Bruschetta with Crunchy Jalepeno Topping

I went to a farmer's market the other day, and I had this random thought to make some interesting bruschetta to have with dinner. We had leftovers of chili and pasta salad in the fridge to eat up, and lots of fresh vegetables to also use in the bruschetta topping.

Huge baskets of fresh jalepenos looked perfect at the market, so that's what I thought I'd use as the main ingredient for the fresh salsa-like topping for the fresh focattia bread I got at the Hearvest Bread Company. I really wanted sourdough, but they didn't have any made that day.

This is not a recipe really, I just chopped everything pretty tiny and threw it in the bowl until I was satisfied with it. I wanted lots of jalepenos, so I used only the outside flesh of the pepper, no ribs or seeds, and it wasn't very spicy. On the last pepper I chopped (I used 5 I think) I did add a little bit of the ribs because it needed a little heat though. Since I had celery and cucumber I threw them in and they added lots of cool crunch. Red onion and grape tomatoes, salt, pepper, a tiny splash of each olive oil and red wine vinegar, and done! If I had herbs like basil, cilantro, or mint, I would have thrown some in - dang I do have a mint plant on my porch but I totally forgot about it! Oh well, my point is use whatever you have... or think you have. Chop it fine or use the food processor and add ingredients until you like the balance of tastes. Tomatoes are the classic ingredient. I wouldn't put those in the processor, but if you use them, leave in all the juices and everything. If you think it needs a little perk up, throw in the olive oil, your favorite vinegar, lemon or lime juice and it will make a world of difference. Don't top the bread ahead of time if you're serving people, but when you spoon it on the bread do get the juices onto the bread because it's yummy!

Cut the bread in slices, toast, and then rub with a cut piece of garlic and drizzle olive oil, salt, and pepper on top. That is bruschetta. It's great with many types of bread; focaccia would never be my first choice, but it was good, this one had stuff like fennel seeds baked in. Whatever topping you like - could be simply chopped tomatoes in a dressing, is a bonus! If you make this, leave a comment and let me know what you used!

Steamed Artichokes

As soon as the weather starts to get warmer, one of the first things Erol and I look forward to eating is steamed artichokes! Other foods that say "summer" to me are panzanella salad - already made twice so far since winter! - and gazpacho, which I'll wait for real summer to hit before enjoying.

There's really nothing I love more than sitting on the sofa with Erol late in the evening, watching tv or movies, and eating a huge artichoke dipped in melted butter, fresh lemon juice, and crunchy kosher salt. We'll do this every couple of weeks, at least, until fall!

Have you ever eaten a steamed artichoke? They are so much fun to eat. Plus they're like popcorn or mashed potatoes in that they're an ideal vehicle for butter and salt. Add some lemon and you're pretty much in heaven. Here's how to do it TONIGHT:

Steamed Artichoke
1. Buy the largest artichoke you can find that has no major blemishes and has fairly tight leaves. Some have leaves that are closed in and some, like the ones we had yesterday, are sticking out a little, but they're still tight and not loose.

2. Place a saucepan on the stove (one pan for each artichoke), and fill it with about an inch of water. Use ether large rings of raw onion or a piece of foil crumpled and formed into a ring shape, and place this in the saucepan for the artichoke to sit on. You can also add to the water a clove of garlic, but it doesn't need many extra flavorings.

3. Wash the artichoke, then cut the stem leaving as much as an inch. Peel off the last row or two of leaves from the stem end, and use a small paring knife to trim away the outside skin of the stem. Cut the top 1/4 off using a serrated knife. With scissors cut the tips off of the remaining leaves to remove the spikes.

4. Immediately after prepping the artichoke squeeze lemon over the whole thing generously for flavor and also to prevent it from turning brown.

5. Place the artichoke upside down in the center of the pan on the ring of onion or foil. Throw the spent lemon wedges in the pan too. Cover the pan with the lid if it fits, or tightly with foil if it doesn't (it probably won't unless you use your biggest pot). Turn the heat onto medium and let 'er rip for about an hour. If the water gets low add some more.

6. Check for doneness by poking a skewer or dry piece of spaghetti straight down into the stem. A toothpick won't be long enough for this job. If it goes straight through the artichoke pretty easily, it's cooked!

7. Take out the artichoke using tongs and let it drain for a minute on a paper towel.

Erol ate his with just lemon and salt, but you know me, I gotsta have the butta.

Eating artichokes is similar to eating blue crabs in that you have to work for it, and it's not going to fill you up. We had a small dinner and then later ate artichokes, like popcorn.

My rule is pretty much if it's soft, it's good eats. Start peeling the leaves off from the bottom, dip in your poison, and scrape the inside of the leaf on your bottom teeth. For first few rows you're not getting much artichoke because they're generally tough. But soon you'll get little nibbles of soft artichoke at the ends of the leaves, and later, half of the actual leaves will be soft and yellow and you can eat that part, like you can see below. Those are the best ones.

Now when you're done with the leaves it gets even more interactive. You get to the choke, which is inedible, and you have to scrape it out with a spoon. This part is spikey little blades, but they're easily removed.

