Feta. Do you love it? I just started enjoying it last year. I know… I’m a freak of nature. I also just started enjoying most cheeses within the past 10 years of my life. For the most part my hips were thankful of that. I had been dreaming up Greek Crostini appetizer for quite some time now, when it hit me one day as I was purchasing feta from the store. The container of feta just so happened to be a buy-one-get-one free deal. So, I picked up a regular container and a garlic & herb container. I figured I could do something with it. Fast forward about a week later when I was putting together appetizers for Easter dinner. I made my mini crab cakes and I wanted to bring something else for those who might not enjoy crab cakes (which baffles me, but for each is their own).
That’s when it hit me. Smear this creamy Garlic & Herb Whipped Feta spread onto a crostini. Get ready… because you’ll be addicted to this spread. Whether you choose to add it to your next appetizer or smear it on to a bagel. The flavors from the feta combined with fluffy whipped cream cheese will bring your taste-buds divine joy!
In a stand mixer using the flat beater blade, add the cream cheese (at room temperature) and mix on medium speed for 30 seconds.
Then add the feta with garlic and herbs to the bowl and beat for an additional 30 seconds. Use right away or place in a sealed container and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
If you follow me on Instagram, you might know that I have a garden. For the past two and a half months while everyone has been shoveling snow, my husband and I have been picking cherry tomatoes like it’s our job. Well, I guess its our side unofficial job–but you get the point. It all started back in late January when we both walked past our raised garden beds. We noticed a 2-foot tall rogue tomato plant. Neither of us had planted the tomato plant. It just popped up. Since we had a tomato plant in the same exact spot last summer ,we figure it must have regenerated from a few rotten tomatoes. This poor plant had been neglected for who knows how many months. We even had a plastic covering the garden beds in hopes to kill off some of the crazy weeds that had grew into our beds over the past few months. So, we started to tend to the tomato plant. Although, we weren’t religiously watering it and we definitely didn’t cover it during any of the 3 freezes we had in Florida this winter.
The cherry tomato plant continued to flourish. Fast forward to present day. This plant has taken over our raised garden beds. It is over six feet tall and we have had to add a few additional supports since it spans about 10-feet wide. I kid you not when I say we pick 20-50 cherry tomatoes just about every other day. This tomato plant is made of steal although I realize that its days are coming to a close. We will probably get about another 100+ cherry tomatoes form it and then I think its done for the season.
So with our influx of cherry tomatoes came this salsa. Oh, and the fact that we have 4 big bushes of fresh cilantro in our garden. I decided I would hack off one bunch of cilantro. If you garden you know that it is extremely difficult to grow cilantro. This is our first successful year from seed in almost 6 years!
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not really one for salsa made from cherry tomatoes. As I was driving home from work the other week I knew I was cooking Mexican for dinner. I wanted to make salsa and knew I only had cherry tomatoes on hand since I refuse spend money on tomatoes right now since we have so many growing organically in our own garden. We like our salsa spicy and I was trying to think of what else I could use in substitute for the traditional jalapenos. That is when it occurred to me that I had a jar of chipotles in adobo sauce in the refrigertor. This was an experiment of sorts and let me tell you that the experiment worked beautifully. The sweetness of the cherry tomatoes complimented the subtle sweet tones of the chipotle pepper in adobo sauce. My husband was head over heals in love with this Chipotle Cherry Tomato Salsa. I didn’t think he would be nor did I think I would like it but it was truly a success. He even told me that this should be my new go-to recipe. I’m not sure I would go that far, but I will tell you that when you have ingredients on hand and need to whip up a simple appetizer–make this recipe for Chipotle Cherry Tomato Salsa.
In a food processor combine the cilantro, green bell pepper, shallot, garlic, and chipotle in adobo sauce. Puree for 30 seconds. Then add the 4 cups of cherry tomatoes, salt, and 1/2 lime juiced. Puree for 15 seconds until everything is well incorporated.
