Fancy Potatoes

I'm back! I can't promise I'll be back to posting every day but I'm back.

It's been a while since I feature some tasty eats and thought I would today. Potatoes are very fall to me and I love fall, if you haven't already notice. There are so many different ways you can cook a potatoe that will make your guests ohh & ahh.



Gwyneth Paltrow's No-Fry Fries



Jamie Oliver's Perfect Roasted Potatoes

Potatoe Dominos

How delicious are all of these!

Are you a potatoe lover? Are you thinking about adding any of these to your next dinner party?

What We Call.... White Pizza

Some may call it pizza, some my call it foccacia, we call it white pizza. I posted this recipe over a year ago but I get questions about it often so I thought I'd share it again. Here it goes!

Here's the Bigioni family white pizza recipe that I've tweaked a bit!

• Depending on the size of your pan, use 1 or 2 doughs. I've used two with mine.
• Spray you pan with Pam and then drizzle olive oil on the pan. Make sure you rub the oil all over the pan and don't forget the corners.
• You want to spread the dough hours (I say minimum 4 for best results) before you're ready to cook it so it rises enough.
• To spread 2 doughs place one dough on top of the other. Drizzle a little oil on top and begin needing it. It will continually shrink into the middle of the pan, that's ok. Spread the dough for 2-5 minutes.

Cover with a piece of Parchment Paper and let rise. If you're in a rush and have a gas fire place put it in front of the fire for a couple hours, it helps the dough rise faster.

Here are the ingredients that I usually use for my white pizza: Onions, Pitted Black Olives, Bocconcini Cheese, Rosemary, Oregano, Salt, Pepper, and Olive Oil.

When you're ready to dress your pizza here's the order using the above ingredients:
1. Pre-heat your oven to Convention Bake 475 degrees.
2. Cut up the onion and bocconcini cheese
3. Drizzle olive oil on your pizza and spread around with your hands
4. Place the onions, cheese and olives on the pizza (I forgot to buy olives so I didn't use any this time)
5. Sprinkle a little bit of salt, rosemary, pepper and oregano

When your oven has pre-heated put the pizza in for 16-18 minutes depending on your oven and watch it so it doesn't burn. To make sure the bottom has cooked lift up a corner of the pizza with a spatula. Once the bottom is a nice golden brown colour your pizza is done.

Take you pizza our and let it cool for a few minutes before cutting it.

Make sure you cut your pizza with scissors and not a knife to ensure you don't scratch your pan.

Serve warm and your guests will love ya!

This pizza is best served as an appetizer any time of year; with a salad for dinner; or basically for any occassion!

Not Your Typical Bruschetta

Give me a loaf of bread, some olive oil, tomatoes and garlic and I'm a happy person but I like change. I'm always on the look out for delicious, fun, trendy appetizers. I came across these various types of brushcetta that I have to share.

Via

 How wonderful does this look for summer. Strawberry & Goat Cheese Brushcetta.

Via

 I'm sure I've mentioned it before, my love for guacamole. I plan on making these VERY soon, like Saturday soon.

Via

 Ricotta, strawberry & pea shots

Via

I've made these a couple times and they're delicious. The flavours of the peaches and tomatoes together is amazing.

Are you a brushcetta person? Do you have a delicious recipe? Please share it!

Mini Grilled Cheese

I don't know about you but what's not to love about a grilled cheese sandwich. Michael loves them so much he wanted to have a late night grilled cheese station at our wedding. It didn't happen but it would have been cool.

When I saw these I immediately fell in love. How great would these be at your next cocktail party!

Via

Via

Via

I just adore these. You could also move away from your typical grilled cheese and add some fun toppings like arugula, prosciutto, brie, possibly an apple wood smoked cheddar.... the options are endless!

Are you a grilled cheese fan like me? Would you serve something like this?

Don't forget I have a great giveaway going on hosted by Blurb Books. Click here to enter!

Spinach Dip Cups

I may have mentioned this before, but making dips is not my specialty. I can make homemade tzatziki and that's about it. Don't get me wrong, I love a good dip....if someone else makes it for me!

When I saw this I fell in love. I enjoy personalized, individual appetizers and think this would be a wonderful addition to my next dinner party.

Via

Here are the ingredients and directions. For a more detailed overview please click here.


Spinach Artichoke Cups
Ingredients:
24 wonton wrappers
1 1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed and chopped
1 1/2 cup artichoke hearts, chopped
6 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
4 tbsp Parmesan cheese
1 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray miniature muffin pan cups lightly with cooking spray. Press 1 wonton wrapper into each cup and lightly spray with cooking spray. Bake about 10 minutes until light golden brown. Remove shells from pan; place on a cooling rack and repeat with remaining wonton wrappers.
In a large bowl, combine the spinach, artichoke hearts, cream cheese, sour cream, parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed. You can also add 4 tbsp of shredded mozzarella cheese if you’re craving some addition goodness. Mix this together with a fork and transfer to a piping bag or a large zip lock bag.
If using a zip lock bag, trim a medium hole on one of the bottom corners. Pipe the mixture into the cooled wonton cups until the mixture almost reaches the top.
Transfer the spinach artichoke cups back into the mini muffin tin and bake for 8-10 minutes until the wonton wrappers turn a darker golden brown and the spinach artichoke dip is warmed. Remove from oven and repeat with remaining cups. Serve immediately.

