Blue Cheese and Fig Jam Crostini

I realize that for a while there I was posting about crostini ALL THE TIME, and I needed to get ahold of myself.  But it's been a while now, and I can only resist the crostini siren song for so long, and so here I am back again in my crostini groove.  This time with fig jam and blue cheese.  Can you blame me?  I can't blame me.  

So, just to repeat what I have already said a million times before, crostini is as simple as grabbing a loaf of french bread, slicing it on the diagonal into nice thin slices, brushing them with olive oil and baking them until they are just a little crispy.  We're not looking for brown here, except maybe around the edges...just a nice toasty feel.

Cool 'em down, and then all that is left to do is spread them with a little fig jam or chutney (I used jam) and a small slice of your favorite blue cheese.  I had some Maytag blue, but a creamy Gorgonzola would be heaven as well.

And there you are, right there on the crostini highway with me.

Blue Cheese and Fig Jam Crostini, adapted from Real Simple

• 24 thin slices baguette (from 1 small loaf)


• 2 tablespoons olive oil


• 3/4 cup fig jam or chutney


• 4 ounces blue cheese, thinly sliced

1. Heat oven to 400° F. Place the baguette slices on a baking sheet and brush both sides of the bread with the oil. Bake until just crisp, about 10 minutes.


2. Dividing evenly, spread the jam or chutney on the toasted baguette slices and top with the cheese.

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Mini Caprese Bites

My brother and I have been partners in crime for more years than either of us are prepared to admit.  

We fought like cats and dogs when we were growing up, and one of the proudest moments of my life is still the time during a loooooong car ride to Vermont when I tricked him into finishing his McDonalds fries before I finished mine...and then stretching mine out for the remainder of the four hour trip.  ("Boy, these fries are SO good.  I bet you wish you still had some.  Mmmmmmmm.")

You'd think that after that he wouldn't have my back...but he always does.  Through ups and downs, thick and thin.  My bro.  He also gave me one of the great gifts of my life, which is this character, otherwise known as my adorable nephew, otherwise known as the handsomest boy on the planet.

(Okay, I owe my sister-in-law for that too!  Love you, C!)

Anyway, I do have a point with all of this, and here it is: he also turned me on to the best, and I mean the BEST mozzarella cheese I have ever tasted in my life.  The first time I tried it, the Southern husband and I literally stood there in the kitchen and ate the whole hunk of it.  No putting it into lasagna, not even a cracker - I'm not sure we even used a knife, we may have just ripped pieces off of it and guzzled it until it was gone.

And now basically all other mozzarella cheese in the world has been ruined for me, so when decided to make these cute little caprese bites, it involved driving a half hour down and another half hour back to my brother's town to buy a nice big piece of this cheese.  Which did have the extra bonus of getting to hang out with him for a little while, so there was that.

If you are lucky enough to live in the northern New Jersey area and want to experience mozzarella cheese nirvana, it comes from Vito's Bakery (yes, bakery...no idea why and not asking questions) in Secaucus, New Jersey.  They make it fresh there three times daily, and whatever they are doing, I hope they never ever stop.  If you don't, just nab a piece of the best mozzarella cheese you can find.  This is the perfect little nibble to make right now when the cherry tomatoes and basil are at their delicious peak.  All you do is slice the tomatos in half, cut the cheese into tomato size cubes, and spear everything on a toothpick in this order: tomato half, cheese cube, other tomato half, basil leaf.  If you have the tomato half with the stem side on the bottom, it will do a good job of standing upright since it is flatter.

Now mix up some balsamic vinegar with some olive oil and some fresh ground pepper and drizzle it over and around the caprese bites.  And dig in - pop the whole thing in your mouth at once for the perfect sensation of tomato, cheese and basil.  Mmmm, mmm, mmm.  Even better than that last McDonald's french fry.

Mini Caprese Bites, adapted from My Recipes

• 1 pt. cherry tomatoes, halved


• 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, cut into cubes


• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil


• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar


• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt


• 1/4 teaspoon pepper


• Fresh basil leaves


• Kosher salt and pepper to taste

• 1. Thread 1 basil leaf, tomato half, 1 piece of cheese, and another tomato half onto toothpicks. Place toothpicks in a shallow serving dish.


• 2. Whisk together oil and next 3 ingredients. Drizzle oil mixture over skewers; sprinkle with basil and salt and pepper to taste.

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Peach Crostini with Prosciutto and Ricotta

Is there anything better than a sweet, juicy peach right smack in the middle of summer?  A gorgeous, fat peach that you can almost taste just from the velvety smell of it?  

