Bites & Pieces (Appetizers)

Posted on April 22, 2012 by lmsinca

We’re having a small party next Saturday and so I’ve been thinking about the menu and what kind of appetizers to serve.  I’ve asked a few family members for suggestions and all of them requested this one.  It’s not the healthiest dish on the planet but since it’s one of those things I only make on rare occasions it falls into the eat in “Moderation” category.  Below I’ll jot down another recipe for an eggplant dip that’s quite a bit more nutritious although Michi may have already given us a similar one.

When I was growing up the popular appetizer at cocktail parties was Rumaki (chicken liver, water chestnut, bacon) so I guess mine isn’t any worse than that.  My father was the Rumaki King and so my sister and I helped make and serve a lot of it…………………………….yuck.

Fried Artichoke Hearts (serves 4 to 6)

Ingredients:

1 can artichoke hearts, not the marinated variety, you can buy them whole or quartered.  Quartered are more work but go further with a crowd.

3/4 cup flour

salt and garlic powder added to flour (dash of salt, 1 tsp garlic powder)

2 eggs lightly beaten

3/4 to 1 cup panko bread crumbs

oil for frying

2 to 3 tablespoons butter

juice of 1/4 lemon

Parmesan, freshly grated or Kraft

Directions:

Drain artichoke hearts.  Measure the seasoned flour and bread crumbs into individual bowls and likewise the eggs.  First coat the hearts with flour, then dip into the eggs coating thoroughly and last, roll in bread crumbs.  I generally do three or four at a time and use a separate fork for each bowl to keep my fingers from building up with all the sticky ingredients.  Place in a single layer on a plate and cover.  Refrigerate for several hours as they are best fried when really cold.

I generally fry them in a hot pan with just a 1/4″ layer of oil on the bottom and flip them several times until they turn a golden brown, but you can deep fry them it you want.  Drain on paper towels for a few minutes and while they’re draining melt the butter and add lemon juice.  Place the hearts into a serving dish and drizzle with lemon butter and sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese………………Voila!!!!!

Eggplant Dip (Serves 4 to 6)

Ingredients:

5 large eggplants

5 cloves garlic

Juice of 1 large lemon

1 to 2 tablespoons tahini

5 green onions, chopped

salt and black pepper

Directions:

Heat the oven or grill to 400.  Roast whole eggplants on a baking sheet in the oven or directly on the grill for 40 to 50 minutes until soft and let cool.  Scoop out the insides of the eggplants and put them into a bowl, discard the peels.  Mash the eggplant and then let stand for about 30 minutes.  Discard any accumulated juices.

Add the garlic, lemon juice, tahini and green onions to the eggplant and mix together.  Add salt and pepper.  Keep refrigerated until serving.  Serve with crackers, cut vegetable or bread cubes.

And lastly, this piece from the Nation might clarify a few things for the girls here, or at least the ones who used to be here.  I’m not trying to start another fight please, just thought the girls might find something useful from this perspective.

Filed under: 2012, Bites and Pieces, cooking, food, recipes | 17 Comments »

Bites & Pieces (Saturday Vegetarian Edition)

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Michigoose

About 15 years ago I started trying to incorporate vegetarian meals into my week on a somewhat regular basis, partly for health reasons, partly for ecological reasons, and partly just to learn a new way to eat–when you’re a Midwestern farm girl any meal which isn’t built around a proteinaceous entree just isn’t a meal!  One of the best things I did at that time was to buy a cookbook titled “The Occasional Vegetarian” by Karen Lee (it has since gone out of print, but copies are still available); in this particular cookbook not only does she have great recipes, but she lays out entire menus so that those of us without a clue can figure out how to put together a balanced meal without meat.  Another thing that I like about this cookbook is that many of her recipes can be multi-purposed, in these instances, hors d’oeuvres turn into entrees a couple of days later.

So, for lms and her vegetarian dinner party I offer up these ideas from Karen Lee, with modifications by Michigoose:

Basic Toast Rounds

1 French baguette, cut into 1/4-inch slices

Olive oil

  1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees
  2. Brush the bread slices lightly with the oil and lay them on a cookie sheet; bake until light brown and crisp through, 20 – 30 minutes.

These can be used immediately or stored for up to about five days. . . although mine never last that long.

Chino Caponata

Chinese eggplant ratatouille with Italian overtones. . . use as an appetizer on the toast rounds, or make even more (double the recipe), save it for a couple of days for the flavors to meld, and use it to top pasta.  Yummy!

2 lb eggplant (2 or 3 medium eggplants)

1 cup tomato sauce

4 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar + 5 tablespoons dry sherry

4 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons Chinese hot chili oil

3 tablespoons peanut oil

2 cups chopped Spanish (or other mild) onion

4 tablespoons minced garlic

2 red bell peppers, roasted and chopped

3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano (or 1 1/2 dried)

3 tablespoons small capers, drained

  1. Cut the eggplant into 1/2-inch cubes, toss with some salt and place in a colander.  Set aside for an hour, then rinse and allow to drain for about 10 minutes.  Dry thoroughly between paper towels.
  2. Combine the tomato sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, sherry, and chili oil; set aside.
  3. Heat a wok or iron skillet over high heat until it is (literally) smoking hot.  Pour in some of the peanut oil and toss in some eggplant cubes (don’t over-crowd the pan).  Press down on the eggplant to aid in scorching, and cook, stirring and pressing down occasionally, for about 5 minutes until the eggplant is soft and well-charred.  Remove the eggplant from the pan and repeat until all of the eggplant is cooked.
  4. Add more oil to the pan and add the onion and fry, stirring frequently, until it begins to brown (about 2 minutes).  Add the garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute more.  Add the eggplant back into the pan along with the tomato sauce mixture and stir until the sauce is absorbed, about 1 minute.  Add the pepper, oregano and capers and stir for a few seconds.  Season to taste, and serve warm or at room temperature.

