Jalapeno Cheese Squares

This appetizer is like a mini quiche without the crust.  A fluffy egg texture with onions and jalapenos, all topped with crispy toasted cheese.  According to my husband, an avid egg and jalapeno lover, these squares are acceptable for any meal and for a snack.

The recipe does not advise if you are to leave the seeds in when you are mincing the jalapenos. I guess that is personal preference. You are welcome to take the seeds out if you want a more mild tasting dish.

While baking, the cheese will puff up in the pan.  However, do not be alarmed when it deflates upon cooling, that is normal. 

When preparing a dish with hot peppers, it is best to use metal utensils.  Plastic may absorb some of the oils in the peppers.  Also, when mincing or grinding fresh or dry peppers with a machine, use one that can be taken apart and cleaned.  For example, a mini food chopper is better than a coffee grinder.

This recipe makes 36 squares.  You can double the recipe and bake in 2 nine inch square glass baking pans.  If using metal or a dark pan, the baking time will need to be adjusted.

Jalapeno Cheese Squares
courtesy of Bon Appetit/ prior to 2005

Ingredients
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
2 cups grated monterey jack cheese
1 cup chopped green onions
3/4 cup whole milk
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tbs chili powder
2 tbs of minced jalapeno peppers (I used 2 peppers)
5 large eggs


Butter a 9 inch square glass baking dish.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the last 4 ingredients on the above list.  With a wire whisk, blend all the ingredients until evenly
distributed.  Then blend in milk.  With a metal spoon, mix in the onions and monterey jack cheese.

Pour mixture into baking dish.  Sprinkle all of the cheddar cheese evenly on top.  Place pan in oven and bake for about 45 minutes. The appearance should indicate when the squares are done. The top should be brown and puffy. In addition, the batter will be pulling away from the inside of the pan.

Remove from oven and cool slightly.  Cut and serve.  If not serving right away, place the squares on a cookie sheet and cover.  Store in fridge and rewarm at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes to serve.

Tapioca Cheese Rolls

The texture of bread varies quite a bit.  Some breads are more dense than others and some more crusty. Also, the texture should be in accordance to how it is served.  Pizza dough does not make very good dinner rolls, nor can biscuit dough be used for pita bread.

As for this particular type of roll, it turned out with a crusty outside and a very chewy inside.  The inside looks hollow, like a popover.  The dough does not brown in the oven, so they are pale, even after baking.  The tapioca flour and cheese ingredients contributed to the texture and lack of color. These rolls are meant to be an appetizer and are best served with a thick dipping sauce such as marinara. The dough is not appropriate for dinner rolls. 

There were several factors that may have contributed to me not liking this recipe. I had some difficulty due to my measurements being in cups and tablespoons (volume) versus the recipe being in ounces (weight).  I may have an aversion to Tapioca flour or the original recipe is actually lacking a vital ingredient.  I will not be making this again.

Tapioca Cheese Rolls
courtesy of  Disney

Ingredients
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
1/4 cup sunflower oil
pinch of sea salt
1 3/4 cup tapioca flour (or more)
1 beaten egg
1/4 cup plus 2 tbs of plain yogurt 
1/4 cup plus 2 tbs water
 optional bread topping-you can use whatever you like (salt & garlic powder, bagel topping, etc)


Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Take out a small saucepan and fill with water, salt and oil.  Turn heat to medium high and let mixture come to a boil.  Remove from heat.

Sift the flour into a medium size bowl.  Then add the boiled water/oil mixture and stir with a wooden spoon.  It should form a stiff dough.  Let the dough sit for 10 minutes to cool.

Add the beaten egg to the dough and mix until evenly distributed.  Stir in the yogurt until blended.  At this point your dough should be thick enough to roll and keep its shape.  If not, continue to add more flour until right consistency is achieved. Then fold the cheese into the dough.

Using greased hands, divide dough into 12 pieces and roll into balls.  Place each ball (evenly spaced)on the prepared baking sheet.  Sprinkle topping on the rolls, if desired.

Put rolls in the oven and immediately turn oven temperature down to 350 degrees. Bake for 25-35 minutes.  When done, rolls will be cracked on top and the inside of the crack expansion will no longer be shiny.  Also, tester will come out clean.  Cool rolls on a wire rack and serve with marinara dipping sauce.