Have you ever made your own baked corn chips? They are super easy to make and best of all you get to control the seasoning on them! This go-around I made a blend of Mexican spices to spice up these chips. The day I made these baked corned chips was the same day that my husband had his “brew crew” over to brew up a few batch of home brew (beer). I made them a huge Mexican spread. I served them these chips and they all thought they were fried chips. I ensured them that they were baked in the oven for just 10 minutes. I think I impressed them two-fold. One, I made my own chips. Two, they were baked chips that tasted fried! Making baked corned chips is the best way to use up excess corn tortillas. Later this week, you’ll see a super simple and yet authentic enchilada recipe using corn tortillas. After I made the guys the enchiladas I knew I didn’t want to have extra corn tortillas laying around so I decided to use up the rest of the tortillas to make my own chips. This is such a simple thing to make and yet everyone forgets to make their own!
I also love that these are a gluten free snack. I have a few friends and family members that have a gluten allergy and I’m always looking for new things to make them… these spicy baked corn chips, my friend, are it! Whether you just want a snack for yourself or entertaining a crowd these spicy baked corned chips are sure to be a crowd pleaser!
Cut the corn tortillas in quarters. Lay them out flat on a baking sheet.
In a bowl mix the chili powder, cumin powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and salt together. Using a brush lightly coat the corn wedges. Then sprinkle the seasoning on to the corn tortilla wedges.
Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.
Remove from oven and serve with your favorite salsa or guacamole.
Do you love going to a good party? Well, I have a treat for you today. I’m hosting a Springtime Progressive Dinner Party with some of my favorite blog friends tonight! From the table scape to appetizers, sides, the main course, and of course drinks and desserts–we all have it covered. And of course we can’t have a dinner party without giving one lucky guest the most amazing giveaway ($650 total value).
I always love bringing an appetizer to a dinner party, so that is what I’m bringing to the party tonight. In an effort to constantly continue to challenge myself I decided to break out of my comfort zone and make one of my favorite appetizers… Mini Crab Cakes. For some odd reason, they have always intimidated me and I just made them for the first time over Easter. I know–its crazy talk. But I’m so weird like that.
These Mini Crab Cakes are super easy to make. The best part is that you can put the filling together ahead of time and fry them just before your guest arrive, transfer them to a warm oven on 200 degrees Fahrenheit and then serve them once your guest are at your dinner party. I looked at over a dozen recipes and none seemed to really hit me. It wasn’t until Ina’s recipe. It is chocked full of veggies and y’all know me. I love me some veggies!
This recipe also called for cooking the veggies in tasty butter and olive oil. Whenever I’m cooking I love to use Land O Lakes® Butter Half Sticks. The butter stays fresher longer, and like most recipes I find myself only needing 2 tablespoons to a half stick of butter. A few months ago if you would have looked in my butter compartment in my refrigerator you would have seen a handful of half used butter sticks. Now, because of the half sticks you will see one half stick open at a time! Love the connivence and the idea that my food is staying fresher longer!
Back to the Mini Crab Cakes… Your guest are going to not only be impressed you cooked up a fancy appetizer, but they will be in love once you tell them how easy it really is to make crab cakes. Oh and the cilantro lime sauce that accompanies these crab cakes can be made either the day before or right before your guest arrive. The sauce is cool and refreshening!
In a large sauté pan, place the 2 tablespoons Land O Lakes® Salted Butter, 2 tablespoons oil, onion, celery, red/yellow bell peppers, parsley, hot pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay seasoning, and pepper. Cook over medium-low heat until the vegetables are soft, (about 15-20 minutes). Cool the vegetables to room temperature.
In a large bowl, break the lump crabmeat into small pieces (double check to ensure there are no crab shells). Add the bread crumbs, mayonnaise, mustard, and eggs to the bowl. Add the cooked mixture of vegetables and mix well. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Shape into bite-sized crab cakes (about 1 tablespoon each).
For Frying:
Heat the Land O Lakes® Salted Butter and olive oil over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add the mini crab cakes to the pan and fry for 4-5 minutes on each side, until browned. Drain on paper towels. To keep them warm place them on a foiled line baking sheet in the oven on 250 degree.
