Strega Sun Witch (drink)Recipes
INGREDIENTS
1 fluid ounce strega liqueur
3/4 fluid ounce white Creme de Cacao
1 fluid ouncewhipping cream
3/4 fluid ounceorange juice
DIRECTIONS
Shake and strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with an orange slice.
Remember not to drink and ride your broom.
Dracula's Blood Recipes
INGREDIENTS
2 fluid ounces vodka
3/4 fluid ouncepeach schnapps
3-4 fluid ounces cranberry juice
DIRECTIONS
Shake ingredients together with ice.
Pour into a tall glass.
Method
1 Heat the refried beans in a medium sauté pan or cast iron skillet. Stir in enough water to get a creamy, easily dip-able consistency, about 1/4 of a cup. The taste of refried beans is greatly enhanced by bacon fat; we'll add a teaspoon to canned beans or a tablespoon or more to taste if we are making the beans from scratch. If you don't have bacon fat, you can cook up a strip of bacon, chop it up fine and add that to the beans. If you are trying to avoid pork, note that most canned refried beans are made with added lard, so check the ingredients. You can use olive oil instead, to help the consistency of the beans.
Mix in the chipotle chili powder (or Tabasco, or adobo, or regular chili powder) and cumin to taste. Note that the avocados and the sour cream will cool down the spiciness of the beans considerably, so you can afford to be a bit more spicy than you might think. Stir in salt to taste, depending on how salted your refried beans are to begin with, and depending on how salty the tortilla chips are that you are serving with the dip.
2 Once the beans are hot and bubbly, spread them over the bottom of a warmed serving dish. Immediately add the shredded cheese so that the heat from the beans helps melt the cheese. (The cheese doesn't need to be completely melted, but even if it is just a little, it will help the dip stay on the chip.)
3 Layer on the chopped green chilies, chopped avocado, chopped tomato. Spoon on the sour cream (or crema Mexicana, crema fresca, or even cream fraiche). Top with sliced green onions and olives.
Serve immediately with tortilla chips.
Serves 8.
Baked Brie Recipe
Filed under Appetizer, Quick
Brie wrapped in pastry and baked until it has thoroughly melted inside is one of the world's easiest yet tastiest appetizers. In this recipe the brie is topped with raspberry jam, surrounded with pastry and drizzled with maple syrup.
Baked Brie Recipe
Can be prepared in 30 minutes or less.
Ingredients
Method
Buffalo Wings Recipe
Filed under Appetizer, Chicken, Low Carb, Wheat-free
Football (American) championship season. Sports bars, beer, and spicy things that make you want to drink more beer. Darts, pool, loud conversation, an either ill-spent or well-spent youth, depending on your perspective. Once in my early twenties I happened to be in Buffalo, New York for a wedding of a dear friend. On our site-seeing day the gang of us revelers happened to drive right by the Anchor Bar, home of the "Original Buffalo Chicken Wings". Did you know that Buffalo wings are so called because they were first invented in Buffalo, NY? I didn't, and it had always been one of those oddities that gnawed at the back of my brain during these beer filled nights. In San Francisco we had Tommy's Buffalo Burgers made with real buffalo meat. But buffalo wings? Hah! Mystery solved.
Buffalo wings are traditionally deep fried. But we don't have a deep fryer here at home, nor do I intend to risk my kitchen to cobble together one (once you've had one kitchen fire you don't want to repeat the experience.) So, this recipe calls for broiling the wings after they've been marinating in a spicy sauce.
Buffalo Wings Recipe
Ingredients
Wings
Ceviche Recipe
Filed under Appetizer, Low Carb, Mexican and Tex Mex, Seafood, Seasonal Favorites: Summer, Wheat-free
Ingredients
Cheesy Bread Recipe
Method
1 In a large bowl, mix together the cheeses and the green onion. Stir in the mayonnaise and sour cream. In a separate small bowl blend the butter and garlic until smooth. Add the butter mixture to the cheese mixture.
2 Preheat broiler. Slice loaf of bread in half horizontally, lay crust side down. Spread cheese mixture over the bread. Place under the broiler until nicely browned, about 3 to 5 minutes.
3 Remove from broiler and let sit for 5 minutes until cool enough to handle. Slice the bread with a bread knife. Serve.
Makes 30 to 40 slices.
Chipotle Lime Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp Recipe
Filed under Appetizer, Low Carb, Seafood, Wheat-free
When I put the call out a few weeks ago for July 4th grilling suggestions, Simply Recipes reader Chuck mentioned bacon-wrapped shrimp. I'm sure this is a standard fare for many of you, but I can't remember ever eating bacon-wrapped shrimp, let alone making it. But boy, it sounds good, doesn't it? Wonderfully indulgent. You actually don't need anything beyond some good quality jumbo shrimp and bacon; they were perfectly delicious paired on their own the first time I made them. That said, dressing them up a bit with some lime juice and chipotle seasoning adds some fun layers of flavor.
