Crescent Jalapeno Poppers

Last night was the last Supper Club for the year, and we didn't really have a theme -- it was just an outdoor get-together with a fried turkey. I was assigned to make a main course but didn't want to detract from the deliciousness of the turkey, so I looked around for a quick appetizer I could make after work but that would still be somewhat filling.

I've had luck before with a recipe from the Pillsbury website (which I somehow never blogged about) so I checked in there and found a yummy looking recipe for Crescent Jalapeno Poppers.

First up, I deseeded my jalapenos and quartered them.

Instead of the Boursin cheese that the recipe called for (at $8.95 a tub, no less!) I used cream cheese and mixed it with pepper, celery salt, thyme, and garlic salt. This was spooned into the pieces of pepper.

Next up, wrap each pepper with a piece of pre-cooked bacon. I actually didn't know pre-cooked bacon existed before making this, and had to ask at the grocery store where to find it. It certainly made this a quicker (and cleaner) recipe, though!

Finally, I wrapped the ingredients in halved crescent roll triangles and popped them in the oven.

These were amazing and everyone was a big fan. 

Even though I doubled the recipe these disappeared fast. I didn't have the fruit salsa that the recipe called for, and instead just served the poppers with a little bit of raspberry jam on the side. I'll make these again, for sure.

Fiore di Zucchini Fritti (p. 342)

This recipe for Fried Zucchini Blossoms has been the bane of my existence. I've been trying all summer to track down zucchini blossoms, but to no avail. They're not at the farmers market, I can't get them through my CSA, local grocery stores don't have them, and even my co-worker who grows zucchini couldn't supply them -- this summer's drought killed all her plants by the time I got around to asking her.

I was getting pretty sad that this was what was going to prevent me from completing the cookbook, but my mom offered to make them for me and let me know what she thought about the recipe. Works for me!

She grows zucchini in her garden, so she had the access:

These were rinsed and set aside while she heated up her oils (olive and canola). Next up, she sifted flour into water, beating them together and adding salt and pepper.

Each blossom was dipped in the batter and dropped into the hot oil until golden brown on each side.

And then voila, fried zucchini blossoms are served.

And the taste? Mom says that they were "delightful, the perfect crunch and savory, salty, and delicious."

So there you go. Recipe number 264 is done and done, and I'm officially though with cooking The New Mediterranean Diet Cookbook. I win. Thanks, mom!

Prosciutto-Wrapped Goat Cheese-Stuffed Figs

One of my coworkers picked a huge crop of figs from her trees this week and brought them into work to share. I searched around online to find a good way to prepare them for a board game night I was going to last night, and saw lots of delicious looking recipes involving goat cheese and prosciutto, both of which I love.

I cleaned the figs, cut the stems off, and chopped them each in half length-wise. Then I just pressed a little goat cheese into the center of each and closed them back up like sandwiches.

Wrap each fig in a small piece of prosciutto.

This part took me about 10 minutes to make, and then I just brought them over to our hosts house where I tossed them under the broiler. It probably only requires 2-3 minutes in the oven but I gave it extra time since raw prosciutto is a no-no during pregnancy.

I don't have any pictures because these went fast. They were delicious and a super speedy appetizer, and I'll totally make them again once our own figs ripen up.

Grape Leaves Stuffed with Rice (p. 90)

I've never been a huge fan of stuffed grape leaves, not because of what's stuffed inside, but because of the flavor of the actual grape leaf -- it's just not really my thing.

This recipe kind of changed my mind on them, and I enjoyed the end result, although I wasn't very good at stuffing or rolling the leaves.

The preparation for the stuffing is pretty easy -- just sauté minced onion and scallions in olive oil until soft, add in pine nuts until golden, and then stir rice, tomatoes, salt, and pepper in to the mix. Pour in some hot water, cover, and cook until the rice begins to soften. Then just stir in some allspice and currants that had plumped up in hot water and set aside for a bit.

The grape leaves need to be rinsed out before using them to get rid of the brine that they were packed in. Once rinsed, lay them out flat with the veins facing you.

Place a spoonful of the stuffing in each leaf and then roll it up. I made that sound so easy, didn't I?

Place them all together snugly in a pan and cover with water and lemon juice. Place a plate over the stuffed grape leaves to keep them submerged in the water, and slowly steam them for about a half an hour.

When I went to get them out afterwards, a bunch of mine just totally fell apart. Maybe I didn't wrap them tightly enough?

