Crab, Chile, and Mint Crostinis

It's been a while! I sincerely apologize! I know I'm always full of excuses, but I truly have been a busy bee. Not only am I finishing up my second to last quarter of my college life (!!!!), but my best friend flew out to Seattle to surprise me last weekend which led to an impromptu trip to Vancouver. Then of course I was busy celebrating Memorial Day by cooking up a storm.

Anyways, I hope you can forgive me. I come bearing gifts. Check out these delicious looking crostinis! These were the perfect start to a Memorial Day cook-out meal. They are fresh, creamy, and slightly spicy, with a delicious crunch- basically everything good ever in one thing.

Crab is probably one of my favorite foods, and definitely my favorite shellfish, and this dish truly lets it shine. The tart lime juice and fresh mint gives the crab a wonderful clean flavor that is amazing paired with the moderately spicy chiles. It's truly incredibly how much flavor only a few ingredients can pack!

As you can see, our party of four pretty much devoured these crostinis :)

Crab, Chile, and Mint Crostinis

recipe from June 2011 Bon Appetit

serves 4-6

ingredients:

• 8 ounces cooked lump crab meat
• 3 tbsp mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint, plus more for garnish
• 1/2 Fresno chile, deseeded and minced
• 1 red jalapeno, deseeded, minced, and divided
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• Sliced sourdough bread, as much as you would like
• Extra virgin olive oil

1. Drizzle each slice of bread with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil for 3 minutes, flip over, salt and pepper the other side, and broil for another 3 minutes; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, gently combine the crabmeat, mayo, lime juice, mint, fresno chile, and 1/2 the jalapeno. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Garnish with extra mint and the other 1/2 of the jalapeno. Serve with toasted bread.

Orange-Rosemary Buttered Mixed Nuts

Oh, hey guys! Remember me? I used to hang out here a whole lot more often than I have been the past month and a half? I post recipes from time to time? It's me, Rachael.


Look guys, I'm super sorry about my utter negligence of this blog since early December. The truth is, I just had way too much going on. Let's start from the beginning: first I had finals, then my little sister flew out to visit me for a week, then I flew home to Florida for Christmas, then I flew back to Seattle to celebrate my boyfriend's birthday, our anniversary, and New Year's with him, and then school started. WHEW! See? Plus school has been more than a little stressful this quarter as I have to write an average of two papers each week.


Well, now that we've got that out of the way, let's talk about these super tasty mixed nuts. I made them for Mikey's parents' dinner party they had a few nights ago as an extra little surprise as I was only asked to make dessert (which I will be sharing here in the near future).


These make a great snack, or an easy, delicious appetizer. They are salty and sweet and smell uh-mazing. Orange and rosemary make a wonderful combination that ends up being positively addictive.

I highly recommend these nuts because not only are they scrumptious, little morsels, but they take less than ten minutes to whip up!

Orange-Rosemary Buttered Mixed Nuts

recipe adapted from here

These should keep for about a week in a sealed tupperware

ingredients:

• 3-4 cups salted mixed nuts (a 17-ounce can)
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3-4 tbsp granulated sugar (depending on how sweet you want them)
• 2 tbsp fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped
• zest of one orange

1. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the remainder of the ingredients and cook, stirring, until the sugar is melted and the mixture is fragrant (no more than 5 minutes).
2. Pour the mixture on a baking sheet and allow to cool.

Pomegranate and Mango Guacamole

So, this is one of the appetizers that I made for Thanksgiving. Yes, I'm still sharing Thanksgiving recipes. I told you I made a TON of food- and I still have 5 more posts of things I made to get up! However, this particular recipe isn't exactly typical Thanksgiving fare and you could serve it whenever.

It might seem odd to consider adding pomegranate or mango to guacamole- and even stranger to add both- but I assure you, it is beyond delicious! The mango and pomegranate add a sweetness that is offset by the spicy chiles and acidic lime juice. Another thing that I love about this guac is the multitude of textures. The familiar creaminess of the avocados is cut with the little balloon-like pomegranate arils and juicy mango chunks; and, when piled on a crunchy plantain chip, you are left with pure texture-heaven!

