appetizer

Name: Fried Zucchini Blossoms and Lasorda Wines
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Yield: 1 dozen fried blossoms
Ingredients: 1 dozen fresh zucchini flowers, thoroughly rinsed and dried; 1 cup AP flour; 2 eggs plus 1 tablespoon water, whisked together; 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs; Vegetable oil for frying; Parmesan Cheese for grating, optional

Fried Zucchini Blossoms and Lasorda Wines

0 · Jun 7, 2018 · 4 Comments

This post has been sponsored by Lasorda Family Wines. The following message is intended for persons 21+. All opinions expressed are my own.

Dress up your summer tablescape with these easy, elegant Fried Zucchini Blossoms and a glass of Lasorda wine!

There’s a cliché that runs roughly “What would you do if you know that you were guaranteed success?” In other words, in the absence of the fear of failure, what are you passionate about? It’s the sort of ‘power motto’ that you see plastered on the walls of Silicon Valley tech headquarters or recited at business meetings, where this sentiment breaks down barriers to innovation and creativity while encouraging calculated risk-taking.

On a more material level, however, we see answers to this question in the form of ‘Passion Projects.’ Think of the long line of comedy greats who tried their hands at ‘serious’ roles, or of the countless authors who attempted write under pseudonyms for the purpose of ‘putting to page something meaningful,’ and so and so forth.

Former baseball great Tommy Lasorda, for example, developed a taste and passion for wine early in his life, and following his career on the diamond, he put that passion to practice in the form of Lasorda Family Wines – who contacted me early last month asking if I would be interested in reviewing one of their bottles. Naturally, I agreed and received a 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon from the Paso Robles AVA in California.

With the formalities out of the way, let’s see how the wine itself fairs – and if passion has transformed itself into success.

To start, the wine introduces itself with a bouquet that I’ll describe as ‘dark,’ featuring sliced blackberry notes, which are grounded firmly in earthy tones of dry driftwood or antique oak or cedar. Deeper into the glass, notes of chocolate and perhaps just a hint of spice become discernable. On sampling, the wine becomes a very ‘by the book’ sturdy cabernet, featuring a rich and full mouthfeel carrying an assortment of dark berries such as raspberry and currants, framed in ever-present earthen qualities, which translate into a long and pleasant finish.

For pairing, think prime rib roasts, sirloin, spicy red sauces over pasta, and herbed shark steaks. This could also pair nicely with an aged cheese platter accompanied by artisan bread with infused oil.

Living the Gourmet

Yields 1 dozen fried blossoms

Serves 4

Fried Zucchini Blossoms and Lasorda Wines

10 minPrep Time

10 minCook Time

20 minTotal Time

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5 based on 1 review(s)

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Ingredients

1 dozen fresh zucchini flowers, thoroughly rinsed and dried
1 cup AP flour
2 eggs plus 1 tablespoon water, whisked together
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
Vegetable oil for frying
Parmesan Cheese for grating, optional

Instructions

In 3 separate bowls, divide the flour, egg wash and breadcrumbs. Dredge your zucchini blossoms in the flour, egg wash then breadcrumbs and place on lined baking sheet.
Heat a cast iron skillet with ½ –inch of vegetable oil. Be sure not to overcrowd the pan with the blossoms. Fry each blossoms for about 2 minutes on each side or until golden.
Transfer the fried blossoms to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb any excess oil. Sprinkle with parmesan if desired and serve alongside your antipasto platter or with our favorite pasta dish. Enjoy!

Eggplant Dip with Hello Delicious! Brands Pizza Chips

0 · May 18, 2018 · 16 Comments

This simple Eggplant Dip is easy and delicious for any gathering and pairs perfectly with Hello Delicious! Brands Pizza Chips.

I tried to avoid using this quote, I really did, since I’ve used it here a few times in the past, but the more I tried to come up with something else the more apropos this seemed by comparison, and here it is – “Simplicity is its own virtue,” as we are told by Plato.

One of the things I often dream about doing is perhaps one of the simplest things imaginable – sitting on my porch with precisely nothing to do or think about. It’s one of those very simple but very elusive pleasures. Attempts to indulge this ‘simple pleasure’ are routinely thwarted by that perennial ‘something’ that ‘needs’ to be done, and by the self-defeating reassurance that there is of course ‘always’ tomorrow, except that tomorrow always seems to be just a few more hours off.

The idea of sitting outside in the still mildly chilly air, while savoring a seaside silence perforated by the laughter of seagulls and the rustling of river water always seems to remain just that – an idea. The idea of things like savory crackers and wine, or a platter of cheese, figs, and olives on a lazy afternoon, or just sitting and enjoying the simplicity of ‘nothing’ to do. These sorts of things are enhanced by the ‘virtue’ of their simplicity more than anything.

That said, I recently brought home a few bags of Hello Delicious! Brands Pizza Chips, which are made out of real pizza dough then oven baked to perfection. They are flavored to look and taste like pizza, my mind immediately went outside to my porch. I would take my first round of summer downtime and put my own spin on these flavorful Pizza Chips.

While these would pair great with the aforementioned wine, cheese, figs or olives, I decided instead to pair them with a Roasted Eggplant Dip – I know, but hear me out on this, it works. We begin with a whole eggplant, and one whole head of garlic, and we bake them in the oven whole for thirty to thirty-five minutes, or until the eggplant is wilted and soft. On a side note, you are baking both the eggplant and the garlic whole and in their skin. Do not peel the garlic.

After the garlic and eggplant have cooled, scoop the meat of the eggplant out into a bowl. Now, pop the garlic from its skin, and combine that in a food processor with the lemon juice, the eggplant, basil leaves, parmesan cheese, the seasonings listed below, and some olive oil, and give it a few good pulses until it has reached your desired consistency. I prefer mine more on the smooth side.

Living the Gourmet

Yields 2 cups

Eggplant Dip with Hello Delicious! Brands Pizza Chips

5 minPrep Time

30 minCook Time

35 minTotal Time

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5 based on 5 review(s)

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Ingredients

1 eggplant – roasted
Juice of ½ lemon
8 – 10 fresh basil leaves
½ cup of grated fresh Parmesan or Romano cheese
1 head of garlic – roasted
3 - 4 tbs. olive oil
½ tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 dried oregano
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Instructions

Preheat Oven 375 degrees F.
Bake eggplant and garlic for 35 - 30 minutes, or until the eggplant is wilted and soft.
Let the eggplant cool and then scoop the meat out and place in a bowl.
Pop the garlic from the skin and place the garlic, lemon juice, eggplant, basil leaves, Parmesan cheese, seasonings and olive oil in a food processor and give a few good chops until the desired consistency is achieved. Taste for seasonings.
Enjoy with the chips.
Refrigerate any leftover dip.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2018/05/eggplant-dip.html

Once that was done, I assembled that on a platter with Hello Delicious! Brands Pizza Chips, and paired it with a tall cold drink, and took them out on the porch to finally enjoy that lazy afternoon I’d been thinking about for more days than I care to admit.

Find your nearest retailor to find Hello Delicious! Brands Pizza Chips and be sure to download and print your in-store coupon for Pizza Chips or use this Amazon code for 25% off a six pack of 7oz Pizza Chips: PCHIPS25

Enjoy with Love!

Crab Cakes, Crostini, and Torresella Prosecco

0 · Dec 27, 2017 · 12 Comments

Thank you to Torresella Wines for sponsoring this post. All opinions expressed are my own. The following message is intended for those 21+. Please enjoy responsibly.

Complete the holiday season and ring in the New Year with this simple yet elegant spread featuring plump crab cakes and ciabatta crostini with a tomato and artichoke salad served alongside a bubbly glass of Torresella Prosecco.

“The common wisdom says that to be happy means to be rushed along within the crowd, drifting from fashion to fashion, and rushing about hectically for the sake of rushing about, or that purpose is found within the busyness of business. Those activities have their virtues, to be sure, but I always preferred the role of spectator, of being off in the undisturbed quiet of the unvisited distance, watching at my leisure and learning at my own pace, and there I thrived”

The holidays are pretty much a case study of that sentiment. I know that the prevailing sentiment at this time of the year is that there is a ‘certain magic’ or a ‘certain something’ or a ‘certain cheer’ drifting on the air, and that all of this ‘goodness’ is centered around a set of appointed feast days. While I must agree that there is an undeniable quality about the holiday season, I’ve always been one to favor those rare moments of quiet that immediately follow the great feast days. Perhaps it’s the contrarian in me, or perhaps it’s the romantic quality ingrained in being the ‘mysterious character’ of the film noir who lingers in the back of the lounge after the rest of the guests have left.

Whatever the reason, those moments in the melancholy of coming down from the holidays has always been my favorite part of the season, and this year was no different.

Allow me to demonstrate. This year, like every year, my family and I enjoyed our Christmas Eve, followed by a similarly pleasant Christmas Day. However, in the pleasant and relaxing quiet that followed on the Day-After-Christmas Day, I wanted to more or less ‘complete’ the scene, to sort of ‘lounge up’ my living room.

