Baby Red Potato with Caramelized Onions and Cheddar Cheese

Hors d'oeuvres or appetizers have a unique place in a meal. Unlike other courses that are meant to fill you up, appetizers are supposed to stimulate the taste buds and get your appetite going before the main course of the meal. They are very flavorful but typically are served in small portion sizes. This week I am presenting baked party hors d'oeuvres. Not the kind you serve yourself on a plate and eat with a fork. The kind that pass by on a tray waiting for you to reach out and pop one in your mouth while holding on to your drink and carrying on your conversation.

Bite sized, packed with flavor and served straight out of the oven these baked potatoes in some ways are a mini-version of the popular baked spud eaten with sour cream, cheese and chives. But unlike their bigger counterparts, these are baked with the filling. Using organic potatoes lets you can keep the skin on. Baking the potatoes whole before adding the filling makes them tender without overcooking the filling.

In my house potato dishes are very well received because my daughter loves potatoes. This one is no exception. She loves how you can pop these in your mouth on the go without getting your hands dirty. Next time you throw a party consider making these potatoes as an appetizer. You can use any color potatoes just make sure they are really small in size.

You will need
10-15 baby red potatoes
1/4 red onion
1 tsp. oil
1 few twigs of thyme or any fresh herb of choice
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven at 375 F. Wash and clean the potatoes. Dry them and place them on a baking sheet. You can place a parchment paper on the sheet before placing the potatoes. Bake for 30-40 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice the onions. Heat oil in a pan and saute the onions until caramelized. Dice the cheese into small cubes and combine with the remaining ingredients. Keep aside until needed.

Let the potatoes cool on the tray. The skin will crinkle and crisp up a little but it will soften as the potato cools. While the potato is still warm cut it in half along the widest diameter.

Using a melon baller or a small spoon scoop out the center of the potatoes.

Add a little of the scooped out potato to the prepared filling. Reserve the rest for another dish. Using a spoon fill the potatoes with the filling. Do not overfill.

Bake the stuffed potatoes for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese has melted. Serve hot!

Enjoy!

Onion Bread / Korean YangPaBbang

I loved the bread as soon as I saw it. I got it from Aeri's blog where she has a lot of Korean recipes. The appearance of this bread made me want to try it. I can never follow a recipe, even when it is my own, so I made a few variations. But the base concept and technique come from Aeri.

My daughter is in high school and has a huge workload. Some weeks she is so tired by Friday evening, she skips dinner, she falls asleep at 6 pm and wakes up the next morning. I can usually see it coming during the week. I try to have something appetizing ready for her on Friday afternoon so she does not go to bed hungry. This stuffed bread was one such meal. It was filling and tasty. She devoured it before going off to bed.

The original filling is not vegetarian. I substituted red bell pepper to give the filling some body. Add a little salt to the red pepper and allow it to sweat so the filling does not get soggy.

You will need
For the dough
2 tbsp. butter at room temperature
2 cups bread flour or whole wheat flour
1 scant tsp. instant yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup lukewarm milk

For the filling
1/4 cup low fat mozzarella cheese
1 red bell pepper
1/2 red onion
1/2 tsp. caynenne pepper powder
salt and black pepper to taste
10-15 leaves cilantro

Sift flour in a mixing bowl. Rub in the butter and add the remaining ingredients. Form a soft dough. Knead until it is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Keep aside covered to let it double in volume. It could take an hour to 3 hours depending upon the temperature in your kitchen.

Meanwhile prepare the filling. Slice the red pepper in to 1 inch pieces. Sprinkle some salt and keep aside. Chop the onions and crumble or shred the mozzarella. Drain the sweating red bell peppers and combine all the ingredients for the filling.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Prepare a loaf pan by rubbing a half teaspoon of oil along the bottom. Sprinkle some flour on your work surface and transfer the risen dough to it. Roll out the dough using a rolling pin to a thick rectangle.

Place about 3/4th of the filling in the center of the rolled out dough.

Fold in both sides and seal the edges. Flip over and place in the prepared loaf pan. Keep aside covered for 20 minutes.

Add the remaining filling over the top of the loaf. Dice the cilantro leaves and sprinkle over the top. Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven. Switch off the oven and let the loaf stay inside for another 15 minutes.

Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool before slicing.

Enjoy!

Sourdough Tomato Basil Bread

I wanted to try something different with the sourdough loaf this weekend. I had a lot of cherry tomatoes and some basil that needed to be used up. This tomato basil bread was an experiment that turned out great. I baked this bread the weekend spring break started. My daughter left for a sleep over and I wanted a simple lunch. Flavored bread seemed perfect. Besides I had not used the sourdough starter for a few weeks and it needed to be fed. I used a third of the fed starter for this recipe and the rest to make buns for lunch the next day.

With sourdough I prefer to go by feel rather than a recipe. I used to go with exact weight measurements for all the ingredients when I first started with sourdough bread. I now rely more on feel than measurements.