Shrimp Cakes

The main shrimp markets in the US are Florida and Hawaii.  However, we all know that there is quite a bit of import and export in the seafood business.

I had recently read an article about how the president of Indonesia stated that their country needs to be less dependent on foreign imports.  They are focusing on building up their internal supply of shrimp by increasing their shrimp hatcheries in Bali.  Indonesia is slated to meet 74% of their internal demand for shrimp in the year 2014.

That brings me to the shrimp cake recipe below which was a published RSVP recipe as requested by a reader of Bon Appetit Magazine.  The cakes are coated with Panko (japanese bread crumbs) and toasted in very little oil. The end result is a very light and crispy cake. Also,the citrus & heat flavors teamed together with the shrimp make the cakes a perfect appetizer for happy hour.

I have only included the recipe for the cakes below, which makes 12 cakes that are 3 inches in diameter.  Bon Appetit also had a recipe for a chili-lime sauce to compliment the cakes. To serve with the sauce, place 3 tablespoons of it on the plate first and 2 cakes on top. You can click here to get the recipe for the chili-lime sauce.

Shrimp Cakes
courtesy of Bon Appetit/Sept 2005

Ingredients
2 cups Panko bread crumbs
1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce
1 tbs Dijon mustard
2 tbs fresh lemon juice
1 large egg
1/2 tsp salt
1 sliced green onion
1 tbs minced fresh cilantro
pinch of ground pepper
4 tbs peanut oil
16 or 1 lb large shrimp (uncooked/peeled/deveined/no tail)

Place all ingredients except for peanut oil, shrimp and Panko crumbs into a food processor.  Pulse ingredients or turn on/off in quick intervals.  Then add the shrimp and pulse again until evenly blended.

Take mixture out of food processor and put in a medium size bowl.  Pour in 1 cup of Panko crumbs and blend with a wooden spoon until all is combined.  Take out a baking sheet and cover with wax paper or parchment paper.  Divide dough into 12 even pieces.  Form each piece into a flat patty, three inches in diameter and place on baking sheet. Put baking sheet in fridge for 10 minutes.

While cakes are chilling, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium high heat.  When cakes have completed the cooling time, take pan out of fridge.  Then roll cakes in the remaining cup of Panko crumbs, evenly coating each side.

Working in batches, place each cake in skillet and cook for about 3 minutes on each side. More oil may be required between batches to complete frying all 12 cakes. Both sides should be golden brown when done. Serve immediately.

Boudin

I posted my Mint Chocolate Cupcake recipe for St Patricks day, but really missed Mardi Gras.  Even though late, I thought I would post a Cajun recipe today.

Boudin stems from Boudin Blanc dish as served in France.  Boudin Blanc are sausages made out of pork, chicken and veal. Additional ingredients such as milk, cognac and spices add flavor to the meats.  That type of sausage is very perishable and a little expensive to make.

When the French Acadians (today's Cajuns) were pushed out of Britain and arrived in Louisiana, they needed to adapt to the new surroundings. The Boudin Blanc was not a very feasible meal, especially when the main meat for the area was pork.  Pork was the first ingredient used in Cajun Boudin.  Then boudin ingredients evolved with time, with rice being added after it started being cultivated.

This recipe is best made in two days and yields about 12 sausage links.  The pork, liver cooking and grinding was done the first day and the rest the second day.  Also, I chose to use the cellulose sausage casing, which can be purchased through Cabela's.  Cellulose casing is probably the easiest to use. It does not require any soaking time like natural hog casing.

Lastly, should you not want to go through the sausage link process, you can also use the filling and create appetizers called boudin balls.  The filling recipe makes a total of 5 cups. It makes a lot of boudin balls, so you may want to halve the recipe.

