Yesterday I mentioned the outstanding sliders that Barb, Kim, and I had at Chaparral Pines in Payson, Arizona. We split an order and I’ve been dreaming about and wanting MORE every moment since then! I dissected the menu description and, by Joe, I think I’ve got it! They are so fabulous, they must be shared – here you go! These would be a great addition for next year’s 4th of July BBQ.  BTW, you will have extra mayo and onions leftover after you make the 12 sliders – this is a good thing… a very good thing!

Ahi Sliders

Roasted Jalapeno Cilantro Aioli
2 large jalapenos
2 cloves garlic
Dash cayenne pepper
1/3 cup packed cilantro leaves
1 lime, zested and then juiced for 2 tablespoons of juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup mayonnaise

Pickled Red Onions
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 bay leaf
Dash red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 medium red onion, peeled and thinly sliced

Chile Rub
2 teaspoons ancho chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Tuna and Assembly
1 teaspoon olive oil
1  pound Ahi tuna
12 slider buns, buttered and toasted

Aioli: Heat a skillet over high heat. Add the jalapeno and garlic to the dry skillet. Cook until blackened and charred on all sides, about 10 minutes. Place in a plastic bag, seal and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Then remove the stems, most of the blackened skin, and all of the seeds and ribs from the jalapeno, and the peels from the garlic cloves. Add jalapenos and garlic to a food processor with remaining ingredients. Blend, taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

Onions: Heat vinegar, sugar, bay leaf, pepper flakes, and salt in a small nonreactive heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Place onion slices in a bowl or jar and pour pickling liquid over onions, stirring occasionally to coat with liquid, and let stand at least 10 minutes (onions will brighten in color). Onions may now be kept for several weeks in the refrigerator. To use, just pull out what you need, drain and pat dry.

Chile Rub: Combine all seasonings in a small bowl.

Tuna: Heat heavy medium skillet over high heat 2 minutes. Brush both sides of tuna with olive oil; sprinkle chile rub and pat into tuna to adhere. Place in hot skillet and sear until brown outside and almost opaque in center, about 3 minutes per side.

Spoon the jalapeno-cilantro mayo on each side of toasted buns. Place a generous piece of tuna on each bottom half, finish layering with onions and top half of bun and enjoy.

Makes 12 sliders

Black Bean Tortilla Pinwheels

1 garlic clove, peeled
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Five 10-inch flour tortillas, warmed in the microwave for easier rolling
1 1/2 cups canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup canned chopped roasted mild green chiles, drained
1 cup grated sharp cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
1/3 cup chopped pimiento-stuffed olives
1/3 cup minced fresh cilantro
Salsa, if desired for dipping

With the machine running, drop the garlic through the feed tube of a food processor to mince. Remove lid and add the cream cheese and cumin, turn on machine to blend.

Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the tortillas, all the way to the edges. Do not clean out processor bowl.

Place the beans in the food processor and use the pulse button to just slightly mash the beans.

Spread the mashed beans over the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle the chiles, cheddar cheese, olives, and cilantro over the beans and roll-up the tortillas tightly. Wrap each in plastic and chill for at least 40 minutes or up to one day ahead.

Cut each tortilla roll into 3/4-inch slices with a sharp knife and serve with salsa, if desired.

Makes about 40 pinwheels

If you have a food processor, then this is one of the quickest and easiest dips possible. Serve it with the toasted pita wedges as I suggest or go an even easier route and serve with purchased pita chips, tortilla chips, or crudités. It’s fast, it’s yummy, and it’s pretty. What more can you ask from a dip?!

Basil Parmesan Dip with Pita Chips

8 pita pocket halves
Pam
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt

2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup sour cream or Fage yogurt
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut each pita half into 8 wedges.  Place wedges on a baking sheet. Spray wedges with Pam; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of the black pepper and salt.  Bake at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes or until crisp.

In a food processor, with the machine running, drop the peeled garlic cloves through the feed tube to finely mince. Remove the lid and add the remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, basil leaves, parmesan, sour cream, and lemon juice and process until smooth.  Transfer into a serving bowl and chill until ready to serve.

