Browsing Tag

appetizers

Appetizers/Starters, Savory Snacks

Bacon Cheddar Potato Skins

The Superbowl is this weekend, and like I often remind people this time of year, I am not an American Football fan, so I don’t have a specific team to follow, but I do watch. And it’s always a good excuse to make party snacks. Here I made some Bacon Cheddar Potato Skins …. oh so good. When I make these, I always try to find the smallest Russet potatoes that I can — like about the size of my palm. Often they are so big that you could make a boat out of them. Definitely aim for the smallest potatoes you can find here, but don’t sub out other smaller varieties like yukon gold or red potatoes; waxy potatoes won’t work here.

These are a little time consuming (the making the baked potatoes first) but they are very much worth the effort. Yummy!
Continue Reading

Breads

Sun-dried Tomato and Asiago Artisan Bread

More bread; more experiments. The Fig and Pine Nut bread from the other day actually ended up too sweet for a savory dipping bread, so I decided to make this Sun-dried Tomato and Asiago Cheese, which is decidedly not sweet. Really good with olive oil and sprinkle of salt. Line me up for snacking!
Continue Reading

Breads

Rosemary, Fig and Toasted Pine Nut Rustic Loaf

More experimenting with artisan non-knead breads baked in my Le Creuset Dutch Ovens. I am still not 100% with the texture of this Rosemary, Fig and Toasted Pine Nut Rustic Loaf — a little too dense — but I actual fear that I added too many figgy bits. Serves me right as I love figs, but too much of a good thing can hinder the rise. nevertheless, a decent attempt, flavor is good and the crusty outside from the dutch oven is amazing.
Continue Reading

Breads, Sides

Garden Delight Focaccia

I had a bout of insomnibaking last night and this morning. I went to bed at a reasonable time, but then woke up at about oh-dark-thirty, thinking about focaccia. Yep, strange thing to be dreaming about, but I have been ruminating on this recipe for a while, so maybe less of a surprise than one would think. It is actually the base for a pizza/focaccia recipe from America’s Test Kitchen, and then I started drawing with veggies and grains. Anyway, believe it or not, I got up, made the dough for this and went back to bed. Then, as I always get up at about 5 AM, before work I made the rest of it and baked it off just before work. It is actually really good, so even though it is “artwork” (it actually looks like a 4 years old’s drawing), you can eat it. I could see an Italian restaurant serving this as a starter with olive oil and sea salt. Nom nom nom.
Continue Reading

Savory Snacks

Rosemary and Thyme Mixed Cocktail Nuts

Here’s a quick and easy — and nutritious — snack to make whilst you’re in the middle of Thanksgiving prep, or even if you just need some snacks to watch a sporting event: Rosemary and Thyme Mixed Cocktail Nuts! They are sooooo good: a little sweet, a little salty, herby, nutty, delicious. They are particularly good if you warm them up eve so slightly in the microwave or oven before putting them out to snack on. You can use all types of nuts, but I used almonds, cashews, hazelnuts and pecans which is a great combo!
Continue Reading