We are in the midst of a bit of a peach controversy in our house due to this recent article in The New York Times.  The Southern husband was brought up deep in the heart of Georgia which is, as he has pointed out about a thousand times lately, The Peach State.

The teenager, however, is now a full-fledged member of the Clemson University community, located in the great state of South Carolina.  And according to the Times, South Carolina has shipped double the amount of peaches as Georgia this year.  And being the enthusiastic, faithful Clemson Tiger that she now is, she is throwing her hat into South Carolina's ring, peach-wise.

This character is also originally from South Carolina, where she was rescued as a wee puppy.

However, she will pretty much eat anything, anywhere, from anyplace, so she's not taking sides.  She'd also love it if someone would PLEASE throw that dang Frisbee for her already.

Personally,  I'd just like to note for the record that the state in third place, with 32,000 tons of peaches is, yes, New Jersey.  However, regardless of where you get your peaches, make sure you get some just so you can try this nifty little appetizer.  Toast up some thin slices of french bread and top them with a spoonful of ricotta cheese and some fresh ground pepper.  Now lay a few shreds of prosciutto on the cheese, drizzle with a little honey, and top with a peach slice or two.

It's enough to make the peach factions lay down their arms and come together for a quick snack!

Peach Crostini with Prosciutto and Ricotta, adapted slightly from Bon Appetit

• 12 slices french bread


• 1 ripe peach


• 12 tablespoons fresh ricotta


• Freshly ground black pepper


• 4 thin slices prosciutto


• Honey

1. Preheat ovem to 350.  Brush bread slices with olive oil and bake until just crisp, about 10 minutes.


2. Halve, pit, and thinly slice peach.


3. Spoon about 1 tablespoon ricotta onto each toast and sprinkle with ground pepper. 


4. Tear prosciutto into feathery pieces and drape a few slices over ricotta on each.


5. Drizzle each with honey and top with 2 peach slices.

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Spiced Peaches with Ham and Basil

There are a few things that say to me, it is completely, totally, no doubt about it summer.  The day we flip the switch on the ceiling fans and don't turn it off again until October.  The day it is actually hot enough for me to put on my bathing suit In Public.  The day my basil gets so rampant that I start figuring out if I can work it into a breakfast recipe along with lunch and dinner.  And the day that the REAL peaches hit the farmer's market.  Not the rock hard ones that have been flown in during the winter, but the sweet-smelling, velvety, juicy peaches that are just begging to be bitten into.  Yep, peach juice on your chin - you know what I'm talking about!

This great little recipe takes both peaches and basil and turns them into a sweet and spicy appetizer (or lunch!) that just sings of summer.  You need nice firm peaches for this one...slice them into wedges, and then mix them up in a little slurry of sugar, sherry vinegar and cumin.  This is going to cut the sweetness with just a tiny little bite.  Then wrap each peach with a strip of serrano ham and skewer it on a toothpick with a basil leaf.

I served up mine on my beloved Verterra plates.  If you haven't run into these plates yet, they are made from fallen palm leaves and are both beautiful AND natural.  Just like those summer peaches!

Happy summer, everyone.

Spiced Peaches with Ham and Basil, from Epicurious

• 3 peaches, each cut into 8 wedges
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Sherry vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 pound thinly sliced serrrano ham
• 24 small basil leaves

1. Toss together peaches, sugar, vinegar, and cumin and let stand 10 minutes.
2. Cut ham slices in half lengthwise, then wrap each piece around a wedge of peach. Top with a basil leaf and secure with a wooden or metal pick.

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Shrimp and Tarragon Crostini

I love crostini.  Maybe it has something to do with my love for toast, which you can read about here if you are interested.  And even though I flirted with silver dollar pancakes shamelessly in terms of being the vehicle for holding delicious little spoonfuls of various things.  But crostini, you will still always be first in my heart, especially when you are topped with a delicious mixture of shrimp and tarragon.

Crostini is super-simple to make.  Just slice up a loaf of your favorite French bread (or Italian bread if you are the kind that likes your crostini substantial. Slice it pretty thin...as close to 1/4 inch as you can get without driving yourself crazy.  Brush them with a little olive oil and pop them on a cookie sheet and into a 400 degree oven just until they are getting golden brown - 5 to 10 minutes.  After that, the possibilities are endless, but in this case I went with a quick little mixture of cooked chopped shrimp, mayo, fresh chopped tarragn, fresh lemon juice and salt and pepper.  Once the crostini are cooled a little, just drop some of the shrimp mixture onto each one and there you go. 