As luck would have it, earlier this month I was contacted by the representatives of Torresella, asking if I would be interested in sampling their Prosecco DOC. Naturally, I agreed, since this was just what sanity had ordered for a post-holiday spread.

On pouring, the prosecco is a nearly translucent yellowish-white, featuring sparse and fine bubbles, with a very thick foam that quickly evaporates. The nose is instantly floral, with white spring flowers predominating throughout, with fruit essences becoming more evident the longer you linger on the bouquet, chiefly white citrus. On the palate, the aromas largely carry over, carried on a distinct creaminess, with pleasantly fine bubbles.

While the orthodox thing to do would be to suggest this either as an aperitif, or with a warmed brie, I decided instead to pair it with a late luncheon spread that was light, Mediterranean in flavor, and blissfully satisfying.

Naturally, that meant homemade crab cakes, ciabatta crostini, grilled fennel, and an artichoke, olive, and tomato salad served as a late luncheon beside my bay window.

Starting off with the crab cakes, we begin with four cans of pink crabmeat. You must thoroughly drain the liquid from the crabmeat. Then you combine crumbled bread, bread crumbs, grated garlic clove, flour, grated cheese, an egg, the seasonings listed below, with lemon juice, parsley, anise greens and olive oil in a large bowl and mix. Then add in the drained crabmeat and work the resulting mixture together until it is blended nicely.

Next, it’s time for the dirty work, and that means separating the above mixture into roughly half inch thick by three to four-inch-wide patties, and then coating those patties in breadcrumbs.

Heat a large cast iron frying pan with about a quarter of an inch of canola oil, and while that heats up, prepare a plate with a paper towel, which you will need for the fried crab cakes.

Once the oil is hot, carefully set the patties in the frying pan, being careful of the oil splattering up at you. You will want to cook the patties for about three minutes on each side. As they finish cooking, set them on the plate that you prepared with the paper towel.

Once the patties are done, arrange them on a platter with alternating thinly sliced Asiago cheese and lemon wedges, as shown below for a stellar post-holiday plating.

Living the Gourmet

Yields 4

Mediterranean Style Crab Cakes

10 minPrep Time

15 minCook Time

25 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

1 cup of crumbled Italian bread
1 egg
4 (4.25 oz.) cans of pink crabmeat – drained thoroughly
¼ cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
1 tbs. lemon juice
3 tbs. chopped Italian parsley
1 large clove of garlic - grated
1 tbs. Anise greens – chopped
2 tbs. olive oil
1 ½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
2 tbs. bread crumbs – and more for coating the crab cakes
½ cup flour
Canola oil for frying

Grilled Fennel:

1 head of Anise (Fennel)– trimmed and cleaned and patted dry
Olive oil
Salt/black pepper

Instructions

For the Crab Cakes:

Place the crab meat in a colander and press down on it to thoroughly drain the liquid from the crab meat.
Place the crumbled bread, bread crumbs, flour, grated cheese, egg, seasonings, lemon juice, parsley, Anise greens and olive oil in a large bowl. Add the drained crab meat and work the mixture together.
Prepare a small bowl with about ½ cup of bread crumbs.
Form the crab mixture into small ½ inch thick patties.
Dip the formed crab cakes into the bread crumbs to coat the cakes.
Prepare a plate with a paper towel for placing the cooked crab cakes on.
Heat a large cast iron frying pan with ¼ inch of canola oil.
Carefully place the crab cakes into the hot oil and cook for about 3 - 4 minutes on each side. When one has become a beautiful golden color, carefully turn over and repeat this on the other side.
Place the cooked cakes on a plate prepared with a paper towel.
Serve with a lemon wedge and thin slices of Asiago cheese.

For the Fennel:

Heat a large cast iron frying pan and place the fennel in the dry pan to become slightly charred.
When the fennel has become slightly charred on both sides add a tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Remove from the pan and plate.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2017/12/crab-cakes-crostini-torresella-prosecco.html

Since I had a whole wheat ciabatta loaf left over from Christmas, I sliced that up thin and turned it into crostini. Just slice it thin, brush the slices with olive oil, and bake them in the oven for about ten minutes, turning over once mid-way.

However, I didn’t ‘merely’ want crostini, no, I paired this instead with a tomato and artichoke heart salad, and grilled anise, to complete the post-holiday tablescape with my crab cakes.

Artichooke & Tomato Crostini

Ingredients:

Fresh Ciabatta Bread – sliced ¼ inch thickness
Olive oil for brushing the bread

For the Topping:

2 pints of cherry tomato medley – quartered
1 large clove of garlic – grated
6 oz. can of pitted black olives – drained and chopped
14 oz. can of artichoke hearts – drained and chopped
1 bunch of scallions – chopped
2 tbs. of capers – chopped
3 tbs. of chopped fresh Italian Parsley
¼ cup olive oil
1 ½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
Romano or Parmesan cheese for Grating

Directions:

Preheat Oven 350 degrees F.

Brush the sliced Ciabatta bread with olive oil and place on a baking sheet.
Bake for about 10 minutes turning over once midway and brushing the other side with olive oil.
Remove and set aside for the salad.

Combine all of the ingredients for the salad in a bowl and then place in a colander to drain any liquid and place back in the salad bowl.

Add the olive oil and the seasonings and toss.

Place on the prepared Ciabatta bread and grate with Parmesan or Romano cheese.

Naturally, this all perfectly complemented the Torresella Prosecco DOC, which I can wholeheartedly recommend to my readers looking either for an accessible and delicious aperitif bubbly, or who might be interested in pairing a prosecco with a light late lunch as I’ve done here today.

Cheers & Enjoy with Love!

Cranberry, Walnut and Honey Spread

0 · Aug 24, 2017 · 11 Comments

Thank you Breton for sponsoring this post. Make everyday entertaining better with Breton!

This Cranberry, Walnut and Honey Spread is a perfect way to end off the summer. It is a light, delicious spread that combines that some of our favorite Fall flavors.

We’ve all heard the trope that we “Make our own happiness,” and while I have a tendency here to poke thinly veiled fun at assorted clichés, before I do let’s play a little thought experiment, one I learned from a gray-eyed professor of mine some years ago.

“Let’s turn the classroom in a waiting parlor. To each of you, I’ve allotted an hour glass filled with a random amount of sand. On the demonstration table, you see that I have arranged several different colored boxes, which I will be opening at random intervals during the course of this exercise. On your desks are sealed envelopes. In those envelopes, you will find your personalized instructions.”

While no two students received precisely the same instruction, the instructions more or less followed a certain theme, make educated guesses as to the contents of each box based on its exterior design and color, pen a brief sophist style essay as to why the contents of the boxes ought to have been different as they were opened, or forfeit the exercise altogether, again penning a creative piece as to why the boxes were, in essence, representative of a set of lies. In each case, the student’s participation was over once their clock ran out, at which point they were to leave the classroom, returning again once the exercise had finished. Optionally, all students had the choice to simply wait out their assigned clock entirely, provided they did so in perfect and undisturbed silence.

The catch? Waiting out the clock guaranteed a perfect score.

“Those of you who waited, congratulations, you have perfect marks. However, look around the room and tell me, in light of the purpose of this class, was your time more valuably spent than the time of your more creatively inclined classmates? That judgment, of course, is yours to make.”

Naturally, befitting a philosophically-inclined ethics course, the ‘waiting parlor’ was representative of life itself, and was meant to convey the importance of effort, creativity, and risk-taking.

In our busy ‘modern lives,’ those three values often take a back to seat to the auto-pilot inducing trance of our perpetually ‘busy schedules.’

I found myself thinking about this the other day, when at the end of a long line of content creation, and I remembered I had an old friend stopping by for an early evening visit. I’ll admit that I was quite tempted to simply reschedule – to more or less let the ‘autopilot’ of my schedule carry on.

Naturally, being who and what I am, once my subconscious phrased the proposition in more or less those terms, I simply couldn’t give in.

That being said, I decided to put together something that was at once seasonal, simple, and of course delicious.

Of course, this brings us to today’s recipe – a Cranberry, Walnut and Honey Spread served with Breton Artisanal Cranberry and Ancient Grains crackers.

We start off with about a cup of plain cream cheese and set that in a food processor with fresh lemon juice, a few tablespoons of honey, black pepper, a pinch of salt and dried cranberries. Pulse this mixture until it is nice and creamy or to your desired consistency if you like it a bit crunchy…

After that, assemble the mixture on the crackers, and for this, I do prefer Breton, due to their reliable quality, which makes them a perfect solution for those busy occasions where you don’t want to skimp on flavor. Add to that the wide variety of delicious flavors and texture in which they’re available, and you’ve got a cracker perfect for every occasion and any palette.