Anyway I lost over half of them because the stuffing just fell out, but these were still tasty.

grape leaves -- $4.99

onion -- $1.03

scallions -- $.99

rice -- $2.65

Total Cost of Grape Leaves Stuffed with Rice: $9.66

Neapolitan Cauliflower Salad (p. 84)

This cauliflower salad, Insalata di Rinforzo, is a Neapolitan Christmas tradition, and is nice and quick to throw together.

In boiling water, cook cauliflower florets until just tender, then remove them from the heat and drain.

Combine the cauliflower in a bowl with julienned veggies (celery, carrots, and roasted red pepper) as well as crushed red chili pepper, black and green olives, capers, and chopped parsley.

Once all the veggies are combined, top with a dressing of olive oil and white wine vinegar (as well as salt and pepper) and set the salad aside so the flavors from the dressing can soak in to the rest of the salad.

We ate this with a delightful pizza we whipped up.

Cauliflower has never been my favorite veggie, but this was really good. The dressing has a lot of vinegar in it, so it adds a real kick to the salad, and the roasted red peppers add a different flavor dimension. I'll be eating this all weekend while Matt's out of town, and I think the flavors will continue to develop the longer it sets in my fridge.

cauliflower -- $2.64

celery -- $1.37 (only used one stalk)

olives -- $3.70 (the leftovers were used on the pizza)

red pepper -- $2.64

Total Cost of Neapolitan Cauliflower Salad: $10.35

($1.29 per serving)

Spicy Greens and Sweet Cheese in a Greek Savory Pie (p. 185)

Or, as you know it, Spanakopita. A coworker of mine brought some for our holiday potluck last week and it made me excited to try my own hand at it. I've always loved the flaky filo crust and the spinach and feta filling, so I figured this recipe couldn't go wrong.

First, steam the spinach (as well as other greens, if you like) in their own water. Mine took about 15 minutes for the spinach to get super tender, and then I put it in a colander and squeezed all the excess water out.

Next, sauté minced onions and scallions until soft and add them to the bowl of spinach.

Add in minced dill and parsley, eggs, feta, ricotta, parmigiano reggiano, and dry bread crumbs, stirring thoroughly between each ingredient.

The assembly of the individual pies was the hardest part. I read the directions twice, but still managed to assemble them incorrectly for my first batch. They were a little funny looking.

The second time around I got it pretty much right -- lightly oil the sheet of filo, fold it in half lengthwise, and then add a blob of the mixture into one corner and fold it up like a flag. Paint each triangle down with a little more olive oil.

Tada!

Bake for 20 minutes, until lightly brown, and then enjoy!

These were perfect. I'll make them again, for you.

spinach -- $2.50

scallions -- $.88

onion -- $1.21 (only used half)

frozen filo dough package -- $3.69 (only used half)

ricotta -- $2.59

dill -- $1.99

Total Cost of Spicy Greens and Sweet Cheese in a Greek Savory Pie: $12.86

($.86 per serving with 1 per serving)

Middle Eastern Savory Tarts (p. 188) with Catalan Seafood and Pasta Paella (p. 213) and Nicholas's Favorite Braised Pears in Red Wine (p. 447)

We had our friends Mike and Jenna over for dinner last night so I wanted to make a few different recipes  -- savory tarts as a starter, a seafood paella for the main course, and braised pears for dessert. Luckily, some things could be made in advance (like the pears) and I didn't actually start the paella until our friends arrived because Jenna had offered to help me cook.

I started the Middle Eastern Savory Tarts early in the day (I just had a half day at work) because the dough/pastry part of it needed to rise. For the dough, I used the same one that I had used to make Middle Eastern Pizza back in October. It's got a little extra flavor to it because it's made with yogurt and olive oil.

Once we were about an hour from our guests arriving, I started pre-heating the oven and assembling the tarts. The stuffing for these tarts is mostly spinach that has been cooked down until tender.

The spinach is combined with chopped onion, olive oil, salt, lemon juice, allspice, and pepper. The recipe also uses either feta or pine nuts, but not both. I really wanted both, so I split the spinach mixture in two and put feta in half and pine nuts in the other half.

The dough needs to be rolled out and cut into circles -- I used a drinking glass to cut the pieces out. Put a little bit of the stuffing into the center of the circle and close the dough up around it like a little purse. I had a lot of trouble with this step -- the amount of olive oil in the stuffing made the dough not want to stick and they kept re-opening on the baking dish. I eventually stopped worrying about it and baked them anyway, until they were golden brown.