Boudin
courtesy of Homesick Texan Blog

Ingredients
1/2 lb chicken livers
2 lbs pork shoulder (cut into 1 inch cubes)
4 cloves minced garlic
1 bell pepper (seeded and chopped)
1 stalk diced celery
1 chopped medium onion
2 jalapenos, chopped without stems or seeds
2 chopped green onions (green part only)
1 tsp each of thyme, oregano and paprika
salt, black pepper and cayenne to taste
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 servings or 1 cup uncooked minute rice
10 ft of casing sized 32-35 mm (for sausages)
3 cups cracker crumbs (for boudin balls)
enough vegetable oil for deep fryer (for boudin balls)

First day:
Put chicken liver in microwave safe bowl and fill with 1 cup of water.  Microwave for a total of 4 minutes, draining water out of bowl every minute and refilling with fresh water 3 times and then cooking without water for the last minute.  Set aside to cool.

Fill a large pot with 2 inches of water and then add the bell pepper, celery, onion, garlic and pork. Place over  medium high heat and let come to a boil uncovered.  Then turn down to a simmer and let cook uncovered for another hour and 45 minutes.

After the pork is fully cooked and tender, drain and reserve broth for later use.  Mix the cooked chicken livers into the pork mixture. Grind or coarsely dice the meat filling. This can be done with a food processor, meat grinder or by hand with a knife. 

Cover the bowl of broth and the meat filling and place in fridge until next day. 

Second day:
Take the broth out of the fridge and measure out one cup into a microwave safe bowl.  Heat in microwave for 1 minute.  Remove the filling from the fridge and add the heated broth, stirring until no excess liquid is left. Set aside.

Cook the rice as directed on package.Add the rice, jalapenos, thyme, oregano, green onion and parsley to the filling and mix with a wooden spoon until evenly distributed.  Stir in pepper, salt and cayenne according to taste. The filling should be moist and slightly sticky.  If it appears to dry, add in more broth until you reach desired consistency.

To form the sausages, take out sausage stuffer and slide all the casing over the horn of the stuffer.  Push all casing on the stuffer except a few inches.  Tie a knot on the end than push the filling through the stuffer.  As the filling comes through the horn, the casing will have to be guided so air does not form.  My stuffing horn was quite a bit smaller than the diameter of the casing.

As you fill the casing, note that each sausage should be about 5 inches long. At the end of the sausage, twist the casing and then you can resume making another sausage.  The alternative is to twist, cut and tie each end of the sausage to separate so you can cook for individual servings.

Once the links are formed, they can be prepared by poaching in boiling water for 10 minutes.  Steaming and grilling are other options.

Regarding the preparation of the boudin balls, follow all instructions above ending with adding the cayenne. After making meat mixture, fill a deep fryer with vegetable oil and preheat to 350 degrees. Then form all the filling into 1 inch balls, placing each on a baking sheet lined with parchment.  Take each ball and roll in cracker crumbs, placing back on parchment.  Once all are covered in cracker crumbs, drop balls into hot oil and cook until golden brown.  This should only take about 2 minutes.

Avocado Egg Rolls with Dipping Sauce

Finally, I have found a good appetizer to serve for the Super Bowl.  These egg rolls surpass the standard chicken wings or nachos. Think of a very "chunky" form of guacamole stuffed in an egg roll wrapper and fried.  That explanation alone qualifies it as a favorite with beer and definitely "man" food.

Now, the dip is another story.  Even though it has cilantro, it has quite a bit of honey.  The sweet dip offsets the savory of the egg roll.  I liked it because I am not into real spicy foods, however my husband as well as male friends stated that they would rather have hot salsa as a dip instead of the sweet.

Note that the dip recipe contains some hard to find ingredients. I left out the tamarind paste. It only called for 1/2 tsp, so I do not think had much impact on the taste.

The recipes for the dip and egg rolls are actually a copycat recipe from Cheesecake Factory.  It is for 2-4 servings.

Avocado Egg Rolls with dipping sauce
adapted from Food.com

Ingredients/dipping sauce   
1 tsp ground cumin
1 pinch of saffron
1 tbs sugar
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp tamarind pulp
2/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 chopped green onions
1 tsp of minced garlic
1/2 cup of chopped cashews
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp white vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup honey

Take a microwave safe bowl and mix together the honey, both vinegars, tamarind pulp and saffron.  Once the tamarind is dissolved, cover bowl with a paper towel and heat in microwave for 1 minute. Set aside.