Living the Gourmet

Yields 4-6

Cranberry, Walnut and Honey Spread

10 minPrep Time

2 minCook Time

12 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

8 oz. block of cream cheese
½ cup of whole walnuts – gently heated
¼ cup of dried cranberries
1 ½ tbs. of honey
Juice of ½ lemon
½ tsp. fresh ground black pepper
Pinch of salt

Instructions

Heat a small cast iron frying pan and place the walnuts in the pan for a minute or two; let the walnuts cool for a minute or two.
In a food processor combine the cream cheese, walnuts, cranberries, honey, lemon juice, fresh ground black pepper and a pinch of salt.
Process until a desired consistency is reached.
Enjoy on the Brenton Artisanal Cranberry and Ancient Grains crackers.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2017/08/cranberry-walnut-honey-spread.html

Once you’ve assembled a tray of the crackers and the mixture, garnish the tops of the crackers with additional dried cranberries and walnut pieces. Serve along with your favorite early evening beverage, and you’re good to go.

Now, who says making one’s own happiness need be complicated?

Enjoy with Love!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Spicy Hummus

0 · Aug 8, 2017 · 17 Comments

Hummus is one of the healthiest, easiest recipes you can make. Find out how homemade hummus is only a handful of ingredients away!

My professor had an idea about…ideas, and yes, I am taking today as the occasion to share that idea about ideas with you.

“They are like ghosts, they travel at the speed of thought, are only seen by those to whom they choose to reveal themselves. Ideas are unimpeded by borders or fortifications, and very often outlast those to whom they owe their genesis.”

Food is no exception. Recipes, after all, begin their existence as ‘ideas.’ Thus, the old adage “Good food knows no borders.”

Hummus, perhaps, is a perfect example of this. Take for example Turkish style hummus, in which butter is often substituted for olive oil, and in which yogurt is sometimes added to the blend. Speaking from experience, Greeks would recoil at the idea of adding those sorts of dairy items to their beloved chickpea, garlic, and olive oil dip. Likewise, hummus from the levant exists in far wider varieties, sometimes being made from ful (fava beans), with meat and/or mushrooms added in, and can vary wildly in consistency and in the amount of tahini used.

This, of course, brings us to today’s recipe – Hummus with Za’atar and Paprika.

Relatively simple to throw together, this is a perfect starter recipe, pairing deliciously with your choice of sliced vegetables, crusty bread, or crackers. If you really want to be fancy or ‘authentic,’ you could also pair this with a side bowl of seasoned dipping olive oil to spread over the hummus once you’ve spooned it onto the bread.

That said, this is a thicker consistency hummus, in which the garlic and spices really come through to create a robust flavor profile.

To start things off, we combine the chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper in our food processor, and blend until it’s relatively smooth but not pasty. Then sprinkle the resulting the mixture with the spices listed below, some chopped parsley, and an extra splash of olive oil and you’re done.

Living the Gourmet

Yields 4-6

Spicy Hummus

8 minPrep Time

8 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

1 (14 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup tahini paste
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic
salt and pepper to taste
juice of 1 lemon
Zaatar, paprika, sumac, or any desired spice
2 tablespoons Parsley, plus more for garnish

Instructions

In a food processor, blend chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, parsley, salt, and pepper until smooth.
Sprinkle with your favorite spice, a few leaves of chopped parsley and an extra drizzle of olive oil. Serve alongside your favorite snack or vegetable.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2017/08/spicy-hummus.html

Today we’re pleased to be hosting a little summertime giveaway to one lucky LTG reader! Be sure to enter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

P.S. Check out our other giveaway HERE! 😉

Enjoy with Love!

Salsa Fresca

0 · Jun 21, 2017 · 17 Comments

Welcome summer with the vibrant flavors of this Salsa Fresca alongside Mission Organics® Tortilla Chips! All opinions are entirely my own.

“Learn to love change,” we are taught, and yet we, as a species, have evolved to hate it. Change represents the unknown and the unexpected – that which is beyond the ability of our biological computers to perceive and assess. For a species whose sole strength rests between their ears, it is perhaps not surprising that no concept could be more frightening.

Of course, few things are more enduring and ‘unchanging’ than the presence of constant flux.

Case in point, picture a quiet summer afternoon, one of those rare days where everything is going according to plan. Work has been wrapped up early, and there’s nothing left except to enjoy a freshly manicured yard, a well-arranged porch, and a salty breeze lashing in from the bay. It’s one of those rare days where ‘the expected’ isn’t merely a dream, it actually seems to be happening. Then, expectedly, the unexpected happens. The phone rings, and you learn that your home is to be the site of an impromptu summer get together…the following afternoon. Instantly, ‘change’ had entered the situation…

Of course, I’m talking about myself, and of course I’m talking about a few friends inviting themselves over on delightfully short notice.

Regardless of how ‘rushed’ my preparations for this surprise get together were destined to be, the summer is still the summer, and that means the guests want things to look and feel relaxed, even if ‘behind the scenes’ nothing could be further from the truth. This meant I started things off with a quick order from Amazon Fresh for a few bags of Mission Organics® Tortilla Chips, in particular, the Blue Corn, Yellow Corn, White Corn, and Multigrain, since with Prime membership I’d have the chips that afternoon. While they’re also available at most local stores, ordering from Amazon Fresh meant one less trip and one less headache inside of my newly crunched schedule. You can find a store near you with this store locator, and while you’re there you will find more delicious recipes. The Yellow Corn and Multigrain varieties are new to the market and a wonderful addition.

Now, while I’m a professed and practiced classicalist, a student of Plato despite all of my Aristotelian and Aquinean studies, I must confess that my most ‘lived’ philosophy comes from, of all places, Oscar Wilde, since in all things, “I’m a woman of simple tastes, I’m always satisfied with the best.”

This, of course, means I vastly prefer that my salsa come fresh from a vine as opposed to sealed inside a pressurized jar, which brings us nicely to today’s recipe – Fresh Salsa, which pairs perfectly with Mission’s USDA organic certified and non-GMO project verified tortilla chips.

To start things off, we begin by heating either a large cast iron frying pan or griddle and set out the peppers, garlic, onion, and tomatoes so that they get a nice char. During this process, watch for the onion to soften slightly, then peel and slice it and let the slices achieve a nice char. Once that is done, let them all cool down, then skin the garlic, and slice the peppers. If you want to limit the heat of the salsa, remove the pepper seeds.

After that, set this all in a food processor, along with the spices, some anchovies, fresh dill, lemon juice, honey and olive oil and then process until your desired consistency is reached, and just like that, you’ve got a homemade salsa.

Living the Gourmet

Yields 6-8

Salsa Fresca

5 minPrep Time

15 minCook Time

20 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

2 red bell peppers – grilled
1 large sweet onion – grilled
1 lb. grape tomatoes – grilled
6 cloves garlic – grilled
1 jalapeno – grilled
1 Italian long hot pepper - grilled
3 anchovies
2 tbs. fresh dill
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. black pepper
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
½ tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. ground cumin
2 tbs. honey
Juice of ½ fresh lemon
2 tbs. olive oil
1 bag of Mission Organics® Tortilla Chips

Instructions

Heat a large cast iron frying pan or griddle. Place the peppers, garlic, onion and tomatoes on the griddle to form a nice char. When the onion has softened slightly, slice the onion and allow a nice char to from.
Let the vegetables cool slightly, remove the garlic from its skin and slice the peppers and remove the seeds if you like less heat from the salsa.
Place all of the cooled vegetables in a food processor, along with the spices, fresh dill, anchovies, lemon juice, honey and olive oil.
Process until the desired consistency is reached.
Refrigerate until ready you are ready to serve and store any leftover salsa in the refrigerator.
Serve alongside Mission Organics Tortilla Chips.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2017/06/salsa-fresca.html

Calories

130 cal

Fat

8 g

Carbs

12 g

Protein

1 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

What are some of your favorite ‘relaxed’ summer recipes? We would love to hear from you.

Enjoy with Love!

Tomato and Onion Tart

0 · Apr 22, 2017 · 18 Comments

This post has been sponsored by Vidalia Onions. All opinions expressed are my own.

It’s the season of onions! Vidalia onions that is. We’re welcoming the season with this simple but delicious Tomato and Onion Tart bursting with the rich, vibrant flavors of Spring.

One of the things I try to convey here on Living the Gourmet is the importance of ‘setting.’ One of my fondest examples is that we ‘eat first with ours eyes,’ and that the final ‘taste’ of a meal is in fact one of the last ways in which we experience it. Instead, a meal, taken in its totality is in fact a ‘feast’ for the senses, a ‘feeling’ or ‘set of emotions’ as much as anything else. For example, how many meals have you consumed that were unenjoyable for no other reason than that they were rushed or because the surroundings were simply ‘off’ somehow?

