As American as...

All of the taste of hot apple pie, in easy party-size format. This is another Pinterest find that I've wanted to make for a while now. I organized a Holiday Cheer party at the office this week and decided that my coworkers would make excellent test subjects. This is an incredibly simple and delicious recipe, and I think that it tastes exactly like a slice of hot apple pie. Serve with cinnamon sugar pita chips, and people will think you're a genius. Because, duh...you are.

Apple Pie Dip with Cinnamon Sugar Chips
adapted from The Peach Kitchen

Ingredients:
2 cups peeled, cored, and diced apple
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 tbsp brown sugar
¼ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 tsp water

Note: I doubled everything for a crowd of 15 people. The original as-written recipe doesn't make a large batch...probably enough for 5-8 people.

Instructions:
Combine all the dip ingredients, except the water and cornstarch, in a small pan on medium heat.

Heat for a few minutes until it’s boiling and has extracted juice from the apple. Add cornstarch-water mixture to the “sauce." Put back on the stove top until boiling and the sauce has thickened.

Set aside. You can serve this warm or chilled. It doesn’t matter. It will taste delicious.

Chip, Chip, HOORAY!

Trust me. These aren't gross and scary, but rather delicious and incredibly addictive. However, just don't eat a whole baking sheet full of them. Again, trust me.

Kale Chips
adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1 bunch kale, stems removed and torn into bite-sized pieces (I use the bags of pre-torn kale, but be sure to tear out the stems and re-wash it yourself)
Olive oil (I use the spray for better coverage)
Salt
Pepper
Old Bay (optional)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350. Combine kale with olive oil, salt, pepper and old bay, if using. Spread out into an even layer on the baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes. Keep a VERY close eye on this, as it can burn easily. You want the chips to be slightly browned and crisp, not soggy.

Passover Recipe Series

ETA: in case you haven't noticed the VAST improvement in picture quality...I GOT MY CAMERA FIXED!

I'm going to post the recipes that I use for Pesach (Passover) over the next few days. I hope you're able to try them out and enjoy them with family and friends!

Eggplant Camponata


This is my mom's recipe. She used to make it when there was company over, and I would sneak into the living room to grab crackerfuls of it. It's flavorful, healthy and a great appetizer for any party. It really tastes best, in my opinion, on a buttery Ritz cracker, but matzah will have to do for the week.

Ingredients:
3 cup peeled and cubed eggplant (1 medium)
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
8 oz sliced mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/3 cup of oil (canola or olive oil)
1 small (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1/4 cup water2 tablespoons wine vinegar (or cider vinegar)
1/2 cup chopped black olives
1.5 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Instructions:
Put first 6 ingredients in a skillet and cook gently for 10 minutes, stirring. Add remaining ingredients; mix well.
Simmer, covered, until eggplant is tender, about 30-60 minutes. Refrigerate when cool.
Serve with pocket bread cut into quarters or crackers. This definitely tastes better a few days after making, since it gives the flavors a chance to meld.

Rosemary Spiced Nuts
adapted from Dragon's Kitchen

I had a whole container of fresh rosemary and a huge bag of mixed nuts. What's a girl to do? Scour the internet for spiced nut recipes, of course! I planned to have plenty of snacks on the seder table because it can be at least an hour from when you sit down to when you eat. I always enjoyed having something to nibble while reading the Haggadah.

These nuts were a great combination of flavors - spicy, sweet, tangy and salty, with the rosemary adding just another layer of yum. I found the recipe on a new food blog, which I know will become another addition to my blogroll. These are super easy to make, and guaranteed to be a hit!

Ingredients:
2 cups mixed whole almonds, raw cashews, pecans and/or raw peanuts
2 TBS vegetable oil
1 TBS fresh Rosemary, finely chopped
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 TBS sugar
1 TBS brown sugar
1 tsp salt

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 300°F. (this was too low for mine, so I upped it to 370)
Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the rosemary, chilli powder and cayenne pepper. Stir for about 20 seconds.
Reduce the heat to low and add the nuts, stir to combine. Add sugars and salt. Stir to blend.
Transfer the nuts to a baking pan. Bake until the nuts are toasted, stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes. (Mine took about 40 minutes to get golden brown.)
Serve warm or at room temperature. Store them in an air tight container for up to 5 days...if they last that long!

