I made this for a Superbowl party.  It was a small gathering and we probably didn’t need any snacks along with our pulled pork sandwiches, cole slaw, baked beans, fruit salad and cookies.  But it was the Superbowl, and for some reason that has become an excuse for Americans to stuff themselves silly.  I made a compromise with myself to still have guacamole, but to make it a little healthier.  I don’t know where I originally saw this idea.  Maybe Pinterest?  I found many recipes, some using peas and avocado, some using all peas and no avocado.  I decided a combination would be more like the original and therefore more likely to fool people.

I love cilantro.  If you don’t so much, use less.  Same with the jalapeno, but I didn’t find the amount I used below to be too much.  As with all guacamole, taste as you go and adjust your seasonings accordingly. I like to taste test on what I’ll be serving with the dip.  Since I was serving this with tortilla chips, I probably used less salt than if I was serving it with crudites.  Enjoy!

Pea and Avocado Gaucamole

Ingredients

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 10-ounce bag of frozen peas, thawed
• 1/3 cup finely minced red onion
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon minced jalapeno
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup seeded and chopped tomatoes (I used about 15 quartered cherry tomatoes)
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
• dash of garlic powder (or use finely minced fresh garlic to taste)

Directions

1. Puree peas in food processor until smooth.
2. In a bowl, mash avocado with peas.  Stir in onion, cilantro, lime juice, jalapeno and tomatoes.
3. Season with salt, pepper, cumin and garlic.  Taste and adjust.
4. Serve immediately or cover directly with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

I made these small bites as part of an Italian appetizer spread.  Just take a small ball of mozzarella, snack size tomato and fresh basil leaf.  Add the sweet tang of balsamic vinegar and you have the perfect bite.  You want the mozzarella and tomato to be close to the same size.  Bocconcini are too large, so look for ciliegine, which are cherry sized balls of mozzarella and are perfect in size.  If you can’t find these, you could always cut the bocconcini into small chunks.  When I was skewering these I thought that the basil was going to be overwhelming since I had to use such large leaves to hold everything, but it was just right.

Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella Bites with Balsamic Glaze

Ingredients

• 12 snack size tomatoes, cherry, grape, etc.
• 12 small balls of mozzarella packed in water, patted dry with paper towels
• 12-15 large basil leaves, rinsed and patted dry
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 12 long toothpicks (2 1/2 inches)

Directions

1. Make balsamic glaze: simmer vinegar in small saucepan over low heat for 10-15 minutes until thickened and reduced.  Swirl periodically, and be careful not to let it boil.  You will have a burnt mess on your hands.  I know this because I had to make two batches…
2. While heating vinegar, make skewers.  Slide one end of the basil leaf on the toothpick, follow with mozzarella and tomato, keeping basil leaf underneath to create a boat.  Then attach the other end of the leaf.  Be careful not to tear the leaf.  Keep a few extra leaves on hand just in case.
3. Lay bites on a platter, then drizzle each with glaze.  A little goes a long way.

They were a cinch to prepare, a little tough to remove from from the pan (despite being greased) and a pleasure to eat, warm and at room temperature the next day.  They could maybe use a kick from some cayenne pepper, chopped jalapenos or green chiles.  These little treats are much more  moist than your regular corn muffin, and I am sure could be done in a regular sized 12-cup muffin tin with some changes in cooking time and temperature.

Mini Cornbread Puddings

Courtesy of Martha Stewart Everyday Food 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels, thawed and patted dry

There are so many things you can do with pesto.  Spread on  baguette slices and garnish with a slice of tomato…make it even better with a piece of fresh mozzarella.  Toss it with warm pasta.  Mix with some mayo for basil mayonnaise.  Use on pizza and panini.  Thin it out with more olive oil and drizzle over roasted chicken or fish.

A lovely college friend of mine went to a Giada De Laurentiis cooking demo at Sur La Table when she was in LA 5 years ago.  She bought me a signed copy of Everyday Italian.  It is one of those cookbooks that I love, but don’t use nearly enough.  This pesto recipe is from that cookbook and it is so simple and delicious.

You can make this in a blender, or in a food processor.  If you’re planning to double the recipe, which isn’t a bad idea, so that you have some extra pesto for freezing, then use the food processor.

