Appetizers & Snacks

Sun-dried Tomato and Smoked Paprika Deviled Eggs with Crispy Shallots

Deviled eggs have long been one of my favorite snacks for a gathering. They are perfect for every occasion: Christmas, Fourth of July, birthdays… who doesn’t like birthday eggs? However they seem to be most closely associated with Easter because of all the extra hard boiled eggs people tend to have after dyeing them, so I thought it was only fitting to post a deviled egg recipe in time for the holiday. These aren’t any old plain Jane deviled eggs. No, sir, these are jazzed up and pack a punch. Who knew deviled eggs could smack your tastebuds so hard? These are sun-dried tomato and smoked paprika deviled eggs with crispy shallots.

I knew I wanted to post a variation of deviled eggs for Easter, but I didn’t know which way to lean. Smoked salmon or bacon? Avocado or goat cheese? The possibilities went on and you all know how I feel about possibilities. Hint: I love them! The answer came to me in the form of a little plastic baggie. No it’s not what you think… I was high on excitement over the little sample of smoked paprika my friend brought me one morning. I had never cooked with smoked paprika before, but I could smell it from four feet away and was tingling with anticipation.

If you haven’t experienced smoked paprika before, it’s like regular paprika on steroids with an injection of smoke flavor. I tried thinking about what additional flavors would pair well and came across one of my favorite ingredient combinations in my pantry: sun-dried tomatoes and shallots. I had made a delicious sun-dried tomato mayonnaise a few months ago, which I will hopefully be sharing on Lemon & Mocha soon, and thought the technique would work perfectly for the deviled eggs.

Well it did and they were so tasty that I didn’t even share any. Except with Matt, he was all over these bad boys. Oh, and I almost forgot the crispy shallots! They are such an easy addition, but make a world of difference with their added texture. Lightly frying them up mellows their flavor and I definitely made extras to nibble on while I was cooking.

So if you’re looking for something full of flavor to liven up your traditional Easter brunch, your plain Jane birthday eggs or your late night rager snack spread, these deviled eggs will have everyone asking for more.

Sun-dried Tomato Deviled Eggs with Crispy Shallots
 
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Yield: 12 deviled eggs
Ingredients
  • 1 small shallot
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • ¾ cup boiling water
  • 3 tablespoons julienned sun-dried tomatoes
  • 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 6 hardboiled eggs, peeled
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, plus additional for garnish
  • Salt and pepper
Directions
  1. Slice the shallot into very thin rings.
  2. Heat the vegetable oil in a small sauté pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot place a small handful of the sliced shallots into the sauté pan and let fry. Once the shallots are crispy, but not burned, about 2-3 minutes, remove with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel. Repeat until all the shallot slices are crispy.
  3. Combine the boiling water and sun-dried tomatoes and let them soak for 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, carefully slice the hardboiled eggs lengthwise and place the egg yolks in a food processor. When the sun-dried tomatoes are done soaking drain them and place them in the food processor with the egg yolks. Add the mayonnaise and smoked paprika. Puree the mixture until smooth then season with salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Evenly spoon the mixture into the empty egg whites or fill a pastry bag with the egg mixture and pipe evenly into the empty egg whites. Dust with some additional smoked paprika before serving.

 

Appetizers & Snacks, Easter, Holiday, Recipes 0 Comments

Weeknight Minestrone Soup

I’ve been really into soups lately. Not that I previously disliked soups, they just weren’t in my weekly routine mostly due to the fact that I always end up burning my tongue. Probably the same reason I don’t like hot coffee and let my hot chocolate come to almost room temperature so I can gulp it down, tongue intact. I guess I could also just try being patient, but that’s not really my thing when it comes to food.

Lately though, I’ve been putting aside my fears of burnt tongues and really digging soups. It all started with this cauliflower soup. The next week I made a broccoli version and the week after I made it with roast mushrooms. By the fourth week Matt and I decided I needed to expand my soup-making horizons. Enter this weeknight minestrone soup. Yum.

Now this soup was so quick to make that I had serious doubts about the level of deliciousness that it would reach. Doubts be damned, this soup is tasty! A perfectly well-balanced minestrone soup with a light tomato base full of perfectly seasoned and softened vegetables, beans and pasta.

