot, then add cumin and cayenne and stir until aromatic, about 15 seconds.  Pour Over pecans.  Add sugar and salt and stir to coat.  Transfer to a foil-lined baking pan and spread out in one layer.

Bake until the nuts are toasted, stirring every 5 minutes, about 20 minutes total.  Let cool.

Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or freeze for 30-60 days.

Whipped Goat Cheese and Green Olive Dip

Last Year's Post:  Split Pea Soup
Two Years Ago:   Cornmeal Herb Scones

It's the holiday season in addition to football season, which means lots of parties and appetizers.  Anyone can show up with a premade veggie tray with ranch dip, but this goat cheese dip is much more interesting and sophisticated.  You can choose to serve it with pita chips and crackers, or veggies - but not boring old mini carrots, celery sticks and cherry tomatoes.  Try sweet and colorful mini bell peppers, zucchini sticks and jicama sticks for something different.  (I found precut jicama sticks in the produce section of my grocery store, which helped speed things up quite a bit.) The dip is quite tangy from the goat cheese, olives and yogurt, so sweet vegetables such as sweet peppers, zucchini and jicama complement it well.  OK, grudgingly, carrots would go really well also.

Use any type of green olives than you want, but if you choose olives stuffed with garlic you might want to hold off on the garlic in the recipe until you taste it.  Note that I made a half recipe for the photo above - a full recipe makes almost 2 cups of dip.

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Whipped Goat Cheese and Green Olive Dip

Makes 1 ¾ cups dip

½ cup green olives, pitted

8 oz plain goat cheese

½ cup full-fat plain Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 small clove garlic, minced

½ teaspoon salt

Pita chips or crackers

Cut up fresh vegetables

In a food processor pulse olives until roughly chopped; set aside half of the mixture.  To remaining olives in food processor, add goat cheese, yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and salt.  Process about 1 ½ minutes or until extremely smooth and slightly aerated, scraping down sides as necessary. 

Transfer to a serving bowl; drizzle with additional olive oil, if desired, and top with reserved olives.  Serve immediately with pita chips, crackers, and/or vegetables.

Spanish Omelet

Last year's post:  Cold Sesame Noodles with Cucumber
Two Years Ago:   Empanadas with Chicken, Corn and Zucchini

Although most people in the United States think of omelets as breakfast food, the Spanish omelet (or Spanish tortilla, not to be confused with Mexican tortillas) is a happy hour or dinner entree.  This omelet is one of the most common tapas items, found all over Spain.  A Spanish omelet closely resembles a frittata because it's cooked in a pan and then cut into wedges to serve.  Although it's typically fried in a fair amount of olive oil, then flipped and fried on the other side, this recipe is a lighter and simpler version.  It uses only the fat from the chorizo, and there's no flipping involved - it bakes in the oven, which makes it puff up beautifully.  It makes an easy, fast and delicious dinner.

One of my good friends in college spent a year studying in Spain.  When she returned, she made a traditional Spanish omelet for her buddies so we could try it out.  She fried potato slices and onions in a lot of olive oil, then added the eggs and let the bottom cook until brown.  She put an inverted plate over the frying pan with her hand on top, flipped the pan over so the omelet was on the plate, then slid the omelet back into the pan to brown the other side.  Impressive, but a little scary unless you don't care about your kitchen, which we didn't because we were in a college apartment, after all.

Anyway, as I mentioned this recipe has chorizo in addition to the potatoes, which really revs up the flavor. Make sure you buy Spanish chorizo - not Mexican chorizo - and take the paper casing off before slicing. If you do happen to buy Mexican chorizo by mistake (or can't find Spanish chorizo), just cook it and crumble it like Italian sausage and use it that way.  It'll taste a little different but will still be very good.

Shallots (a mild onion) are added to a parsley salad that goes on top of the omelet when served.  The lemon, shallots and parsley lend bright and tart notes that balance the omelet beautifully.