Basil Pesto

From Everyday Italian by Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

• 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves, washed and dried
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2-2/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan

Directions

1. Toast pine nuts in a 350°F oven for 6-8 minutes until slightly browned.  Be careful not to burn them.
2. Place basil, pine nuts, garlic, salt and pepper in blender with a tablespoon or so of the olive oil and blend.
3. With the blender still going, slowly drizzle in the remaining oil until the consistency is to your liking.  You may need to stop every now and then to push any stray basil leaves back down.
4. Transfer to a bowl and stir in parmesan, season to taste with more salt and pepper if desired.

I whipped this up tonight when I saw that I had a bunch of leftover pesto and a lonely package of cream cheese in the fridge. This is really simple and tasty. You can adjust the amounts to your personal taste.

Easy Pesto and Sun Dried Tomato Spread

• 1 package cream cheese, softened
•  4-5 tablespoons pesto
• 6-7 chopped sun dried tomatoes

1. Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. 2. Serve with crackers or crusty bread pieces.

 

This dip can be made with or without the spinach.  Susan originally made this without the spinach, but I like it with.  It makes me feel like I’m being good to have the spinach in this dip.  If you use light mayo (or a mixture of plain yogurt and mayo), and low-fat mozzarella this isn’t the worst dip on the planet.  Using the spinach just adds to the flavor and adds some extra goodness.

If you decide to use spinach, you can use fresh or frozen.  I like to use fresh, but sometimes it’s not the quickest thing to do.  If you’re using frozen, thaw it completely then squeeze out as much of the moisture as possible.  To use fresh, just saute in a pan with a little olive oil and minced garlic.

You can serve it with almost anything; crackers, baguette, veggies, sourdough pieces, etc.  Just use what you like.  I like to use toasted bread for a nice contrasting crunch.  Enjoy!

Spinach (or not) Artichoke Dip

Ingredients

• 1 14 ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1 cup mayo (light, regular or half mayo half yogurt)
• 10 ounces fresh spinach, wilted
• 1 cup grates Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup grated mozzarella
• cayenne pepper to taste

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until well combined.
2. Pour into a shallow baking dish (a 9-inch pie plate is perfect)
3. Bake at 350°F for 45  minutes.
4. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

This recipe is from epicurious.com.  Here is the link. The recipe recommends serving this “Italian take on the classic” guacamole with toasted ciabatta bread and crudités.  I served the guacamole with plain tortilla chips and some spicy flax seed chips that I found at World Market.  I think they’re called Sweet and Spicy Flax Seed Chips.  If you see them, you should try a bag.  I really liked how they tasted more substantial than a normal chip and had that great sweet and spicy combination.

I also bought a jar of roasted salsa from World Market.  It packed quite a punch in the heat department, but wasn’t unbearable.  We used some of it the next morning in our migas.

The guacamole was definitely different than your everyday avocado, cilantro, tomato, jalapeno, onion and lime guacamole.  The basil is detectable, as are the shallot and lemon juice.  The flavors are perfect together and I really enjoyed it.  I think it would be really tasty on the toasted ciabatta as the recipe suggested.  Next time I will try it that way, or maybe with plain pita chips.  Yum.

Basil Guacamole

Ingredients

• 6 medium avocados, halved, pitted, peeled, diced
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• ½ cup chopped fresh basil plus leaves for garnish
• ½ cup finely chopped shallots

Directions

1. Place avocados in large bowl; add lemon juice.
2. Using fork or potato masher, crush avocados coarsely.
3. Mix in 1/2 cup chopped basil and shallots.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Can be made 1 hour ahead. Cover and chill.

Photos courtesy of Carrie Hartman

I combined many different recipes to come up with this salad.  A lot that I looked at use chips or cornbread as a layer in the salad, but I am not a fan of soggy bread in anything besides stuffing at Thanksgiving.  So, I left the chips out, and served them on the side instead.  If you want to add chips, cruch up about 2 cups and use half as a layer in between the corn and lettuce layers.