I kept mine pretty traditional, other than the addition of kale, but you could customize this in any way that suits you. The next time I make it I might include some zucchini for extra greenery. And some mushrooms because I have a mushroom addiction. But that’s just me.

Weeknight Minestrone Soup
 
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Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 1 large carrot, diced
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 3 cups chopped kale or baby spinach, hard stems removed
  • 6 cups low sodium vegetable broth
  • 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 14 ounce can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
  • 1 15 ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup small-shaped whole wheat or brown rice pasta
  • Fresh grated Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley for topping
  • Salt and pepper
Directions
  1. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large pot. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, or until translucent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the celery and carrot and cook for about 5 minutes, or until they begin to soften. Add the dried oregano, parsley flakes, and paprika, then season with salt and pepper. Add the kale or spinach and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes.
  2. Add the vegetable broth, crushed tomatoes and diced tomatoes then bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the pasta and beans. Cook for 10 more minutes, or until the pasta and vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. Serve hot topped with fresh grated Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.

Recipe slightly adapted from the Food Network.

Appetizers & Snacks, Recipes, Soups & Salads 0 Comments

Guacamole Tortilla Cups

Shiver me shamrocks, it’s almost St. Patrick’s Day! A day devoted to drinks, green beer, cupcakes spiked with Bailey’s and Irish accents? Now that’s something I can get behind. Let’s not forget that the ever classic “Luck of the Irish” will probably be playing on the Disney channel.

I wanted to make something that would be perfect for St. Patrick’s Day, but was not too keen on cooking corned beef and cabbage. I decided to go with a green theme and came up with these cute, and delicious, guacamole tortilla cups. It’s the ultimate chip and dip with no dipping required. The green color makes them a great snack for March 17th, but this little appetizer would be ideal for gameday munchies or summer cookouts.

These little cups could not be easier. Simply cut rounds out of tortillas using a biscuit or round cookie cutter then press into the cups of a mini muffin pan. Bake until golden and voila! Edible cups at your service. I can’t wait to test out more variations including filling them with salsa, seven layer dip, chicken salad, the list goes on! But for now I will happily chow down on this green guacamole version.

Guacamole Tortilla Cups
 
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Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 4-5 whole wheat flour tortillas
  • 2 ripened avocados
  • ¼ cup finely chopped red onion
  • Juice from 1 lime
  • ½ teaspoon lemon juice
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • Pinch of chili powder (optional)
  • ¼ cup diced grape tomatoes
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Use a 2-3" round cookie or biscuit cutter to cut rounds from the tortillas.
  3. Press a tortilla round into a cup of a mini muffin pan. Repeat for the rest of the tortilla rounds.
  4. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the tortilla cups are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let cool on a cooling rack.
  5. Meanwhile, make the guacamole. Scoop the avocado out into a medium mixing bowl. Add the onion, lime juice, lemon juice, salt, garlic powder and chili powder. Using a sharp knife, cut through the avocado in the bowl until it is a small dice.
  6. When the tortilla cups are cool, spoon a heaping teaspoon into each cup. Top with the diced tomatoes.
Notes
You will need 24 rounds of tortilla so you may need more of less tortillas depending on the size of your tortillas and the size of your cookie cutter.

 

Appetizers & Snacks, Recipes 0 Comments

Olive Tapenade

A couple weeks ago Matt’s brother was talking about olive tapenade and I got inspired to create my own. Whenever I decide to make a new item from scratch I like to do some thorough research and soak in whatever information I can about the adventure I’m about to embark on. According to Wikipedia, clearly the smartest website on the internet, a tapenade is, “a Provencal dish consisting of puréed or finely chopped olives, capers, anchovies and olive oil.” This statement provided two surprising conclusions (who knew a dip could be so unpredictable?).

First, this recipe should just be called tapenade since that word already assumes olives are included. However, I’m a descriptive person so I will keep the olive in the title even though it’s apparently redundant. Second, the recipe I had for olive tapenade and was about to create was an imposter and no olive tapenade at all! There were no capers. There were no anchovies. Having only half of the Wikipedia required makings of an olive tapenade made me nervous. So I jazzed up my recipe a bit and added some capers, although you can breath a sigh of relief as I continued to omit the anchovies.