A brief discussion about pans - this recipe calls for a 7 or 8" nonstick ovenproof pan (or a larger pan if you're going to double the recipe to serve four).  I bought a cast iron skillet a few years ago to make cornbread, and it works perfectly for this recipe.  If you don't have one, consider buying one - they're cheap and they last forever.  Properly seasoned and cared for, they become perfectly non-stick.  All you have to do after making something is to rinse the pan with hot water (not soap) and scrub with a brush, then dry thoroughly and wipe with a drop of cooking oil.  I had absolutely no issue with taking the entire omelet out of the pan in one piece.  (Just don't use cooking spray, it becomes gummy and sticky and hard to remove.)

Spanish omelets are traditionally served either warm or at room temperature, so they're very versatile for parties (cut in small pieces) or family members who come home at different times.

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Spanish Omelet

Serves 2

1 red potato, about 3-4” in diameter, scrubbed and cut into chunks

4 eggs

Salt and pepper

4 ounces Spanish chorizo, paper casing removed and sliced

2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves picked

1 shallot, peeled and very finely sliced

1 lemon, juiced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

Put the potato chunks in a pan of boiling salted water and simmer until just cooked through but not falling apart, approximately 8 – 10 minutes.  Drain in a colander.  Beat the eggs with a fork in a mixing bowl, season with salt and pepper, and set aside.  Put the sliced shallot in a medium bowl with the lemon juice, some salt and pepper and the olive oil.  Stir and set aside for the shallots to soften while you make the omelet.

Heat a 7 or 8” nonstick (or cast iron) ovenproof frying pan over medium-high heat.  Add the chorizo slices and potatoes and cook until everything is lightly golden, 3-4 minutes.  Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Sprinkle the rosemary leaves into the pan, then immediately pour on the egg mixture.  Add the chorizo and potatoes on top, spreading out evenly.  Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake until the omelet is puffed and golden, about 8 – 10 minutes.

Remove the omelet from the pan and cut into pieces.  Add the parsley to the shallots and toss to coat.  Serve the omelet with some of the parsley salad on top.

The omelet may be served warm or at room temperature.

Southwest Eggrolls (baked not fried)

Last Year's Post: Beer Cheese
Two Years Ago:  Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

I found this recipe online as a Chili's Copycat for their Southwest-Style Eggrolls at a "top secret recipes" website, and the guy really nailed it - the flavor is just like the restaurant version.  I made one important change to make it healthier because I don't want to deep-fry anything:  I made it using phyllo dough and baked it until crisp and brown.  The result was fabulous and reminded me not only of those famous eggrolls, but also of a good restaurant chimichanga.  The eggrolls satisfied my Mexican cravings without a trip to the nearest Mexican restaurant, which always involves mass quantities of chips and salsa in addition to re-fried beans, none of which are healthy.

There are a fair number of ingredients and a good amount of prep in the recipe, so if you like them I would suggest making a double batch and freezing some for the next time.  To minimize the prep, use already-cooked chicken from the deli and use your mini food processor to mince the bell pepper and onion.  Be sure to mince ingredients before measuring.  How do you know to measure before or after chopping?  If the recipe says "2 tablespoons minced green onion", mince it first.  If it says "2 tablespoons green onion, minced" measure it first.  Make sure everything is prepped before you start cooking the peppers and onions because it goes fast from there on out.

The filling can be assembled in advance, leaving just the wrapping and baking for the end.  Don't worry if the phyllo sheets crack a little here or there, they get rolled up so many times that you'll never know the difference.

You can make these normal size and cut them up for appetizers or leave them whole as an entree.  They're actually bigger than an eggroll - more like a smallish chimichanga.  You could also making a small version by cutting the phyllo sheets in half and using less filling which would make them easier to dunk and pop in your mouth.  Phyllo is very flaky and the edges will crumble as you cut or bite the eggroll, but to me the trade-off is well worth it to avoid deep frying.

The other nice thing about making the eggrolls yourself - besides the fact that they're much healthier -is that you can make them as spicy as you want.  This recipe is very slightly spicy (the restaurant version needs to please everyone) but you can make it spicier by adding more jalapenos or more cayenne.  And then you can have your very own, favorite recipe southwest eggrolls piping hot right at home.