I mixed the whole wheat flour with the sourdough starter and added the salt. I then mixed in the diced basil along with the sliced cherry tomatoes with the juice. I started with 40% water and felt I needed to go up to 60%. That along with the juice from the tomatoes brought up the hydration to 80%. That is just about where I like it. I followed the process for any other boule except that I did not bake it in a dutch oven. I baked it on an sheet in a 500 F oven. I then spread about a fourth of a teaspoon of ghee over the top and put it back in the oven for about 6 minutes. I lowered the oven temperature to 425 F. Perfect loaf with nice crumb and great taste. I call that a successful experiment.

You will need
12 cherry tomatoes
5-6 leaves basil
100 gm freshly fed starter
100 gm whole wheat flour
60 gm water
4 gm salt
1 tsp. cayenne pepper powder (adjust to taste)

1/4 tsp ghee or butter

Feed the starter and keep aside for 20-30 minutes. I usually keep 50 gm of starter in the refrigerator. I add equal parts flour and water to feed it. I add as much as I need to make the bread and have 50 gm left over to return to the refrigerator. Since I had not used the starter for a while, I first fed it 50 gm of water and 50 gm of flour. I kept that on the counter top for about an hour until it got bubbly. I then added 100 gm of water and 100 gm of flour to it. After another 20-30 minutes it was ready to use. 50 gm went back to the refrigerator, 100 gm went into this recipe, the rest went into making rolls.

Slice the cherry tomatoes and dice the basil. Keep aside. In a bowl combine the starter, the flour and salt. Let it sit for half an hour. Add the tomatoes and basil and fold them into the dough. Keep aside covered.

Over the next hour stretch and fold the dough to strengthen it. Cover and keep aside for about 5 hours. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and gently fold the sides in. Flip and form a round ball with the seam underneath.

Place in a floured bowl, cover and keep overnight in the refrigerator. The next day preheat the oven to 500 F. Place a sheet in the oven when the temperature is 400 F. Alternately, place a baking stone in the oven. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and transfer to a floured work surface. Score the top with a sharp razor blade. I scored it like a pie making 6 portions.

Transfer the scored loaf to the sheet in the oven. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Turn down the heat to 475 F and bake for another 10 minutes or until the bread is cooked through. Remove from oven and spread a little ghee or butter over the top. Lower the heat to 425 F and return the bread to the oven for another 5-6 minutes. The top should brown. Remove from heat.

Allow it to cool completely before slicing.

Enjoy!

Savory Pesto Rose Kringle

I love the shape of the Kringle, one that resembles a ring with multiple layers peeking through. Usually made with a sweet filling I have already tried one version of a savory Kringle. But then I saw the rose Kringle and I knew I had to come up with another savory filling to try this lovely shape.

I decided on a pesto filling as it is thick and savory. In the last couple weeks I have had a problem sourcing basil, one of the main ingredients in pesto. The plant in the garden has dried up and I could not find any basil in the grocery store. So I had to find alternatives. I used roasted almonds, cherry tomatoes, mixed salad leaves and some garlic. The aroma was amazing and the taste awesome.

I made the pesto the night before and kept it refrigerated until I needed it. I had a little left over dough after I had made some bread. I used it to make this kringle.

You will need (for 1 large)
1 1/4 cups whole white wheat flour
3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. Instant yeast
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. water
1/2 cup milk

For the pesto
a large handful of mixed salad leaves
8-10 cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup almond slivers
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 pods garlic
salt and black pepper to taste
3 tbsp. olive oil

Sift the flours in a mixing bowl. Add the salt and yeast. Now add the wet ingredients and combine to form a soft dough. Knead well until it is elastic and smooth. Cover and keep aside until doubles in volume, about an hour and a half.

Meanwhile, heat the almond slivers in a pan until well roasted. Keep aside to cool. Add the cooled almonds and the other ingredients except the oil to a food processor and pulse until you have the fine desired consistency. I do not like it pureed so I leave very small chunks. Drizzle the oil over the pesto and pulse a few times. The pesto is ready. Keep aside until needed.

Preheat oven to 400 F. When the dough has risen transfer it to a flat, floured working surface. Using a rolling pin roll it into a long narrow rectangle. Spread the pesto all over the surface leaving an inch edge on all sides.

Fold in the edge on one of the long sides and continue rolling into a long roll. Using a sharp knife cut through the center along the length leaving the two sides attached at one end.

Now place one side over the other repeatedly to form a two strand braid.

Starting at one end roll the braid to form a rose. Elevate the center a little to give it more dimension. Transfer to a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until it is cooked through and brown.

Enjoy as a snack or a side with a meal.

Margherita Pizza

Pizza with tomatoes, mozzarella and basil is a simple and delicious dinner. When the pizza crust is made with sourdough it adds a lot of flavor to the pizza. I do not make pizza often but when I do it is truly loved. I did have a little crisis with the basil leaves. There is no basil in the garden yet so I have to rely on store bought basil. The week I made this pizza I checked 2-3 grocery stores and they were all out of basil. I used dried basil on the pizza.