Sometimes the easiest things are just the best!

Shrimp and Tarragon Crostini, adapted from Real Simple

• 24 thin slices of French bread
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 12 ounces chopped cooked shrimp
• 1/3 cup mayo
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat oven to 400.  Brush bread slices with olive oil and bake until just golden brown, 5-10 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool.

2. Combine remaining ingredients to make the shrimp mixture and top each crostini with spoonful of this.  You're done!

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Tuna Caper Dip

Few things in life are better than coming home from a loooooooong day of work at the office, cracking open a can of tuna and in 10 minutes or less having what can pass as a reasonably presentable supper.  In this case, this is the latest in our Friday Night Lights series of suppers, wherein we are using up all the delicious appetizer recipes I have collected by making them for light Friday night suppers, since there is no way I am actually going to have enough parties in my lifetime to use them all up.

So here's the deal on this one: you have to use a can of tuna packed in oil.  Yes, you do.  You drain most of the oil off, but you need the rest of it to make this delicious dip sing and dance the way you want it to.  Stir in some sour cream (use the low-fat kind to make yourself feel better about the tuna packed in oil) along with some fresh lemon juice, some chopped parsley, some capers and a couple of chopped anchovies.  Salt and pepper, and you are THERE.  We scooped it up with some endive pieces and some pita chips, and the world was just right.

And to think all this happiness started with a can of tuna!

Tuna Caper Dip, from Everyday Food

• 1 can (5 ounces) tuna packed in oil, drained
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 2 teaspoon capers, rinsed, drained, and chopped
• 2 anchovies, chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• Pinch of red-pepper flakes
• Coarse salt and ground pepper

In a medium bowl, mix together tuna, sour cream, parsley, capers, anchovies, lemon juice, and red-pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper, serve with endive leaves, pita chips or whatever else catches your fancy!

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Poached Shrimp with Sour Cream Horseradish Dipping Sauce

Okay, so here's the latest in the Friday Night Lights series, and let me just say that anything that involves shrimp and horseradish has me at hello.  This is basically a spin on that shrimp cocktail that you secretly yearn to order at every restaurant you go do but don't because it costs as much as your mortgage payment.

But this one is so, so much more than a shrimp cocktail, and it is all due to the sauce, which is not the typical tomato/horseradish variety, but instead is a mixture of sour cream, horseradish, chopped chives, lemon peel and (get this) a reduction of the lemon white wine mixture that you have cooked the shrimp in.  Wildly luxurious-sounding, right?  It almost doesn't seem fair that it is so dang easy to make, but it is!  

You poach the shrimp for about four minutes in a mixture of water, white wine, half of a lemon and a few other things.  Scoop out the shrimp and put them in an ice water bath to chill down, and then boil the poaching liquid down for about 20 minutes.  In the meantime you can mix up the rest of the sauce, which is a sour cream/horseradish/lemon peel/chives mixture that gets thinned out with a tablespoon or two of the poaching liquid.  After that, the only thing left to do is find some pretty glasses, spoon some of the sauce in the middle, hang as many shrimp as you can fit around the edge, and try not to scarf them down TOO fast.

Yum, right?  And elegant too.  Even if you ARE eating them while lounging on your couch watching a taped version of House.  I mean Glee.  I mean Nurse Jackie.  You get the drift!

Poached Shrimp with Sour Cream Horseradish Dipping Sauce, adapted from Bon Appetit

1 cup dry white wine
6 whole black peppercorns
1/2 lemon
1 bay leaf
Pinch of coarse kosher salt
8 uncooked unpeeled large shrimp
dipping sauce

1/4 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon prepared white horseradish
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
Coarse kosher salt
Whole fresh chives (for garnish)

1. Fill medium bowl with ice water; set aside. Combine 2 cups water, wine, and next 4 ingredients in medium saucepan. Bring to boil. Add shrimp; reduce heat to low, cover, and poach just until shells are pink and shrimp are opaque in center, 3 to 4 minutes. 

2. Using slotted spoon, transfer shrimp to bowl with ice water; reserve poaching liquid and lemon half. Drain and peel shrimp, leaving tails intact. Devein shrimp.
3. Squeeze juice from reserved lemon half into poaching liquid in pan. Boil liquid until reduced to generous 2 tablespoons, about 20 minutes. Strain; cool.
4. Mix sour cream or crème fraîche, chopped chives, horseradish, lemon peel, and 1 tablespoon reduced poaching liquid in small bowl. Season sauce with coarse salt and black pepper.
4. Spoon dipping sauce into short glasses. Arrange shrimp on rims. Garnish with whole fresh chives and extra lemon peel if you have it.