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Southwest Eggrolls

Makes 8 large eggrolls

Note:  to freeze for later, assemble eggrolls and freeze, then place in a resealable bag.  To bake, thaw eggrolls and bake as directed.

For the eggrolls:

2 cooked chicken breasts (from a rotisserie chicken or leftovers), diced into small cubes

¼ cup minced red bell pepper

¼ cup minced green onion

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

¼ cup frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry, finely chopped

¼ cup diced canned jalapeno peppers

2/3 cup frozen corn

½ cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained

1 tablespoon minced cilantro (or substitute parsley)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon cayenne

1 ½ cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

16 (9”x14”) sheets of phyllo dough (one sleeve from a package of frozen phyllo dough), thawed

Olive oil or olive oil spray, for brushing

For the avocado-ranch dipping sauce:

1 avocado

¾ - 1 cup ranch dressing

Preheat the vegetable oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add the red pepper and onion to the pan and sauté 1-2 minutes until tender.  Add the spinach next, stirring to break up clumps, then add the jalapenos and stir to combine.  Next add the corn and black beans and stir gently, then add the cilantro and spices and stir one final time.  Remove from the heat and let cool.  When completely cool, add the shredded cheese and stir to combine.

Note:  the filling can be made in advance.  Cover and refrigerate.

Preheat the oven to 425d.

When ready to assemble, remove the phyllo sheets from the wrapper and place flat on a work surface.  Immediately cover with a damp towel to make sure they don’t dry out.  Remove one phyllo sheet and place on a second work surface, keeping the remaining sheets covered with the towel.  Brush the sheet with olive oil or lightly spray with olive oil cooking spray.  Top with a second phyllo sheet and brush or spray with oil again.  Working with the short side nearest you, place a heaping ½ cup of filling on the lower part of the sheet leaving a 1” margin on the bottom and sides.  Fold the phyllo from the bottom up over the filling, then fold in 1” on both sides and roll up completely.  Place wrap seam side down on a baking sheet lined with foil; brush with oil.  Repeat with the remaining filling, phyllo sheets and oil.

Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown.  Let stand 5 minutes to cool.  While the eggrolls are baking, remove the avocado from its shell and mash, then combine with the ranch dressing.

Serve the eggrolls with the sauce on the side.

Mini Shrimp Tacos

Last Year's Post:  Chicken Gaston Gerard
Two Years Ago:   Grilled Shrimp with Cucumber Dipping Sauce

I have a strange fascination with miniature or finger-food versions of larger foods and have posted a few in the past such as tiny pizzas, sausage sliders with broccoli rabe pesto, raspberry dark chocolate wonton cups, korean sliders, goat cheese and chorizo rolls, and chocolate honey almond tartlets.  I love them because they're easy to eat, cute, and perfect for parties.

This is another in the series, made incredibly easy by using scoop chips as the base rather than trying to form and bake wonton wrappers. (Medium-ish shrimp will work best to fit the scoops - I used large and felt they might have actually been a little too large.  But they were still really good.) All you have to do is bake or grill the shrimp, combine some diced avocado with lime juice so it doesn't brown, and combine some sour cream with chipotle chiles or any hot sauce you have on hand.  Then just assemble and serve.

This would be a great recipe for a summer grilling party or any Mexican party or just any party at all.  Enjoy!

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Mini Shrimp Tacos

Makes 24 mini tacos

24 medium-to-large raw shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails removed

Non-stick spray

Your favorite chili powder blend

1 teaspoon grated lime zest

 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 avocado, diced

1/3 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon chipotle chiles in adobo, finely minced (or your favorite hot sauce)

2 tablespoons cilantro leaves

24 tortilla chip scoops

Preheat oven to 375d (or preheat a grill to medium).

If baking in the oven, spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray.  Shake a light coating of chili powder blend on the shrimp and place them on the baking sheet.  Bake for 5-8 minutes until curled and pink.   If grilling the shrimp, place on skewers and lightly coat with the chili powder blend.  Grill 2-3 minutes per side until curled and pink.  Set aside.