I got quite a few compliments on this appetizer and I will definitely be making it again! It's also quite easy to throw together. Honestly, the most difficult part is getting the arils out of the pomegranate- which admittedly can be rather time-consuming. I've found the best way to go about it is to cut the pomegranate in halfway through and then pull it apart. Do the same to separate it into quarters. Next, grab a large bowl of water and hold the quarters under the water and pull out the arils.

Pomegranate and Mango Guacamole

recipe slightly adapted from here

ingredients:

• 4 ripe avocados
• 1/2 large white onion, diced
• 2 fresh serrano chiles, finely chopped, seeds removed from one but left in the other
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• Arils (seeds) from 1 pomegranate
• 1 large mango, peeled and diced
• sea salt
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1. Halve, pit and peel the avocados. Coarsely mash them in a large bowl.
2. Stir in the onion, chiles, and lime juice. Season with salt to taste.
3. Fold in the pomegranate seeds, leaving a small amount left over to garnish. Add in the mango and cilantro.
4. Garnish the top with lime wedges and the leftover pomegranate arils. Serve with plantain chips. I also served mine with multigrain tortilla chips.

*This can be made 4 hours ahead of time. Just press plastic wrap onto the surface of the guacamole and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Grilled Peaches with Prosciutto and Goat Cheese

I apologize for the lack of posts recently, but I went to Florida for a few weeks to visit my family and friends :). Even though I didn't blog while I was away, I still was busy in the kitchen! I have a few great recipes (including this one) to share with you from my time spent at home. The one drawback to them though is that I didn't have my wonderful boyfriend with me with his super nice camera and thus, all of the food I made there was shot with my silly Canon point-and-shoot. I urge you to look past the mediocre pictures and still try the recipes as I feel they are some of the best I have ever made!


Grilling fruit is an amazing way to bring out its natural sweetness, and also a fun and new (to me at least!) way of utilizing your grill. Peaches are a juicy and delicious summer fruit and while they are quite tasty in crisps, pies, and other desserts, I absolutely love the idea of fruit in more savory applications.
These luscious bites are a perfect combination of sweet, salty, and tangy, and the basil picked from my mom's herb garden really throws them over-the-top. Add in the fact that these could not be easier to make (honestly, what will follow is not much of a "recipe" as much as it is a suggestion), you have a fresh and vibrant appetizer hat is great for grill-outs and summer gatherings!

Grilled Peaches with Prosciutto and Goat Cheese

the amounts of the ingredients are totally up to you

ingredients:

• ripe, but still fairly firm, peaches, pitted and quartered
• prosciutto di parma, thinly sliced (you basically want 1/2-1/3 a slice for each peach quarter)
• fresh basil
• goat cheese (spreadable, NOT crumbles)
• extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• baguette, sliced

1. Drizzle the baguette slices with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle on some salt and pepper. Place them under the broiler until toasted (or you can grill them if you have enough room on your grill unlike me :P).
2. Toss the peach quarters in some olive oil and pepper. Grill the peaches on each side for a few minutes until dark grill marks appear and the fruit easily lift from the grill.
3. To serve, arrange the peaches around the goat cheese on a platter (the brand I used was Chavrie; it came in a nifty cube-like container and was easy to remove). Drape each peach with 1/2 slice of prosciutto and top with a basil leaf. Serve with the toasted baguette. To actually eat it, you should spread some goat cheese on a piece of toast and top it with the peach/prosciutto/basil. It's a big bite, but SO amazing!

Teeny Tiny Dark Chocolate Cheesecakes with Cajeta and Raspberries

These are the adorable little cheesecakes that I made to go with my cute baby quiches for my boyfriend's curling team.

I used the exact same Sable & Rosenfeld Party Cups (by the way I bought them from Pasta & Co.) that I used for the quiches (they are quite versatile!). One of their suggestions for what to do with the little cups was mini chocolate cheesecakes. I thought that would be adorable but I wanted them to be a bit more special than that. I brainstormed a few ideas in my head- white chocolate drizzled on top? fruit? caramel? Then I thought, hey, how about cajeta instead of caramel? Cajeta is basically a goat's milk dulce de leche with a unique twang to it. It is ammmmaaazzing! I've made it multiple times since it's great drizzled over tart frozen yogurt, as well as a staple for these pretty Chocolate-Covered Peanut Cajeta Cups and my Chocolate Turtle Cookies.