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Tomato and Avocado Crostini

Okay, so usually I jump right into talking about the food and why I love it and how to make it and I promise I am going to get to all of that, but first I have to talk about what these scrumptious little crostini are sitting on.

It looks like a piece of wood, I know, and that's because I am addicted to photographing my dinner in super-close-up shots, but they are actually on a plate that is made out of a fallen palm leaf leaf that is steam-processed with water and dried and turned into a plate.  Here's a picture that gives a better look.



And another with an arbitrary apple on it, just to show the size.




They are described as being "single use" - in other words, equal to your garden variety paper plate - but I can tell you that there is NO way that i am tossing these babies after one use.  They are sturdy and beautiful and definitely being used a whole lot more than once.  Because they are made of separate leaves, each one has its own special look and feel.



So not only is it gorgeous but also environmentally responsible...how great is that?  I found them in a pack of four at Fairway (of course), but I know they are also at Whole Foods and a whole raft of other places.  They are made by a company called VerTerra - click here for more info,and if you can't find them locally click this link: VerTerra - Party Perfect Dinnerware 8 Leaf Pressed Plates (8 in. x 8 in.)  Just for the record, the Verterra folks don't know me, have never heard of me, and didn't send these to me...I found them my own self.  Well, actually the Southern husband found them while I was in a whole different aisle deliberating over canned plum tomatoes.  A man has to amuse himself somehow.

Meanwhile, back at the actual reason for this post, let's discuss the crostini.  I think that you can put pretty much anything on a piece of french bread that has been lovingly basted with olive oil and toasted and get away with it, but it doesn't get too much better in terms of speed and taste than this recipe.  While the crostini is toasting, you chop up some cherry tomatoes.  Then scoop out the inside of a nice ripe avocado, mash it up with some lemon juice and sprinkle a little coarse salt on top.

All that's left now is the assembly: spread a little mashed avocado on each crostini, sprinkle on a few chopped tomato pieces...I like a little cracked pepper on mine to give it a little bite, but some oregano would be lovely, or a teeny bit of sea salt...improvise away!   These are of course a fabulous and easy appetizer, but they would make a perfect light lunch too...or if you are me and my Southern husband, a Friday Night Lights dinner.  Hurray for crostini!

Tomato and Avocado Crostini, adapted from Everyday Food

• One small baguette, sliced diagonally into 1/2 inch slices
• Olive oil
• One ripe avocado
• One tablespoon lemon juice
• Coarse salt and pepper
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Brush the bread slices with some olive oil, arrange in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake until golden, about 8 minutes.  Don't worry if the center isn't browned - as long as the edges are golden you are in good shape!

2. Peel and pit the avocado and mash with a fork with the lemon juice and a pinch of salt and pepper.

3. When the crostini are cool enough to handle, spread with avocado and top with tomatoes and whatever other garnish catches your fancy!

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Deviled Eggs with Tarragon and Shallots

Well, the Easter Bunny is almost here, and you know what that means.  Yes yes, there are chocolate bunnies, and jelly beans, and we all need to switch our closets from the winter clothes to the summer clothes, but that's not the most exciting part.  The most exciting part is that there are hard-boiled eggs everywhere you turn.  Which means...deviled eggs!!!

Now, the garden variety deviled egg is just fine with me, and I can eat an unmentionable number of them at a clip.  But a whole new deviled egg world opened up to me with this month' issue of one of my favorite magazines, TASTE OF THE SOUTH.  Along with a whole raft of recipes for barbecue that I intend to make all summer long, there was also an entire array of recipes for variations on the deviled egg...including this little beauty, which I promptly added to our Friday Night Lights rotation.

Among other things, I learned a deviled egg fact that I had never learned before, which is this: in addition to the usual approach, which is to cut the eggs in half lengthwise and filled them up with the mashed egg yolk filling, you can also just lop the top off, carefully scoop out the yolk and then refill it as an upright egg (as in the picture above0.  Who knew???

Of course, you can also make them the regular old way.  I was so overwhelmed with the possibilities that I did both.