Chipotle Lime Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp Recipe
Method
1 Mix together in a small bowl the lime zest, lime juice, olive oil, and chipotle powder. Put the shrimp in the lime chipotle mixture; make sure each piece is well coated.
2 Spread the bacon pieces out over several layers of paper towels on a microwave-safe plate. Cover with another layer of paper towel. Microwave on high until the bacon fat begins to melt but the bacon is still pliable, about 1 1/2 minutes.
3 Prepare grill on high, direct heat (if grilling) or preheat the oven to 450°F.
4 Working one at a time, wrap a half piece of microwaved bacon around each piece of shrimp. If you are grilling, thread the shrimp onto long, flat skewers (flat skewers make turning the shrimp on the grill easier). If you don't have flat skewers, I've used two thin bamboo skewers (soaked in water for 30 minutes beforehand) to the same effect. If you are using the oven, secure each the bacon onto the shrimp with toothpicks. Place the bacon-wrapped shrimp on a slotted baking pan (lined with foil inside for easy cleaning). Brush remaining lime chipotle mixture on the outside of the bacon-wrapped shrimp.
5 Grill uncovered for 5 to 7 minutes on each side, or bake in the oven for 10-14 minutes, until shrimp is pink and the bacon is crisp.
Makes 12 pieces.
Crab Dip Recipe 
Filed under Appetizer, Low Carb, Seafood, Wheat-free
Winter is fresh crab season here in Northern California. When our local Whole Foods gets in a shipment, we're first in line for the biggest (anything greater than 2 lbs) fresh, cooked crabs, already cleaned and broken. Dad calls it "nature's fast food". We've been known to go through a couple 2 pounders just for lunch. Note that as with all seafood, the crab's freshness is imperative. I had to take one back to WF a few weeks ago, because it just wasn't edible. My bad, I forgot to check. Although your fish monger should be checking before handing it over to you, you really do need to inspect it before paying for it and taking it home. The best way to test is to smell. If it smells too fishy, not good. What to do with leftover crab meat when your eye is hungrier than your stomach? Mix it into a fresh crab dip, refrigerate it overnight and eat it the next day. If you are no where near a place that sells good, fresh crab, you can of course use canned crab. Trader Joe's has a good product. I've also mixed this dip up with pasta for a lovely crab pasta salad. Yum!
Crab Dip Recipe
Ingredients
Method
Combine mayonnaise, sour cream, shallots, dill, lemon zest, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl. Fold in the crab meat. Salt and pepper to taste. Chill for 2 hours or overnight. Serve with crackers or carrots and celery.
Crab Mango and Avocado Salad Recipe
Filed under Appetizer, Breakfast and Brunch, Low Carb, Salad, Seafood, Seasonal Favorites: Spring, Wheat-free
I first encountered a crab mango salad at Fringale, the exquisite French-Basque restaurant on 4th St. in San Francisco. Recently at a restaurant in LA I had another delicious crab mango salad, this time with avocado and surrounded by peeled ruby red grapefruit sections. I've been dreaming about it ever since. Scouring the Internet I came up with several recipes and decided to create my own from the ideas of several. It turned out delicous, though my grapefruit sections fell apart completely and ended up being too much of a bother to include with the salad this time.
Crab Mango and Avocado Salad Recipe
IngredientsOptional: ruby red grapefruit sections, peeled
Method
Sauce directions:
Heat the olive oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add the mango, season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes until the fruit is very tender. Add water, bring to a boil and remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice. Pour the mixture into a blender and purée until smooth. Chill.
Alternatively, if you are pressed for time, put all of the sauce ingredients into a blender and purée.
Crab salad directions:
In a bowl add the crab meat, 2 tsp of the cilantro, 1 tsp of the mint, the chopped shallot, a Tbsp of lime juice, 2 Tbsp of olive oil, 10 drops of Tabasco sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix carefully with a fork, to avoid breaking up the larger lumps of crab meat. Set aside.
In a separate bowl add the mango, avocado, 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1/2 Tbsp of lime juice, the remaining cilantro and mint leaves, 10 drops of Tabasco, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix gently with a spoon, taking care not to mush the avocado pieces.
Using small tureens or desert bowls for individual molds, layer the crab mixture and the mango avocado mixture. It doesn't really matter which you layer first. In the photo above I've layered the mango avocado mixture first. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours.
When you are ready to serve, gently remove the salads from the molds onto individual plates. Serve the sauce on the side. Garnish with cilantro leaves. For a tasty added touch if you have them, arrange peeled sections of ruby red grapefruit around the salads. The grapefruit provides a flavorful complement to the crab salad.
Serves 4.