Serve with pita chips.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Before I begin telling you more than you may ever want to know about tomatoes, their seeds, “seeding” them and tomato water…. I have much more intriguing and interesting information to pass along. I added a new name to the Blogroll over there on the right. It is called “Linger” and is listed under the “Super Non-Cooking Stuff” category, directly below “Larry Fitzgerald”.  Which actually is appropriate. Since I met and began teaching Larry to cook, more than five years ago, I sometimes consider him to be just like a 3rd kid. And “Linger” is the new blog of one of my actual kids – Marissa, my gorgeous and talented daughter. (BTW, mom’s are totally permitted to brag and say things like that – especially when it is true!) Marissa recently graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in Journalism and a creative writing minor… so it is natural for her to have a blog – she’s a writer!  Please check her out when you have a second, she just got the site up about a week ago and it’s already looking great!

Now on to the task at hand… tomatoes….

You may think that the reason recipes call for tomatoes to be seeded is to… well, remove the seeds. While the seeds may bother some people, the real benefit of seeding tomatoes is to get rid of the water liquid/juice found along with the seeds in the tomato’s interior chambers. Excess liquid makes some dishes soggy, such as salsas and pizzas, and other dishes gummy, such as pasta salads, especially if they sit for awhile before being served.

You can choose to either discard the seeds and liquids after seeding the tomatoes, or you may want to save the juices and use them in a chilled soup or even a cocktail. Click here for an article from Bon Appetit about doing just that.

To seed a tomato; cut the tomato in half around its equator. If saving the juice, place a sieve or strainer over a bowl. If discarding the seeds and juice don’t bother to use the strainer. Grasp a tomato half in one hand and gently squeeze it over the strainer/bowl to remove the seeds and the juices. Then slice or dice as directed in the recipe.

Chiles Rellenos Dip

3 large tomatoes, seeded and diced
4 green onions, white and green portions, minced
4-ounce can ripe olives, drained and chopped
Three 4.5- ounce cans chopped green chilies, drained
1 chipotle chile, finely minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1large garlic clove, peeled and minced

1 pound shredded Mexican cheese blend
Tortilla chips

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spray an 8 x 8-inch baking dish with non-stick spray.

Place the seeded and diced tomatoes in a strainer and allow them to drain for 10 minutes. Then pour out of strainer and onto paper towels.

Once the tomatoes have been on the paper towesl for at least 3 to 5 minutes, proceed with the recipe.

Combine all ingredients, except for the cheese and chips, in a medium bowl, pour into prepared baking dish.  Cover with shredded cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

Serve warm from the oven with tortilla chips.

Serves 8 to 10

A few days back, my teen students had their graduation lunch and chose quiche as one of their buffet menu items. Since our time to cook on graduation day is a bit more limited, I made the crust dough ahead and refrigerated it so that when the kids arrived they could roll out and blind bake them immediately. They then proceeded with the recipe, making the filling, baking the filled quiche, and then going back to the beginning to make the crust dough, so they had the experience of actually making the recipe in its entirety. So what’s the point of me telling you all that back-story? The point is, I then had two disks of dough in my refrigerator – hence my utter brilliance in making these lovely wild mushroom tarts for Father’s Day to go with our Steak au Poivre.

You will notice from the photos that I decided to make three rectangular tarts, while the recipe instructs to make a 9-inch round tart. That is because I had two sets of dough and I also knew that with my limited freezer space – two long ones would fit much better than a big old round one.  I have to say, in general, I really do like the rectangle pans better than the round.  You never have to worry about the center of the crust becoming soggy and they are easier to cut and to serve. So if you enjoy making sweet and/or savory tarts, you might consider investing in this great size and shape too.