A raspberry garnish finished off the little cakelettes. They turned out really well! These bite-sized desserts were a great alternative to the traditional rice krispie treats and box-mix brownies that littered the buffet table, and were second to go only to my Triple Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies :)!

Teeny Tiny Dark Chocolate Cheesecakes with Cajeta and Raspberries

filling recipe adapted from here

ingredients:

• as many little cups as your heart desires (I used about 2 dozen and had a ton of extra filling- which isn't a bad thing!)
• 5 ounces dark chocolate
• 2 (4 ounce) packages of cream cheese, at room temperature (I used Neufchatel)
• 1/2 cup + 3 tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Dutch-processed)
• 2 large eggs
• cajeta, at room temperature (seriously, make the whole batch- you won't be sad about having extra!)
• raspberries, sliced in half

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Set the little cups out on baking sheets and set aside.
2. Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring after each to see if the chocolate is melted. Set aside.
3. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the cream cheese, sugar, and cocoa powder until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. Add in the melted chocolate and mix to combine.
4. Spoon about a teaspoon of the cheesecake mixture into each cup. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until set.
5. Refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 1/2 an hour and then top each with 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of cajeta and 1/2 a raspberry. Pop them back in the fridge until you're ready to serve.

By the way, I have NO idea why my links are a different color than usual. Does anyone else have this problem with Blogger/ do you know how to fix it? Thanks!

Itty Bitty Mushroom Quiches

After the Winter Olympics, Mikey (my boyfriend) took up an interest in curling (lol), so we found a local curling club that was having an open house where you could go and pay $10 to try it out for the day. Well, needless to say it wasn't my favorite, but Mikey loved it! He signed up for both lessons, and a spring league.
This week, he signed up to bring the snacks for the league. I was so happy to hear that I would actually have people to cook for! I hate to say that a lot of what I make ends up going to waste because Mikey and I just can't handle eating it all ourselves.
I got to work in the kitchen baking up an enormous storm. I made (more) brownies (which will be up later this week), tiny cheesecakes (these will also be up later this week), and these adorable mini quiches!
A while back I had purchased these great Sable & Rosenfeld Party Cups but didn't have a use for them (yes I buy things just because I think they are cool/cute). But after the news that I would be making food for a ton of hungry curlers, I knew they would be great for appetizers.
The quiches turned out great- tons of flavor for such little bites! Plus, they were super easy to make and a real crowd pleaser- they were gone in about 10 minutes!

Itty Bitty Mushroom Quiches

recipe adapted from here

makes 20-30 mini quiches

ingredients:

• 20-30 party cups
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 5-10 crimini mushrooms, diced (you want 1/4 cup of sauteed diced mushrooms)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 heaping tbsp freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
• 1-2 tsp diced chives
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Set out the party cups on a baking sheet and set aside.
2. Heat a smal saute pan over medium-high heat and add the butter. When the butter is melted, add in the mushrooms and cook for 5-7 minutes until nice and brown. Turn off the heat and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs, cream, cheese, salt, and pepper. Add in the mushrooms and chives and combine.
4. Spoon about a teaspoon of the egg mixture into each party cup. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the tops begin to turn ever-so-slightly golden.

Spanish Tostadas with Chorizo and Watermelon- Tapas Night Part 3 of 3

This is Part Three of my Tapas Date Night Menu, and I think it just might be the most interesting. You're probably thinking, "Watermelon and chorizo?" Yes my friends, watermelon and chorizo indeed.
This appetizer is like a roller-coaster for your taste buds- spicy chorizo, sweet and fresh watermelon, crunchy bread- this is a dish you simply MUST try!
I've never been the biggest fan of sausage (weird I know), but when I saw that this recipe contained sausage with watermelon, I knew this was a recipe that I couldn't pass up.
These tostadas were amazing (and Mikey's favorite dish of the evening). They are a bit messy though, so I suggest you have a fork handy.