Put all the other ingredients (except for the olive oil) in a blender, then pour in the tamarind mixture. Puree until all is fairly smooth.  Place in a bowl and mix in the olive oil.  It should resemble pesto when completely combined.  Cover and place in fridge until ready to use.

Ingredients/Egg Rolls

1 beaten egg
dash of salt
1/2 tsp cilantro leaves
2 tbs chopped,sun-dried tomatoes in oil
1 tbs finely chopped red onion
1 avocado-peeled, pitted and diced.
4 egg roll wrappers


If you want to bake the egg rolls, line a baking sheet with foil and spray will non stick oil coating.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. To fry them, preheat your oil to 375 degrees (pan or deep fry).

Set the egg roll wrappers as well as the beaten egg aside.  In a large bowl, combine all the other ingredients with a wooden spoon until evenly distributed.  Take the filling and place a line of it in the center of one egg roll, having a corner at the top and bottom of the line and leaving about 3/4" border at each end.  Fold bottom border up onto filling.  Then brush beaten egg on all edges of the rest of the wrapper.  Roll both sides up over the filling and fold the top corner or border down.  Continue with the rest of the wrappers.

To deep fry the egg rolls, place 2 at a time in your fryer and let cook for 3-4 minutes until browned. We fried ours in a pan of oil for about 3 minutes on each side.  If baking, place on prepared sheet and brush or drizzle with oil.  Baking time will vary, so check for crispness after 3 minutes.  They may need to be turned and cooked another 3 minutes.  Once done, slice each in half at an angle and serve with desired dipping sauce.

Teriyaki Pork Sliders

Well it seems as if every type of food is going to the "mini" stage. It may be psychological that if we eat items called "mini" we do not consider it as eating much.  It also could be that we want finger food that is eaten easily on the run.  One of the recently made popular "mini" foods is the slider burgers.  This is now followed by "mini" hot dogs.  I just hope that in the future we are all not slaving in the kitchen making 100 tiny foods to support 1 actual meal!

Regarding this recipe, I wanted to make an appetizer in a slider form, but did not want the standard burger.  After reviewing several types of sliders, pork with an asian flavor was the choice.

It proved to be a good decision. If you make these, be prepared to deflect feelings of regret and guilt that you did not make more.  Kindly remind your guests staring at their empty plates that these are appetizers-not a meal. This recipe makes 12 sliders or 4 "appetizer" servings by restaurant standards.

Teriyaki Sliders
adapted from real mom kitchen
 
6 rings of pineapple, each cut in 1/2*
Honey teriyaki bbq sauce ( I found teriyaki only and mixed in honey to taste)
3 slices of provolone cheese, each cut in fourths
4 mushrooms, sliced  ( I used Shitake)
2 tsp grated ginger
1/4 cup teriyaki or teriyaki stir fry sauce
4 chopped scallions (separated in 1/2)
1 lb ground pork
1 pkg dinner rolls (I used Kings Hawaiian)
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
mayonnaise ( for bread spread)
flour ( may need to add in)

The first thing to do is the prep work.  Chop, slice, grate as stated in above ingredients and place each separately in a small bowl.

Take a small food processor and pulse together the mushrooms and 1/2 of scallions until finely chopped. These are small burgers, so it is important that this mixture is fine.  Put mushroom/scallion mixture in medium bowl and add teriyaki or teriyaki stir fry, breadcrumbs, pork and ginger.  Mix until evenly distributed.

Then you will need to shape the burgers.  Divide mixture into 12 portions by using 1/4 cup for each.  If you find mixture too runny, mix in flour until you reach the right consistency-this issue may be caused by using teriyaki instead of teriyaki stir fry sauce. I was unable to find teriyaki stir fry sauce.

Turn on broiler.*  Take a baking sheet and line with foil. Spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Set oven rack 4 or 5 inches from broiler.  Place patties on baking sheet.  Prepare another sheet and place the pineapple on it and a third sheet placed with split rolls (cut side up).

Each pan will need to go in separately to be broiled.  Place the rolls under the broiler in the oven and watch closely.  As soon as the edges brown, remove pan and set aside.  Do the same with the pineapple.  Lastly, broil the patties broil in oven about 3 minutes then turn and broil for another 3 minutes. Remove pan and place 1 piece of provolone on each burger and place back in oven. Leave in oven to melt (watch closely). Once cheese is melted, take out pan. 