Now, as for the wild mushrooms, use whatever type you like. Costco sells a large container of wild mushroom mix and also a large bag (as you’ll see pictured here) of dried shiitake mushrooms. And just about all grocery stores sell small packages in either their produce or gourmet sections, as does Trader Joe’s.  That reminds me, when do you suppose Costco and Trader Joe’s are going to start paying me for all the free advertising I give them here?!? Wishful thinking… love ‘em both anyhow!

Wild Mushroom-Gruyere Tart

Crust
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 tablespoons (about) ice water

Filling
1 cup water
1 ounce dried wild mushrooms
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
10 ounces white mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup peeled and minced shallots
2 tablespoons Cognac or brandy
3 tablespoons minced fresh herbs (such as thyme, tarragon, sage, etc), divided
3/4 cup whipping cream
2 large egg yolks
1 large egg
2/3 cup grated Gruyere cheese, divided

Crust: Blend flour and salt in processor. Cut in butter using the pulse button until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Add enough ice water to just bring dough together.  Gather dough into into a disk. Wrap in plastic, chill 45 minutes.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into an 11-inch round and fit into a 9-inch tart pan, trimming excess dough. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes.

Filling: Bring 1 cup water to boil in saucepan. Add wild mushrooms; remove from heat and let stand 30 minutes. Using slotted spoon, remove mushrooms from liquid; pour soaking liquid through a cheesecloth lined strainer into a clear glass bowl or measuring cup and set aside. Coarsely chop mushrooms.

Melt butter in heavy large skillet over high heat.  Add chopped wild mushrooms and sliced white mushrooms.  Season with salt and sauté until golden, about 10 minutes.

Add shallots and sauté 2 minutes.  Add Cognac and the reserved mushroom soaking liquid. Boil until almost all liquid is absorbed and evaporated, about 3 minutes. Mix in 1 tablespoon of the minced herbs. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line crust with foil.  Fill with pie weights and bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and weights and return to oven until crust is golden, for about 10 minutes.  Maintain oven temperature.

While the crust bakes, make the custard filling. In a medium bowl whisk cream, yolks, egg and remaining 2 tablespoons herbs. Set custard aside.

When crust is golden, remove from oven and sprinkle 1/3 cup cheese onto the bottom of the crust.  Cover with mushrooms.  Pour custard over mushrooms.  Top with remaining cheese.  Bake until filling is set and top is golden, about 30 minutes.

Cool on rack 15 minutes, then and serve.

Serves 8

Apps are all the rage these days, so I’ve decided to create one of my own! OK, so not the sort of app that you’re thinking of, although that would be terribly cool of me too. No, “apps” – as in appetizers.

On the Friday of each summer “teen week”  class, the students help to create the menu they will cook and serve to their guests. Three of the ten students requested mashed potatoes this past week.  Mashed potatoes in June? Hey, I love mashed potatoes, after all, I’m 100% Irish!  But in the 100+ degree heat of the summer – not so much. The potatoes would generally be the side dish to something t0o heavy and hot for such sweltering temps. On the other hand, how can I ignore the request of 30% of the class? How could I get the mashed potatoes stand on their own?Turn them into an appetizer, of course … brilliant!

Mashed Potato-Stuffed Peppers

3 pounds baking potatoes, peeled, cut into
1 – inch cubes
1/2 cup half and half
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4-ounces cream cheese, room temperature
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced, divided
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
2 tablespoons minced Italian parsley
6 slices bacon, chopped and cooked crisp
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/4 cup minced green onion

2-pound package mini sweet peppers
(found at Costco in the cold produce section)
Additional olive oil, for drizzling

Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, bring the half and half and butter to low simmer in small saucepan over medium-high heat.  Remove from heat.

Drain potatoes and return to pot.  Add the hot half and half mixture and mash.  Add cream cheese and mash until well blended.  Taste and then season with plenty of salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil.

In a medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and two thirds of the garlic and cook until softened, about 3 minutes, season to taste with salt and pepper.

In a medium bowl, combine the mashed potatoes with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and the parsley.   Stir in the onion mixture and crumbled bacon and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs and green onion with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the remaining one third of the garlic, and the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.