Mexican Layered Salad

Ingredients

• 2 – 3 heads of romaine, chopped
• 1/2 cup shredded red cabbage
• 3 grated carrots
• 3 – 4 roma tomatoes, chopped
• 2 avocados, cut into 1/4 inch chunks and tossed with about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• 6 – 8 green onions, chopped
• 1 large can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cans whole kernel corn, drained
• 2 cups shredded cheese, a combination of cheddar and monterey jack is great
• 1 1/2 cups ranch dressing
• 3/4 teaspoon cumin
• 3 – 5 tablespoons lime juice
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• Tortilla chips for serving

Directions

1. In a small bowl combine tomatoes and scallions.
2. Combine romaine, cabbage and carrots in a large bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, combine dressing, cumin, lime juice and cilantro.  Whisk to combine.  Set aside.
4. In a trifle dish, layer half of the beans, then half of the corn.
5. Top half of the lettuce mixture and press down.
6. Top with half of the  tomato mixture, then half of the avocado.
7. Sprinkle with half of the cheese, then drizzle with dressing.
8. Repeat layers again, pressing down as needed.
9. Top with cheese, then cover with plastic wrap and let sit for at least 1 hour.  Can prepare 1 day ahead.
10. Serve with tortilla chips.

With that little preface you are wondering, “Why did she even try this recipe?”  Well, I knew I had some olives that needed to be used, and I needed a snack that would be relatively easy and quick.  I found this recipe for olives wrapped in a cheesy dough and then baked on Allrecipes.com.  I have tried my hand at deep frying, and while it does create delicious, crunchy and greasy food, it makes my house smell and dealing with that oil is a pain.  So the baking aspect appealed to me.

I switched the cheddar cheese out for Manchego, added more seasoning to the dough, and used two kinds of stuffed olives: green olives stuffed with garlic and green olives stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes.  As I was writing out a shopping list I had a thought. Is it Ben who is not a huge fan of olives?  I sent him a text about what I was planning for dinner to find out.  His response was “Sounds great!”  He is such a sweet man.  Turns out he is in fact not a huge fan of olives.  But, get this…he actually LIKED them!  I guess if you wrap anything in a dough of butter, flour, Manchego cheese and paprika you can expect people to be pleased.

I liked these little bites of crispy, buttery cheesiness wrapped around the salty olive.  The only issue I faced in the preparation was getting the dough to come together.  It seemed way too crumbly.  If you just keep working, then it will become the smooth consistency you need to wrap the olives. 

Preparing these is a little time consuming since you must wrap each olive individually, but you can definitely wrap them ahead of time, chill them in the fridge, then bake them a half hour before you plan to serve them.  Since these were good even at room temperature they would be a great party food.  

Manchego Wrapped Olives

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound Manchego cheese, shredded
• 4 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 20 green olives, pitted, or stuffed

Directions

Photo courtesy of Bettycrocker.com

This recipe is more complicated and time consuming than Susan’s, so when I need a quick dinner party appetizer I will definitely be making hers.  This recipe makes A TON of dip, has a fresher flavor than the mayo based artichoke dips a lot of people make, and re-heats really well.  This would make a great addition to a Christmas party buffet, and if you have more than one to attend you could divide the dip between 2 dishes, bring one to one party, keep the other in the fridge and use it later!  I do not think they would freeze well, but you could give it a try.  Let me know how that goes.

I loved the big, yummy chunks of artichoke in this dip and the use of fresh instead of frozen spinach makes for a better flavor.  The vegetables in the dip make me feel as if I am eating something somewhat healthy.  However, this dip is really not too terrible for you, or so it seems by the ingredient list.  Milk, I used 2 %, and just 1 cup of cheese total…but then there’s the vegetable oil.  Oh well.  It’s yummy.  I served this dip with tortilla chips, but it would be good with pita chips or some whole wheat crackers.

Artichoke and Spinach Dip (courtesy of Emeril)

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• Salt
• Cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan (about 2 ounces)
• 1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack (about 2 ounces)
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1 (10-ounce) bag fresh spinach, stemmed, rinsed and chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 2 (15-ounce) cans artichoke hearts, drained and julienned

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Combine 1/4 cup of the vegetable oil and flour in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir the mixture constantly 5 to 6 minutes for a blond roux. Whisk in the milk and bring the liquid up to a boil. Season the liquid with salt and cayenne. Simmer the liquid for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the liquid is thick and coats the back of a spoon. Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the cheeses. Set the sauce aside.
3. In a saute pan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions and saute for 2 minutes. Stir in handfuls of spinach at a time, until all the spinach is incorporated. Add the garlic and artichoke and saute for 2 minutes. Season the vegetables with salt and cayenne. Remove the vegetables from the heat and turn into a mixing bowl. Fold the cheese sauce into the vegetables. Turn the mixture into a baking pan. Bake the dip for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
4. Serve with tortilla chips, pita chips or crackers.