Fresh Endives Stuffed with Olives, Anchovies, and Provolone

This is a tradition I created a few years ago at my parents' annual New Years Day family party slash food feast. It was such a surprise hit with everyone that we continued making it every year since. They are a great, light appetizer you can eat with your hands. If you want something different to bring to the table, this is it for sure! This is very quick and easy to make - It also makes a pretty presentation!

Ingredients:

• Raw Endive Leaves, rinsed
• Italian Green Olives, cut into small pieces around the pit
• Anchovies soaked in olive oil, cut into small pieces
• Sharp Provolone Cheese, diced into small pieces. 
• Drizzle of Olive Oil
• Cracked Black Pepper

Spread out the endive leaves on your platter.

Combine the olives, anchovies, provolone, olive oil and cracked pepper in a bowl and mix all together. 

Spoon in the mixture equally into each leaf. And you're ready to serve!

Blue Cheese Coleslaw

I've never been a huge fan of coleslaw, maybe because I didn't grow up eating it, ever. Things with mayo always sort of discouraged me. Over the years coleslaw has grown on me and I've learned that it can add nice flavor and crunch to certain dishes (like my pulled pork sliders!). We initially had this coleslaw in Wisconsin, credits to Ryan's mom, and he immediately fell in love with it. In an effort to be a good wife and make one of his favorite foods, I made this coleslaw (Ina Garten's), but tweaked it a bit to be my own. I used two different kinds of blue cheese for a more sophisticated flavor, and I used miracle whip instead of mayo to make it a tad bit healthier.

Ingredients: Party Size

Left - Roquefort, Right - Danish Mild Blue

• 1 Small Head Green Cabbage
• 1 Small Head Red Cabbage 
• 4 Large Carrots, cleaned and julienned
• 2 cups Miracle Whip (one jar) 
• 1/4 cup Dijon Mustard 
• 2 tbs Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 tsp Celery Salt
• 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
• 1/2 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1/4 lb Roquefort Blue Cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 lb Danish Mild Blue Cheese, crumbled

Cut the cabbages in half and then in quarters and cut out the cores. Slice them very thin and chop into smaller slices, OR run them through a food processor. I prefer to hand cut so that I can get the size and texture I want. Transfer into a large bowl. Add the julienned carrots and mix altogether.

In a separate, medium bowl, whisk together the miracle whip, mustard, vinegar, celery salt, kosher salt, and pepper. Add in the crumbled blue cheese and mix again. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours to allow the flavors to meld. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Heirloom Tomato and Balsamic Reduction

There's just something about biting into an heirloom tomato that makes it special, compared to a normal tomato. When you are making a salad or an appetizer where tomato is the focal point, I recommend looking for the heirlooms.There are a few different types of heirloom tomatoes...The kind in this post is a cross-pollination hybrid. Yes, we can cross-breed tomatoes just like we do dogs ... use two different parents! That's how we get the marble colors, stripes, and multi-colored tomatoes.

I used a few ingredients to create this masterpiece. First, I found an amazing extra large tomato, but you can find perfectly good heirlooms smaller in sizes. With that, you just need some olive oil, sea salt, cracked pepper, balsamic, honey, sugar, and some really darn good cheese. The cheese I picked here is called Roncal - a creamy sheep's milk cheese from Spain. It was a perfect pick to pair with the tomato and balsamic reduction...not too mild, but not too stinky. This simple appetizer was so fantastic, easy to prepare and looked beautiful!

Balsamic Reduction: For 1 Large Tomato

• 4 tbs Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 tsp Honey (I used Lavender Honey to give an extra kick)
• 1/2 tsp Sugar

Tomato Salad:

• Extra Large Heirloom Tomato, thickly sliced
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Sea Salt
• Cracked Black Pepper
• Roncal Cheese, sliced

For the balsamic reduction - heat the balsamic in a small pot until it comes to a boil. Lower heat and add the honey and sugar. Mix until it is fully dissolved. Once the balsamic cooks down and thickens remove from heat. That's it!

Slice the tomato like so.

To plate, first drizzle a little olive oil on the bottom of your plate. Add the largest layer of tomato slices on the bottom base. Add another drizzle of oil on top and some sea salt and cracked pepper. Repeat layers, largest to smallest. Drizzle a little of the balsamic reduction on the side for display, and put the remainder in a small dish for additional use. Add the Roncal on the side.

Dip a piece of tomato and cheese into the balsamic reduction - and enjoy!

Warm Calamari Salad

This ties into my post about Chilean Sea Bass ... this was the appetizer for the main course! It was a night full of seafood goodness. I randomly got some whole calamari from the fish section while I was at Whole Foods. Figured I can't go wrong with it.

There are so many ways to prepare calamari, other than the classic (and delicious) deep frying. Doing a deep fry with the flour and oil was way too messy for a Friday night - so I went with something light and simple.

Ingredients: For 2

• 3 Whole Calamari, cleaned and cut into rings.
• 3 tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Garlic Glove
• 1/2 Lemon, juiced
• 1 tbs Parsley, chopped
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Clean and cut the calamari into rings. If you have tentacles, just rinse them and pat dry.