Curried Roasted Garlic Spread

Not only is this spread fantastic on those toast rounds, but it can be used as a dip, or a great low-fat topping on potatoes.

1 head garlic

1/2 teaspoon olive oil

2 tablespoons sour cream

1 cup plain nonfat yogurt

1 tablespoon cumin powder (roasted, if possible)

1 tablespoon curry powder

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Cut through the garlic head near the top, drizzle the oil over the top, place the garlic in some aluminum foil, seal, and roast for 40 minutes.  Unwrap and let cool.
  3. Combine the sour cream, yogurt, cumin, curry powder, and salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Pinch the cloves out of the garlic head and mash them into the yogurt mixture.
  5. Let the spread sit at room temperature for at least an hour before serving so that the flavors can meld.

Pasta Caponata

What to do with that leftover Chino Caponata. . .

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

2 cups tomato sauce

1 cup Chino Caponata

1 tablespoon mascarpone or heavy cream

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 pound short pasta (I like to use bowties for this)

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

  1. Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet.  Add the garlic and saute until golden.
  2. Add the tomato sauce and bring to a simmer.  Stir in the Chino Caponata and bring to a simmer again.  Add the mascarpone or cream and stir.  Remove from the heat and toss with pasta.  Top with the cheese and serve immediately.

Happy weekend, all!

Filed under: Bites and Pieces, cooking, food, recipes | 5 Comments »

Hot Tamales

Posted on December 10, 2011 by Arcanaut

Hi all,
It is a tradition throughout Latin America to make tamales around Christmas. Make them, share them, compare them (yours are best, of course). Having married a Tica, we carry the tradition forwards. We use her Tia Lijia’s recipe with a few modifications.
A tamal is essentially a way to convert scraps into a meal. I want to call it a tamale too, but the singular is tamal and the plural is tamales (note, tamalays, not tamalis). We don’t have any truck with those Philistines in Mexico who use corn husks to wrap them. Costa Rican tamales are wrapped in banana leaves, which are great for steaming. The quality of the banana leaf is important. My beloved Keen does the selection and slicing of the leaves.
Here’s how you make Fallas-Baldi tamales. Take two prepared banana leaves and place them cross-wise. That’ll form a good seal for the steaming. Next, put on a generous dollop of masa. That’s the critical component and I’ll explain its preparation in a bit. Now, add the presents to your package. A couple pieces of chicken. A couple of olives. A few capers. Some sautéed, julienned carrots and bell pepper. Raisins are traditional, but we use dried, sweetened cranberries. Wrap up your tamal, put it against another one and tie up into a package. Your tamales will be steamed with others in batches. I think we make about 100 tamales each year, most of which are to be given away.
The masa is the crucial component. The first step is to make the broth. The standard approach is to boil chicken breasts in water then add spices (condimento—a Latino spice). One then removes the chicken breasts for later preparation. Spices are added to the broth and then masa harina (corn flour with lime, Maseca is a popular brand that we use). Mashed potatoes are the secret ingredient in the FB masa. It’s also important to add plenty of fat. We use Crisco, but I suspect that lard is traditional.
Here was my one and only innovation. It struck me that (a) the chicken would be over-cooked and (b) wouldn’t add enough flavor to the broth. I’m big into stock and poached chicken is lovely. It struck me that the basic method overcooked the chicken and didn’t add enough flavor to the broth. This is my one and only innovation (approved of by the tamal nazi).
I purchased 8 chickens at Costco this year. The thighs and legs were removed, skinned, and set aside for later use. The breasts were removed off the bone and set aside. The backs and wings were chopped into pieces, roasted, and used to make stock. It’s a standard stock, with the substitution for parsley with plenty of cilantro and culantro. The latter is a flat-leafed herb with a flavor similar to cilantro. Cilantro is actually called culantro in Costa Rica; culantro is called culantro coyote. It was considered something of a wild herb there and we can finally get it in the U.S. (exported from Costa Rica). We’re going to wind up with about 3 gallons of stock out of all of this.
OK. We just poached the chicken breasts in the stock. In the past, I’ve poached the chicken breasts in water and then added the bones, mirepoix, and herbs to make stock. I think I like this way better as the stock flavors the breasts and vice versa. The chicken is then cut into ~1/2 pieces. It’ll be sautéed in onions with condimento (spice blend) and achiote (which colors the chicken). The julienned bell peppers and carrots will be similarly sautéed.
For a vegetarian friend, I make a few tamales without chicken. She’s not bothered about broth, so I  like making a few tamales con camarones. One year, we made masa with a shrimp stock. Keen indulged me. We also have some pork loin in the freezer, so I’ve defrosted it and we’ll make a few pork tamales.
We’ll be busy tomorrow. Friends are coming over, drinks will be drunk and many tamales will be made.
¡Felix Navidad!

Filed under: cooking, food, latino | 8 Comments »

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