Lay a mini pepper on its side on a cutting board and cut a thin slice from the side edge of each of the peppers.  Carefully remove and discard the seeds and white membranes from the inside. Repeat with the remaining peppers. Safe the sliced off portions of peppers for either crudités or to dice for another recipe.

With either a pastry bag or a small spoon, stuff each pepper with the potato mixture, dividing evenly between them.  Place stuffed peppers on baking sheet and top each with the bread crumbs and drizzle very lightly with olive oil.  Roast the peppers in the preheated oven until tender, about 25 to 30 minutes.   Serve hot or at room temperature.

Serves a crowd

Upon returning from our luxurious week in Turks & Caicos, I was welcomed home by a sweet golden bounty of yellow teardrop cherry tomatoes. I generally go out each morning and pick the ripe little gems, so I have never had an opportunity to see how many the one plant could produce in a week. Turns out the answer is about 1 pound! Just enough to make a wonderful tart. I sometimes like to use a 9-inch square tart pan in the place of a round, especially when using the tart as an hor d’oeuvres or appetizer.  The slices also act as a delicious and beautiful addition to a salad served with a mustard-shallot vinaigrette. I ended up with a little extra dough, so I make a mini tart and baked it along side the large one, it was browned and ready about 3 minutes sooner.

Pictured above is the garden bounty and a few souvenirs from the island, including a bottle of Jamaican rum our butler, Minto, gave to Connor on his birthday (the legal drinking age on Turks is 18), so we’ll save it for a couple of years… when he turns 21…

Cherry Tomato Onion Tart

Crust
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, straight from the refrigerator and cut into small pieces
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup milk
Filling
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons whole grain mustard
1 pound cherry tomatoes
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves, roughly chopped

Crust: Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of a food processor.

Add the butter and Parmesan and pulse until well incorporated.

Add milk through the feed tube with the machine running just until the dough become to come together. Quickly turn off machine and turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface.  Roll the dough into a 13-inch square or circle to fit a 9-inch square or round tart pan.  Carefully fit pastry into pan. Cover the pastry lined tart pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 50 minutes, while you make the filling.

Filling: In a medium skillet heat the olive oil and saute the onions, sugar, and salt until very soft and golden, approximately 30 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Stir in the whole grain mustard and spread out on a large plate to cool.

While the onions cook, pierce each cherry tomato with the point of a sharp knife on top and set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Evenly sprinkle the 1/3 cup Parmesan over crust. Spread the cooled onion filling over Parmesan and neatly arrange the tomatoes on top in a single layer.

Sprinkle with sea salt, black pepper, chopped oregano.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes before slicing into 9 squares from the square pan or 8 wedges from the round pan, this prevents the hot tomatoes from becoming mini cherry bombs in your guests’ mouths. Serve warm.

Serves 8 or 9

Our suite at Beaches Turks & Caicos - Sweet!

Graduation was wonderful! We stayed at the Marriott Starr Pass Resort in Tucson, which was beautiful. Had a celebratory dinner at J Bar after the big event, which was beyond delicious. Went back to the girls’ house for a dessert party after dinner, which was the perfect way to end the night. Then the next day, we were able to spend a relaxing morning with our graduate at the resort pool and then had a fun lunch at Frog & Firkin (a University of Arizona hang-out) before heading back to Phoenix.  All in all – a momentous and memorable weekend!  To keep with the theme of relaxation and ease, here’s an “easy-breezy” and versatile dish that can be used as an impressive appetizer or a quick dinner. To make it a meal, just toss with cooked linguini or spaghetti and add garlic bread.

Shrimp and Olive Salad

36 peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp with tails left intact
2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
36 pitted Kalamata olives
2 cups diced seeded tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven broiler to high. Line a baking dish with foil. Lay shrimp in a single layer on foil, drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with oregano. Toss to coat well.  Broil for 3 minutes on one side, remove from oven and turn over, broil other side for 2 to 3 minutes until pink and cooked through. Set aside to come to room temperature.

