broccoli, olive and cashew ricotta bruschetta

i tend to accumulate stacks and stacks of cooking magazines. i save them for years with the reasoning that they are filled with yummy recipes and ideas that i want to try out. that is true, they are. but the truth is i never ever go back and find those recipes that grabbed my attention when i first flipped through the issue. nope, if i don't make it within a month or two it gets lost in magazine archive land. well here's where the one not-horrible part about moving comes in. whenever we move kris convinces me that moving these piles of magazines is a waste of space (and a waste of my precious arm muscles). not ready to totally get rid of them all, i go through each issue and cut out the recipes i want to save and put them together in a binder. i actually love doing this because it gets me all excited again and in the end i have a refreshed memory of forgotten recipes as well as nice neat collection of only things that sound good to me and i don't have to flip through pages of yuck. plus it makes me feel crafty. hooray!

all of this brings us to this lovely bruschetta from way back in october 2010. we had them for dinner and loved them. they make me want to have a cocktail party so i can make them again for a crowd. they were nearly perfect - crunchy bread, creamy ricotta, garlicky greens and salty olives. delicious! only thing i would change (especially for a party) is the part where it says to sprinkle minced garlic on the toasted bread before adding the rest of the stuff. i lovelove garlic but it was a wee bit strong. next time i will just skip that part or, even better, roast a head of garlic and spread a clove on each piece of bread. that would be fantastic i think! for the ricotta i made cashew ricotta from veganomicon (the recipe is floating around the internets...).

bruschetta with kalamata olives, braised greens and cashew ricotta
(from bon appetit, october 2010)
ingredients:
10 ounces broccoli rabe, coarsely chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 garlic cloves, minced (plus some roasted as i mentioned above, if you want to)
crushed red pepper, to taste
12 baguette slices (or more...i made 12 and had stuff left over)
about 1 cup cashew ricotta
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
25 kalamata olives, pitted and halved

cook broccoli rabe in boiling salted water until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. drain well. heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. add garlic and stir for a minute. add broccoli rabe and red pepper flakes (to taste), sprinkle with salt. cook two more minutes and cool.

preheat oven to 375. place baguette slices on rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil. bake until golden, about 10 minutes. flip then bake until golden again, about 10 more minutes. spread baked bread with roasted garlic if you have it.

sprinkle bread lightly with salt. spread ricotta then top with broccoli rabe, a sprinkle or oregano and a few olives.

-d

padron peppers

one of my favorite nibbles that has started showing up on more and more bar menus lately is shishito peppers, gently pan fried and tossed with salt. it's a light little munch that packs a lot of flavor. the other day while cruising through the farmers market i saw a stand with a basket overflowing with little green peppers. i know they weren't shishito but i thought they looked like they'd do the trick for making a home recreation. i'm not entirely sure what kind of pepper i bought but i predict padron and i'm sticking to it...i'm even so confidently calling this entry "padron peppers." so there ya go. now obviously i wouldn't go so far as to demand that you track down the same mystery peppers that i did but what you are going for is a small pepper (one bite is awesome, two bites tops) that is on the milder side with just a bit of kick when you eat the seeds.

this is a really simple snack, appetizer, whatever you want, to whip up. all you do is heat a bit of olive oil in a pan, throw in some salt and cook the peppers until they begin so soften and blister; just a few minutes. i let mine go a bit too long but they were still yummy. toss with a little more salt if needed and eat warm.

-d

roasted plantain pieces with roasted garlic-lime dipping sauce

my previous experiences with plantains always involved making them into fritters and pan frying them. it's a great way to enjoy them but simply roasting them, as in this recipe, is such a great way to bring out their sweetness. it also gives them a nice brown crispy crust that is a nice contrast to the soft inside. we gobbled these up as a dinner side but i think they would be a fantastic dinner party appetizer...just make lots cause they'll go fast! the dipping sauce that goes with them is equally delicious. you will probably have quite a bit leftover but i'm sure you'll find many good uses...i used it as salad dressing.

roasted plantains
(from vegan soul kitchen)
ingredients:
3 large, slightly ripe yellow plantains, ends cut off, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and cut into 1/2 inch pieces widthwise
1 tablespoon olive oil

preheat oven to 450.
in a small bowl, toss the plantains and the olive oil. transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet and cook, stirring a few times to ensure even browning, until crisp on the outside and starting to turn golden brown, about 30 minutes.

roasted lime garlic dipping sauce
(from vegan soul kitchen)
ingredients:
all the cloves from one head of roasted garlic*
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon minced cilantro
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
white pepper

in a blender combine all ingredients, except pepper, until creamy. season with salt and pepper to taste.

*to roast garlic, cut off just enough from the top of the bulb so that the cloves are exposed. drizzle olive oil over the top and wrap tightly in foil. roast at 325 until cloves are soft, about 1 hour.

-d

grilled guacamole

With the Fourth of July this weekend, let's take a moment to appreciate the avocado, the favorite fruit of us yumcoasters.



I made this grilled guac for a little impromptu dinner party a few weekends ago. It was inspired by this post from Darcy, and a subsequent (and possibly alcohol-fueled) conversation in Chicago regarding the myriad possibilities of the the grilled avocado. Once back in Boston, I decided to make it on yet another deary Saturday and have a few friends over for burritos and, of course, s'mores!


Here is the, sort of, recipe. You can adjust the seasonings and heat to your liking!

Grilled Guacamole

4 avocados, halved and pits removed
3 small plum tomatoes
1/2 jalepeno pepper, finely diced
2 tbsp (or so) finely chopped red onion
2 tbsp (again, or so) chopped fresh cilantro
Juice of a lime (or two)
Salt and pepper

Heat a grill pan (or an outdoor grill). Drizzle the avocado halves with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place cut face down on hot grill pan. After 3 to 5 minutes, rotate 90 degrees (so you have nicely hatched grill marks). Grill for another 3 minutes or so, remove from pan and let cool slightly. Remove avocado flesh from skin and coarsely chop. Combine in a large bowl with all other ingredients. Stir to combine, lightly mashing the avocado (you want the finished product fairly chunky. None of this pureed guacmole). Season liberally with salt and pepper, and serve with your favorite tortilla chips!

Enjoy!

- e