That being said, sometimes when I’m putting together a planned meal, I like to intentionally tug on the proverbial heart strings, to ‘set a mood’ as much as possible for the simple purpose of accentuating the aforementioned qualities. For example, I hosted my brother and his wife the other day for a lunch out on the deck, and while I certainly could have gotten away with any simple start of the season recipe, especially given the relaxed atmosphere, I decided instead to pull a page from our youth and prep one of those recipes that simply exudes ‘Old World Charm.’

Now, picture a rustic table setting on a porch overlooking a river at mid spring. There’s still a faint chill in the air, mixed with salt gusts lashed in from the bay. To pair with this setting, of course, I decided to put together today’s recipe – a Tomato and Onion Tart.

To start things off, we put together a homemade, from scratch dough as outlined below. While that sets, we prep the topping. For this recipe, at this time of year, I do prefer to use Vidalia onions, a unique and delicious ingredient. 2017 marks the 25-year anniversary of the Vidalia onion’s trademark which is held in the state of Georgia. Each winter, growers plant over 80,000 Vidalia onion seedlings per acre. Their distinctive taste is derived from the weather, water and soil uniquely found within 20 South Georgia counties. Aside from being an exclusively April to August treat, they are the sweetest onion available making them absolutely perfect for this recipe. That said, they are also typically, of far superior quality, and its natural versatility means that you can really get creative. After all, these are the go-to sweet onion of top chefs from around the world for a reason.

To put together the topping, we start off with a heated cast iron griddle, where we let about a pint of chopped cherry tomatoes come to a slight char. Once that’s done, heat a large cast iron pan with olive oil and butter – yes both. Pour in the sliced onions, and sauté until they have softened. Then simply add in raisins, the spices as outlined below, the chopped parsley and the charred tomatoes.

Can you guess what comes next?

Yes, it’s time to feel like a pro and assemble the tart. Simply top the tart dough with the onion mixture, top with a generous serving of Romano cheese, a little extra olive oil, and then bake for about twenty minutes and you’re done.

Living the Gourmet

Yields 8

Tomato and Onion Tart

10 minPrep Time

25 minCook Time

35 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

For the tart shell:

3 cups flour
8 oz. unsalted butter, chilled, cut into cubes teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
5 – 6 tablespoons cold water

For the tomato and onion topping:

1 pint of cherry tomatoes
1 large Vidalia onion – sliced thin
¼ cup of fresh Italian parsley – chopped
½ cup of raisins
Freshly grated Romano cheese
¼ tsp. Ground oregano
¼ tsp. Ground black pepper
¼ tsp. Red pepper flakes
Dash of cinnamon
¼ tsp. Salt
Olive oil for drizzling
1 pat of butter

Instructions

For the tart shell:

Preheat Oven 350 Degrees F.
Place the flour in a large mixing bowl.
Add the cubed butter.
Using a pastry cutter or crumble with your fingers the flour and butter into pea sized bits.
Making a well in the middle of the flour add the eggs and stir the dough with a fork to combine.
Add the water a little at a time while forming the dough. Do Not Overwork the dough.
Flour a clean surface and roll the dough to a ¼ inch thickness.
Dust a baking sheet with cornmeal and place the dough on the sheet.
Partially bake the dough for 6 – 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and prepare the topping.

For the tomato and onion topping:

Heat a large cast iron griddle and place the tomatoes on the hot griddle. Let the tomatoes come to a beautiful char and slightly pop open.
Heat a large cast iron frying pan and a tablespoon of olive oil and a pat of butter. Place the sliced onion in the frying pan and sauté to soften. Add the raisins and spices the fresh chopped parsley and the charred tomatoes.
Top the tart dough with this mixture and finish off with the freshly grated Romano cheese and an extra drizzle of olive oil.
Bake for 20 – 25 minutes.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2017/04/tomato-onion-tart.html

Calories

371 cal

Fat

2 g

Carbs

75 g

Protein

12 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

If you follow on Instagram then you know April 12th officially marked Vidalia season. Be sure to shop for these sweet pearls of flavor at your local grocery store today! Spread the word on social media and show your Vidalia love with #OnlyVidalia. For more information visit vidaliaonion.org.

Follow Vidalia Onions on:
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Enjoy with Love!

Fresh Tomato Tart

0 · Jan 23, 2017 · 10 Comments

Buttery pastry dough is easy to make with this simple recipe. It’s baked to golden, flaky perfection with fresh tomato slices, herbs & grated cheese for a light meal or appetizer!

About a month ago I reviewed a 2013 Stormwatch, and just recently a pair of bottles from Epicurious wines. In both posts I stressed the importance of treating wine as key to preparing a successful meal, stating that the “combination of food and wine ties directly into the idea of presentation.”

I found myself thinking about this just the other day while talking with my brother, and as is our predictable ritual, the conversation veered to food, wine, and our shared memories. Specifically, we spoke a bit about wine in our home growing up, and how the practice of serving wine with small plates of appetizers has come into vogue over the past few years. This, oddly, was something we simply took for granted growing up. It’s simply how wine was served and enjoyed.

Does this mean our family was well ahead of their time in how they approached their wine? Unlikely, since the idea of ‘tapas’ dates back at least several centuries to medieval Spanish taverns, and possibly millennia more if proper Roman wine etiquette is taken into consideration. A far more likely conclusion, instead, is that ‘proper’ or ‘traditional’ wine serving etiquette is finding its way back into the spotlight.

Needless to say, this brief conversation left me eager to try my hand at my own take on a ‘wine appetizer,’ and I decided to prepare what was one of my family’s favorite wine-pairing items growing up – a Fresh Tomato and Herb Tart, which we often saw served alongside wine, cheese, and perhaps olives and infused oil.

To start off, we begin with the dough by mixing flour, salt, freshly ground black pepper, and grated nutmeg, with some cubed butter. After mixing that together as shown and described below, we beat in an egg with some cold water. Once that’s done, you’ll have to carry through the ever-pleasant process of rolling and kneading the dough as I’ve shown below.

Now, here comes the fun part – the filling…or is it a topping? I suppose that depends upon one’s perspective, but that’s a debate for another post. We begin by layering sliced tomatoes across the tart, and then topping these with chopped scallions, parsley, and garlic. Now, simply season with red pepper, black pepper, salt and dried oregano, and top it all off with a generous helping of cheese and a drizzle of olive oil, and it’s time to bake.

Living the Gourmet

Fresh TomatoTart

5 minPrep Time

30 minCook Time

35 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

For the Dough:

1 ½ cups flour
8 tbs. unsalted butter – chilled and cubed
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
Dash of fresh grated nutmeg
1 egg
3 – 4 tbs. cold water

For the Topping:

2 large vine ripe tomatoes – sliced thin
3 cloves of fresh garlic – chopped
¼ cup of fresh Italian parsley – chopped
1 bunch of scallions (about 4- 6) – chopped
¼ cup of fresh grated Romano cheese
½ cup of shredded mozzarella
Salt
Pepper
Red pepper flakes
Dried oregano
2 – 3 tbs. olive oil

Instructions

For the Dough:

Mix flour, salt, black pepper and grated nutmeg in a large bowl. Add the cubed butter using a pastry cutter breaking the butter into a course texture.
Beat the egg with the cold water.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the egg wash. Stir until the dough comes together. If the dough does not come together add a tablespoon of cold water at a time and until the dough comes together.
Place parchment paper in the pan.
Form the dough into ball and on a floured surface roll the dough out.
Roll the dough around a floured rolling pin and unroll it over the prepared pan.

For the Topping:

Arrange a single layer of sliced tomatoes over the tart. Leaving about a one inch border of the dough to fold over and pinch with a fork.
Combine the chopped scallions, parsley and garlic and sprinkle over the tomatoes.
Season the top with the red pepper flakes, black pepper, salt and dried oregano.
Sprinkle the cheeses over the top of the tart and drizzle with the olive oil.
Preheat Oven at 425 F.
Bake the tart for 25 - 30 minutes until the crust is a beautiful golden color.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2017/01/fresh-tomato-tart.html

After about thirty minutes, the tart should be a beautiful golden color, and you’ve got the perfect pairing with either a good sagrantino, a sturdy sangiovese, or sangiovese-based chianti.

Enjoy with Love!

Italian Style Stuffed Peppers

0 · Aug 3, 2016 · 7 Comments

Sweet long Italian peppers are stuffed with a salty, savory breadcrumb stuffing. They’re versatile enough to be a starter, side or even a light meal within itself when served alongside a nice glass of wine.

Behind every meal is a story and behind every story is a person.

Now prior to this dish, I had a vague understanding of peppers. I knew my basic spicy peppers from my sweet. Ask me to pick any in a line-up and I would probably only be able to identify a handful.

There is a large variety of peppers out there, but nowadays, in the end they are either labeled hot or sweet.

To me, these long Italian peppers were nothing more than a sweet pepper ideal for serving along side a classic pasta dish or favorite pork recipe; that is until I started digging around and discovered the story of the man behind them – Jimmy Nardello.

