Sweet Love and Ginger

appetizer

Brie en Croute

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I
don’t care what the cheese snobs say, I’m going to bring brie, and love
it, and I’m sure that everyone at the party will too. Even if it isn’t as good
as the European version it’s still pretty damn good.

Over
the years I have made, and eaten so many different kinds of Brie en croute, or
baked brie I couldn’t even begin to tell you all of them. It is one of my
favorite things to bring to a winter or fall event, all warm gooey and
delicious.

I
especially like to add it to most of my cheese plates, because it adds a little
something extra from just sliced cheese, and other sides.

This
recipe is the very first one that I ever made.

It’s
supposed to be standing up like a solid block, but sometimes when things come
out of the oven I get a little giddy with anticipation, a little over excited,
and forget that things need time to cool just a little. I suggest you let your
brie cool for 5-10 minutes, before you start cutting, or you will end up with
an oozy mess like I did.

But
that’s ok; it just means we had to eat it faster.

Pistachio
& Honey Brie En Croute

1 sheet pre-packaged puff pastry (Or croissant roll)

1 (8-ounce) wheel of Brie

½ cup chopped pistachios

¼ cup natural honey

1 egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Play puff pastry out on a parchment
lined sheet. Place rie in the center of the pastry, and place the honey and
pistachios on top. Gently gather the edges of the pastry up and gather at the
top, squeezing together excess dough to enclose it. Brush the beaten egg over
the top and place in the oven to bake for 20 minutes, or until the pastry
becomes golden brown. Remove from heat and let it rest for 5-10 minutes before
serving.

Fall Picnic and Camrelized Onion and Apple Tart

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I was in such a rush to get down our engagement story, so
that I would have every vivid detail that I completely glazed over the actual
picnic that we had on that beautiful day.

 
 
 
 

Chuck had suggested a picnic several weeks prior and we
decided to go in fall. I don’t know if he had a proposal in mind then or not
but I loved the suggestion and planned a whole bunch of food that I could use
in posts on the blog. Again I don’t know if this was part of his plan to throw
me off or not but it definitely worked. I put together a small cheese, and hors d’uoevre
plate, as well as a Caramelized Onion and Apple Tart which Chuck pretty much
ate on his own, and promptly requested that another one be made soon. Maybe that’s
what made him do it; my cooking?

Regardless of all that the tart was wonderful, and made
again in short order. The recipe is kind of a cheat because I used premade
dough, but that’s what makes it a keeper; it’s so easy, and a little different
from the usual tiny bites that we all normal serve for picnics and parties. It
is also very reminiscent of fall, with apples as one of the main ingredients
how could it not be? You can find the original recipe here, and for once I did not really stray from it too much, but with only 4 ingredients its no wonder.

Caramelized Onion and Apple Tart
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 medium red onion, sliced thin

1 medium apple, sliced thin

Salt & pepper

1 sheet pre-packaged puff pastry (Or croissant roll)

¼ cup crème fraiche or sour cream


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small pan, sauté onions
over medium high heat until they begin to caramelize (about 15 minutes) add
apple, salt and pepper to the pan and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes, then
remove from heat and set aside. Place pastry on a parchment lined baking sheet
and sread crème fraiche leaving about ½ an inch around the outside. Arrange the
onions and apples on top of the pastry and place in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes,
or until the pastry has become golden brown. Remove from heat and cut into
pieces to serve.

Apple Spice Meatballs

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Again: Broken computer = unedited pics, bare with me.

Fallfamily outings, football games, and festivities usually require warm food, especially if its going to be outside in crisp weather. I always turn to mini meatballs for these kind of events because they are super easy, warm, filling and even all the little kids love them.

Meatballs can be considered a blank canvas, since you can add whatever spices and sauce that you feel like. I love playing around with the recipes to come up with something new, and over time have made probably a dozen stellar recipes. Recently I came up with this one inspired by fall and brought them to a family event, where they were a hit!

This recipe is super simple which is a plus in my book, but you can always make it a little more challenging by making your own meatballs. Just follow my basic meatball recipe and make quarter sized meatballs instead of the large ones.