Spanish Tostadas with Chorizo and Watermelon

recipe slightly adapted from here

ingredients:

• 2 hot chorizo sausages, sliced
• 3 medium-sized heirloom tomatoes, chopped
• 2-3 cups chopped watermelon
• crusty, rustic bread, sliced
• 1 large garlic clove
• extra virgin olive oil
• baby arugula
• about 2 tbsp sherry vinegar

1. Heat a medium-sized sauté pan over high heat. Add in the chorizo (no added oil) and cook for a few minutes. Add in the tomatoes and cook for just a minute.
2. Add the chorizo/tomato mixture to a large bowl with the watermelon. Toss well together.
3. Toast the bread slices and while they are still warm, rub each with the garlic clove. Drizzle each slice with a bit of the olive oil.
4. Top each piece of toast with a few leaves of arugula. Spoon on the chorizo/watermelon mixture, and then top again with more arugula leaves.
5. Add the sherry vinegar to the hot pan that you cooked the chorizo in and stir it around to deglaze the pan. Pour the vinegar over the tostadas. Serve!

Spanish Varillas, or "Rods"- Tapas Night Part 2 of 3

As soon as I saw this recipe over on Kayotic Kitchen, I knew that it would make an awesome addition to my Tapas Date Night menu!
These little Spanish "rods" (as they are so lovingly called- "varillas"), are not only incredibly tasty, but truly unique! Have you ever seen anything like them? I know I haven't!
I switched up the recipe a bit. I used prosciutto di parma in place of serrano ham (jamón serrano) because Whole Foods didn't carry the latter. I would have really preferred the serrano though to keep with my Spanish theme. In case you aren't familiar, the difference between the two is that serrano ham has much less fat, and it is a bit drier.
I also used a goat's milk cream cheese as opposed to cow's milk. I was originally going to just substitute the cream cheese for goat cheese (which I still think would be great), but as soon as I saw the goat's milk cream cheese I was sold.

For my greens I chose baby arugula for the nice spicy bite it lends, but any green would do here- play around!
I thought these turned out incredible! They were super easy to make, but packed a ton of flavor. The tangy creaminess of the goat's milk cream cheese paired with the salty, chewy prosciutto and crisp bread stick is a combination so divine that I had to have 2! While that may not seem like a lot, these guys are over a foot long each!

Spanish Varillas, or "Rods"

recipe adapted from here

As you can see there are no exact amounts here. You can make as many or as few as you want. Everything is made to your own personal tastes!

ingredients:

• prosciutto di parma (or serrano ham), sliced very thin
• crispy bread sticks (you could get flavored ones if you want but I just stuck with the traditional)
• goat's milk cream cheese (I found this at Whole Foods)
• chives, diced
• sun-dried tomatoes (I only used one), minced
• pinch of fresh ground pepper
• pinch of sea salt
• baby arugula

1. Mix together the chives, pepper, sea salt, sun-dried tomato, and cream cheese in a small bowl.
2. Spread the cream cheese mixture over one side of a slice of prosciutto and add the arugula on top of that.
3. Carefully roll the prosciutto around a bread stick. Repeat for as many as your heart desires.
4. Serve with leftover cream cheese mixture to dip!

Manchego Crackers with Marcona Almonds- Tapas Night Part 1 of 3

Lately I have been craving all sorts of Spanish food, and to satiate these desires, I decided to have a Tapas Date Night for Mikey and myself!
This is just the first recipe of the three in total I will be posting in the coming days, but it just might be the best! I originally saw the recipe here, but it had no recipe attached so I had to search a bit.
These little crackers turned out awesome- super crunchy, tons of vibrant flavor, and a perfect vessel for dulce de membrillo, also known as quince paste! 

Membrillo is commonly served with Manchego cheese in Spain, and thus I knew it would be a match made in heaven! Each of the components (Manchego cheese, Marcona almonds, and quince) all fit flawlessly together is this super easy appetizer. The bite of the Manchego paired with the sweetness of the quince, and then the crunch of the Marcona almonds is a true delight for the taste buds! I also served a Spanish olive medley, extra Marcona almonds, and a Goat Patacabra (cheese) on the side.
I think these crunchy, little crackers would also be wonderful topped with some very lightly dressed arugula or something. The great thing about the recipe is that it's really versatile- it's a base that you can add any number of flavorings to, maybe a bit of honey or a tiny pinch of saffron- the possibilities are endless.