So if all this rambling and mumbo-jumboing about olives and anchovies hasn’t scared you away, please know that this dip, spread or whatever you want to call it is so tasty. Addictingly tasty. The texture is smooth while the briny flavor manages to be hearty and light at the same time. Spread it on a caprese panini. Stuff it in baked chicken breasts. Eat it straight out of the container with rice crackers, a perfect combination. Or you could put it in a presentable bowl for company if that’s your thing. Your guests will be very impressed- as long as you don’t eat it all before they get there.

Olive Tapenade
 
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Yield: 1½ cups
Ingredients
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
  • ½ cup minced shallots, about 3 shallots
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 cup pitted kalamata olives
  • 1 tablespoon capers
  • ½ teaspoon lemon juice
  • Salt and pepper
Directions
  1. Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a small sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté the shallots, garlic and oregano until cooked through and fragrant, about 4 minutes.
  2. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper.
  3. Add the garlic mixture, olives, capers, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of olive oil to the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth.
  4. Serve with rice crackers or hearty bread.

Recipe adapted from The Southern Vegetarian.

Appetizers & Snacks, Recipes 0 Comments

Grilled Pineapple Guacamole

It’s almost Super Bowl time! Get ready for over-the-top halftime performances, absurd commercials and mouthwatering bite-sized snacks. Oh, I mean, kickoffs, touchdowns and end zone victory dances! Rawr! Football! Sure, I loved getting up at unGodly hours on a Saturday morning to get in line half an hour before the gates opened at my college home football games. And there is something adrenaline pumping about cheering a team to victory in a roomful of people chanting for the same cause. But to call myself a football fan would be a wild stretch of the imagination, especially since I didn’t understand any of the rules until my first college football game. Other than the whole cross the finish line or kick it through a goalpost to score points part.

Don’t worry, I get just as excited about the Super Bowl as the rest of you and even though some of you diehard footballs fans won’t admit it, you’re excited about the same part I am: the food. When you get through all the sticky wings, cheesy pizza and gooey potato skins you are left with the fundamentals of a victorious Super Bowl feast. The chips and dip. There are countless dips out there, but one of the most addictive ones in my house is guacamole. Creamy avocados, tangy lime juice, crunchy red onions and a slight kick. However this guacamole has something yours does not: sweet, smokey grilled pineapple chunks.

Adding some sweetness and extra acidity, the grilled pineapple chunks bring a unique flavor profile to your average guacamole. Guacamole is already amazing on it’s own so imagine what this grilled pineapple guacamole will do to your tastebuds. Fireworks? Symphonies? Family members raising you to their shoulders and chanting your name? How about you try it and find out.

Grilled Pineapple Guacamole
 
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Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 sections of whole pineapple (see note), or 4 rings of pineapple
  • 2 ripened avocados
  • ¼ cup finely chopped red onion
  • Juice from 1 lime
  • ½ teaspoon lemon juice
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • Pinch of ground chili powder (optional)
  • Salt and pepper
Directions
  1. Heat a grill or grill pan to medium-high heat and lightly coat with cooking spray. Grill the pineapple 2-3 minutes per side, or until light grill marks appear. Once grilled, cut the pineapple into ½”- 1” chunks.
  2. Meanwhile scoop the avocado out into a medium mixing bowl. Add the onion, lime juice, lemon juice, salt, garlic powder and chili powder. Using a sharp knife, cut through the avocado in the bowl until it is a small dice.
  3. Use a spoon to make sure all the ingredients are combined, add the grilled pineapple chunks and stir once more until just combined. If you like your guacamole more smooth than chunky then mash the avocados more.
  4. Serve fresh with chips.
Notes
If using fresh pineapple follow these instructions:
1. Cut off the top and bottom of the pineapple.
2. Sitting the pineapple upright, cut it in half, then into quarters.
3. Standing each quarter upright, cut it in half to make 2 wedges.
4. Standing each wedge upright, cut the point off down the entire length of each wedge to remove the thick core, about ½” - ¾” into the pineapple.
5. Still standing each wedge upright, cut the skin off each wedge.

 

Appetizers & Snacks, Recipes 0 Comments

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