It’s the holiday season again, which translates to entertaining for many people.  As you prepare for an evening of company at your house, you probably are debating what to serve.  Whether you enjoy cooking or not, there are times when everyone wants to reduce the workload, relax, and enjoy the company- myself included.

However, just because I want to create a simple menu, it does not mean that I have to offer food that are less elegant.  What I will do is minimize the ingredients.  Sometimes the simplest of recipes can be very elegant.

An excellent example of this is baked brie.  About a year ago, I wrote about pastry-wrapped brie.  While that recipe is simple, the one that I used with my caramelized bananas was even easier to make.  Plus, it still looks beautiful when plated.

For a hint of Christmas, place the brie in the center of your serving plate.  Arrange green apple slices (misted with lemon juice to prevent browning) and strawberries in a fan around the brie.  Place a coordinating plate or basket nearby with crackers or melba toast.

While you are entertaining this holiday season and are busy creating delicious recipes for your family and friends, make sure you don’t miss the joy of it all.  Take the time to step out of the kitchen and enjoy these days with your friends and family.

Baked Brie

8 oz. wheel of brie

Crackers or melba toast

Fresh fruit slices*

Preheat oven to 375.  Leaving brie in its rind (but removing any plastic wrapping), place in a small ovenproof dish, such as a pie pan.  Bake for 15 minutes.

Remove, and serve immediately with crackers and fruit.

*Apples, pears, grapes, and strawberries work well with brie.

As my husband and I adore cheese in almost all forms, we often order cheese plates at restaurants.  Recently, we sampled a cheese tray that had some sort of roasted banana on it.  The banana was served sliced in half lengthwise, still inside its peel.  Presented in this form, it had a wonderfully sweet taste and a creamy yet firm texture.

As I was planning this past Monday’s tapas menu, the roasted banana came to mind.  I thought it would accompany some baked brie, strawberries, and melba toast quite nicely.  However, I wasn’t sure how I would create my own roasted bananas.

Most of the recipes that I found for roasted bananas required using a grill.  Being winter in New Hampshire, I had no interest in standing outside in the cold and dark to prepare part of our meal.  I decided to try my hand at sauteing the bananas to see if it would produce a similar result.

Happily for my tapas partner and me, it did!  As the bananas were pan fried instead of grilled or roasted, they caramelized ever so slightly in the pan.  I considered sauteing the bananas until golden brown, but I did not want to lose all of the firmness of the banana.  With the sweetness and tenderness of this recipe, I think these bananas could be used as a topping for ice cream also.

Caramelized Goodness for Monkeys (and People, Too)

2 bananas

sugar

4 tsp. almond liqueur

Peel bananas.  Cut in half lengthwise and again widthwise.  Preheat nonstick frying pan over medium heat.  Sprinkle cut side of bananas with sugar.  Place bananas sugar side down in heated pan.  Cook for 1-2 minutes.  Flip, and cook for another 1-2 minutes.  Remove pan from heat, and add liqueur.  Return pan to heat until liqueur flames.  Once flame dies, place bananas on a dish, and serve immediately.

On Sundays our family likes to eat munchies and watch football.  Being east coast-based people, the team of interest to most of the family is the Patriots.  However, the interest of the kids lasts about as long as it takes them to eat their fill of snacks.  But they do like eating a meal of snacks, getting to choose one, and helping with the preparation of the meal.

Depending on the number of kids at home that day, we have anywhere from three to six snacks.  To introduce the kids to different munchies (and to minimize repetition), the kids can’t choose the same dish two weeks in a row.

With our ten year old already having chosen her stock favorites of potato skins and espinaca dip in previous weeks, she was seeking other ideas.  Perusing one of my recipe collections, she chose Pepperoni Asiago Twirls.  This snack was extremely easy to make and thoroughly enjoyed by all.  It can be served with any sort of mustard as a dipping sauce.  (In our house, we always have no less than five varieties of mustard, so many mustards were tried, and most seemed to work.)

For a final bit of flair for this snack, we renamed Pepperoni Asiago Twirls as PAT, a sort of tribute to our area team.