In a large bowl combine olives, tomatoes, parsley, remaining 1/4 olive oil, lemon zest and juice. Add shrimp and toss to blend.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Serves about 12

Two weeks ago, Dave and I went down to Tucson for a long weekend. The first night we decided to go to J Bar, my friend and James Beard award-winning chef, Janos Wilder’s, casual restaurant which is right beside his acclaimed upscale namesake restaurant, Janos. After perusing the menu, we wanted to order everything on it!  Instead, we decided we’d control ourselves and just come back the next night, which we did. One appetizer we just had to have was the J Bar Nachos. They did not disappoint – I haven’t been able to get them out of my mind since!  When Janos came to the Valley last week to teach a class, I asked him to please share the secret of “the out of this world” chili con queso that pushed the nachos into a league of their own. Turns out the con queso had an Italian twist in the form of mascarpone. I didn’t ask for the exact recipe, although he offered, but Dave and I think this is pretty darn close.  The Salsa Fresca is from Janos’ cookbook, The Great Chilies Rellenos Book, which is a must-have if you love rellenos. I used heirloom tomatoes from the farmer’s market I visited this morning.  See, I took my own advise and went this weekend, hope you got a chance to get to one too!

Topnotch Nachos

Mascarpone Chili Con Queso
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup minced shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 Anaheim chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded and diced
1 cup white wine
1 cup heavy cream
8-ounce container mascarpone cheese

Janos’ Salsa Fresca
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
3 green onions, finely chopped
1 Anaheim chile, roasted, peeled, seeded and diced
1 poblano chile, roasted, peeled, seeded and diced
2 tablespoons roughly chopped cilantro leaves
2 teaspoons finely minced garlic
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Nachos
Tortilla chips
1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
6 ounces chorizo, cooked
2 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced
1 avocado, diced

Chili Con Queso: Melt butter in a heavy medium saucepan, add shallots and sweat until soft, add garlic and chiles and sauté until chiles are softened. Add white wine and bring to a simmer, continue to simmer until wine is reduced by at least half. Add cream and bring to a medium simmer and reduce until thickened, about 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in mascarpone until completely melted and incorporated. Makes about 2  1/2 cups

Salsa Fresca: Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, refrigerate and serve within 24 hours.  Makes about 3 cups

Nachos: Preheat broiler. Lay tortilla chips in one layer on a large baking sheet. Scatter cheddar cheese evenly over chips, sprinkle evenly with chorizo and poblano slices. Spoon chili con queso on top and place under broiler until cheddar cheese is melted, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Use a spatula to transfer to a serving platter, sprinkle avocado on top and serve immediately with salsa fresca.

Serves 4

On Saturday, I’ll be serving a pre-Easter brunch to the hardworking people in my husband, Dave’s, office.  It’s a CPA firm and Easter usually falls during the crunch time of tax season, so these people need a break! This recipe is on the menu. I confess, I totally ripped it off out of the Williams-Sonoma catalog. They sell these cute little “breakfast pigs in a blanket”.  The Williams-Sonoma version uses Aidell’s chicken-apple sausages. While I did fine Aidells sausages at Costco and was planning to use them, I spotted some mango-chicken sausages and decided to go that route… happy I did because – Yum!

So here are your choices… purchase from the catalog and pay $48.50 (that’s with shipping) for 24 “pigs”…  or… make mine, and pay less than $25 for the pastry and sausages and you will wind up with 60 – as in “six- zero”  little pigs!!!

I know what you’re saying to yourself right now…. “I do not need Sixty Pigs, even if they do cost $1.58 less per piece.”  Oh yes – You do!!!  These are delicious, easy, and so great to have on hand in your freezer.  That’s right, you can bake and serve some now and freeze the rest for later. Of course, you can always cut the recipe in half, and use just one package of puff pastry and find another and smaller (meaning a smaller quantity then sold at Costco) package of sausages. But once you get into the roll of putting these together, it takes no time at all and you’ll feel rich and wise with the knowledge that you have these little gems stocked away. They can go directly from the freezer to the oven -at the ready for a quick cocktail appetizer or as a fun breakfast, any day of the week. Finally, I call for whole-grain mustard, because I like it, but if you only have regular Dijon, that works too.