 

Apple Spice Meatballs

6 dozen frozen packaged frozen meatballs

1 can (14 oz) cranberry sauce

1 jar (12 oz) Apple butter, or jelly

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

½ tsp crushed red pepper

¾ cups ketchup

¼ cup water

Cook meatballs according to package instructions. \

Meanwhile in a large Dutch oven or sauce pan combine remaining ingredients. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 – 15 minutes, stirring regularly, until well combined and thickened.

Gently stir in the meatballs and serve warm.

May be refrigerated and warmed before serving, or placed in a crock pot on warm.

Corn Chowder with Crab & Red Pepper Crostini

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Corn Chowder with Crab & Red Pepper Crostini

Corn chowder is probably one of the easiest things to make, but it’s so delicious, and a perfect ode to the end of summer, with fresh corn from the local stand, some fresh red pepper to brighten it up, and a cool glass white wine, and it’s pretty much heaven. Then as I was sitting at my desk at work daydreaming about this combination I thought that some crostini might just
make it that much better, I thought about things like caprese, French onion, cucumber and dill, and even ham and cheese, which all sounded delectable, then as always my mind turned to seafood. You probably know by now I have an undying love of seafood. Remembering I had a can of crab meat waiting to be used inspired a whole other idea.

It sounds do decadent, and looks like restaurant quality, but it only took 20 minutes to whip up and only costs $2.64 a serving, so $5.28 for the entire dinner for the two of us. The recipe actually serves 3-4, since I took the leftovers for lunch the next day, at a total cost then of $7.88.

Sometimes I love how things work out.

Here’s to the end of august, and fresh farm stand corn!

Clean Corn Chowder
Clean Corn Chowder with Crab & Red Pepper Crostini
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 spring of fresh thyme (1 tbsp dried)
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp fresh cracked pepper
  • 1 lb Fozen or Fresh Corn
  • 1 1/5 cups vegetable or chicken broth
  • 2 tbsp low fat milk
  • ½ a medium red pepper chopped
  • 1-2 fresh chives, chopped
Instructions
  1. In a thick bottom sauce pan heat oil, over medium high heat and sauté onion for 3-4 minutes, or until it begins to turn translucent.
  2. Stir in thyme, paprika, pepper and corn. Continue to cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring
  3. continuously.
  4. Add broth and allow the combination to simmer for 6-8 minutes.
  5. Using a ladle spoon out about ¾ of the mixture into a blender and blend until
  6. smooth before returning it to the pan.
  7. Reduce the heat to low and stir in milk.
  8. Serve in bowls topped with red pepper and chives.

Crab & Red Pepper Crostini

½ a loaf of crusty whole wheat bread

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 can crab meat, drained

½ a red pepper, chopped

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp lemon juice

2-3 fresh chives, chopped

Sprinkle of shredded Monterey jack cheese

Slice the bread, and place on a baking sheet and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Place in a preheated oven at 475 degress, for 5-10 minutes, or until toasted, meanwhile combine all other ingredients, except cheese in a small bowl. Once the bread is toasted place a clump of the crab mixture on each piece of toasted bread, and sprinkle with cheese. Then place back in the oven for 2-3 minutes, or until the cheese has melted. Serve immediately.
A small side note: the crab mixture is also good in the soup, so don’t feel shy about skipping the spoon using the crostini as a utensil instead. In fact I strongly suggest that this is how it should be eaten.

Friends & Grilled Tapas!

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Over the holiday weekend I was lucky enough to have my good
friend Amanda over, whom I hadn’t seen in roughly 12 weeks since she decided to
run a half marathon, which you can read all about on her blog, Tales of a Married Runner Lady.

Since it had been so long I wanted to keep it casual, and
chatty, we had A LOT to catch up on so I wanted to prepare something that would
not get in the way of that. I decided to go with a kind of tapas menu, It
turned out pretty good, there are a few recipes that were fantastic so I have
to share them. The one thing I would have done different is had a bigger table
outside so I didn’t have to keep running in and out of the house. Oh well, next
time.

Let’s start with the drinks, since tapas, are traditionally
Spanish I figured I should probably make a sangria (those who know me know I
pretty much make sangria for everything and need no excuse).