After all is broiled, spread the top half the rolls with mayo.  Assemble the sliders by placing a pineapple piece on the bottom of the bread roll. Then add the pork patty and top with 1 tsp bbq sauce and a sprinkle of the sliced scallion.  Place the other half of the roll on top.  If you want to garnish, stick in a toothpick with a small piece of a dill pickle (or any veggie of your choice) speared on the other end.

*You can also opt to use the grill instead of the broiler for all cooked or toasted items (pork patties, pineapple and rolls). To make things easier, do not cut the pineapple rings and rolls (only split) until after grilling.

Pretzel Bites

With all the sweet bakery items on this blog to date, I figured it was time to do something savory.  These pretzel bites are salty and packed with ham and cheese.  Unlike the big pretzels, these do not turn chewy with time but remain soft on the inside if stored properly.  They are best enjoyed warm.  If you are making these for a crowd, you might consider doubling the recipe.  A football game will last a lot longer than the bites will, they are very addictive.  This recipe makes 48 one inch bites.  There are several recipes out on the net with some different boiling and coating methods, but I choose this one due to its simplicity.

Pretzel Bites
adapted from Pennies on a Platter blog
Ingredients
1-2 tbs coarse salt
4 tbs melted butter 
4 tsp baking soda
6 cups water
3/4 cup shredded cheese
3/4 cup chopped ham (I used already sliced deli meat & cut up smaller)
2 1/2 to 3 cups flour
1 cup warm milk
1/4 cup warm water
2 tbs and 1 tsp packed brown sugar
1 pkg of active dry yeast (if using fast rise yeast, see **)
olive oil (for greasing bowl for rising)

Start by putting 1 tsp brown sugar, yeast and warm water in a large bowl and mix together.  Sprinkle yeast on top and set aside for about 5 minutes to foam up.  **Fast rise does not require this wait time.  In another smaller bowl, combine remaining brown sugar (2 tbs) and warm milk until sugar is dissolved.  Take a wooden spoon and mix 2 1/2 cups of flour in with the yeast mixture.  Then add in warm milk ingredients.  Continue to mix in the additional flour as needed until you have the consistency of a soft dough.

Place dough on a floured surface and knead a few times.  Then take olive oil and brush on the inside of a bowl.  Form the dough into a ball and place in oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Put in a warm (draft free) place to rise for about 2 hours.  During the rising time, mix the shredded cheese with the ham in a small bowl.  Also, line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

After 2 hours of rising time, your dough should be double in size and have a few bubbles on the surface.  I always let dough rise in my oven.  I turn on the oven and once it reaches 100 degrees I turn it off and then place the rising bowl inside.

Once dough has risen properly, take out and divide into 4 equal sections.  Take one section and using a floured rolling pin, roll dough into a 12X4 inch rectangle.  On one of the long sides of the dough, measuring about 1 inch above the edge, place a 12 inch row of the ham and cheese mixture on the dough, pressing lightly.  Starting with the ham and cheese edge, roll dough up tightly into a small long log.  Cut the log into 12 one inch pieces and place pieces on the parchment lined baking sheets.  Repeat this process with the additional sections of dough.

Let dough rise at room temperature uncovered for about 30 minutes.**Fast rise yeast does not require this rising time. Turn on oven to preheat to 400 degrees.

In the meantime, bring 6 cups of water to a full boil.  Reduce to simmer and sprinkle in all baking soda.  Drop in pretzel pieces in batches and boil for about 20 seconds on each side.  Scoop out pieces with a slotted spoon, draining off as much water as possible, and place on baking sheet.

Place sheet in oven and bake until pieces are golden brown, about 15-18 minutes.  Remove from oven and brush with melted butter and then sprinkle on coarse salt.  Serve warm with ranch or mustard for dipping. 

With a twist: you might try using some chopped veggies instead of the meat.  For something more spicy, opt for jalapenos.  However, make sure the vegetable pieces are dry after chopping. Mushrooms, since they give off so much water when cooking, may not be appropriate for these.