Piglets in a Warm Puffy Blanket

2 packages (17.2-ounces each) Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets (for a total of 4 sheets)
1 package (3 pounds) Amylu mango-chicken sausages or other fully cooked sausage of your choice
1 tablespoon whole-grain Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon regular Dijon mustard
3/4 cup pure maple syrup, divided
2 eggs beaten with 2 tablespoons water, for egg wash
2 teaspoons finely minced fresh rosemary
Rosemary sprigs for garnish

Remove the pastry sheets from box and paper wrapping and place unfolded frozen sheets on a counter to thaw at room temperature for 30 to 40 minutes.

While the pastry is thawing, remove sausages from packaging. There will be 21 sausages in the 2 pound package (7 in each of the 3 individual packages) You will be using 20 of the 21 sausages for this recipe, reserve the remaining 1 sausage for another use, such as … your lunch! Cut each sausage into equal thirds, for a total of 60 mini-sausages.  Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the both of  the Dijons and 1/2 cup of the maple syrup.

Unfold each pastry sheet, one at a time. Do not roll out with a rolling pin, leave as is. Brush evenly with the mustard-maple glaze. Using a sharp knife, cut the glazed sheet of pastry lengthwise into thirds along the fold lines. Make 5 cuts crosswise to create a total of 15 rectangles out of the one sheet. Place a mini-sausage diagonally in the center of one pastry rectangle. Roll pastry around sausage and press overlapping corner in the center together. Brush with egg wash and place on a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet, about 1/2-inch apart.  Repeat with remaining 14 pastry rectangles.

One sheet at a time, repeat with the remaining 3 sheets of pastry, the mustard-maple glaze, the remaining 45 mini-sausages, and egg wash for a total of 60 pigs in a blanket.  There will be a little bit of the glaze left in the bowl, add the remaining 1/4 cup maple syrup and the minced rosemary and place in a serving bowl- this will be the dipping sauce.

At this point, the pigs may be baked or individually quick frozen.

To freeze: Place the baking sheets in the freezer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from freezer and quickly transfer the pigs in a labeled and dated 1-gallon freezer-quality ziplock bag or another freezer-safe container.

To bake: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 18 minutes, turn over and bake another 15 minutes or until golden all over. Serve hot from the oven or at room temperature on a platter with dipping sauce and garnished with rosemary sprigs.

Makes 60 pieces

You know how devoted I am to Costco, but we all know the problem with Costco… sometimes our eyes are bigger than our stomaches! That was the case with a 3-pack of Boursin cheese I bought a while back. I needed the first package for a specific recipe and the second package followed when I put it on a cheese tray a few weeks, no problem. But the 3rd package… it has been in the fridge for a long time and I looked at today and saw that the “use by” date is tomorrow! What to do? Well, what I am going to do is give you the easiest and quickest appetizer of all time… OK, maybe not of ALL time, but pretty darn quick!

Boursin Cheesy Puffs

1 loaf french bread
One 5.2 ounce package Boursin cheese, any flavor you like
2 egg whites

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Trim crust from bread and cut into 3/4-inch cubes.

Place Borursin in a small glass bowl and melt in microwave for 30 to 40 seconds. In a separate medium bowl, whisk eggs whites until stiff and then stir the 1/4 of the melted cheese into the whites at a time.

Add bread to bowl and toss with spoon to coat well.  Spread on a greased baking sheet and baked until golden, about 12 minutes, turning after the first 6 minutes.  Serve hot.

Serves 10 to 12

This recipe was requested by the mother of one of my former (all grown-up now) students to be placed on the blog. We made this fresh and full-flavored bruschetta during a summer session several years ago. It thrills me when people put in requests for specific posts. Moms, you know what I mean, every night you have to think of something to feed your family, sometimes it comes to you easily and other times, you struggle. Same here! The people who request items most often, are my own two darling kids. Marissa usually asks for something specific and Connor… well Connor usually wants chocolate or bacon! So to appease him, you have the option of garnishing these tasty toasts with crumbled bacon… there you go Connor, your request was not denied! Oh, and that gorgeous yellow tomato in the picture below… from my garden…I’m just a little proud of it!