Combine the avocado with the lime juice in a small bowl and toss gently to coat (this will prevent browning).  Combine the sour cream with the chipotle chiles or other hot sauce.

To assemble, place a teaspoon of avocado in each scoop, followed by a small amount of sour cream and a cilantro leaf or two.  Top with a shrimp and a sprinkle of lime zest.

Cheddar Olives

Last Year's Post: Brie & Pomegranate Toasts
Two Years Ago:  Fondue

Cheddar olives were first popular a while back, and then they sort of went away for some reason.  I've started seeing them on restaurant menus again, and for good reason - they're perfect appetizers or tapas with beer or wine, and they're great on a cheese board or charcuterie board.  They can be prepared in advance and refrigerated or even frozen until time to bake, and they need to sit for 30 minutes after baking so you don't need to worry about baking them while your guests are around.

The one issue they used to have is that the cheddar dough tended to slide off when they were baked.  Leave it to the obsessed people at Cook's Illustrated to test ten jillion variations until they found one that solves the issue.  Having made cheddar olives before, I was a little surprised at the amount of dough they called for in their recipe; it seemed like you'd end up with a cheese biscuit with an olive center rather than an olive with a thin cheese exterior.  So, I decided to do my own test by doing half the olives their way, and half using a smaller amount of dough.

Starting back at the beginning, there are two important parts to making this recipe work well - using a good extra-sharp cheddar, and refrigerating the prepared olives before baking to allow the dough to set. The recipe calls for small pimento-stuffed green olives, but I've also made it with pitted black olives.  Green olives are sharper and saltier, black olives are milder.  You could even have fun and use some garlic-stuffed olives from the olive bar, but you'll need to increase the amount of dough if they're big. You typically find the smaller stuffed olives in jars; I found a 5.75 ounce jar of stuffed Manzanilla olives that ended up containing 48 olives, which perfectly used up my half-and-half recipe experiment's worth of dough.  If you use the lesser amount of dough per olive (which we preferred) you could probably do more than 50 olives.

You drain and roll the olives around on a towel to dry them, then grate the cheese and mix the dough in a food processor.  You shape the dough around the olive by first gathering about a teaspoonful in your hand, then roll it into a ball and flatten it into a disk.

 

 Place the olive on the disk and pull the dough up around the olive, then roll it around in your hand again until it forms a perfect little ball.  After you make one or two it becomes easy and it's actually kind of fun.  And magically, your hands don't even get all sticky.

Refrigerate for at least an hour, then bake and let rest for 30 minutes before serving.  Or, if you want to freeze them for later, freeze them separated on a plate or baking sheet before placing in a plastic bag so they don't all stick together.  You can bake them later directly from frozen which is really handy.

 In the first picture below, the olives with the larger amount of dough are on the top half of the baking sheet.  On the cooling rack, the bigger ones are on bottom part.  And on the picture at the top of this post, you can see the difference between the two cut olives.  As I said, we really preferred the version with less dough - it lets the olive be the star. So, I adjusted the recipe accordingly.

printable recipe

Cheddar Olives

Makes approximately 50 olives

50 small pimento-stuffed green olives, rinsed (about 6 ounce jar)

1 cup all-purpose flour

¾ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

8 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 7 pieces

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon water

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Spread olives on a dish towel and roll around to dry.  Pulse flour, paprika, pepper and cayenne in food processor until combined, about 3 pulses.  Add cheddar and butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 12 pulses.  Add egg, water, and Worcestershire and process until dough ball forms, about 20 seconds.

Working with 1 heaping teaspoon dough and 1 olive at a time, roll dough between your hands to form a ball, then flatten into a disk.  Place olive in the center of the disk and fold the dough around it, then roll it around in your hands again to make a uniform ball.  Place cheddar olives on a large parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 24 hours (or freeze to bake later).

Preheat oven to 350d.  (If the cheddar olives are close together on your baking sheet, remove half and bake half at a time or use two sheets so they’re spaced at least 1 ½” apart).  Bake until bottoms are well browned and tops are golden, 16 to 18 minutes (if baking from frozen, increase time to about 25 minutes).  Transfer olives to a wire rack after baking and let cool for 30 minutes before serving.