PAT- AKA Pepperoni Asiago Twirls

3/4 cup Asiago cheese, grated

1-1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp. black pepper, freshly ground

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

24 slices pepperoni

1 egg, beaten

Combine cheese, Italian seasoning, and pepper in a medium bowl, and set aside.  Cut puff pastry in half, so that you have two long pieces.  Place pepperoni slices in a single layer on each of the sheets, leaving a half-inch border along one long edge.  Top the pepperoni with the cheese mixture.  Brush beaten egg along plain edge.  Starting at other side of the pastry, roll the pastry, and seal at edge coated with egg.  Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400.  Line cookie sheet with foil, and coat with nonstick cooking spray.  Unwrap and cut each roll into 20-25 pinwheels.    Place pinwheels on cookie sheet, and bake for 15 minutes or until golden.

Serve immediately.

Typically, Thanksgiving dinner has so many dishes and is so filling that appetizers are kept to a minimum.  However, this year we served only three dishes as part of the main course, so heartier hors d’oeurves would not ruin our appetites.

With this in mind, I began to contemplate ideas for our pre-dinner snacks.  We didn’t need to consider how to please children (”We would like boxed, frozen mozzarella sticks.”) or how to make enough to serve a large crowd.  With those factors tossed aside, I decided to make a fruit-based appetizer.  Though with our celebration taking place in chilly New England, I wanted to serve warm snacks.  I also wanted to use a seasonal fruit.

These considerations led me to using baby pears as the base for this appetizer.  Cut in half, they would make nicely sized appetizers.  To balance the sweetness of the pears, a filling of cheese and a wrap of bacon seemed to make nice compliments. Fairly easy to prepare, they were enjoyed by all four Thanksgiving diners.

Having eaten these appetizers, I think that a drizzle of honey might have added another dimension to the flavors in this dish.  The next time I make them (which will be soon, based on their popularity), I will give it a try.

Baby Pears with Goat Cheese

6 oz. goat cheese

1 Tb. fresh chives, minced

1 tsp. dried parsley

1 tsp. dried thyme

Salt and pepper

6 Forelle pears*

6 slices bacon, cut in half

Combine cheese, chives, parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper.  Cover and refrigerate for an hour or two to allow flavors to meld.  Preheat oven to 375.  Slice pears in half, and remove stem and core.  Place a generous spoonful of cheese mixture in each pear half, and wrap with half slice of bacon.  Season lightly with salt and pepper.  Place on rimmed baking sheet, and bake for 25 - 30 minutes.

*Other small pears, such as Seckels, can be used.

It dawned on me this morning that ours is a household of minis.  In addition to our vehicles (a minivan and a Mini), there are other minis.  My husband and I are both foodies, and thus, a couple of our children are mini-foodies.  They love to cook and critique new foods, be it at a restaurant or home.  We also have a mini-farm, with 15 egg-laying hens in a backyard coop.

When you have mini-foodies and a mini-farm, you sometimes need to find recipes that combine the two, which was the case last week.  With our chickens hitting a daily high of 9 eggs, I decided that we needed to make a dinner that incorporated eggs.  As two of the kids are on a cooking streak, I wanted to find a dinner that would allow for two assistant chefs.

Enter mini-quiches.  There would be plenty of chopping, egg cracking, cooking, shredding, and blending to keep everyone busy.  Plus, each person could create his or her personal mini-quiches, so everyone would be happy.  A winner of a meal!

With a dozen mini-quiche and four diners, there were some leftovers, which reheated very nicely for breakfast on a different day.  Perhaps this recipe could be considered a mini-victory for me.

Mix and Match Mini-Quiches

FIllings:

splatterless bacon, crumbled

baked deli ham, diced

crimini mushrooms, sliced and sauteed

red bell pepper, diced

sweet onion, diced

shredded swiss cheese (or cheese of your choice)

Base:

12 eggs

1/4 cup skim milk

1-1/2 tsp. onion powder

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350.  Prepare all desired fillings.  In large mixing bowl combine eggs, milk, onion powder, salt, and pepper, and whisk well.  Spray 12 cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Place desired toppings for each mini-quiche in individual cups.  (Do not fill more than half full with toppings.)  Using a ladle, fill muffin cup to brim with egg mixture.

Place muffin pan in oven, and bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until top is golden and egg is set.

For soup night this week, our 12 year old chose corn chowder.  As it is a heavier soup, we didn’t need bread to go with it, but it seemed that some sort of cracker might work.  Thinking about our options, I decided to try making cheddar cheese crackers.

So, on Tuesday night, my 10 year old daughter and I worked together, making the dough.  The dough was too dry without any liquid added, so we used a little skim milk to help the dough bind.  In hindsight, this addition produced crackers that were a little bit on the soft side.