This is an old standby that I use in impromptu sangria
making situations; the directions are for 1 drink, so just multiply for more.

Quick & Easy
Sangria

1 cup red wine
1 oz dry gin
2-3oz seltzer
2 tsp sugar
1 small handful
frozen mixed berries

Place in a shaker and
shake lightly, pour into a red wine glass and serve.

I started with the obvious cheese and crackers, we had this
wonderful cheese that I got from the farmers market in Ithaca the weekend
before. It’s so herby and fresh, I love it. Shortly after the cheese came out
the Grilled Marinated Olives were ready, I also warmed up a small loaf of
sprouted wheat bread on the grill to dip in the olive juices, and it was sooo
good.
Grilled Marinated
Olives

1 cup olive medley
2 tbs extra virgin
olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
minced
1 tsp red pepper
flakes
Salt & pepper to
taste

Combine all
ingredients in a small bowl and toss to coat, transfer to a large sheet of tin
foil. Fold into a packet and place on a preheated grill for 5-10 minutes to
warm.

I made a quick Grilled Pear Salad with Shallot &
Vinaigrette Dressing to start us off. The soft red pear was really good and
soft grilled, and the shallot vinaigrette was amazing, so I think I will be
making this a few more times this summer. 

Grilled Pear Salad w/
Shallot Vinaigrette

3 cups mixed greens
1 medium red pear cut
into wedges
1 small shallot,
minced
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp Dijon
1 tbsp Honey
3 tbsp Red wine vinegar

Preheat the gril to
medium high heat, and place the pear wedges directly onto the grill. Grill for
roughly 5 minutes per side, or until the pear begins to carmelize. Set aside to
cool for a few minutes, meanwhile in a small bowl whisk together shallot, Dijon,
honey, and red wine vinegar. Pour over mixed greens and toss to coat. Serve
greens topped with grilled pear. (Serves 3)

Is there anything more reminiscent of spring than fresh pea
soup? I made a very simple Minted fresh pea soup on the stove top that I kept
in the fridge until serving. 

Minted Fresh Pea Soup

1 tbs chopped onion
1 tbs oil
1 cup peas fresh or
frozen
½ cup chicken or
vegetable broth
1 tbsp fresh mint
¼ cup cream
1 tbs chopped fresh
chives

In a small pan warm sauté
onion in oil for 3-4 minutes or until it begins to soften. Stir in peas and
broth and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in mint, cream,
and chives. Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Add more cream if necessary.
Place in the fridge to chill for 15-20 minutes. Serve chilled with mint sprig
for garnish (Serves 1)

For the protein portion of the meal I grilled up some shrimp
in a quick and easy scampi sauce. It was so quick and easy, I’m thinking that I
might make them up some time to pair with pasta, for a quick and easy week
night meal.

Grilled Lemon Thyme Shrimp
12 medium shrimp, peeled and diveined
1/2 – 1 tbs of oil
2 cloves of garlic
pinch of red pepper flakes
3-4 slices of lemon
Juice from 1 lemon
1 tsp chopped fresh tarragon
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
Combine all ingrediants in a small bowl and toss. Place in the refridgerator to marinate for 30 minutes. pour out the contents of the bowl onto a large piece of foil and create a pouch. Place on a preheated grill over medium high heat and grill, turning regularly for 8-10 minutes, or until the shrimp are cooked through. Serve warm. (Serves 3)

For the Finale I made a grilled bread pudding. Who would
have thought of such a thing? I stumbled on it somewhere or other and
remembered it when I was trying to think of what to make, so obviously I have
to make it, and I got quite a few compliments, so I think this is another thing
that will be showing up fairly often this summer.

 Grilled Strawberry Bread Pudding
4 slices crusty bread
1 cup cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sliced strawberries
On a heated grill toast the bread for 2-3 minutes a side, and cut into 1-2 inch squares. In a small bowl whisk together cream, sugar, and vanilla and add bread. Toss the bread in the mixture and pour the entire contents onto a large piece of tin foil. Fold the foil into a packet and place on the grill for 15-20 minutes, turning several times. Remove from heat and toss with strawberries. (Serves 3-4)

Finish it up with some more sangria, and a few laughs and
what could possibly make for a better evening?