Beer Cheese

Last Year's Post: Turkey & Pomegranate Salad
Two Years Ago:  Brandied Cranberries

If you've ever had (and liked) beer cheese soup, you know exactly what this spread will taste like except it has a little kick and a slight garlic undertone.  All in all, it's the perfect pub food to snack on while watching sports on a large-screen tv, tall cold one in hand.  It's also a great party appetizer during the holiday season because it can sit out for long periods of time and goes well with wine in addition to beer.

My overall theory on food is that if you serve something very healthy along side something not all that healthy, they balance out.  Diet soda and pizza come to mind.  Here, the vegetables play the virtuous role along with toasty dark rye bread and pretzel crackers as the perfect vehicle for that cheesy goodness.

The spread is remarkably easy to make - there aren't many ingredients, and everything gets whizzed up in a food processor before refrigerating for a few hours to blend flavors. You can vary the taste by adjusting the amount of cayenne and garlic that you use, plus by using a bolder or milder beer.  I used a Negra Modela and was very happy with the results.

If you have any beer cheese left over (not likely), it's excellent spread on lightly toasted buns for brats or burgers.  Or how about beer cheese grilled sandwiches?  Yum.

printable recipe

Beer Cheese

Makes about 2 ½ cups

1 pound sharp yellow cheddar cheese

1 garlic clove, smashed

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

¼ teaspoon ground mustard

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, plus more to taste

¾ cup beer (amber or dark beer will have a more pronounced flavor than pilsner)

Pretzel crackers (or pretzels)

Dark rye bread, toasted and cut into squares

Radishes (sliced or not), carrot sticks, blanched pea pods, celery sticks, etc.

Grate the cheddar cheese, preferably in a food processor.  Remove the shredder attachment and add the garlic, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, black pepper and cayenne pepper and pulse to combine.  With the processor running, slowly add the beer, blending until a smooth mixture forms.

Transfer the beer cheese to a serving bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to overnight to allow flavors to blend.

Serve with crackers, rye toasts, and assorted vegetables on the side.

Empanadas with Chicken, Corn and Zucchini

Last Year's Post: Tomato Crumble
Two Years Ago:  Summer Pasta Salad with Fresh Tuna

Empanadas are one of those foods found in many cultures and with many different names.  Basically they're baked or fried turnovers made with bread or pastry dough folded into crescent shapes that enclose a savory meat, cheese and/or vegetable filling. The name "empanada" is used in Spanish-speaking countries of Europe and South America as well as in the United States.  In South America they're very popular as street food, usually fried and eaten out of hand.

I wanted to post this recipe primarily because it's really, really good, but also because it's a baked version (good news), the dough turns out amazingly crisp and light (even better news), and you can freeze them for a really easy dinner during the week (best news).  If you make your own empanadas you can vary the fillings to your taste, and you can make them larger or smaller.  For example, this particular recipe makes ten medium empanadas, which will feed five people (two per person) for a meal with a salad or rice on the side.  One empanada would make a great lunch with some sour cream for dipping plus fruit and carrot sticks, which is what's nice about this particular size.  You could make larger empanadas if you want, or you could make smaller ones as appetizers for a party that would be great as a finger food dipped in salsa or sour cream.

Regarding the filling, I found a recipe for "Three Sisters" empanadas (the three sisters are corn, zucchini and black beans) and substituted some leftover grilled chicken for the black beans.

 If you want a vegetarian version, go with the beans.  I also used pepper jack cheese rather than cheddar, and substituted smoked paprika for chile powder.  All the variations are listed in the recipe below.  You can make the empanadas as mild or spicy as you want by varying the cheese and spices, and you could also add jalapenos for an extra kick.  The way I made them, they were mild but very flavorful which would be good if some of the people you're feeding don't like spice.  The spice-lovers could always use spicy salsa as a condiment to jazz them up.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should tell you that this is a somewhat fussy (read time-consuming) recipe.  First you make the dough - which by the way is fast and easy - and let it rest in the refrigerator for an hour.  While the dough rests, you roast the zucchini and corn and make the filling.