Dad's English Muffin Pizzas Recipe
Filed under Appetizer, Quick
Back in 7th grade home-economics, the cooking segment consisted of learning how to make pizza with English muffins, some spaghetti sauce, a little cheese and a toaster oven.
Relax. These aren't those pizzas. These are cool, a little fancy, English muffin pizzas. When my father came home with a bag of English muffins announcing that he was going to make pizzas with them, I sort of rolled my eyes and stepped away. (Okay, dad, whatever you want.) But when the aroma of caramelizing onions, ham, bubbling Mozzarella wafted through the house, I got my plate ready. We'll be having these again soon.
Dad's English Muffin Pizzas Recipe
Ingredients
Optional: A few slices of fresh tomato
Method
1 Preheat oven to 425°F.
2 Melt butter in a medium skillet on medium high heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the diced ham, cook 5 minutes more. Mix in the sage and mustard. Remove from heat.
3 Put muffin halves, open side up on a sturdy baking pan. Distribute the cheese evenly, sprinkling over the muffin halves. Put the onion ham mixture on top of the cheese. If you want to use tomato slices, layer them between the cheese and onion mixture.
4 Bake at 425°F for 8-9 minutes, until the muffins and toppings are nicely browned, but not burnt. Cut into quarters for appetizers or just leave whole for a meal or snack.
Deviled Eggs Recipe
Filed under Appetizer, Egg, Low Carb, Quick, Seasonal Favorites: Spring, Seasonal Favorites: Summer, Wheat-free
Deviled eggs. Easter egg hunts and summer picnic potlucks. I have been known to devour a dozen of these in one sitting. These were quick and easy. If you want them to be a little prettier, put the egg filling into a freezer bag, make a cut off of one corner of the bag, and pipe them into the egg white halves.
What follows is a basic recipe, though there are so many wonderful variations you can make. See the comments for some great ideas submitted by Simply Recipes readers. Do you have a favorite deviled egg recipe? If so, please add yours in the comments.
Deviled Eggs Recipe
Ingredients
Method
1 First hard boil the eggs. (See how to make hard boiled eggs.) Fill up a large saucepan half-way with water and gently add the eggs. Cover the eggs with at least an inch of water. Add a teaspoon of vinegar to the water (this will help contain egg whites from leaking out if any of the shells crack while cooking). Add a pinch of salt to the water. Bring the water to a boil. Cover, and remove from heat. Let sit covered for 12-15 minutes. Drain hot water from pan and run cold water over the eggs. (At this point if you crack the egg shells while the eggs are cooling, it will make it easier to peel the shells.) Let sit in the cool water a few minutes, changing the water if necessary to keep it cool.
2 Peel the eggs. Using a sharp knife, slice each egg in half, lengthwise. Gently remove the yolk halves and place in a small mixing bowl. Arrange the egg white halves on a serving platter.
3 Using a fork, mash up the yolks and add mustard, mayonnaise, onion, tabasco, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Spoon egg yolk mixture into the egg white halves. Sprinkle with paprika.
Makes 2 dozen deviled eggs.
Eggplant Dip (Baba Ghanouj) Recipe Method 1 Preheat oven to 375°F. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise and brush the cut sides lightly with olive oil. Place on a baking sheet, cut side down, and roast until very tender, about 35 minutes. Place the eggplant in a colander to drain and cool for 15 minutes, then scoop the flesh out of the skin. 2 Combine the eggplant, remaining olive oil (about 2 Tbsp), tahini, garlic, cumin, 2 Tbsp of the lemon juice, the salt, and a pinch of cayenne in the work bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the eggplant is somewhat smooth but retains some of its texture. 3 Allow the baba ghanouj to sit for an hour at room temperature, then season to taste with additional lemon juice, salt, and cayenne. Toss in cilantro and serve.
Filed under Appetizer, Vegetable, Vegetarian, Wheat-free
Here in the San Joaquin Valley, the eggplant season is in full swing. At our local farmers market last weekend one could find eggplants of every variety - globe, Japanese, striped, white, even eggplants that looked like tomatoes. I have a couple still on the vine, after picking the one used for this recipe that was just begging to be eaten. Here is a wonderful recipe for baba ghanouj (also spelled baba ghanoush) a middle eastern eggplant dip. It is typically served with pita bread. The recipe comes from Field of Greens, the cookbook from the beautiful vegetarian restaurant Greens at Fort Mason in San Francisco.
Eggplant Dip (Baba Ghanouj) Recipe
Ingredients
Serves four. Served traditionally with pita bread, and can also be served with crackers, toast, sliced baguette or celery.