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

Did you know that Maryland got b*tch slapped by Mother Nature this weekend? If you missed out, let me share some pictures from some friends facebook pages:

That was a car. I'm not sure what it is now (taken by my student, Megan)

Taken by my sister-in-law. I'm jealous of her camera.

My friend Sam. Ain't she adorable?

So...as you can see, we spent our whole weekend either huddled on the couch or wielding the mighty snow shovel. Before Blizzard 2010 hit, I ran to the grocery store to make sure that I had enough flour, butter, eggs and sugar to get me through the weekend. This, in hindsight, was the worst idea ever. I spent 5 minutes gathering my groceries and then another 45 minutes waiting in line, surrounded by people who were in sheer panic. Sigh.

What else is there to do on a snowy weekend but bake, right? I decided to try my hand at homemade pretzels, since I haven't had the best luck with yeast-related dishes yet. This is a Martha recipe, and is pretty simple overall. The worst part was rolling and twisting all 32 mini-pretzels, but it wasn't like I had anything else to do!

They tasted great, but not exactly like the kind you get at the ballpark. I think that there should be more baking soda in the water bath, which would help give them more of a shiny crust. I will definitely make these again!

Soft Pretzels

adapted from Martha Stewart Living

Ingredients:
2 cups warm water, 100 degrees to 110 degrees
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
5 to 6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons canola oil
2 tablespoons baking soda
1 large egg
Coarse or pretzel salt
Vegetable-oil cooking spray

Instructions:
Pour warm water into bowl of electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. In a small bowl, combine water and sugar, and stir to dissolve sugar. Sprinkle with yeast, and let sit 10 minutes; yeast should be foamy.

Add 1 cup flour to yeast, and mix on low until combined. Add salt and 4 cups flour, and mix until combined, about 30 seconds. Beat on medium-low until dough pulls away from sides of bowl, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup flour, and knead on low 1 minute more. If dough is still wet and sticky, add 1/2 cup more flour (this will depend on weather conditions); knead until combined, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a lightly floured board, and knead about 10 times, or until smooth.

Pour oil into a large bowl; swirl to coat sides. Transfer dough to bowl, turning dough to completely cover all sides. Cover with a kitchen towel, and leave in a warm spot for 1 hour, or until dough has doubled in size.

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly spray two baking sheets with cooking spray. Set aside. Punch down dough to remove bubbles. Transfer to a lightly floured board. Knead once or twice, divide into 16 pieces (about 2 1/2 ounces each), and wrap in plastic.

Roll one piece of dough at a time into an 18-inch-long strip. Twist into pretzel shape; transfer to prepared baking sheet. Cover with a kitchen towel. Continue to form pretzels; 8 will fit on each sheet. Let pretzels rest until they rise slightly, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, fill large, shallow pot with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil. Add baking soda. Reduce to a simmer; transfer 3 to 4 pretzels to water. Poach 1 minute. Use slotted spoon to transfer pretzels to baking sheet. Continue until all pretzels are poached.

Beat egg with 1 tablespoon water. Brush pretzels with egg glaze. Sprinkle with salt. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on wire rack, or eat warm. Pretzels are best when eaten the same day, but will keep at room temperature, uncovered, for 2 days. Do not store in covered container or they will become soggy.

Here is Martha's pictorial on rolling & twisting. It's pretty self-explanatory:

Creamy Mexican Dip (WW)

Happy 2009 Everyone! I hope you had a wonderful New Years, whether you were out partying in Times Square, snuggled in at home in your jammies, or in the hospital (welcome to the world, Perseus!).

Alex and I spent the night with our wonderful group of friends, the same crowd we've been with since our days at Maryland, plus their significant others. We're so fortunate to have such a close and hilarious group, and we always have a great time together.

The hosts asked everyone to bring food/drink, so I scoured the Weight Watchers recipes for something I could eat without feeling guilty. I am a total sucker for crunchy things + dip combinations, so I decided to try this yummy-sounding recipe for Creamy Mexican Dip. It was really easy, although really messy, to make. Maybe that's just because I'm a messy cook. I served it with baked tortilla chips and placed it next to the veggie platter, so people could scoop it with celery, as well.

I really liked the way the tang of the Greek yogurt blended with the red onion and salsa, and the chunks of avocado and cilantro really made it flavorful. I think next time I'll blend in some chipotle peppers in adobo sauce to make it smokey and spicier.

