TOMATO & BASIL BRUCHETTA W/ FRESH RICOTTA

I have to say I am a bruchetta junky!  I also have to say that it is rare that I find a bruchetta that I absolutely love .  If the bruchetta is already pre-made for you the bread gets really soggy.  If you have to place the tomatoes atop the grilled bread youself some people get lazy and choose to eat something else where they don't have to "work" for their food.  I have played around with different recipes over the years and have come up with what I believe to be the very best bruchetta of all time!  My secret.....I mix up some home made ricotta ( I find home-made ricotta cheese at Caputos) with some olive oil, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper.  I spread this atop my grilled bread before I place my bruchetta topping on top of the bread.  This helps seal the bread in a way where the juices from the tomato topping do not seep into the grilled bread.  Thus, the bread does not get soggy.  You can pre-make the bruchetta right before your guests arrive and place them all on a pretty platter.  When your guests arrive they have fresh (not soggy) bruchetta that is all pre-made and therefore do not have to "work" for their appetizer.  The other secret to this recipe is plain and simple: fresh ingredients.  There are only five main ingredients to this recipe; bread, tomatoes, basil, garlic and olive oil.  Use fresh ingredients and you cannot go wrong!!

GREEN GODDESS DIP

A few weeks back I meant to post two new dips I have made recenlty.  One was the Roasted Red Pepper & Feta Dip.  The other dip was a Green Goddess Dip.  I actually forgot to post this recipe and am posting it tonight.  I had never made a Green Goddess Dip before, but saw recipes for it all the time.  I finally decided to make this dip and realized what it really is....a fantastic dip  made with fresh herbs, mayo, sour cream and a bit of other ingredients.  I actually have an herb garden growing in my back yard so this dip was a breeze for me to make.  For most people who don't grow herbs in their backyard you can run out to your local grocery store and find fresh packaged herbs to use.  This dip is best served cold with a ton of fresh vegies.  The recipe is from Bon Appetit and says that you can make this dip a few hours ahead of time.  I actually  made this dip the night before my party and it turned out great!

GREEN GODDESS DIP 

• 2 cups (packed) trimmed watercress sprigs (from 1 large bunch)
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• Assorted cut-up vegetables (For dipping)
• Assorted chips (for dipping)

Combine first 5 ingredients in processor; blend 5 seconds. Add next 6 ingredients. Blend until herbs and garlic are finely chopped, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Season dip with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover and chill.

Place bowl of dip in center of platter; surround with vegetables and chips.

* Recipe & photo courtesy of www.epicurious.com

ANTIPASTA SKEWERS

I am always trying to come up with some fun and tasty appetizers.  This past December I catered  a neighbors Christmas party that was cocktails and appetizers.  For those kinds of parties I try to serve appetizers that have more filling ingredients instead of just chips and dips.  A perfect, fun and easy appetizer I came up with was Anitpasta Skewers.  The skewers include all the fixins that are in a pasta salad; tortellini, cheese, salami, olives, tomatoes and the zesty vinegrette dressing as well.  These skewers look great alligned on a circular platter.        

THE BEST EVER - PUMPKIN DIP

At our annual Halloween party this year a friend of mine brought over The Best Ever - Pumpkin Dip.  I don't really even know the true title of the recipe....but I call it The Best Ever...because it is just that....The Best Ever.  Honestly....all you need to do is take one little bite and you will want to eat the whole bowl of dip....with a spoon!  It was a huge hit at my party!  It is a dip that you can make throughout the holiday season and belive me you will want to make it again and again and again!


THE BEST EVER - PUMPKIN DIP 

• 1  12 oz. can pumpkin
• 1 large container of Cool Whip
• 1 large instant vanilla pudding - do not make the pudding, just add the mix
• 1 tsp. pumpkin  pie spice

Mix all ingrredients together well.  Serve with Nilla Wafers and Graham Cracker Sticks.

THE "GUYS APP"

When my husband and I were in Germany a few  years ago we had different views on the food there.  Sauasage & kraut was what the meals consisted of.  Throw in a pretzel, some mustard and some spatzel and you got yourself an authentic German meal.  After a week of eating nothing but sausage and kraut I was dreaming of the days when I would be back home eating a nice green salad or some mixed vegies and fruit.  Don't get me wrong, I completely loved Germany, the food included...BUT.....the sausage thing can get really old.  My dear husband on the other hand absolutely could not get enough German sausage!  He mixed that in with some fried pork cutlets...and let me tell you he was in Heaven!  This past Sunday was Father's Day.  My brother and sister n' law host a family party.  My job is to bring an appetizer.  I always try to think of an app that all the "dads" will like.  This year I came up with a good one!  I actually did not invent the recipe  because overall they are just "Pigs In A Blanket", but my version was the gourmet version because I used high quality polish sausage and vienna beef hotdogs. I sliced the sausages and wrapped them up in a crescent roll and baked them until golden.  I also got three different kinds of gourmet mustard at Caputo's (Honey Mustard, Hot & Spicy and a really good Stone Ground Brown.  The guys went crazy for them.  The next time you want to make your man happy make these...this recipe truly should just be called
"The Guys App"!

Superbowl - 2010

We did not have a wild and crazy superbowl sunday here at our house.  My husband is a huge...no wait huge is an understatement...my husband is crazy Steelers fan!  So since the Steelers were not in the Superbowl we decided to have a laid back day and night and invited my parents over for some snacks and dinner.  I am wondering who made Superbowl Sunday the designated day of junk food?  I don't know who did that...but we follow that rule!  Junk food Sunday....that is what they should call it!  We had dips, chips, cheese and two kinds of wings.  My daughters tasted the most bad for you food...food they had never had before in their two short years.  "More cheese balls mommy, more cheese balls mommy!", the said with dyed orange fingers and mouths!  Ugh...did I create monsters?  Anyway I have included some of the items I had on our appetizer menu and dinner menu for you.