The Nardiello family (later to be known as Nardello) emigrated from Naples in the late 1800s and settled in Connecticut. On their long journey, they brought with them a handful of pepper seeds.

Throughout the years, the fourth oldest son, Jimmy took over the family garden and inherited his father’s love for raising these peppers.

Before his passing in 1983, Jimmy donated several of the peppers to the SSE, who specialize in protecting heirloom seeds. Over time, they grew roughly ten percent of the stock over a ten-year rotating basis, refreshing and expanding the supply. One of these seeds is the one that has become known as Jimmy Nardello’s Sweet Italian Frying Pepper.

So you see, from a little Italian kitchen nearly a century ago, these peppers made it to our Sunday night dinner table and many more dinner tables throughout.

I prepared a stuffing with Italian style breadcrumbs, anchovies, provalone and even a splash of wine along with several other kitchen staples, like parsley and garlic.

Though anchovies seem to have an acquired taste, these stuffed peppers are anything but fishy. They are savory, a little salty, even a bit sweet from the grilled peppers themselves. Give them a try and enjoy the flavors of Italy right at home.

Living the Gourmet

Yields 12

Italian Style Stuffed Peppers

5 minPrep Time

10 minCook Time

15 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

6 long Italian red peppers – sliced in half
4 – 5 cloves of garlic – chopped
½ cup Italian parsley – chopped
½ red onion – chopped
2 oz. can of anchovies in olive oil with capers
3 tbs. wine
1 cup bread crumbs
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. black pepper
¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
Grated provolone cheese
Olive oil

Instructions

Heat a large cast iron frying pan with 2 tbs. of olive oil.
Add the chopped garlic, parsley, onions, wine and the anchovies with the olive oil and capers.
Smash the anchovies with a fork and sauté the mixture for 3 - 4 minutes.
Add the bread crumbs and stir for another minute or two.
Turn the heat off and heat a large griddle or frying pan with 2 tbs. of olive oil.
Place the halved peppers on the heated griddle.
Spoon the breadcrumb mixture into each pepper and top with grated provolone cheese.
Let the peppers cook on a medium heat for about 5 – 7 minutes until the pepper is slightly softened and the cheese melts slightly.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2016/08/italian-style-stuffed-peppers.html

Calories

217 cal

Fat

3 g

Carbs

35 g

Protein

9 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

Enjoy with love!

Fresh Cream Cheese Gremolata Toppers

0 · Jun 28, 2016 · 17 Comments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MadeForMore #Walmart #CollectiveBias

Cool cream cheese is whipped with a homemade Gremolata then topped over a variety of TRISCUIT crackers for an easy, effortless hors d’oeuvre.

I wrote recently about ‘simplicity,’ and how it can be a virtue unto itself – and that the culinary industry is no exception. For example, I recently interviewed Michael Symon, and that’s one of his key messages, and the theme behind his recent book Five in Five which we featured here on Living the Gourmet.

Strangely, keeping things ‘merely simple’ can be a challenge, making it no wonder that Plato remarked that brevity and simplicity is within the realm of excellence. Indeed, a large chunk of the food industry is devoted to teaching people how to do ‘simple things’ in short amounts of time, and usually on a budget. These are often little things like impressing one’s guests as effortlessly as possible, or putting together a quick but delicious meal on a weeknight, or even just time-savers for the summer months.

For example, let’s say it’s a summer afternoon, you’re expecting company and you’ve been planning to sit them out on your deck. However, as fate would have it, the weather does not comply. Instead of ‘mere rain,’ which the roof of your porch can turn into a graceful spell out in the elements, the day is struck with something that not even your porch can abide – blistering sun and smothering humidity. Here in New York that combination is especially unenjoyable, and on such days it’s best to simply surrender and move the company indoors. Of course, that makes the entertaining part of that equation a bit less ‘effortless.’

That is precisely the predicament in which I found myself the other day. Needless to say, I needed to make some last minute adjustments to what I would be serving, which is where today’s recipe comes in.

To start, I would need an easy appetizer that I could prepare on the spot without the use of the grill, and with what I had available on hand. Fortunately, I had some TRISCUIT Original Crackers on hand as well as the new TRISCUIT Mediterranean Olive Crackers from the Artisanal variety, both of which I had picked up at Walmart a few days earlier. I decided they would pair nicely with a Fresh Cream Cheese Gremolata. Simple, delicious, and sure to impress.

Since I was going to make a Gremolata for the original appetizer I had been planning to prepare anyway, I had all of the ingredients on hand, which included fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, Parmesan cheese, and Italian parsley – all the standards. I then combined those with a cup of cream cheese as shown below, mixed in salt, pepper, nutmeg and milk as needed, and I was done.

After that, I topped each cracker as shown below, garnished with parsley, and I had a perfect summer appetizer that would pair perfectly with my bay window and the rain.

Living the Gourmet

Fresh Cream Cheese Gremolata Hors D’oeuvres

8 minPrep Time

8 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

8 oz. cream cheese
2 cloves of garlic
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tbs. fresh lemon juice
Handful of fresh Italian parsley
1 inch piece of parmesan cheese
Dash freshly grated nutmeg
1½ tbs. milk
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. black pepper
TRISCUIT Original Crackers
TRISCUIT Mediterranean Olive Crackers

Instructions

Combine all of the ingredients for the Gremalata in a food processor and process until a creamy consistency is achieved. Note: add the 1 1/2 tbs. of milk to the processor as needed to achieve the creaminess desired.
Place the Cream Cheese Gremalata in a piping bag and pipe over your desired flavor of TRISCUIT crackers.
Sprinkle with parsley for added garnish.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2016/06/fresh-cream-cheese-gremolata-hors-doeuvres.html

Calories

19 cal

Fat

1 g

Carbs

2 g

Protein

1 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

What are some of your favorite summer appetizers? We would love to hear from you.

Don’t forget to find TRUSCUIT on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Also, for more recipe inspiration, check out other delicious ideas here.

Pick up your favorite TRISCUIT crackers today at Walmart and choose from TRISCUIT Reduced Fat Crackers, TRISCUIT Hint of Salt Crackers, and TRISCUIT Cracked Pepper & Olive Crackers. While you are there, be sure to check out the new flavors from the Artisanal line which include TRISCUIT Smoked Gouda Crackers and TRISCUIT Sriracha Crackers.

Enjoy with Love!

The Perfect Charcuterie Board

0 · Jun 22, 2016 · 17 Comments

Balmy summer evenings are best spent at home with close company and good food. We’re getting the party started with this assorted charcuterie board.

First impressions are a bit of a strange thing. A bad first impression can turn gold into lead, while a good first impression can wipe away all flaws – at least for a time. In other words, they are often illusory rather than material, setting a tone and shaping perception as opposed to anything qualitative. In the food industry, ‘presentation’ is essentially a chef’s ‘first impression.’ Before anything is tasted, the palette is ‘prepared’ by vision, aroma, and general atmosphere – this is why how a dish ‘looks’ is almost as important as how it actually ‘tastes.’ After all, there’s a reason Cervantes remarked “That which costs little is less valued”; the illusion of the presentation and perception.

For example, how many times have we been ‘shocked’ that a pricey wine just isn’t that great, or that the cheap bottle from some ‘upstart’ vineyard won a gold prize? It begins with out perception of both bottles.

Whether for a Michelin dining room, or our own get-togethers, presentation, that all important first impression, remains key to impressing the guests. For that reason, my first bit of advice, whether for hosting a formal dinner party or a casual summer barbecue, always goes back to your guests’ first experience – the antipasto. Paired to the meal, a good antipasto will set the tone for the evening, allowing your guests to enjoy both one another and good food from the moment they arrive.

Personally, and I’m entering heresy territory here given the culinary world’s penchant for all things new and vogue, but I’ve always been a bit old fashioned when it comes to my appetizer platters. Wine, cheese, cured meats, olives, a bit of infused olive oil, and a good loaf of crusty bread, are hard to go wrong with, and pair well with virtually any Mediterranean dish you can put together.

For example, if I’m preparing a red wine sauce, or a piece of full-bodied herbed fish, I’ll default to my favorite charcuterie board, and enhance it with some of my homemade crisped Italian bread slices, which I cut super thin and then brush with olive oil and seasonings – a sure way to impress even the most discerning of guests.

Now, what do I actually put on this complexly named board?

That’s where today’s recipe comes in. After talking with a few recently made friends, Love Iberico was brought to my attention, a company that specializes in Iberian cured meats, which they describe as being “A Cut Above.” Having never tried Iberian cured meats before, I naturally couldn’t resist, and ordered several of Love Iberico’s products.

Now, believe me when I say that there are few things in life so exciting for a self-made gourmet as receiving a box of meat in the mail – life’s gastronomic joys. I assembled the platter with Iberico Pork Dry Cured Salchichon Sausage, which is a salami-style cured meat, and included slices of Iberico Pork Dry Cured Chorizo Sausage for a bit of subtle spice, and paired that with a few slices of warmed Brie and Blue cheese. Finally, 100% Iberico Pork Acorn-Fed Dry Cured Loin and olives rounded out the board, which I assembled.