Sorry for the cruddy picture. I totally forgot to take one and by the time I remembered, the bowl was pretty much scraped clean and not so pretty!

Ingredients:
1 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt (could use plain regular)
1/2 cup salsa
3/4 cup avocado, diced (set aside some for garnish)
2/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (set some aside for garnish)
1 medium red onion, chopped (set some aside for garnish)
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt

Instructions:
In a medium bowl, blend together yogurt and salsa. Stir in remaining ingredients except garnishes. Cover and refrigerate up to 1 day.

When ready to serve, garnish with some chopped avocado, cilantro and red onion. 1 point per 1/4 cup serving.

Happy New Year!

Addictive

I couldn't think of another word to describe this easy and delicious snack. You pick one up, out of curiousity at first. Then, before you realize it, you've inhaled about 45 of the little buggers...and you still want more!

I spent last weekend at my friend Allison's house in Allentown. I used to work up there and I love to go back and visit to see old friends. She had a party on Saturday night, and gave me the task of putting together these delicious little devils. Mmmm, I think I ate about 5 straight out of the oven.

Ingredients:

Pretzels

Hershey Kisses (any kind except the ones with filling. We used the new peppermint ones which were delish!)

M&Ms

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 200. Lay the pretzels on a baking sheet, and top each with a kiss. Bake for only 2 minutes, and then remove. Immediately press an M&M on top of each kiss, pressing down to secure. Allow the candies to set in the fridge and enjoy!

We also made a delicious vegetable pizza, from Allison's mother's recipe collection. I was excited to try it since I had seen it on so many other blogs!

Ingredients:

2 Pillsbury Crescent roll packages

8 0z softened cream cheese

1 packet of Ranch dressing seasonings

1/4 cup mayo

Any vegetables you like

Instructions:

Using an lightly greased cookie sheet, roll out the crescent rolls as a whole sheet and bake according to instructions. Mix together cream cheese, mayo and ranch seasoning, and spread onto fully cooled crust. Top with vegetables and keep refrigerated until serving. Cut into small pieces and enjoy!

The party was a ton of fun, and of course, the women kicked the men's butts in a highly competitive round of Taboo. And then we discovered an easy way to change it from a Holiday party to a Hannukah party:

becomes

Not a bachelorette party!

Our wonderful friend Tara is marrying our wonderful friend, Jeff, in LA on July 3rd. She requested a girly get-together in lieu of a bachelorette party, and I was very glad that I didn't have to hunt around Sp.encers Gif.ts for yet another "Buy Me a Shot, I'm Tying the Knot!" t-shirt. We spent the morning at a lovely spa and then came back to my apartment for some dinner, games and general girly mayhem.

I started putting the extensive menu together a few weeks ago, but had to reign myself in when I took a realistic look at the fact that there were only 6 of us. I can't help it, it's the future Jewish mother in me...I need to have enough food for everyone. My worst party nightmare is to run out of food. Oy vey, the HORROR! (or should I say, the hora?) :-)

I got recipes for the great ladies on the What's Cooking message board on thenest.com, and they were all a hit! I made a few tiny modifications here and there, depending on what was in my pantry and what was affected by the insane 95+ degree heat wave we are going throughhere in MD. I also apologize in advance because I was so caught up in the party excitement that I forgot to take pictures of all the food before it was eaten!

Party Menu

Make-your-own quesadillas

White bean dip with homemade pita crisps

Vegetable crudite with ranch dip

Chips and guacamole/salsa

Ranch Oyster crackers

Spiced carrot cake with cream cheese icing

Quesadillas

This meal is pretty easy, and everyone liked it. I chopped up green peppers, mushrooms and onions, and sauteed them in olive oil until they were soft and slightly browned (about 5-6 minutes). Everyone then layered their choice of veggies and cheese onto a whole wheat tortilla and I broiled them on a foil covered baking sheet for 6-7 minutes at about 300.

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White Bean Dip (from Good Things Catered)

Amazing, delicious, flavorful...just day-um good! Thanks for the great recipe, Katie#'s!