For the Cilantro Lime Sauce:
In a large bowl, add mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice, lime zest, cilantro, garlic powder, and dash of pepper. Mix well until incorporated. Place in the refrigerator until ready to serve the mini crab cakes.
This recipe is brought to you by Katie Jasiewicz of Katies Cucina
Now take a look at all the amazing recipes brought to our Springtime Progressive Dinner Party from my fellow blogging friends!
And now for the largest giveaway to ever hit Katie’s Cucina! One lucky winner is going to win $650 worth of product so they can host their very own dinner party. Here is what is up for grabs:
One winner will be drawn at random using random.org. Must complete the mandatory question to be eligible. Please wait for rafflecopter widget to load–if it does not load please click on the link below. Giveaway ends on April 15, 2013 at 11:59pm.
Disclosure:I did not receive any compensation or product for participating in the Springtime Progressive Dinner Party. I love these brands and wanted to reward my readers with an amazing giveaway! Land O Lakes®, Le Creuset, and Dreamfarm all provided the prizes for the giveaway. As always all opinions are my own.
All week, I’ve shared a slue of Irish recipes. The other day, I shared a classic Reuben Panini. Today we are going to take a few of the leftovers from my past recipes and create this dip. Any Reuben lover has to have this dip in their lives.
Have you ever tried Reuben Dip? I hadn’t until recently. I had seen a wide variety of recipes out on the web. Some called for the slow cooker and others called for baking it in the oven. And the sizes all varied too. I mainly found that most recipes called for a ridiculous portion size of this dip. So I scaled it down, added what I wanted in it, and called it my own Baked Reuben Dip.
I served this Baked Reuben Dip up to a hungry group of men and they devoured it! Like in seconds… it’s amazing that when you pair meat in a creamy sauce and lots of beautifully grated swiss cheese how quick food will be consumed! All you need is but 1 cup of leftover Corned Beef to create this dip and 1/2 cup of leftover Homemade Russian sauce! A few simple ingredients layered in a small oven-safe dish and you’ve got yourself a glorious creamy Reuben Dip in just under a half hour.
Spray a small baking dish with cooking spray. Then begin to layer in the sauerkraut, chopped Corned Beef, homemade Russian Sauce, and top with grated swiss cheese. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the dip is bubbling.
Serve immediately with crackers.
Notes
*Place the oven-safe dish on a baking sheet to prevent the dip from bubbling over and making your oven dirty!
I have been making my own Calamari Fritti for a few years now. I experimented on a whim one hot summers day when I was tasked with making a birthday dinner for my mother in-law. With only one day’s notice I whipped together what I felt to be an amazing meal. Everyone in my husband’s family loves calamari, and I figured why not try to make it for the dinner as a nice surprise appetizer! After doing quite a bit of recipe research online I had finally found what I felt to be the best recipe for Calamari Fritti out there.
I love the Smoked Chipotle Aioli dipping sauce that accompanies this dish. It’s spicy yet creamy and satisfies the taste-buds. Don’t get me wrong. I love dipping the rings of the fried squid into a tomato-basil sauce. But there is also something about an aioli sauce that just does it for me.
Adapted from Tyler Florence, Republished from February 5, 2010
Rinse the squid and pat dry with paper towel. Cut the body of the squid (tubes) into 1/2-inch rings (trim the tentacles as necessary).
In a large bowl combine the milk, egg, and basil leaves. Mix with a fork until lightly beaten. Put the prepared calamari in the milk mixture. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes.
Preheat deep fryer.
Mix the flour, paprika, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish. Once the oil is hot toss the calamari in the seasoned flour to coat and immediately place it into the deep fryer.
Fry for one-to-three minutes or until golden brown. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried calamari to paper towel lined plate to drain. Sprinkle additional salt, to taste.
Serve immediately with lemon wedges and dipping sauces.
For the Smoked Chipotle Aioli:
Using a food processor combine all the ingredients and blend for 1 minute or until well combined. Refrigerate the sauce until ready to serve. Serve as a dipping sauce with fried calamari.