There's no such thing as too much deviled egg, after all.  This scrumptious spin on the traditional recipe calls for mixing the mashed egg yolks with mayo, Dijon mustard, chopped fresh tarragon and chopped shallot.  Grind a little fresh pepper in there and you are in deviled egg heaven.  (Which now that I read that sentence back seems like a contradiction in terms, but when it comes to deviled eggs, who cares?)

Deviled Eggs with Tarragon and Shallots, from Taste of the South

• One dozen hard boiled eggs
• 6 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
• 1 1/2 tablesppons chopped fresh shallot
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Cut eggs in half lengthwise, or cut the top third off the top.  Scoop out the yolks and mash with a fork.

2. Add all remaining ingredients to the mashed yolks and mix well.

3. Spoon yolk mixture into egg whites.  (You can also scoop the mixture into a large ziploc bag, snip off the bottom corner and squeeze the mixture into the egg whites, similar to using a pastry bag.  I find this to be a lot less messy.)

4. Garnish with more ground pepper and tarragon sprigs if you like, and serve!

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Prosciutto Rolls with Goat Cheese, Arugula and Fig Spread

Believe it or not, it's now March and I am still working my way through some of the very many wonderful cooking-related goodies I got for Christmas, and one of those goodies was completely perfect for this latest entry in the Friday Night Lights series of nibbly suppers the Southern husband and I are having on, um, Friday nights.   And that goodie is this:

A beautiful jar full of rich, tantalizing, gorgeous...

Fig jam.  I have a long-standing love affair going with fig jam, and in my humble opinion, a person can't have enough of this stuff around the place.  In a pinch you can sub in apricot, or even peach, but if you can find fig jam, the real thing, you will be in such a happy, happy place.

So, this particular jar of fig jam came in handy for this latest appetizer recipe, which goes like this:  Get some nice thin prosciutto and lay it out in nice long strips.  it might tear here and there but don't worry, because by the time you roll it up, the layers will hide any rips or tears.  Now you spread a thin layer of soft goat cheese that has been mixed with a little minced garlic onto the prosciutto.  Next comes the fig jam - thin layer spread on the goat cheese.  Lay a couple of arugula leaves on top, and then drizzle with a mixture of olive oil, lemon peel and lemon juice.

Now cut the piece in half, right down the middle (otherwise the rolls will be too thick), and roll them up.  You are now done, and you have a lovely plate of prosciutto/goat cheese/fig jam/arugula heaven.  I decorated mine with some fresh oregano sprigs, because my Aerogarden is still in full tilt.

Easy, right?  And on Friday nights, that is the name of the game. 

Prosciutto Rolls, from Saveur 

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
6 oz. soft goat cheese, at room temperature
2–3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
12 slices (not paper-thin) prosciutto, halved crosswise
1⁄2 cup fig preserves
1⁄2 bunch arugula, trimmed
Freshly ground black pepper


1. Whisk oil, lemon zest, and lemon juice together in a small bowl and set aside. Mix goat cheese and garlic together in another small bowl and set aside.
2. Spread a thin layer of the goat cheese mixture on each piece of prosciutto, spread a thin layer of fig preserves over cheese, and top with 1–2 arugula leaves. Drizzle with some of the lemon vinaigrette and season to taste with pepper. Roll prosciutto up around filling and arrange on serving platter, seam side down.  Garnish with fresh herbs if desired.

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Shrimp and Pineapple Kebabs with Lime Viniagriette

Okay, so I will once again admit it: I am a complete sucker for shrimp cocktail.  There's something about chilled shrimp in a glass that just has me at hello, so it is pretty much a done deal that I will be working this into the Southern husband and my Friday Night Lights approach to Friday dinners in any way I can, and I have to say that so far....this may be my favorite.

It's got shrimp.  It's got pineapple.  It's got cherry tomatoes.  It's got a light lime vinaigrette.  It's served on skewers, which makes it oh-so-easy to eat when you are on the couch watching a movie while your teenager is out gallivanting.

I love the word gallivating.  Somehow I never look like this when I do it.

Anyway.

This is one of those ecipes that looks like you spent all day creating a wonderful seafood concoction when you really only spent about 15 minutes cooking up some shrimp, chopping up some tomatoes and pineapple and whisking together a super-simple line dressing.  You mix the whole thing together and skewer the pieces together,  Then chop up a little lettuce (I used Bibb lettuce for this and it was just about perfect.)  Now comes the fun part: choose whatever glasses you have that have a wide opening.  Margarita glasses would actually be perfect, and if I had any that's what I would have used.  Make a nice soft bed of lettuce in the glass and arrange a few skewer inside.  Drizzle the whole thing with the leftover lime dressing from the mixing bowl, and then hand them out.