However, no antipasto is complete without an assortment of grilled peppers to pair with the bread crisps. To keep things seasonal, I added in a few stone fruits and a light Caprese salad on the side; and that evening’s ‘First Impression’ was ready to serve.

Living the Gourmet

Yields 4-6

The Perfect Charcuterie Board

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Ingredients

Roasted Peppers:

4 – 5 large bell peppers – grilled, scraped and sliced
1 large sweet onion – grilled and sliced
½ head of garlic – grilled whole in its skin
2 long hot peppers or jalapeno peppers – grilled, scraped and sliced
6 – 8 fresh basil leaves - chopped
1 tbs. of capers – chopped
2 tbs. of caper juice
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. black pepper
½ tsp. dried oregano
¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
4 tbs. olive oil

Caprese Salad:

16 oz. mozzarella balls
1 pint cherry tomatoes
6 – 8 fresh basil leaves – ripped
¼ - ½ tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. fresh ground black pepper
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. dries oregano
4 – 5 tbs. olive oil

Charcuterie Board:

Iberico Pork Dry Cured Salchichon Sausage, for serving
Iberico Pork Dry Cured Chorizo Sausage, for serving
100% Iberico Pork Acorn-Fed Dry Cured Loin, for serving
Honey, for drizzling
Fresh Strawberries
Grapes
1/4 cup Kalamata Olives mixed with 1/2 teaspoon capers
2 Grilled Peaches
Artisan bread crisps or crackers
Walnuts, for serving (optional)

Instructions

Roasted Peppers:

Heat a large cast iron frying pan.
Place the peppers, onion and garlic. Grill until the skin is well charred.
Allow to cool; then scrape the charred skin off, remove the seeds and slice.
Chop the basil and add the seasonings to taste and the olive oil; toss.
Place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Caprese Salad:

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl; toss and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Charcuterie Board:

Assemble your board with the grilled peppers and Caprese salad.
Arrange the fruits and cheese all around.
Place the dried meats in the center of the board.
Drizzle honey over the grilled peaches, warmed brie and nuts.
Decorate the platter with flowers and herbs.
Serve alongside toasted bread and wine.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2016/06/perfect-charcuterie-board.html

Calories

302 cal

Fat

31 g

Carbs

8 g

Protein

1 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

Needless to say, I was very pleased with products from Love Iberico, which were simply delicious, and of excellent quality. I certainly intend on serving them again.

What are some of your favorite recipes for putting together an antipasto? Or what are some of your ways for starting a dinner party off right? We would love to hear from you.

Enjoy!

French Summer Dining

0 · May 5, 2016 · 22 Comments

Summer dining gets the French experience with hand-crafted REVOL porcelain cookware and dining ware that exquisitely sets the mood for the ultimate elegant soiree.

I wrote recently about nostalgia, and a few weeks back I wrote about watching the movie ‘Burnt.’ In the movie, Cooper’s character had a pining for the cuisine and food preparations of ‘back then,’ decrying modern preservation, plastic wraps, and reheating methods that allow food to be made ahead of time.

That struck a chord with me, since one of the most human qualities of all is looking back, and thinking that things were, if not better, at least perhaps ‘nobler’ in days gone by. For example, Socrates lamented, more than once, the terrible youth of Athens, and heaped praise upon their ancestors. St. Augustine wrote entire volumes devoted to excoriating Roman society, and what he believed was its descent into decadence. Aeneas, and Homer before him, also pined similarly for traditions lost, while lionizing past generations.

In the culinary world, an entire industry has propped up around the ideas of ‘quick,’ ‘easy,’ and ‘casual,’ and for good reason. Our modern lives barely leave us with enough time to sleep let along pamper the palates of eyes with superb preparation. Yet, I can’t help but think that something has truly been lost. For example, the average meal time in France in 1975 was just over an hour and half. Today, that time is estimated at less than forty-five minutes.

Perhaps as a form of conscious rebellion against this trend, I decided I wanted to put together something truly eye-catching, and to truly let my creativity flow.

Coincidentally, while I was browsing the other day for props, REVOL reached out to Living the Gourmet offering for us to try their hand-crafted porcelain cookware and dining ware.

Perusing the site, I was a bit taken aback with the level of imagination and outside the box design that a lot of their products featured. For example, one of their bestselling products from REVOL crinkled plastic cup.

In other words, they present a very modern line, with a definite eye towards design and overall flexibility.

For me, and what I was looking for, REVOL was instantly appealing. Versatile and accessible, these would be just the tools I was looking for to free my creativity.

I selected a white basalt serving board, several espresso cups dipped in red glaze, and a white basalt serving bowl. A thoroughly design-orientated company, with some two and a half centuries of history, the attention to detail was instantly recognizable in each piece, be it the contours of the design in the serving board, or the stylishly classic appeal of the serving the bowl and espresso cups.

Needless to say, I was inspired on the spot, and began planning out a menu before the items even arrived, which brings us to today’s recipes. To showcase the serving board, I decided to arrange it with salami, roasted serrano peppers, sliced gorganzola and provolone, mixed olives, and thinly sliced Italian bread. I arranged the items as shown below, with lemon wedges for garnish.

Zucchini Salad Rollups

Recipe Type: Side Dish

Author: Living the Gourmet

Prep time: 10 mins

Total time: 10 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the Appetizer Platter:
Sliced provolone cheese
Sliced gorgonzola cheese
Sliced dried salami
Mixed olives
Roasted Serrano peppers
Semolina bread – sliced
Lemon slices
For the Zucchini Salad Rollups:
2 large zucchini – sliced ¼ inch lengthwise with skin
2 cups of fresh arugula
3 – 4 carrots – sliced thin
1 cucumber – sliced thin – lengthwise
1 red bell pepper – sliced thin
½ red onion – sliced thin
For the Dressing:
1 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 roasted garlic clove
Juice of 1 lemon
½ cup olive oil

Instructions

Combine the ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl and mix.
Toss the dressing with the salad.
Roll the zucchini slices and secure with a toothpick. Place bunches of the salad in the center of the rolled zucchini.
Be careful to remember to remove the toothpick when eating.

The centerpiece of the serving board, however, would be salad bunches prepared with fresh arugula, red bell peppers, and onions, all wrapped in sliced zucchini. This would give the board a touch of freshness, keep things seasonal, and look absolutely beautiful. To drizzle over the salad bunches I prepared a fresh lemon juice based dressing as shown below.

For the serving bowl, I decided to prepare a classic – shrimp with a fresh garlic and basil sauce with roasted serrano peppers. The sauce is really the heart of this dish. To prepare, I heated a small cast iron pan, and roasted serrano until it was charred on all sides. I then combined the roasted pepper in a food processor with the rest of the ingredients as shown below, and chopped it finely. This made for excellent presentation in the REVOL serving bowl.

Shrimp with Fresh Garlic and Basil

Recipe Type: Main

Author: Living the Gourmet

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 12 mins

Total time: 22 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the Shrimp:
2 lbs. of raw fresh shrimp – in shell
For the Fresh Garlic, Basil and Serrano Sauce:
4 cloves of garlic
1 cup of fresh basil or a healthy handful
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
½ tsp. of salt
½ tsp. fresh ground black pepper
¼ of a lemon – with the skin
1 Serrano pepper – roasted
4 – 5 tbs. olive oil
Butter and Lemon Dipping Sauce:
1 stick of butter
Juice of ½ lemon
Fresh basil leaves – ripped
Fresh ground black pepper
Fresh red pepper flakes
Dash of salt

Instructions

For the Fresh Garlic, Basil and Serrano Sauce:

Heat a small cast iron frying pan and place the Serrano pepper in the pan to char on all sides.
Place the cloves of garlic, fresh basil, lemon wedge, Serrano pepper, red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper and olive oil in a food processor and process to a nice chopped consistency.

For the Shrimp:

Bring a large sauce pot with salted water to a boil.
Place the shrimp in the boiling water.
Boil until a few start to float to the top of the water and the shrimp start to turn pink.
Larger shrimp will take approximately 5 – 7 minutes; smaller shrimp will take approximately 2 – 3 minutes to cook. The shrimp are cooked when the thickest part of the flesh is opaque.
Do not overcook the shrimp they will become tough.
Drain the shrimp and toss with the Fresh Garlic and Basil mixture.
Serve immediately.

Butter and Lemon Dipping Sauce:

Heat a small cast iron frying pan and combine all of the ingredients for the dipping sauce in the frying pan and turn off the heat and let the butter melt.
Serve alongside shrimp.

For the espresso cups, I took a bit of a contrarian route, and rather than use them for coffee, I would instead present them with a supremely seasonal Blueberry and Lemon Sorbet.