Are you ready to put a little kick in your step? Day 4 of Fondue Week and today I’m sharing a savory fondue recipe for Pepper Jack Fondue. If you like it spicy this is the fondue for you. I mean you really have to like spicy food to like this ferocious dip!
This Pepper Jack Fondue It pairs well with so many things too. I paired it with fresh broccoli (which I then steamed after I thought my husband was going to have a heart attack because I handed him raw broccoli) and french bread (that I made myself at bread class a few weeks ago). This would also be great with grilled shrimp or chicken. Eat it as an appetizer or serve this Pepper Jack Fondue as the main entree. Last night, Christine and I chatted with Chef Shane from The Melting Pot about Fondue. Don’t worry if you miss it I’ll have the video up on Friday for you to watch. I learned so much from him!!! One thing that I learned that I want to share today is that he mentioned that all fondue should start with a Gruyere cheese base. Well, minor fail here. Because this recipe does not, but he also mentioned that there are no real rules for fonue. Just more like guidelines you would want to follow. And most importantly follow your taste buds! So even though I didn’t use Gruyere cheese as a base for this Pepper Jack Fondue I did toss it in a little cornstarch before it hit the pan to begin melting! I can’t wait to share our Google+ Hangout with everyone on Friday. Everyone is bound to learn something new about fondue!
4 cups Shredded Pepper Jack Cheese (1 8oz + 4oz block of cheese)
1/3 cup white wine
1-1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/3 cup Chicken Broth
salt & pepper
Serve with:
Broccoli Florets
French Bread
Directions
In a cast iron fondue pot bring white wine to a simmer. While wine is simmering toss cornstarch with the shredded cheese.
Once the wine is simmering mix the cheese in the pot. Once the cheese is semi-melted add 1/3 cup chicken broth. Salt & pepper to taste. Serve with steamed broccoli florets and french bread.
Surprise! It is fondue week on Katie’s Cucina, and I’ve partnered up with my friend Christine from Cook the Story. All week long we will be sharing decadent fondue recipes, we will “hangout” with a chef from The Melting Pot, and of course have some pretty amazing prizes.
Since tonight is the Super Bowl I figured I would kick off the week with Buffalo Chicken Fondue. Yesterday, I mentioned yesterday with the Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Mushrooms… we love buffalo sauce in my house. So when I started brainstorming about fondue recipes I knew I wanted to some-how incorporate this firey sauce!
The night I made this recipe my husband happened to be on an HOA board meeting call. So after I took a few pictures I put the fondue set with all the fixings right in front of him. He began to devour the buffalo chicken fondue. And then when he got off the call I told him I was almost done with dinner and he looked at me in disbelief. He thought the buffalo chicken fondue was dinner! He crammed so much down that he had no room for dinner. I couldn’t stop laughing. So I ate dinner last week by myself, well I did make him sit at the table with me. So as you guessed someone had a buffalo chicken fondue upset stomach… you got it the dip is that good!
Oh and lets take a moment to take a look at this sexy fondue pot. This isn’t any fondue pot. It is a Swissmar Mont Blanc 15-PC Meat Fondue Set. The pot is cast iron and can be cooked right on the stove top and brought to the fondue station all in one swoop! You get four black ceramic dipping dishes with it (so if you’re sharing the fondue with others everyone can dish out their own sauce and double dip until their heart desires) or you can put some of the dipping items in it like I did. And tomorrow… you guessed it. One of my lucky readers will get to win one of these beauties!!!
Don’t forget to go visit Christine and take a look at the Fondue themed Valentine’s Day Card she created! You can even download it for free!
Buffalo Chicken Fondue Inspired by EveryDay Rachael Ray
In a cast iron fondue pot (or a regular pot) melt cream cheese and buffalo sauce on medium heat until melted; stirring to ensure it doesn't burn (about 5 minutes).
Once you have a sauce like substance in the pot then add the three cheeses. Mix well and add the 1/3 cup of milk. Mixing until everything comes together.