Now comes the REALLY fun part.  The eating.  Because this is one of those dishes with just the right amount of tangy and sweet and wonderful.  We had these for our light supper, but I can totally picture them as the perfect summertime appetizer before you grill whatever it is you are going to grill.  And I'm beginning to believe that grilling season might just get here one day.

In the meantime, cuddle up inside on the sofa with some of these and March won't seem so March-like.

Shrimp and Pineapple Kebabs with Lime Vinaigrette, adapted from a WeightWatchers recipe.  (5 points, if anyone's counting!)

	8 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
	1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
	2 tsp honey
	1 tsp olive oil, extra-virgin
	1 tsp apple cider vinegar
	1 tsp Dijon mustard, coarse-grained
	1 tsp cilantro, chopped
	1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
	8 chunks fresh pineapple
	4 medium cherry tomato(es), halved
	1 1/2 cup(s) mixed baby greens
	2 Tbsp red onion(s), finely chopped

• Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil; add the shrimp. Reduce the heat and simmer until the shrimp are just opaque in the center, 3–4 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water to stop the cooking. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels.
  
• Stir together the lime juice, honey, oil, vinegar, mustard, cilantro, and crushed red pepper in a bowl until blended. Stir in the shrimp, pineapple, and tomatoes; gently toss to coat.
  
• Alternately thread the shrimp, pineapple, and tomatoes on 4 (6-inch) wooden skewers; reserve any vinaigrette remaining in the bowl. Divide the greens between 2 glasses; place 2 kebabs in each glass. Sprinkle with the onion and drizzle with the reserved vinaigrette. 

Click here for printable recipe

Tuna Tartare

I know that when it comes to raw fish, the world divides into two distinct camps.  There is the "I love it SO much I could eat it every day" camp.  That is the one I live in.  Then there is the "Get away from me with that raw fish" camp, and that is the one that the teenager lives in.  And while it is possible every once in a blue moon to get someone to cross from the teenager's camp to mine (I did it with the southern husband but it was before we were married and for all I know it was one of his tricky dating techniques), I'm not even gonna try.  All you anti-sushi people out there?  I love you anyway, and I will be back in a couple of days with something that is completely cooked.

In the meantime, however, we must discuss the tuna tartare recipe from the fabulous STONEWALL KITCHEN FAVORITES.  This is an amazingly quick, easy and (if you are pro-raw fish) spectacularly delicious little number.   You need to get sushi-grade tuna, which I promise is not hard...go to wherever you usually buy your fresh fish and ask.  You chop it up in tiny little pieces and mix it up with chopped tomato, scallions, some ginger and sesame oil and rice vinegar, and then scoop it out onto sliced cucumber rounds.  

It obviously makes a fabulous, dramatic appetizer, but the sushi-loving southern husband and I had it for a Friday Night Lights dinner and were deliriously happy.  Raw-fishing-eating people that we are.

Recipe below, and next post I will return you to your regularly scheduled cooked food.

Tuna Tartare, adapted from Stonewall Kitchen Favorites

8 ounces sushi-grade tuna, cut into 1.2 inch cubes

2 sliced scallions, white and green parts

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1 tablespoon grated, peeled fresh ginger

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil

1 seedless cucumber, sliced diagonally into 1/4 inch thick rounds

1. Place the tuna, scallions, cilantro, ginger, soy sauce and sesame oil in a medium bowl and mix gently until well-blended.

2. Arrange the cucumber slices on a large serving tray and pile a generous tablespoon of the tuna mixture on each cucumber slice.  Serve immediately.

Click here for printable recipe

Lobster Bruschetta

So, the Southern husband and I have this thing we do on Saturday nights called The Restaurant Project, and it goes like this: every Saturday night we go to a new restaurant we have never been before.  We started it about a year ago and it has been a year of fabulous dinners, a few clunkers, and some adventurous expeditions where I have said fervent prayers of thanksgiving that someone out there invented the GPS.

One of the rules of the restaurant project is that in addition to getting two different entrees, we also must order at least one dessert.  All of which adds up to good substantial eats on Saturday nights...and why I have decided I need to institute an addition weekly tradition which I am kicking off with this scrumptious lobster recipe, and which I am christening "Friday Night Lights." 