Blueberry and Lemon Sorbet

Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Living the Gourmet

Prep time: 10 mins

Total time: 10 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

4 cups of frozen blueberries
½ cup of ginger ale
½ cup of sugar
2 – 3 tbs. of lemon juice
Lemon for garnish

Instructions

Combine in a food processor the frozen blueberries, ginger ale, sugar and lemon juice.
Process this mixture until smooth.
Serve immediately.
Store the rest in the freezer.

Notes

[i]*Prep Time does not include Inactive Prep Time[/i]

Upon receiving the REVOL products, I was quite surprised at just how durable they felt. Despite the high quality of the products, modern style, and the attention to design detail, they had a very nice ‘heft’ to them, which would make them perfect for everyday use. I suppose this isn’t surprising since REVOL produces their own porcelain and glazes.

However, I did receive one thing I hadn’t planned for in my menu – a set of complementary serving ramekins. To use these, I put together two different dipping oils for the shrimp, one butter based, and another oil based as shown below. Not only would these pair excellently with the shrimp, but they would also look excellent, adding a rustic, almost artisanal accent to the setting.

The final product came together simply excellently, and made for a positively delicious evening.

Enjoy with Love!

Cilantro and White Bean Dip

0 · Apr 5, 2016 · 13 Comments

This delicious dip is a perfect start to all those Spring gatherings. Fresh and bursting with flavor, enjoy with warmed pita, chips or alongside your favorite meal.

Last week seemed like a dream in comparison to this week.

I was outside sitting in the sun, starting up my flower beds. It seemed as if Spring was finally in the air and what a wonderful feeling it gave me after such a long winter.

Now, the cold is back and it seems that Spring may still be a little ways off.

I decided to keep the menu fresh, still holding on to that bit of Spring.

What I love the post about my Cilantro and White Bean Dip is how it pairs perfectly well with pork chops, chicken, vegetable slices, whatever your imagination can think of.

Honestly though, it’s best on its own, with warmed slices of pita that I heated on the griddle with just a sprinkle of cheese.

The warm spices and honey melds perfectly together with the creaminess of the blended white beans, roasted peppers and fresh cilantro.

Living the Gourmet

Yields 4

Cilantro and White Bean Dip

5 minPrep Time

10 minCook Time

15 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

For the Dip:

1 bunch of fresh cilantro
14 oz. can of white beans – drained
3 cloves of garlic – roasted
1 red bell pepper – roasted
Juice of 1/2 lemon
3 tbs. olive oil
2 tbs. honey
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. ground cumin

Serve with:

Pita bread
Shredded mozzarella

Instructions

For the Dip:

Combine all of the above ingredients in a food processor and process.

Warmed Pita:

Serve with grilled pita bread melted with shredded mozzarella or your favorite shredded cheese.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2016/04/cilantro-white-bean-dip.html

Living the Gourmet: Cilantro and White Bean Dip

Enjoy with Love!

Grilled Shrimp Kabobs with Fresh Tzatziki Sauce

0 · Mar 31, 2016 · 20 Comments

A delicious Spring meal is brought together beautifully with sweet and savory notes from honeydew melon wrapped in ham to zesty grilled shrimp kabobs that perfectly mirror the delicate essence of Voveti Prosecco.

“Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine so that I may wet my mind and say something clever,” as Aristophanes remarked. While that’s often my internal reaction at the outset of a dinner party, my preparation is often a much more calm and calculated ordeal. As Chef Trotter so eloquently phrased it “All four elements were happening in equal measure – the cuisine, the wine, the service, and the overall ambience. It taught me that dining could happen at a spiritual level.”

Now just past Easter, we are in that blessed ‘post-holiday’ season where old friends get together to exchange their war stories of the frenetic lead up to the big family gatherings. For me, especially, these post-holiday get-togethers are important since the holidays also happen to be my busiest time of the year for content production, and unwinding afterwards is simply a must. I hosted one such party just the other day, though it was intentionally more of a late lunch or early dinner, since I wanted to frame the entire affair in this beautiful clear spring daylight we’ve been having.

You see, having both a half of a grain cake left from Easter, as well as most of a carrot cake, both of which were homemade by my daughter, I realized that there was simply no way we were going to finish those on our own and I didn’t want them to go to waste. To that end, I called up a close friend of mine, and I invited her and her sister over for a spring-themed dinner party.

Now, while I did have an assortment of dinner leftovers from Easter, I simply couldn’t bring myself not to take advantage of the setting, and instead decided on putting together a sort of ‘casual-yet-chic affair,’ with just a hint of ‘Classical Modern’ vibe.

Living the Gourmet

Yields 6-8

Grilled Shrimp Kabobs with Fresh Tzatziki Sauce Mixed Greens Salad Honeydew Melon Wrapped in Ham with Feta

5 minPrep Time

15 minCook Time

10 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

32oz. frozen raw shrimp - peeled
1 red bell pepper – sliced into wedges
1 green bell pepper – sliced into wedges
1 large sweet onion – sliced into thick slices
16 oz. grape tomatoes
3 large cloves of garlic - chopped
Kabob sticks - soaked in water for 30 minutes or so before using

For the Marinade:

3 tbs. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. paprika
Juice of 1 lemon

For Fresh Tzatziki Sauce:

1 cucumber – seeded
3 garlic cloves
16 oz. plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
2 tbs. fresh dill
3 tbs. fresh lemon juice
3 tbs. olive oil
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 anchovy

For the Rice:

2 cups of rice
Pinch of turmeric
Your choice of salad greens
1 red onion – sliced thin
1 cucumber – sliced
Grape tomatoes
Anchovies
Croutons

For the Dressing:

Drizzle of olive oil
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Salt - to taste
Pepper - taste
1 honeydew melon, or any melon of your choice
1/2 pound of ham – sliced thin
16 oz. of block feta cheese – sliced

Instructions

For Shrimp & Marinade:

Combine the red pepper wedges, green pepper wedges, onion slices, grape tomatoes, chopped garlic and peeled shrimp in a large bowl.
Combine all of the ingredients for the marinade in a small bowl and pour over the shrimp and vegetables; cover and refrigerate for at least one hour or more before placing the shrimp and vegetables on the kabob sticks.
Refrigerate until ready to grill.
Grill the kabobs until the shrimp are pink and firm.

For Fresh Tzatziki Sauce:

Combine all of the above ingredients in a food processor and give a few good chops.
Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the Rice:

Prepare the rice as directed with a pinch of turmeric in the water while cooking.
Place the salad greens in a plate; top with the tomatoes, cucumber, onions, anchovies and croutons; season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Slice the melon and wrap with the ham. Place a slice of feta cheese and secure with a toothpick.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2016/03/grilled-shrimp-kabobs-fresh-tzatziki-sauce.html

Only one ingredient for the evening remained. The wine pairing. For starters, I knew I wanted both a prosecco, as well as a still red wine.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, prosecco to start and red to finish. Yes, under most circumstances. However, I instead paired the ham wrapped melon and anchovy salad with a good Malbec. Heresy, I know, but sometimes bending the rules can turn out just lovely. You’ll see.

From there, I paired the shrimp kebabs with one of my favorite proseccos – a bottle of VOVETI. It’s a craft prosecco, which is produced at only around 15,000 or so cases annually as a collaborative effort between the Collavini and Ferrer families, whose four generations of prosecco experience is immediately evident in what they produce. Simply put, I selected VOVETI because it’s a label that exudes the chic and modern atmosphere I was going for, while retaining the classic Italian qualities that define a good prosecco. Upscale and affordable, it’s perfect for impromptu gatherings such as these.

With the dinner made, and the pairing selected, it was time for the fun part.

The VOVETI introduced itself with a pleasantly well-defined yellow hue, with hints of translucent gold when the glass catches the daylight. On pouring, the prosecco features a mousse of effervescence, which subsides into fine and lasting bubbles. On the nose, wild flowers are prominent, alongside honeycomb laced in very vague citrus notes. On sampling, the effervescence is immediate, almost sharply so, and very pleasant, carrying yellow apple notes. These mature on the palate into white peach and assorted citrus fruits, with a prominent floral background throughout. Hints of melon or apricot linger on the palate for a very pleasant finish.

It goes without saying this made not only for an excellent pairing with my kebabs, but also helped accentuate the mood I was going for, making for an excellent spring gathering that I’m quite certain will be the first of many.

Enjoy with Love!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Oven Fried Calamari

0 · Mar 15, 2016 · 18 Comments

Fried Calamari is getting a healthier reboot. Bursting with flavor and crunch this oven fried version is even more delicious!

“I sit beside the fire and think
Of all that I have seen
Of meadow flowers and butterflies
In summers that have been

Of yellow leaves and gossamer
In autumns that there were
With morning mist and silver sun
And wind upon my hair

I sit beside the fire and think
Of how the world will be
When winter comes without a spring
That I shall ever see

For still there are so many things
That I have never seen
In every wood in every spring
There is a different green

I sit beside the fire and think
Of people long ago
And people that will see a world
That I shall never know

But all the while I sit and think
Of times there were before
I listen for returning feet
And voices at the door”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

There are very few things that bring the soul, the heart and the mind to a place that is warm and kind. Somehow though, the aroma and taste of the good meal and good music has the ability to do so.