You will need
Pizza dough made as per this recipe
Pizza sauce 
Mozzarella cheese sliced (I get lowfat cheese made with vegetarian rennet)
Fresh basil leaves

Prepare the pizza dough and keep it refrigerated at least 24 hours for the flavor to develop. Preheat oven to 500 F. If you have a pizza stone heat it with the oven. If you use a baking sheet like me put it in the oven when the temperature reaches 400 F. Ensure you place the sheet / stone in the top rack. When the oven is preheated and the baking sheet / stone is heated through take the dough out of the refrigerator and shape it. Follow instructions in my original sourdough pizza recipe. Make sure you shape the crust as thin as you can for a thin crust pizza.

When done shaping the dough remove the heated baking sheet. If working with a stone assemble the pizza on a floured pizza peel. Place the pizza carefully on the sheet / peel. The dough is sticky and will stick together if it folds on itself. Spread a ladle of pizza sauce. Place the sliced cheese and sprinkle the dried basil over the top.

Place the baking sheet in the oven. Alternately if using a baking stone slide the pizza from the peel to the stone. Bake for 5-8 minutes. Switch to oven from bake to broil. Let the top brown for 1-2 minutes. If using fresh basil add it before you broil. Do not let the cheese solid separate from the liquid. Remove from the oven and serve it hot.

Enjoy!

Salsa Verde Vegetable Lasagna / Pasta Bake

Under pressure from my daughter I bought tomatillos for salsa verde sauce. A couple of days later I realized I was not going to have time to make enchiladas. But I did not want the tomatillos to go to waste so I made the salsa verde sauce, put it in the refrigerator and bought myself another day. The next day I had to use it up. I happened to have colored bell peppers and zucchini in the refrigerator. I also had some left over paneer.  So I whipped up this lasagna with the ingredients I had.

The taste was great. All the vegetables made it filling too. The paneer added the protein and the salsa added the taste. Next time I make it I will make a thicker salsa. There was some liquid left over on the bottom. I like all the liquid to be completely absorbed. An alternative to this recipe would be using penne or a fusilli pasta instead of the lasagna.



My daughter was not happy when she saw me use up her favorite salsa for something other than enchiladas. But once she tasted the dish she was fine.

You will need
6-7 lasagna sheets or 1 cup dry pasta (penne or fusilli)
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 tsp red chilli pepper powder
1/2 tsp. black pepper
4 oz. paneer, cubed
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow red pepper, sliced
2 zucchini, sliced in rounds
2 carrots, sliced in rounds
1 serving salsa verde sauce
1/4 cup cotijo or mozzarella cheese, shredded
salt to taste

In a bowl mix the yogurt, red chili pepper powder, black pepper and salt. Add the cubed paneer and keep aside for 15 minutes or a few hours. I kept this overnight because I had prepped the paneer for another dish.

Dice and slice the vegetables.

Put it all together. Preheat the oven to 375 F. In a oven proof casserole dish start building the layers. Heat some water and place it in a wide pan. Take it off heat. Place the lasagna noodle in the pan until it is just soft. Do not cook it. You just want it to be flexible so that it does not break. Ladle a little salsa on the bottom of the casserole dish. Place a few sheets of lasagna to cover the bottom. Add half the sliced vegetables.

Over the vegetables add the marinated paneer pieces. If desired you can add a layer of cheese. I added cheese only to the top. Pour half the remaining salsa over the paneer.

Place a layer of the softened lasagna sheets over the salsa.

Then repeat all the layers, the vegetables, the paneer and the remaining salsa. Shred the cheese over the top.

Cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes. Then uncover and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until the cheese has melted and is starting to brown,

Enjoy!

Savory Galette

Visual appeal and color contrasts make food appetizing. I am one of those people who eats with my eyes as much as with my mouth. I like colorful food and especially when the outdoors is full of color I like the food to match too.

This was the idea behind this colorful galette. A couple months back I posted a Tomato and goat cheese galette. It was delicious but I wanted to try one with vegetables. And so I carefully picked the vegetables to create a colorful palatte. By the time I was done everyone was waiting for dinner. I barely had time to click pictures before it was all gone.

This month is all about baked recipes and this week I will post main course recipes. Those that can be served as a meal.

You will need
For the pastry shell
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup cold butter
~ 1/4 - 1/2 cup cold water
1 tbsp. Parmesan cheese
Black pepper to taste

For the filling
2 large carrots
2 zucchini
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 oz. goat cheese
2 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
1 tbsp fresh thyme
5-6 leaves basil
black pepper to taste
salt to taste
1 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Follow the recipe for the pastry in the tomato and goat cheese galette.. Keep the rolled out pastry shell refrigerated. Meanwhile prepare the vegetables. Preheat oven to 400 F. Cut the zucchini and carrot in circles. Chop the red and yellow bell peppers. Spread all the vegetables on a baking sheet. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are browned but not fully cooked.

Let the vegetables cool. Change the temperature on the oven to 425 F. Then take the pastry shell out of the refrigerator. Place half the feta cheese in a layer on the shell. Place the vegetables in whatever order you like. I started with the zucchini.

Then the carrots.

Finally the bell peppers. Sprinkle the remaining feta over the top along with the parmesan cheese.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the galette is fully cooked and starting to brown. The vegetables should be cooked as well. Cool on a rack for a few minutes before digging in.

Slice like a pie to serve.

Enjoy!