Eggplant Relish Recipe
Filed under Appetizer, Condiment, Vegetable, Vegetarian, Wheat-free
Tucked away in funky Bernal Heights, my old neighborhood in San Francisco, used to lie Palatino, an Italian trattoria which served unexpectedly exceptional Italian food. I used to go there regularly and became addicted to the eggplant caponata condiment they served with bread sticks that accompanied every meal. I have no idea if this is even close to the same recipe that the restaurant used, but it is certainly in the right direction. Palatino's version chops the veggies a bit finer.
Eggplant Relish Recipe
Ingredients
Method
1 Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onion begins to soften - about 5 minutes. Add the garlic. Cook a couple minutes more.
2 Add eggplant and tomatoes. Cover. Cook, stirring occasionally until eggplant is very soft, about 15 minutes.
3 Add vinegar, nuts, olives, raisins, sugar, and capers. Cook uncovered over medium-low heat until vegetables begin to break down, about 10-12 minutes.
4 Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Mix in the parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Relish can be refrigerated, covered, up to 5 days.
Makes 4 cups. Serve with toasted French baguette slices, bread sticks, on a sandwich, or with fish or chicken.
Ingredients
Garlic Bread Recipe Method Method 1 - Toasted
Filed under All Seasons, Appetizer, Side Dish
Spaghetti just seems lonely without garlic bread, and it's so easy to make. There are several methods and twists for making garlic bread, the most simple being just rubbing a cut clove of garlic over slices of Italian or French bread, spreading the bread with butter and heating in the oven. Here are a couple of methods that make wonderful garlic bread, depending on how you like it, either toasty or soft.
Garlic Bread Recipe
Ingredients
1 Preheat oven to 350°F.
Method
1 Heat a small pan over medium heat and add oil, garlic, jalapeño and shallot, and cook for 1 minute, then let cool.
2 Meanwhile, crumble lamb into a large bowl. Evenly scatter salt pork, orange zest and mint over lamb, and season with pepper. Sprinkle the cooled garlic mixture over lamb. Gently mix until just combined, then form into 1¼-inch balls and transfer to a plate or sheet pan.
Method
1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat together the cream cheese, mayonnaise, lemon juice, water, onions, and parsley until smooth. Mix in the Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, and horseradish. Fold in the slivered almonds and lump crab meat. Place in an oven-proof casserole serving dish.
2 Bake until bubbly and heated through, about 20 minutes. Serve with crackers or thinly sliced baguette.
Method
1 In a food processor, combine the mashed garlic, garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, 1/2 cup water, and olive oil. Process until smooth. Add salt, starting at a half a teaspoon, to taste.
2 Spoon into serving dish and sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and chopped parsley.
Serve with crackers, raw dip vegetables such as carrots or celery, or with pita bread. You can cut the pita bread into thin triangles, brush with olive oil and toast for 10 minutes in a 400°F oven to make pita chips with which to serve the hummus.
Makes about 3 cups.
Method
Variation: Use chicken livers, lean pork, and sausage meat in equal quantities. See my
Grind the pork through a meat grinder several times on a fine setting.
Place in a blender cognac or brandy, Madeira or sherry, garlic, parsley, shallot or onion, ginger, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg. Add diced livers and blend a cupful at a time. Season with salt and pepper, adding a dash of Tabasco or cayenne. Mix the ground pork with the blended liver.
Line a casserole or terrine with strips of bacon, fill with mixture, and cover with bacon. Place the casserole dish in a larger baking dish and fill the larger dish with water up to the halfway point on the side of the paté dish. This "water bath" will help the paté retain moisture and make for a smoother consistency in the texture. Bake uncovered in a moderate oven, 350 degrees F, for about 1 1/2 hours. Cool the pate under a weight so that it will become firm and fine-textured. To do this, lay a piece of waxed paper or aluminum foil over the pate and set on top of the entire surface a board weighted with a heavy object. Chill in the refrigerator for several hours.
Method
1 Melt butter in a large skillet on high heat. Add the mushrooms and shallots. Sauté for 5 minutes stirring frequently.
2 While the mushrooms are cooking, heat a small skillet on high heat. Add the pine nuts. Cook, stirring frequently, until they begin to get a little toasted. (Keep your eyes on the nuts, they can burn pretty quickly.) As soon as they begin to toast, remove the pan from the heat and put the pine nuts into a small bowl. Set aside.
3 While the mushrooms are cooking, sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Once they have cooked for about 5 minutes, add the garlic and a tablespoon of dry white wine. Cook for an additional minute and remove from heat. Put mushroom mixture in a bowl, add the toasted pine nuts, and set aside to cool.
4 Once the mushrooms have cooled down a bit, mix in the lemon juice, sour cream, and parsley. Add more salt and pepper, if needed, to taste. Sprinkle on cayenne pepper, to taste. Chill before serving.
Spoon onto a large butter lettuce leaf and serve with crackers. (Use rice crackers for wheat-free option.)
Makes about 1 1/2 cups. Serves four.