Even though the crackers lacked a hearty crunch, they had an interesting texture, kind of like a combination of a biscuit and cracker.  And the taste was amazingly good!  In fact, not only did I enjoy them, but both kids did also.  (It’s not often that everyone finds something new pleasing.)

The next time we make crackers, we plan on making a few changes so that they have more crunch.  First, we will use water instead of milk.  Second, we will try 2 tablespoons of liquid instead of 3.  Third, we will cut the dough into thinner slices.

While this recipe doesn’t make perfect crackers, it does make a perfect side, useful for accompanying a chowder or hearty salad.

Cheddar Cheese Biscuit Crackers

1-1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup chilled butter, unsalted

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

3 Tb. skim milk

Sift flour, salt, and baking powder into a large bowl.  Cut butter into tablespoon size pieces, and add to dry ingredients.  Using a pastry blender, combine until butter is the size of rice.  Add cheese, and mix well.  Add milk one tablespoon at a time, mixing with your hands until dough clings together and forms a ball.  Roll into 2 logs with 1-1/2 inch diameters.  Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for 30 minutes in refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 400.  Cut dough logs into 1/4 inch slices, and bake for 10 minutes.  Flip crackers, and bake for another 10 - 15 minutes or until golden brown on both sides.

A little food and math equation for the day:

Monday night at our house = Late dinner night for the adults

As I am the adult at home with the kids on Monday evenings, I am the planner of these late night dinners.  Quite frequently I make a dinner of smaller dishes or tapas.  This past Monday I felt inclined to create an Italian style dinner that consisted of bite-sized food.

So that there would be a decent amount of variety without too much food for only two people, I created three dishes.  For one dish I chose to make a simple pan of Italian sausage bites with peppers and onions.  The second dish was Italian style stuffed mushrooms.  Sadly, I have tried making stuffed mushrooms twice, and neither has been a “Wow!” dish to my mind.  (When it does achieve that status I will post the recipe!)  The last dish was the hit of the evening, sweet potato gnocchi.

The gnocchi did take a bit of time to make, but they were well worth the effort.  Tender to the bite, they had a nice contrast in flavors, with a mix of cheese and sweet potato in the gnocchi and a blend of maple syrup and sage in the sauce.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

2 sweet potatoes

6 oz. ricotta cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1 Tb. light brown sugar

1 tsp. & 2 Tb. salt

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1-1/3 cup flour

1/2 cup unsalted butter

10 fresh sage leaves, minced

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 Tb. maple syrup

salt & pepper to taste

Wash, dry, and pierce sweet potatoes, and cook in microwave until tender.  Allow to cool.  Scoop flesh out of sweet potatoes, and mash.  (You need to have 1-1/2 cups of sweet potato.)  Add ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, brown sugar, 1 tsp. salt, and nutmeg.  Stir well.  Mix in flour, 1/3 cup at a time.

Place dough on a floured surface, and divide into 3 sections.  Roll each section into a 2 foot rope, adding flour if the dough becomes sticky.  Cut each rope into 24 1-inch pieces.

Fill a large pot 2/3 full with water, add 2 tablespoons salt, and bring to a boil over high heat.  Once boiling, add batches of gnocchi (not so many that they are crowded in the pot).  Boil for 5 - 6 minutes, or until the gnocchi float.  Remove gnocchi, and place on a waxed or parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Allow to cool, flipping once so that the gnocchi are not too moist.

Once the gnocchi are almost cool, melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat.  Add sage leaves to the melted butter, and allow to cook for a minute or two.  Remove the pan from the heat, and add cinnamon, maple syrup, salt, and pepper.  Stir gently, and add gnocchi.  Toss gnocchi to coat fully with sauce.  Serve immediately.

*If desired, you can roll each gnocchi over the tines of a fork to create indentations.  However, to save time (as I did) this step can be skipped.

Yesterday was a no school day for two of our children.  With our 12 year old son at a friend’s house, our 10 year old daughter was looking for an activity to amuse herself.  After a morning of sewing clothes for her doll she asked if we could make some sort of “holiday food”.

Inquiring as to what that might be, she suggested making a batch of spiced pecans.  This seemed like a good idea and a snack that would be eaten by all family members.  So, while I finished a few work projects, I had her do a little bit of research to determine what ingredients we would use in our recipe.