Ingredients:

2 14oz. cans of white beans, drained and rinsed thoroughly, divided

2 Tbsp butter

1 large onion, finely chopped

1/4 tsp salt

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

1 1/2 Tbsp coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I only had dried)

1 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp. freshly ground white pepper

1/4 c. water

1 1/2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:
-In a medium sauté pan over medium heat, melt butter and add salt and onion
-Cook until onion is lightly golden, about 10 minutes.
-Add garlic, parsley, thyme, and white pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
-Deglaze pan with water and lemon juice, scraping up all browned bits.
-In the food processor, add onion mixture and half white beans and pulse, scraping down sides, until starting to smooth.
-Turn food processor to on and add the olive oil slowly while blending until smooth.
-Turn out bean mixture into a medium bowl and fold in remaining whole beans and salt and pepper if needed. It needed salt, so be sure to taste and season appropriately.

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Homemade Pita Chips (from Amber's Delectable Delights)

Super easy and really delicious with the bean dip. Amber gave me the idea for these, and since I really wanted pita chips, I altered it a little bit.

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat Pita Pockets

Olive Oil
Seasoning (I used Salt & Pepper, but you can use anything. Amber has a great recipe for a creole seasoning!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Cut each pita pocket in half with a pizza cutter, and open them. Brush with olive oil. Cut each half into 3 triangles, and sprinkle with seasoning. Place on ungreased baking sheet and bake at 350 for 7-8 minutes, or until brown and crisp.

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Ranch Oyster Crackers (From Ambers Delectable Delights)
The girls raved over these and they were super easy to make. A good hit for a party or poker night.

Ingredients:
1 (14oz box) oyster crackers (can also use pretzels)

1/3 cup canola oil

3 Tbls (1.5 oz) dry ranch seasoning mix

1/2 tsp dill weed

1/2 tsp garlic powder (I didn't use because I didn't have any!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Place oyster crackers in gallon size zip-lock baggie. Add in the oil, seal bag and shake to coat all crackers with oil. Open bag and add all dry seasonings, seal bag and shake to coat. Dump onto cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until oil has absorbed into the crackers. Let cool and enjoy!

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Spiced Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing (From Good Things Catered)

I will preface this by saying that carrot cake is not my favorite, nor am I a huge fan of cream cheese icing. However, the bride-to-be really loves it, so I was more than happy to whip this up for her. This is where the 90+ degree heat really affected my baking and icing. Our AC wasn't working properly, so it took a while for the cakes to cool, and my icing was running everwhere! It dripped off the cake onto the counter and I ended up keeping the finished product in the fridge until I served it (about 24 hours after baking). It was a messy but fun experience. My first layer cake! TA DA!

Also, since I made a layer cake, I doubled the frosting recipe and that seemed to be enough. I had maybe a little bit left over, so next time I might do 1.5 times instead of doubled.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces)

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp table salt

1 lb. medium carrots (6 to 7 carrots), peeled

1 1/2 c. granulated sugar (10 1/2 ounces)

1/2 c. packed light brown sugar (I only had dark brown, but it still worked out fine)

4 large eggs

1 1/2 c. vegetable oil , safflower oil, or canola oil

Icing:

8 oz cream cheese, softened but still cool

5 Tbsp unsalted butter softened, but still cool

1 Tbsp sour cream

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 c. confectioners' sugar (4 1/2 ounces)

Directions:

Cake: Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 13 by 9-inch baking pan with nonstick baking spray with flour(or I used 2 9-inch pans). Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in large bowl; set aside. In food processor fitted with large shredding disk, shred carrots (you should have about 3 cups); transfer carrots to bowl and set aside. Wipe out food processor workbowl and fit with metal blade. Process granulated and brown sugars and eggs until frothy and thoroughly combined, about 20 seconds. With machine running, add oil through feed tube in steady stream. Process until mixture is light in color and well emulsified, about 20 seconds longer. Scrape mixture into medium bowl. Stir in carrots and dry ingredients until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain. Pour into prepared pan and bake until toothpick or skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 40 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking time. Cool cake to room temperature in pan on wire rack, about 2 hours.

Icing: When cake is cool, process cream cheese, butter, sour cream, and vanilla in clean food processor workbowl until combined, about 10 seconds, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Add confectioners' sugar and process until smooth, about 10 seconds. Run paring knife around edge of cake to loosen from pan. Invert cake onto wire rack, then invert again onto serving platter. Using icing spatula, spread frosting evenly over surface of cake. Cut into squares and serve. (Cover leftovers and refrigerate for up to 3 days.)