When the choke is gone, you have the artichoke heart. Break it apart and eat the middle and any part that's soft, all the way down the center of the stem.

Black and White Bagel

This food is perfect for any meal: breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, or dessert.

Take a bagel. Put two pieces of dark chocolate on it and toast.
Spread the melty chocolate around that half, and spread cream cheese on the other half.Eat.

Brie en Croute

Here is another recipe from our weekend at Deep Creek Lake. I placed the brie in a round glass oven-safe dish, rather than on a cookie sheet as called for, for easy transport in the cooler. It baked up perfectly in the dish, but I'm sorry I didn't take a picture of the final product. I did paste at the bottom a picture from Foodtv.com where the recipe is listed.

This is one of those SIMPLE recipes that never fails to wow people. A 2 year old could make this. What makes this special is 1) it looks cool, 2) frozen puff pastry is such a great product and everyone is automatically impressed because it's not an everyday ingredient, and 3) Brie cheese is so delicious and special just on it's own. I'd make this much more often if Brie was less expensive, but the fact that it's a once-in-a-while dish also makes it special.Brie en Croute

recipe from The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook by Paula Deen

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, pre-packaged

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/2 cup walnuts

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 (8-ounce) wheel Brie

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

Crackers, for serving

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Defrost puff pastry for approximately 15 to 20 minutes and unfold.

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Saute the walnuts in the butter until golden brown, approximately 5 minutes. Add the cinnamon and stir until walnuts are coated well. Place the walnut mixture on top of the Brie and sprinkle the brown sugar over the mixture.

Lay the puff pastry out on a flat surface. Place the brie in the center of the pastry. Gather up the edges of the brie, pressing around the brie and gather at the top. Gently squeeze together the excess dough and tie together with a piece of kitchen twine (or just overlap the corners of the dough on top).

Brush the beaten egg over top and side of Brie. Place Brie on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes until pastry is golden brown. Serve with crackers. To give a special look, cut extra pastry into heart or flower shapes and bake until golden.

Picture is from foodtv.com

PB&J Bars

This is another recipe from our cabin weekend. I caught people eating this at all hours of the day and night! It's very rich and heavy, so a serving is just a small square and a glass of cold milk is a MUST!

The only tip I have for this one is don't spread the jelly all the way out to the edges of the pan. When it touches the edge, it gets too sticky and candy-like, and I like the end and corner pieces nice and crumbly.

I don't have a picture of mine, but this is from the recipe book. Better than nuthin??
Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars
recipe from Ina Garten's cookbook Barefoot Contessa at Home

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups (18 ounces) creamy peanut butter (recommended: Skippy)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 cups (18 ounces) raspberry jam or other jam (I used seedless strawberry preserves)
2/3 cups salted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch cake pan. Line it with parchment paper, then grease and flour the pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light yellow, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the vanilla, eggs, and peanut butter and mix until all ingredients are combined.

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture. Mix just until combined.

Spread 2/3 of the dough into the prepared cake pan and spread over the bottom with a knife or offset spatula. Spread the jam evenly over the dough. Drop small globs of the remaining dough evenly over the jam. Don't worry if all the jam isn't covered; it will spread in the oven. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and cut into squares.

Spinach Dip Olé

I don't have a picture of this recipe, but I do have a picture of the man who requests it every time I see him! Here he is with Erol at the cabin that weekend, enjoying their favorite pasttimes of laughing and eating:

I got this recipe from Anna, my friend and former co-worker, and I've also seen it other places so I don't know where it originated. Anna had a good point when she mentioned that this recipe is so simple because it uses whole packages of only four ingredients, so it's a cinch to shop for and no leftovers of ingredients. You'll rarely have leftovers of the dip too because it's so good! Serve it with sturdy crackers like melba toasts or sliced baguette, toasted or not. You could add 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar and salt and pepper to taste, but I thing these are unnecessary because of the salsa.

Spinach Dip Olé
one 10oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
one 16oz jar salsa
one 8oz package cream cheese, cubed (more like pinched off into the bowl)
2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese

Combine all ingredients and pour into a shallow baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees for aprox 35 minutes until bubbly and top is brown. Serve with bread, crackers, or chips.

Cracker Bits

These are a yummy snack for anytime! My grandma has a similar recipe using oyster crackers, and my sister has also done a similar thing with broken pieces of large hard pretzels. Everyone always loves this kind of snack!
Cracker Bits
recipe from Paula Deen

2 (10 1/2-ounce) boxes cheese crackers (recommended: Ritz Cheese Bits, not peanut butter flavor)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 (1-ounce) package salad dressing mix (recommended: Hidden Valley Original Ranch)
1 heaping tablespoon dried dill
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon celery salt

Place the crackers in a large sealable freezer container. In a bowl, mix the oil, salad dressing mix, dill, garlic powder, and celery salt. Pour this mixture over the crackers, cover the container, and invert it to coat the crackers with seasoning. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours, turning the container every so often to keep the crackers coated. Let the mixture come to room temperature before serving. Store in the covered container in refrigerator.