Tomato & Fennel Bruschetta

4 large ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 small fennel bulb, trimmed and diced, fonds reserved for garnish
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
16 slices baguette or Italian bread, cut 3/4-inch-thick
3 garlic cloves, peeled and flattened
4 slices crisply cooked and crumbled bacon (optional)

Preheat broiler.  Toss tomatoes, fennel, onion, olive oil, vinegar, and basil together in a large bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.

Place bread slices on baking sheet.  Broil until golden brown on both sides.  Transfer bread to serving plate.  Rub garlic onto hot bread on one side.  Mount tomato mixture atop bread slices, sprinkle each with fennel fonds and bacon, if desired.

Serves 8

Inspiration for recipes comes from many places, such as giving a standard recipe a healthy makeover or combining recipes to make something just right. Plucking fresh food from your garden or a farmer’s market, using other cuisines to spice up an old favorite, or in this case, out of complete and utter desperation! Ever since last Friday, when I held a girl scout cooking class, my life and time management skills had been in a downward spiral. Some of that was due to my own bad planning, other parts were things out of my control, and the rest was just Murphy’s Law – “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” So the light at the end of the tunnel of this tornado that was my life, came in the form of a party at my home. After racing from one thing to another and running on virtually no sleep, I had less than 5 hours to come up with a menu for the party, shop for the food and drinks, and make it all. Clean all the outdoor furniture (it’s been raining quite a bit here, so it was all a mess). And worst of all, clean a house that had not only been neglected, but literally treated (by me!) as if it were a landfill, where I was actually just tossing things on the floor or any flat surface. The picture below doesn’t really do justice to the mess the house was. The sun is shining so brightly against the more than a dozen glass bowls on the island that they are not really visible. But that was just one load of dishes spread out from unloading the dishwasher from the night before when I fell into bed right after putting in another (and the 3rd of the day) load.

So here is where this recipe begins. I had worked with Barb Fenzl at Les Gourmettes in the morning, where she taught a delicious class that included a Glazed and Grilled Asparagus. All the while I was thinking about what I could make, or pull from my freezer, or pick up at Trader Joe’s on my way home. There was leftover marinate from the asparagus, so I poured that in a jar and decided to make the asparagus as an appetizer instead of a side dish. I also had leftover sliced mozzarella, sliced black forrest ham, and basil in my fridge from a food styling event I’d done the day before… voila, a recipe is born. OK, it may not be the most inspired, creative, or original thing I’ve even come up with, but the point is, anyone can pull something together with what they have available to them by just giving it a little thought. The asparagus portion of this recipe is thanks to Barb Fenzl and I thank her for not only that, but for the delctable frozen Blue Cheese Galette dough she so generously sent home with me to use as well!

Marinated Asparagus Roll Ups

1 pound thick asparagus
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup whole grain mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon or orange zest
3 tablespoons fresh lemon or orange juice
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
12 slices (12 ounces) sliced mozzarella cheese
12 slices black forest ham or prosciutto
12 large fresh basil leaves

Peel the asparagus and bread off the tough stem ends. Set aside.

In a shallow dish, whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, olive oil, zest, juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Toss in the asparagus, coating evenly.  Let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, or may be done up to 3 hours ahead, covered and refrigerated.

Preheat grill or grill pan. Remove asparagus from marinade and grill over medium high heat, turning occasionally until the spears are tender and lightly blistered, about 8 minutes.  Return asparagus to pan with marinade and allow to cool.

Lay the ham slices on a work surface, top each with a basil leaf, then with a slice of cheese. Cut each in half and place 1 or 2 asparagus spears (dripping with the sauce) in the center of each half, roll up and secure with a pick.

Chill until ready to serve.

Makes 24