These were pretty amazing. I liked both flavors equally, and we scarfed down a ton of them. I would totally make these again for a party, they're perfect finger food. And I just re-heated some for my lunch and they were still delicious.

I waited to start the Catalan Seafood and Pasta Paella until Jenna and Mike arrived so that Jenna and I could cook together. Jenna lightly fried shrimp and flounder pieces after dipping them in flour and I cooked the mussels in a little bit of white wine until they opened up.

We cooked onions and garlic as well as our dry spaghetti pieces until the veggies were soft, and then poured in a little more white wine, chopped tomatoes (that were peeled and seeded), and a bay leaf.

Once the tomatoes had created a thick sauce we poured in simmering veggie stock (Fresh Market doesn't carry fish stock, for some reason) and cooked until the liquid had been absorbed by the pasta. We stirred back in all the seafood and put the dish into a very hot oven for about five minutes to crisp it up a little bit before serving.

This was delicious, and also makes a ton of food. We each had seconds and still have a lots leftover. I loved the texture of the skinny pasta with the seafood, and the lightly fried shrimp was amazing. We just ate this with some toasty french bread, and it was perfect.

For dessert, I made Nicholas's Favorite Braised Pears in Red Wine, Nicholas being author Nancy Harmon Jenkins' son. The recipe calls for 6 pears, but since there were just four of us for dinner I paired it down a little (hah! paired down the pears! right?!)

I peeled the pears and placed them in a deep oven proof dish.

Then I put in lemon zest and slices of lemon and poured in a boiling mixture of red wine, water, and sugar.

This cooks in the oven for about 90 minutes, until the pears are very soft.

The red wine needed to be reduced to a syrup, so I put it back on the stovetop with some more sugar and boiled it down until it became a syrup and then spooned it back over the pears.

These were tasty -- we had them with a little vanilla ice cream and the flavor of the wine with the pear was really lovely.

All in all, this was a great meal, and we had a fabulous night with our buds.

yogurt (for the dough) -- $1.89

onion -- $.65

spinach -- $3.99

Total Cost of Middle Eastern Savory Tarts: $6.53

($.54 per serving of two tarts)

onions -- $1.52

tomatoes -- $4.19

pasta -- $2.33 (a quarter of the box is left)

shrimp -- $7.01

flounder -- $7.79

veggie broth -- $3.50

mussels -- $2.23

Total Cost of Catalan Seafood and Pasta Paella: $28.57

($3.57 per serving)

pears -- $3.97

red wine -- $8.49 (about half a bottle left)

lemon -- $.79

Total Cost of Nicholas's Favorite Braised Pears in Red Wine: $13.25

($3.31 per serving)

A filling and delicious three course meal for $7.42 per person!

Roasted Breaded Mussels (p. 98)

This was just a quickie recipe that I tossed together last night before we headed out to a party, and it was super easy and pretty light. This is meant to be served as an appetizer, but since Matt didn't want any I just ate it as my dinner.

Clean the mussels and remove their beards, discarding any mussels that won't close. Place them in a pan with a little wine and cook until the shells have started to open.

Remove the mussels from their shells, but reserve one half of each shell. Place the half shells on a baking sheet and put one mussel back into each one.

Combine garlic, parsley, oregano, parmigiana, and bread crumbs and sprinkle these over each mussel.

Dribble with olive oil and a little white wine and bake for 10 minutes.

Serve, hot and golden.

Yum. These were a great fast dinner. I'd do them again (in greater quantity) for a fancy pants cocktail party.

parsley -- $1.99

mussels -- $2.23

Total Cost of Roasted Breaded Mussels: $4.22

($4.22 per serving as a meal, $2.11 per serving as an appetizer)

Fassolada (p. 136) and Moroccan Carrot Salad with Orange and Lemon Juice (p. 83)

Fassolada is Greek White Bean Soup and it's a great hearty soup that's pretty easy to make.

In a stock pot, cover white beans (that have been allowed to soak overnight) with water. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, for about a half an hour.

Meanwhile, sauté onions, carrots, and celery in olive oil. Once they have softened, add in diced green peppers.

Add this combo, along with tomato paste, into the pot with the beans and cook until the beans are done, about another half hour. Add in lemon juice and salt and pepper and serve.

Matt and I both really liked this. It's kind of like meatless chili and was definitely filling enough to be dinner. And we liked dunking crusty bread into the juices, too.

Since I was already buying carrots for the soup, I also made a Moroccan Carrot Salad with Orange and Lemon Juice. The carrots are supposed to be grated on the smallest holes of the grater but my smallest holes are super small, so it basically just gave me carrot juice and a bloody knuckle. After bandaging I chose a larger hole, with much success.