In a nutshell, we are going to cuddle up on the sofa every Friday night while the teenager is out gallivanting around, and we are going to have a light but still wonderful supper that is an appetizer only...something new every Friday night.  This will both balance out (I hope) the Saturday extravaganza, and also give me the chance to work my way through my teeteringly tall pile of appetizer recipes.  Because while I would love to have weekly fancy dinner parties wherein I make fancy finger foods, somehow I haven't figured out a way to work that into my life yet.  I'll try to be organized enough to post these on Thursdays so you can follow along with us on Fridays if you want to!

So here you go, the first Friday Night Lights supper: a quick and easy bruschetta.  Lightly toasted slices of Italian bread brushed with olive oil and topped with a mixture of chopped lobster, red onion, shallots, tomato and fresh torn basil, all tossed with a little bit of Madeira wine.  

Where did I get the fresh basil in the midst of the winter, you ask?   Well let's just say that the Aerogarden has been so successful that I am now making herb bouquets and distributing them around the house.

But that is a topic for a whole 'nother post.  Meantime, Friday Night Lights, baby.  It's not just a great television series anymore.

Lobster Bruschetta, adapted from Bon Appetit

• 2 1 1/2- to 13/4-pound lobster, steamed, shelled and torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
• 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• 8 ounces tomatoes (about 2 medium), each cut into 6 wedges
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 1 small shallot, finely minced
• 2 peeled garlic cloves; 1 minced, 1 whole
• 2 tablespoons Madeira
• 3 extra-large basil leaves, torn
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus additional (for drizzling)
• 4 5x4x1/2-inch slices sourdough bread

1.  Mix onion and vinegar in large bowl; let stand 5 minutes.
2. Add lobster meat, tomatoes, celery, shallot, minced garlic, Madeira, basil, and 1/4 cup oil to bowl with onions. Toss to coat. Let stand 30 minutes for flavors to blend.
3. Lightly toast bread. Rub with whole garlic clove. Drizzle with oil. Divide lobster salad among toasts.  

Click here for printable recipe

Buttered Rosemary Orange Nuts

I don't know about you, but when I am throwing any sort of little (or big) dinner party, I have no trouble with the main course, and no trouble with the dessert, but the appetizers always leave me a little stumped.  Maybe I've used all my culinary brainwaves on the later courses, but my mind goes completely blank and all I can visualize is a wooden board with a hunk of cheddar and some Triscuits.  Maybe a few nice grapes.

So when I actually come up with a passable appetizer, like the watermelon bites from last summer and the recent fig crostini, I feel ridiculously proud of myself.

However.

I can't be satisfied with just ONE nibble before dinner, because God forbid anyone leave my house without feeling completely stuffed, and that is where these delectable and easy little nuts come in. You start with whatever brand or mix of mixed nuts you like.  The Southern husband buys them in those large (obviously) plastic jugs at Costco, so we always have some around.  Melt about a tablespoon of butter in a large skillet and toss in 2 cups of the mixed nuts, three tablespoons of sugar, two tablespoons of coarsely chopped fresh rosemary, and two tablespoons of orange zest (most of a good sized-orange.  If you have a microplane zester, this will take you about 90 seconds tops).  Stir the whole thing around just until the sugar is melted and everything is well-combined, which will take about 2 minutes.

Now pour the whole thing onto a piece of parchment paper or non-stick foil and let it cool.  That's it...and just WAIT until you taste them.  Sweet and salty and rosemary and orange and completely addictive.  Try 'em!

Buttered Rosemary Orange Nuts, adapted from Real Simple

• 2 cups salted mixed nuts
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 tablespoons orange zest

1. Melt about butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  When melted add the mixed nuts, sugar, rosemary, and  orange zest.  Stir just until the sugar is melted and everything is well-combined, which will take about 2 minutes.  

2. Pour onto a piece of parchment paper or nonstick foil and let cool before serving.  This will keep for at least a week...if it lasts that long!

Click here for printable recipe

Fig Jam and Cheese Bites

It's time to face the inevitable: it's November, and that means we are entering the holiday season.  And with the holiday season come holiday parties.  And with holiday parties come HORS D'OUEVRES.  And the only thing harder than figuring out how to spell hors d'ouevres is figuring out what they should be.  I'm all for a good cheese ball, but there's nothing like coming across a new nibbles idea that is both easy AND delicious AND different.  Because after the nibbles you still have the main course, the dessert,  and the holiday cards that all still have to be done.

Help is on the way.