After reviewing a few cookbooks and checking some online sources, Sam decided that she wanted the pecans to be sweet, not savory.  She also wanted to use cinnamon and nutmeg but didn’t want to add cloves.

Although I was present in the kitchen during the cooking, I was more of a sous chef, supplying her with ingredients and tools that were above her reach.  Very simple and fairly quick to make, she was pleased with her efforts, as were the rest of us.

Slightly Spiced Pecans

1 egg white

1 Tb. water

3 cups pecan halves

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350.  Line a cookie sheet with foil, and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk egg white and water together.  Add pecans, and toss well to coat.  In a small bowl, combine sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Add to pecans, and mix well.  Spread pecans onto prepared cookie sheet, and bake for 20 - 30 minutes, stirring once or twice.  Allow to cool, and enjoy!

At our house, almost all of the family members are fans of Sunday football.  However, that doesn’t mean that Sunday afternoon is spent watching every game.  In fact, the only reason the kids are fans of football is that it is our day for eating munchies.

Being foodies, my husband and I prefer to make the appetizers that we will be eating.  Sometimes he and I choose a theme and all of the dishes to go with it.  Other times we ask each child to pick a favorite snack for us to make.

This past weekend, our 11 year old daughter requested potato skins.  Like many kids, she is an “out of the box” sort of eater.  If it comes from a box (e.g. chicken nuggets, french fries, ramen), she will like it.  However, she has come to realize that cooking is a strength of mine.  So, when I told her that I would be making homemade potato skins, she didn’t mind.  Phew!

Of course, the real test would be when she ate them.  I must have passed with flying colors, as she ate a bunch and was pleased with the snack.  I have now added this recipe to my list of kid pleasers.

Not from a Box Potato Skins

4 Russet potatoes

1 Tb. butter

shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese

3 strips bacon, cooked until crunchy and then crumbled

sour cream

Preheat oven to 400.  Wash and dry potatoes.  Pierce multiple times with a fork, and bake for 1 hour, or until center is tender when tested with a fork.  Allow potatoes to cool for 15 minutes.  Cut potatoes lengthwise into fourths.  Using a spoon, scoop out the filling from each fourth, leaving a thin layer on the skin.  (Save filling in a resealable container to be used for mashed potatoes.)

Melt butter in a microwave, approximately 15 seconds.  Using a pastry brush, brush butter onto the skin side of the potato wedge, and place wedge skin side down on a cookie sheet.  Brush top side of potato wedge with butter.  Repeat for all potato wedges.  Sprinkle cheese and bacon on each potato wedge.  Place baking sheet in oven, and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Serve immediately with sour cream as a garnish, if desired.

It’s fall in New England, so what are you going to do on a blustery weekend afternoon besides go apple picking?  That is exactly what my husband and I did this past Saturday with two of our children.  The apple picking was a little confusing, as the orchard we chose did not mark their rows well, but it was fun nonetheless.

We have many, many apples in our refrigerator now.  One type of apples we wanted were no longer available for picking, so we bought a half peck of those.  Then when we went to the picking location, we learned that the minimum amount to pick was a peck!  Now, we do like apples, but one and a half pecks is quite a bit of apples.

Therefore, there have been lots of apple dishes and snacks in our house.  Of course, we have eaten them plain, used them as dippers in cheese fondue, peanut butter, or caramel sauce.  I also will be making a variety of baked goods with them, such as individual pies, bread, and crisp.  However, I needed a simple appetizer the other night and wondered how I could incorporate apples.  The obvious answer:  make salsa.

Let me start by stating that this salsa has less liquid than a typical salsa and is hard to scoop with a tortilla chip.  However, this salsa has a delicious, unique flavor.  It was enjoyed by everyone, kids and adults alike.  So, while you need to keep a spoon in the bowl to scoop some onto your chip, it is worth it.  Give it a try, if you are looking for a munchy that has a great fall look and taste.

Need a Spoon Apple Salsa

2 apples, cored and cubed

4 Tb. lime juice

1 Anaheim pepper, seeded and diced

1 Jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced

1 small yellow onion, diced

2 tsp. dried cilantro (2 Tb. fresh can be used)

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Place apples in a large bowl, add lime juice, and toss well.  Add remaining ingredients and toss again.  Should be chilled for an hour to allow flavors to blend.  Serve with tortilla chips using a spoon!