Italian Tapas Party

Most of us tried or at least have heard of Spanish Tapas food and restaraunts.  Tapas meaning bite sized or small plates of  food.  I used one of my favorite restaraunts in Chicago, Quartino, as my inspiration to create an Italian Tapas party using Italian ingredients and recipes instead of Spanish.  Quartino has these bite sized meatballs with golden raisins on their menu that are to die for.  I created my own version of this dish...which I must say was to die for as well!  My second inspiration was thinking about some of my favorite italian recipes and trying to create bite sized versions of these dishes.  For example; I absolutely love anything eggplant, especially eggplant parmesean or pomodoro.  I came up with mini Eggplant Pomodoro stacks that were amazing! When creating a tapas or appetizer menu you must also think about making a more "hearty" menu because you will not be serving a meal after the appetizers....the tapas/appetizers are in fact the meal. Also, please don't forget you cannot throw a party without desserts!  Include at least 2 different bite sized desserts that you can serve at a different table with some coffee and after dinner liquors! We had about 14 adults (plus kids) at our party and believe me no one left hungry from this Italian Tapas Party!

An Italian Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve in an Italian family  is the feast of the seven fishes, which means the Christmas Eve meal is all about the fish!  It is a tradition for Italian cooks to serve seven different types of fish. In Italian, the meal is known as La Vigilia, or Feast of the Seven Fishes, and it is one of Italy’s most famous traditions.  No one knows for sure the significance for offering seven fishes, although there are numerous explanations for it. Some believe that seven fishes are served because it took God seven days to create the world, while others mention the Seven Hills of Rome. There is also the possibility that the seven fishes symbolize the seven sacraments in the Catholic Church, along with the seven sins. Today, the number of fishes served varies. Although seven remains the historical number.

So..that being said my family, since we are Italian, tries to stick to this tradition of "fish". We do not however make 7 different kinds of fish.  We make three:  fried shrimp, fried calamari and fried smelt.  I have included our entire Christmas Eve menu (our family is now actually too big so we do not actually celebrate this party on Christmas Eve...rather the saturday before)  for you on this post.  Our menu does not falter, does not stray...it is strictly the same every year!  A tradition my Grandmother & Grandfather started way back when.  We tried to honor them every year by keeping up the italian tradition!

A Wine Tasting Party

This post is dedicated to my wonderful sister n'law, Melissa.  Today is her birthday and in honor of her birthday I wanted to post pictures and recipes from a spectacular Wine Tasting/Christmas party she and my brother hosted last week-end!  Everything was picture perfect!  Her food was awesome and decor was so festive! I think I had a camera in my hand the first hour of the party!  Throwing a party is so stressful and time consuming, but Melissa made this party flawless!  Enjoy!  Maybe this will give you some ideas so you can throw your own wine tasting party!

Holiday "Apps" That Are Sure to Dazzle

Depending on the type of holiday party you are throwing there is a perfect appetizer for any party.  There are the appetizer and cocktail party where you want very filling apps because those in fact are the meal.  If you are having a large Christmas dinner at the dining room table you want to keep the apps simple and not extremely filling so that you guests will devour your beautiful Christmas dinner.  The following posts are dedicated to the perfect holiday appetizers....they are sure to dazzle!

 *Photo Courtesy of Southern Event Planners

The "Go To" Holiday Appetizer

A friend of mine is going to a neighborhood get together this week-end.  She e-mailed me this morning asking for a good appetizer recipe.  She gets together with her neighbors often and has grown tired of making the same appetizers all the time.  I know most of us have been in that situation.  I mean you can only make your famous onion dip or famous mini meatballs a certain amount of times before you grow weary of it!  A few years ago I made the best appetizer for a New Year's Eve get together we had at our place:
Roast Beef Crostini With Roasted Red Pepper Mayo.  I have made them a several times since then and everyone loves them!  If I bring them to someone else's party I am always asked for the recipe.  I am sharing this recipe with you in hopes that this can be your "go to" appetizer recipe for the upcoming holiday season!

ROAST BEEF CROSTINI WITH ROASTED RED PEPPER MAYO 

• 36 slices baguette bread or french bread (1/2 inch thick)
• olive oil
• 2/3 cup (about 3) home-made  roasted red peppers or 1 - 15 oz. jar roasted red peppers
• 1/3 cup mayo
• 1 garlic clove
• salt & pepper
• 1 1/2 lbs. deli roast beef (premium rare)
• 36 thin slices of Dill Havarti cheese (most blocks of this cheese are small may need two of them)

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
2. Arrange bread slices on two baking sheets.  Drizzle olive oil over the slices evenly.
3. Bake bread in oven for about 15 minutes or until a light golden color.
4. In the meantime make the mayo:  completely dry off the peppers to avoid the mayo becoming to watery.  Place peppers, mayo, garlic clove, salt and pepper in a blender.  Blend until smooth.
5. If the mayo is too thin place it in a bowl and whisk in more mayo one tablespoon at a time until it reaches the consistency you like.
6. Take the pre-baked bread slices and spread about 1/2 tablespoon red pepper mayo on top of each slice.  Place a slice of roast beef (folded) on top of mayo.  Place a slice of Dill Havarti on top of beef.
7. Bake in oven at 375 degrees for about 5 minutes or until cheese is completely melted. 
8. Serve immediately.