Here's my latest favorite appetizer (and my extended family?  If you are reading this?  Spoiler alert!).  All you need for this one is a nice french bread baguette, your favorite jam (I like fig, but peach or apricot will work just fine), and a nice soft triple cream cheese - Brie, Camembert, or my current obession, D'Affinois.  A little fresh chopped thyme and you are in business.  Cut the baguette into thin slices and spread each slice with a little jam - I used fig jam, but peach or apricot would work just as well.  .  Slather on a bit of soft cheese.  Sprinkle a few bits of chopped fresh thyme.  If you want to get REALLY fancy, grind some fresh pepper on top. 

That's it - you are done!   Not even a recipe needed.   Put them on a nice platter, pour some mixed nuts into a bowl and now all you have to worry about is the next two courses.   And the holiday cards.  And the shopping.  Ho ho ho!

Watermelon and Cheese Bites

Once a year, we gather with some of our very best friends at their beautiful lake house. We go to the state fair, we play badminton, we watch movies, we sit around the campfire and we lounge around and talk and laugh and sing and dance.

And we eat. Oh, do we eat. A couple of weeks beforehand, we plan out the weekend menu, which is a conglomeration of traditional items that we have every year without fail (grilled pizza!) along with some new recipes that we are trying out. That's one of the great things about hanging out with old friends - you can test out brand-new things with nothing to fear...they are always up for adventure.

That is where these scrumptious little nibbles come from. You skewer mozzarella, watermelon chunks, a little bit of prosciutto and a mint leaf (do not even THINK about skipping the mint leaf. It is the part that makes this baby just perfect.) Drizzle the cheese with a little balsamic vinegar mixed with olive oil, and that's it! Until you start debating the order of ingredients on the toothpick.

And then have to go outside and photograph the dang thing all over again. Just remember, as long as the mint leaf still ends up on the top, you're golden!

Watermelon and Cheese Bites, adapted from one of my favorite blogs, Cook Eat Love

• Cubed watermelon
• Mozzarella - either the small round variety, or regular fresh mozzarella cut into cubes
• Very thin sliced prosciutto
• Small fresh mint leaves
• Olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Toothpicks

1. Mix equal parts oil and vinegar - about 1/8 cup of each to start and increase depending on how many you are making.  Mix cheese and vinegar mixture until cheese is lightly coated.

2. Assemble watermelon, cheese, small folded pieces of prosciutto and mint leaves in whatever order you like.  Serve at once. 

and a mint leaf!

Click here for printable recipe

Rosemary Skewers

Yes, it is almost September (how is that POSSIBLE??) and as you know from some of my earlier posts, I am in major "use it or lose it" mode with my beloved barrels of herbs that live right outside my kitchen door.  Their days are numbered, and so I am pulling out all my recipes that involve fresh herbs so that I can have another few weeks of herb extravaganza before things start getting chilly out there.  And in case you want to join me, all my posts this week are going to feature some kind of wonderful herb or another, starting with these rosemary skewers.

I have to admit, it took me a while to warm up to rosemary.  For the longest time I only knew about dried rosemary in the jar - those sharp little needles that could be used as miniature weapons in a pinch.  But somewhere along the line I discovered soft, fragrant fresh rosemary, and a light dawned.  Now I grow it in one of the whiskey barrels outside my back door, and this summer it just went crazy..I have a TON of it.



So I took the opportunity to try out a recipe I found on the always fabulous Pioneer Woman site.  Sometimes on a Friday evening the Southern husband and I will skip actual dinner and just have some kind of interesting appetizer-type food for supper, and this fit the bill perfectly.  You take stems of rosemary - and for obvious reasons these need to be sturdy stems (which they usually are).  Strip off the leaves except for a couple of inches on the top.  Then all you have left to do is skewer whatever you like on to these gorgeous smelling skewers.  I used fresh mozzarella, grilled marinated artichoke hearts and pieces of genoa salami that had been folded in quarters.  The original recipe called for olives as well.  You could really used any kind of cheese you like,  you could try sun-dried tomatoes, pieces of folded ham...you get the idea.

Some rosemary skewers, the setting sun, and sitting outside with your honey on a Friday evening -- does it get any better?

Rosemary Skewers,  from The Pioneer Woman

• Rosemary sprigs, leaved stripped except for the top 2 inches
• Cubes of fresh mozzarella
• Marinated artichoke hearts
• Genoa salami, sliced thin and folded
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• Salt and fresh ground pepper
• Ground thyme

1. Thread the cheese, artichoke hearts and salami on to the rosemary skewers in any order or amount you like.

2. Mix the olive oil, vinegar and spices until thoroughly combined and then brush onto the skewers.  Arrange on a plate and enjoy!

Click here for printable recipe