Are you sick of buffalo sauce yet? I’ve seen it used in just about every different way known to man kind over the past two weeks. I love it! We love buffalo sauce in my house. My husband loves any type of stuffed mushrooms. A few years ago I created a delicious and healthier stuffed mushroom: Broccoli & Pepper Jack Stuffed Mushrooms. And then of course there were these Zucchini Cream Cheese Baked Mushrooms.
So I had this brilliant idea earlier int he week to use up a little bit of leftover rotisserie chicken and make Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Mushrooms for him. He loved them! I think guest would be fooled by just looking at them. What is so special about these mushrooms? Then they take their first bite and BAM! They have no idea what hit them. Looks can be deceiving, can’t they?
Plump mushroom caps filled with decadent cream cheese, bleu cheese, and cheddar cheese along with juicy shredded rotisserie chicken and buffalo sauce! Lots of buffalo sauce. Rich and creamy and lets face it not on the healthy super bowl recipe list. But I feel that everything should be in moderation. You can indulge in something rich and creamy and then balance it by eating something baked and full of seasoning. I mean who resist these Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Mushrooms?
So if you have a little leftover rotisserie chicken or really any kind of leftover chicken give it a chop or shred and make Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Mushrooms as youreasy go-to appetizer this Super Bowl Sunday.
In a large bowl blend together softened cream cheese, bleu cheese, and cheddar cheese. Then add buffalo sauce, dried onion, minced celery, and parsley. Mix well again and lastly stir in the chicken.
Clean mushrooms and remove stems. On a large baking sheet add a metal cookie cooling rack to the baking sheet. Then begin to fill each mushroom cap with the buffalo chicken mixture. Place each mushroom on the rack.
Bake for 20 minutes at 450 degrees. Serve immediately.
Today, I’m excited to announce that I’m sharing 2 healthy Super Bowl friendly recipes on my local Fox station morning show; Good Day Orlando. You can watch live at 9:35 am (streaming if you don’t live in CFL) or I’ll have a clip to share with everyone later.
Some of you might be sick of seeing recipes centered-around one football game. However, I love it! I love any holiday that is centered around eating. Is that bad? I love seeing round-up post and right now it seems like everyone has a round-up of all things Super Bowl food. I decided to change it up a bit and feature 50 Healthy Super Bowl Recipes. Now, granted not all of the recipes are not 100% healthy however they are lower fat than what you would normally consume during the big game. I.e., they use greek yogurt instead of 5 cups of mayonnaise, etc.
Earlier this week, I did my weekly Google+ Hangout with Christine from Cook the Story. We spoke about Healthy Entertaining with Liz from The Lemon Bowl. Liz and I have chatted back and forth for over a year now and it was so nice to finally get to “meet” her! We spoke about easy ways to entertain and still make food healthy (without your guest looking for all the fattening foods)!
I hope you were able to learn about some great tips and tricks for healthy entertaining. Here is my list of 50 Healthy Super Bowl Recipes everyone should make this weekend (well, ok, maybe not all 50 at once)!
I'm Katie Jasiewicz: home cook, food blogger, and recipe developer. I’ve always had a love for cooking, and more so in the past few years a love for eating!
Join me on a culinary adventure where life always tastes good. {more}
Last night, Christine and I chatted with Chef Shane from The Melting Pot about Fondue. Don’t worry if you miss it I’ll have the video up on Friday for you to watch. I learned so much from him!!! One thing that I learned that I want to share today is that he mentioned that all fondue should start with a Gruyere cheese base. Well, minor fail here. Because this recipe does not, but he also mentioned that there are no real rules for fonue. Just more like guidelines you would want to follow. And most importantly follow your taste buds! So even though I didn’t use Gruyere cheese as a base for this Pepper Jack Fondue I did toss it in a little cornstarch before it hit the pan to begin melting! I can’t wait to share our Google+ Hangout with everyone on Friday. Everyone is bound to learn something new about fondue!
I'm Katie Jasiewicz: home cook, food blogger, and recipe developer. I’ve always had a love for cooking, and more so in the past few years a love for eating!
Join me on a culinary adventure where life always tastes good. 