Spicy Shrimp & Avocado

How was your weekend? Mine was very busy and today I'm exhausted. It's one of those everything hurts, I need to be back in bed type of days!

How delicious does this look? I'm drooling just looking at the picture.

Via

The recipe and directions below is from here. Is this something that would interest you? I think I'm going to make this on Sunday.

The creamy avocado in these bite sized appetizers is a cool complement to the spicy prawns and the crunchy texture of the rice cracker. This delightful and gluten-free appetizer will whet your guests’ appetites during all spring and summer entertainment occasions. Ensure you make plenty of extras as they will quickly disappear!

1 tbsp	olive oil	15 mL
20	large prawns, shelled	20
1 tbsp	chilli garlic paste	15 mL
1/4 cup	chopped fresh cilantro	50 mL
2	avocados from Mexico, finely diced	2
1	green onion, sliced	1
1	lemon, juice and zest	1
20	sesame rice crackers	20
20	cilantro leaves	20

In a sauté pan over medium-high heat, add olive oil and shrimp. Cook shrimp for 2 to 4 minutes per side until they turn orange/red in colour and opaque. Add chili garlic paste and stir to coat, continuing to cook for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and set aside for later use.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine cilantro, avocados, green onion, lemon juice and zest. Top each cracker with 1 tsp (5mL) avocado spread and 1 prawn. Garnish with a cilantro leaf.
Serve immediately.
Yield: 20 pieces
Nutritional Information: Per Serving ( 2 pieces) : about 99 cal, 3 g pro, 7 g total fat (1 g sat fat),
7 g carb, 3 g fibre, 21 mg chol, 92 mg sodium. %RDI: iron 5%, calcium 1%, vit A 2%, vit C 12%.

Balsamic Watermelon Cubes

I was working an event once and the host created this as one of the appetizers to serve. I never tried it but am very intrigued. Michael and his family sometimes put balsamic on their fruit which I find kind of odd, however, I think I'd be willing to have a bite if it looked as delicious as these do.

Via

Be sure to click here for the full how-to.

In other interesting news, I dropped my full, hot, unopened coffee while getting out of my car this morning and the lid didn't pop off. Thanking my lucky stars!

Have a great hump day :)

Cucumber, Guacamole & Shrimp

I had this as an appetizer in Paris, fell in love with it and had to make it for my girls night on Friday.

Step 1:
Wash & peel a large English cucumber.

Step 2:
Cut pieces into approx 2 inch pieces.

Step 3:
Core out the middle of the cucumber with a vegetable peeler.
Note - Don't go all the way through, only about half way.

 Step 4:
Fill the cucumber pieces with guacamole and top with a cooked piece of shrimp and voila, your delicious appetizer is ready!

Quick, simple and super easy.....oh, yummy too!

Cucumber Feta Rolls

I stumbled upon these last week on Good Life Eats and just had to share them. I'm sharing this before I try it but it looks too yummy not to share right away.



Recipe:
2 cucumbers
6 ounces crumbled feta
3 tablespoons Greek yogurt
2 1/2 - 3 1/2 tablespoons finely diced sundried tomatoes or red bell pepper
8 - 12 pitted kalamata olives, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon roughly chopped dill or oregano
2 teaspoons lemon juice
pinch of pepper, or to taste

Directions:Thinly slice the cucumbers longways on a mandoline at a 2mm thick setting. Alternatively, you can use a vegetable peeler if you do not have a mandoline. Lay the cucumbers on top of a paper towel lined cutting board while you prepare the filling.
Add the feta and yogurt to a medium bowl. Mash to combine using a fork. Add the bell pepper or sun dried tomatoes, olives, dill, lemon, and pepper to the bowl. Stir well to combine. In a bowl, mash the feta using a fork.
Place 1 - 2 teaspoons of mixture at one end of a cucumber strip and roll up. Secure with a toothpick. Repeat with remaining strips. If not serving immediately, chill until ready to serve.

How delicious would these be at your next cocktail party, bridal shower or baby shower. I plan on making them very soon!

Lettuce Dip Bowl

I'm going to keep this short and sweet because I have a crazy busy day!

How great is this lettuce dip bowl?

I think it may take some practice making sure it didn't come apart, but once you've managed that you have a great new invention and use for lettuce.

VIA Eddie Ross

Check out the instructions here.

Enjoy the Party,

Nicole :)