Then the fun begins - rolling out and filling 10 individual dough rounds (sorry no pictures of the process - I was covered in goo).  That's where it would be an advantage to make larger or smaller empanadas - there are simply fewer of the larger ones to roll out, and the smaller ones could be made by rolling out a big sheet of dough and using a cookie or biscuit cutter to cut small rounds.  I guess theoretically you could do that same thing with the 5-6" rounds for this recipe, but you would waste a fair amount of dough.  Whatever.  All I can tell you is that I would do it all over again in exactly the same way, which tells you how pleased I was with the results.  The empanadas are totally worth it, you just have to be in the right mood and know it's a two hour project.  (If you're not in the right mood, you could cheat and use refrigerated pie crusts, but the crispness of this dough makes it worth the effort.)

Three guesses as to which one I rolled out and filled first .  :-)  As I said, they freeze beautifully and can then be tossed in the oven frozen and allowed to bake until golden and hot for a really easy dinner.

Next week we're going to a new restaurant that specializes in Mexican seafood, and I noticed that they have empanadas on the menu with a filling of crab, chorizo, goat cheese and corn with a tomatillo verde sauce.  If they're as good as they sound, I'll try to re-create the recipe and post it.  I guess I couldn't have been too emotionally scarred from all that dough-rolling if I'm already contemplating the next batch.....

printable recipe

Empanadas with Chicken, Corn and Zucchini

Makes ten medium empanadas

For the dough:

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons salt

1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½“ cubes

1 large egg

1/3 cup ice water

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

For the filling:

½ pound zucchini (2 medium), cut into ½“ cubes

1 cup corn kernels (from 1 medium ear) or 1 cup frozen kernels, thawed

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

¾ cup shredded cooked chicken (or ¾ cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained)

¾ cup shredded Pepper Jack cheese (or cheddar cheese)

½ cup thinly sliced green onions

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons canned diced green chiles, drained

1 teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon smoked paprika (or chile powder)

Sour cream for serving, optional

Salsa for serving, optional

For the egg wash:

1 large egg, beaten

1 tablespoon water

To make the dough, combine the flour and salt in a food processor and pulse briefly.  Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal with some small butter lumps, 6-8 times.  Beat together the egg, water and vinegar in a small bowl with a fork and add it to the flour mixture, pulsing a few times just until incorporated.  Turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface and gather together, then knead gently with the heel of your hand once or twice to bring the dough together.  Shape into a disk or rectangle and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, for at least 1 hour.

To make the filling, first preheat the oven to 400d.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.  Dump the zucchini and corn on the parchment, then drizzle with the olive oil and a few grinds of salt and black pepper.  Toss everything together with clean hands and spread out into a single layer.  Roast for 20-25 minutes until the zucchini are softened and slightly browned around the edges.  Transfer to a bowl.

Add the chicken (or beans), cheese, green onions, cilantro, chiles, cumin, and paprika (or chile powder) to the bowl and toss.

In a small bowl, prepare the egg wash by mixing together the beaten egg and water.

To assemble the empanadas, divide the dough into 10 equal portions (about 52 grams each).  Shape each portion into a ball and roll into a 5-6” circle about 1/8” thick on a cool, lightly-floured surface.  Working one at a time, moisten the edge of half the circle with egg wash.  Place a ¼ cup (packed) filling in the center of the circle.  Fold the side with the egg wash over the top of the filling to create a half-moon shape and crimp the edges to seal.  Place the empanada on a parchment-lined baking sheet, brush the top with egg wash, and repeat with the remaining dough and filling.  Slice a few small slits in the center of each empanada to help release steam while baking.

Bake at 400d for 22 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned.  If desired, turn on the broiler for a few seconds at the end until the empanadas are browned to your liking.  Serve with sour cream and salsa, optional.

To Freeze Empanadas:

Prepare the empanadas and freeze on a baking sheet or plate, then transfer to a zip-top bag or aluminum foil.  To bake, preheat the oven to 400d and bake on a parchment-lined pan for 30-35 minutes until golden brown and hot all the way through.  Do not thaw before baking.