Before

After

Toss everything with the olive oil in a bowl. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper - toss again.  Heat a frying pan, and add the calamari so that everything is evenly spread in a single layer. Flip all pieces a couple times, cooking for about 5-7 minutes. The calamari will turn white and the tentacle legs will curl up and shrink. They will cook fast, so make sure not to over cook them or they will be chewy and rubbery.

Once done, plate them, squeeze the lemon on top and toss with the fresh parsley. Garnish with extra parsley and a lemon wedge in case you need more.

Greek Salad

I love putting feta in salads. It gives a great, salty taste that I am sometimes missing in my greens. This Greek salad is a perfect side dish to my Mediterranean Chicken Skewers , but it can be used as a fantastic starter or side dish to any protein. I use Boston Lettuce because it is one of my favorites, but it's not mandatory here - use what you like best!

Ingredients:

• 1 Head of Boston Lettuce, washed and torn into big chunks
• 2 tbs Red Onion, chopped
• Large handful of Grape/Cherry Tomatoes, cut into halves
• Greek Olives
• Crumpled Feta Cheese, as desired
• 1/2 Lemon, squeezed
• 1 Small Seedless Cucumber, cut into big cubes/slices
• 3 tbs Olive Oil
• 1 tbs Dry Italian Oregano
• Cracked Pepper & Sea Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients and add lemon juice + olive oil prior to serving. Toss lightly as to not wilt the lettuce. Enjoy!

Bruschetta

I LOVE Bruschetta. If it is on a menu, chances are I will order it as a starter. If I am hosting people over, chances are I will make Bruschetta as a starter. It is just one of those very simple, but delicious and easy appetizers that everyone loves.

I use either grape or cherry tomatoes because I think they are tastier, and packed with more flavor. For every serving of tomatoes, I like to use about a quarter of red onion.

You can make these on a plain, toasted baguette... but I like to jazz up the toast with parmigiano and garlic. I've done this on both multigrain and regular bread. You choose!





Ingredients:

Tomato Bruschetta:
Grape/Cherry Tomatoes, Diced
Red Onion, Diced
Dry Italian Oregano
Cracked Black Pepper
Sea Salt
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Toast:
Baguette, sliced
Olive Oil/Butter
Parmigiano Cheese, grated
Garlic Powder


Mix together the tomatoes, onion, oregano, evoo, salt & pepper. Taste until there is enough salt and oregano. These two really make the flavors come out. Let sit together for about 20 minutes so all the flavors marinate together.

In the mean time, get the toast prepared. Drizzle olive oil or spread butter on each slice of baguette (I used olive oil here). Sprinkle garlic powder and parmigiano cheese on each slice. Toast in the oven for about 8 minutes. I like the bread softer rather than toasted harder, but if you want it crunchier, leave it in longer.

Serve the tomatoes either on top of the toasts, or display separately and let your guests make their own (this way the bread doesn't get soggy).

Summertime Potato Salad

Growing up I never ate mayo in anything - obviously, I'm Italian! I always knew potato salad to be made with oil and vinegar, as my mom and aunt made it. And to this day, I will not eat potato salad if it is made with mayo. It actually kind of grosses me out - no offense to everyone, I know you all like the American, classic potato salad! Well, since I am marking my words here, I have to share this recipe with y'all. It's very simple and delicious! This makes a great side dish to any meaty meal or BBQ. We made it this Mother's day along side our grilled veal chop that you see in the photo.

 Use about 1 potato for every 2 people, depending on potato size and about 4 string beans per person - but people tend to go for a second helping so I suggest to always make more!  

Boil the potatoes whole until they are fully cooked through.

Remove from water and peal off skin while they are still hot, as it is easier to remove skin while potatos are still hot.

Set aside to let potatoes cool. Slice into chunky pieces, as shown in photo.

Snap/cut the string beans in half. Boil the them with a little salt until they are cooked but still crunchy. Like a blanch, but a little bit longer.

Set aside to cool.

Once these are cooled off, combine in a large mixing/serving bowl. Add some sliced red onion, a few cherry tomatoes cut into halves, dried oregano, salt, pepper, and fresh parsley. Dress with EVOO and red wine vinegar. Toss all together and serve at room temp or slightly cooled. This can be refrigerated for days for left overs!

Seafood Salad

Another dish we made on Christmas Eve. I crave seafood salad quite often - it is light and refreshing while being a solid meal or appetizer. The ingredients are so flexible, you can use whatever seafood/shellfish you have.

Ingredients

• Boiled Octopus or Calamari, chopped



Big guy!

• Boiled, Hydrated Baccala, broken into pieces
• Jumbo Shrimp, cooked and cut into halves
• 1-2 Lemons
• 1 tbs Red Onion, chopped
• 1/2 tbs Parsley, chopped
• 1 tbs Roasted Red Peppers, chopped
• 1  1/2 tbs Celery, chopped
• Black Olives, pitted (optional)
• Olive Oil
• Cracked Black Pepper
• Salt to taste

Once seafood is cooled - Combine it with onion, parsley, roasted peppers, celery, olives and mix together with lots of olive oil so that everything is well coated. Add in freshly squeezed lemon, cracked pepper, and salt (to taste! the seafood can be salty), mix well.  Set aside to absorb all flavors for 15 minutes or refrigerate if not serving right away.