Mix the grated carrots with fresh-squeezed orange juice (yum), lemon juice, and a tiny bit of sugar. Top the salad with roasted walnuts (with their skins removed.)

I loved that the carrots weren't cooked in this recipe, and I liked the flavor of the orange. I don't need to make it again but I'll be good with tomorrow's leftovers.

beans -- $1.55 (the bulk are left)

onions -- $1.37 (half an onion left)

pepper -- $.99

celery -- $1.99 (most left) 

Total Cost of Fassolada: $5.90

($1.48 per serving)

carrots -- $.99

lemon -- $.69

oranges -- $1.20

Total Cost of Moroccan Carrot Salad with Orange and Lemon Juice: $2.88

($.96 per serving)

Braised Duck with Wild Fennel (p. 417) with Bulgur Pilaf (p. 244)

I've been a little wary about making this Duck dish, Anatra alla Finocchietta, both because duck is super expensive and also because Matt doesn't love duck and thinks it's too fatty. Anyway, I ignored those reasons and bought some duck yesterday, and now am sad I did because I discovered how incredibly delicious duck in this preparation is, and I want to spend all my hard earned cash on duck breasts now.

Prepare the breasts (actually, I could only afford one singular breast) by slicing several cuts into the skin and sprinkling it with pepper. Next up prepare a marinade for your duck. Rub it down with a mixture of salt, garlic, rosemary, and fennel seeds (all crushed together.) Set this aside to absorb the flavor goodness for about half an hour.

Using a black iron skillet or something equally heavy, brown the duck on all sides in some olive oil on the stove top.

Once it's browned, set the whole dish in a pre-heated oven and cook for about 20 minutes, rotating the duck once.

Once cooked, remove the breast to a dish and discard the fatty pan juices. Pour dry sherry into the skillet and put it back on the stovetop to deglaze the pan until the sherry has boiled down to just a few tablespoons. Slice the duck breast and pour the sauce over each serving.

This was hands down amazing, like something you'd expect to be served at a fancy pants restaurant. The skin was crackling and delicious but the meat was tender and juicy. If I were hosting Thanksgiving this year, I would make duck breasts with this exact recipe instead of turkey, it's that good. This one I'll definitely make again, once I save up my pennies.

With the duck, I served Bulgur Pilaf, which is pretty much exactly like rice pilaf, just using bulgur. You just sauté onions in olive oil and then add the bulgur, coating the grains with the remaining oil. Add in chopped tomatoes and cook for a few minutes (just to soften them) and then pour in simmering stock (I used chicken, because I like the flavors it provides) and salt. Then just simmer away, covered, until the stock has been mostly absorbed. Stir with parsley and serve.

This was pretty good (especially in the duck juices) but in general I think I prefer the texture of rice pilaf. Apologies for the lack of final product picture -- I snapped a couple of shots but there was too much steam from the straight-off-the-oven pilaf.

duck breast -- $14.16

Total Cost of Braised Duck with Wild Fennel: $14.16

($7.08 per serving)

onion -- $.85

tomato -- $1.09

chicken broth -- $2.50 (used 3/4 of it)

Total Cost of Bulgur Pilaf: $4.44

($.74 per serving)

Anna Tasca Lanza's Sicilian Focaccia (p. 177)

Focaccia! Who doesn't love it! Nobody doesn't, so here we go:

The dough is a pretty traditional recipe; yeast, warm water, flour, salt, and an egg. It called for semolina, too, but apparently Raleigh is out. Or, at least the two places I checked didn't have any. I just used more bread flour instead.

Roll the dough out into a jelly roll pan and add chopped anchovies on top.

And then begin to layer delicious cheeses. Sliced mozzarella:

Sliced emmental:

And gouda:

Next up is sauteed onions. Lots of them.

Strain the onions, reserving the olive oil, and then layer them on top of all the cheeses:

Sprinkle on grated parmesan and grated pecorino (more cheese!) as well as oregano and bread crumbs. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the top and set it aside to rise for a little while.

Then bake! Your kitchen will smell amazing.

And then you get to eat the messy, gooey, cheesy, delicious focaccia. It's wonderful, and possibly even better cold.

onions -- $1.87

gouda -- $7.12

emmental -- $6.30

mozzarella -- $4.49

Total Cost of Anna Tasca Lanza's Sicilian Focaccia: $19.78

($1.65 per serving)