Spanish Olive Medley:

The gloriousness that is Marcona almonds:

Manchego Crackers with Marcona Almonds

recipe very slightly adapted from The New Spanish Table, but it can also be found online here

makes 30-40 crackers

ingredients:

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup (about 1/4 lb) grated Manchego cheese (I used one that was aged for 12 months)
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp sea salt, plus more for the egg wash
• 2-5 tbsp water, as needed
• 1 large egg
• about 40 Marcona almonds

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and cheese until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then add in the flour and salt. Mix on low speed until the dough just comes together. If the dough isn't coming together, drizzle in the water until it's workable.
2. Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, knead a few time to bring it together,  and form it into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter (you can make them round or square- it's your call). Wrap the log in the plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to 4 days.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set aside.
4. Slice the dough into 1/4 inch rounds and place them on the prepared baking sheets 1 inch apart.
5. Mix the egg and a pinch of salt together and then brush the egg wash onto the tops of the crackers. Press an almond onto the top of each.
6. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire baking rack to cool.

And I'll leave you with a little preview of the next recipe to be posted- those crazy looking things on the left side:

Edamame Hummus

My junior year at the University of Washington is officially underway as of yesterday, and I am both excited and nervous for the quarter. In an effort to bring my lunches/snacks instead of purchasing them on campus, I have been making some easy-to-pack foods/meals.
I love hummus, and I think it makes a wonderful appetizer, snack, or meal. As much as I adore the traditional chickpea-based hummus, I fell in love with another type that I tried about a year ago- edamame hummus. It is a delightful (and colorful!) alternative to regular, old hummus. It's really satisfying and has that "healthy-taste" (Does that make sense to anyone but myself? I guess "fresh" works as well...) to it. I implore you to make it immediately, and make it by the pound! Pack it for work, or school, or you children's lunches. You can even serve this as a super easy appetizer at a dinner party. It's applications are endless!

Edamame Hummus

ingredients:

• 10 ounces edamame, boiled and shells removed (frozen are great too!)
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• red pepper, flakes, to taste (optional)

1. Combine everything except the olive oil in the bowl of a food processor and blend until combined.
2. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil until desired consistency is reached.
3. Garnish with more olive oil, toasted sesame seeds, red pepper flakes, or parsley (really anything you like). Serve with veggies and pita bread :).

Asparagus, Leek, and Prosciutto Tartines

Whenever I'm back home in Florida my family takes full advantage of my love for cooking/baking and doesn't hesitate to ask for delectable treats. When my mom asked if I would make some appetizers for a holiday party her and my dad were attending, I certainly said yes!
I knew that I would be making some of the Fig Bruschetta that I had made the last time I was home because it is not only incredibly, amazingly delicious, but super easy (though I used dried figs this time as they are no longer in season and they tasted just as wonderful!). But, I wanted to make a second option as well. When I found the recipe for these tartines, I knew they would be a fun and tasty compliment.
They turned out awesome, and like the bruschetta, were very simple to make. I loved the creaminess of ricotta/asparagus puree with the saltiness of the prosciutto, and the lemon juice added a nice freshness. From what I hear, they were a huge hit at the party!

Asparagus, Leek, and Prosciutto Tartines

recipe slightly adapted from here

ingredients:

• 1 lb asparagus, trimmed
• 1 leek roughly chopped, white and light green portions only
• 4 tsp olive oil
• 1 large clove of garlic, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup ricotta cheese
• juice of 1 lemon
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 lb prosciutto
• bread sliced into rounds for serving (you could use a baguette or ciabatta)
• olive oil for drizzling

1. Boil the asparagus in a shallow pan until it turns bright green, around 5 minutes. Remove from pan and run under cool water to stop the cooking; pat dry.
2. Heat 2 teaspoons of the olive oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and leeks and season with salt and pepper. Cook until soft, about 7 minutes.
3. Roughly chop the asparagus and add it to the bowl of a food processor. Add the ricotta and the sauteed leeks/garlic and pulse until combined. Ad the lemon juice and the other 2 teaspoons of olive oil and puree. Season with sat and pepper if necessary.
4. Drizzle olive oil over the bread slices, sprinkle with black pepper, and toast in an oven until golden brown. Smear a dollop of the puree on each slice and top with a piece of the prosciutto.