Food is the thread to the memories that are made and the soul of the family and its traditions. The sounds of the laughter and talk that is both loud and beautiful. The music is the background with those that sing along.

Fried calamari was always a family favorite growing up. Though this version of the dish is baked, surprisingly it does not suffer a bit from a loss in flavor or texture.

I am very happy that this dish is still a family favorite and now I know that baking the calamari will keep this dish on the menu for a long, long time to come.

For the coating I made a mixture of potato flakes and seasoned breadcrumbs which adds a nice crunch to the texture.

To complete the dish, I quickly whipped up a simple tartar dipping sauce, though these calamari would pair wonderfully with a red sauce.

Living the Gourmet

Yields 4-6

Oven Fried Calamari

15 minPrep Time

20 minCook Time

35 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

1 lb. squid with tentacles
3 eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 cup flour
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1 cup potato flakes
Your choice of oil, for drizzling

Simple Tartar Sauce:

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup relish
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Sprinkle of black pepper

Instructions

Clean and drain the squid. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk eggs and whole milk together. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk flour with salt and pepper. Set aside.
In another bowl, combine potato flakes and breadcrumbs.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Dredge the squid in flour, egg wash and then potato flake/ breadcrumb mixture.
Lay out the calamari on the baking sheets. Drizzle a little bit of oil over the calamari and bake for 10 minutes then turn the calamari over and bake on the other side for an additional 10 minutes, or until crispy and golden.

Simple Tartar Sauce:

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well.
Serve alongside calamari.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2016/03/oven-fried-calamari.html

Enjoy with love!

Parmesan Chicken Bites

0 · Jan 26, 2016 · 9 Comments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #GameDaySnackHacks #CollectiveBias

Let Farm Rich help make your gameday spread easy and delicious! Today we’re vamping up their boneless BBQ & Buffalo Chicken Bites into a delicious parmesan-style appetizer in three easy steps!

There are very few things in life that one cannot ever have too much of, and sadly most of them are metaphoric in nature. For example one can never have too much “laughter,” “love,” or “sunrises.” While that’s certainly all well and good, what about the material things we can never have too much of? Oddly, I found myself thinking about this other day, and after I realized that even too much oxygen will turn fatally toxic, I had all but despaired.

I was in the midst of this existential crisis when my older brother called and invited himself, along with a few friends, for a game day party. Cue the epiphany.

Yes, game day parties are one of those rare items that one can never truly over indulge in, since for the true sports enthusiast rallying with like-minded fans over trays of appropriately ‘gamey’ food is akin to feasting in Valhalla.

And there’s a simple reason for this. Like the ‘feasts’ of old, the act of sport is a social expression of organized comradery and competition, equal parts entertainment, athleticism, and social construct. As a result, it’s only natural that the best way to watch and enjoy a sport is, well, socially.

Speaking of feasts, as anyone who frequents Living the Gourmet knows, when my friends and family get together to enjoy a game, the feast is almost exclusively mine to provide. You also probably know that I always like to keep things new and fresh, challenging myself to try to constantly put a new spin our game meals, a sort of ‘game behind the game’ that I play against myself. This time, however, things were going to be a little simpler than usual, since it would be a smaller gathering than most.

Which brings us to today’s recipe. While I of course wanted to keep things interesting, I wanted a meal that would match the mood of the night – easy, relaxed, and thoroughly enjoyable.

It was with that in mind that I set off to Walmart to pick up the supplies for the party. Yet, I was still largely planning the menu while I roamed the aisles.

You see, while I had an idea, most of the particulars were still up in the air, that is, until I came across Boneless BBQ Chicken Bites, Buffalo Chicken Bites, and Mozzarella Bites from Farm Rich. It’s a brand I’ve come to rely on for snacks and appetizers for just these kinds of gatherings. Since they are made from real ingredients and are Real-Life Good™, they help me free up time no matter what life is throwing at me. Grab your coupon at FarmRich.com and join the loyalty club to receive exclusive offers and promotions on your favorite brand!

However, I wasn’t ‘simply’ serving Buffalo Chicken Bites or BBQ Bites. Instead, I prepared a BBQ and Buffalo Chicken Parmesan Bites, as shown below, then paired them with the Mozarella Bites and a marinara dipping sauce. The end result was absolutely quintessential game food – hardy, finger friendly, and delicious. And, just like that, I was able to combine a number of familiar and welcome flavors with a much welcomed twist.

Living the Gourmet

Yields 6

Mozzarella Bites Parmesan Chicken Bites

10 minPrep Time

15 minCook Time

25 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

1 Box Farm Rich Mozzarella Bites
Your favorite marinara sauce
2 boxes Farm Rich Boneless BBQ Chicken Bites
2 boxes Farm Rich Buffalo Chicken Bites
16 ounces mozzarella - shredded
Your favorite marinara sauce
Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Instructions

Prepare the Mozzarella Bites as directed.
Serve with your favorite marinara sauce.
Place the Buffalo Chicken Bites in a large bowl and toss with the flavor packet to assure each bite is coated; repeat this process with the BBQ Chicken Bites. Place all of the chicken bites on a baking pan.
Bake according to directions and half-way through the baking process turn the chicken bites over and place the marinara sauce on each chicken bite and top each chicken bite with shredded mozzarella cheese.
Place back in the oven to finish cooking.
Serve with marinara sauce and grated Parmesan cheese or Romano cheese.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2016/01/parmesan-chicken-bites.html

Living the Gourmet: Parmesan Chicken Bites | #GameDaySnackHacks #Ad

What are some of your favorite game day recipes? We would absolutely love to hear from you.

Don’t forget to show how your a Super Fan this gameday by entering the Farm Rich Sweepstakes to win prizes like $100 Gift Card to Walmart and 1 Year Free of Farm Rich products!

Enjoy with Love,
Catherine
xo

Italian Cheese Ball & A Happy New Year

0 · Dec 31, 2015 · 21 Comments

This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds.

In the wake of another year gone by, we gather to celebrate the past year; to reflect, and to learn from. We gaze ahead towards a brighter future, in hopes that the New Year will bring us the peace, happiness and success we seek.

So in the spirit of celebration, a homemade antipasto platter is in order. Blended with the classic Italian flavors I love, then encrusted in a variety of chopped almonds, this cheese ball is a delight to whip up and enjoy.

“And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been,” as Rainer Maria Rilke quipped.

In sitting down to write this post for New Year’s Eve, I couldn’t help feeling as though my mind were traversing a vast desert of tired cliché phrasing, dramatic monologues, and painful ‘purple verse’ in perusing the ways in which our collective journey over the past year is so often commemorated, and the New Year greeted.

You see, standing at the edge of a closing year, I can’t help feeling like an artist at the end of a long project. Like the artist staring at a completed piece, the emotions are mixed. There’s a measure of pride in what I see, tempered by the moments of pain along the journey, and then of course my eyes can’t help resting on the stumbles where the chisel or brush didn’t quite hit the mark, and that reinforces the ever bitter uncertainty of what lies ahead, bitterness soon warmed by the hope for ‘can’ be.

The year itself, at its end, is framed like an increasingly foggy, oversized mosaic hung upon the wall of our mind’s memory, a mosaic that is either marred by mishaps, or graced by triumphs…or both. Yet, for all of the New Year’s celebrating and well-wishing, we are unwittingly in the process of hanging another oversized frame on the wall our memory. We title our first few pieces of the new mosaic things like “Resolve,” “Hope,” “Rebirth,” or “New Beginning.” In this way, ‘celebrating’ the New Year is itself entirely an act of hope and self-well-wishing. After all, when we wake up in the morning, no matter how mundane the day is meant to be, we are never guaranteed how it will unfold, we merely expect and hope, and try our best to direct it to a peaceful conclusion.

It is for this reason that I always like to start my New Year off with as pleasant a memory as possible, to start things off ‘the right way’ so to speak. After all, that first memory is the first bit of the new mosaic.

Being who and what I am, and doing ever what I do, that ‘pleasant memory’ is usually centered around something as simple as it is delicious, which of course means an evening at home with my son and daughter, with an evening full of food from beginning to end. This, of course, brings us to today’s recipe – an almond crusted Cheese Ball.

Don’t let the name fool you, this cheesiest of appetizers is assembled with aged Gorgonzola, fresh lemon juice for added zest, and cream cheese for binding, which I then coated in Blue Diamond Honey Roasted Almonds, along with Blue Diamond Lightly Salted Almonds for a bit of balance.

As a result, this Cheese Ball paired excellently with the accompanying spread of sliced salami, Kalamata olives, and herb infused oil alongside crusty Italian bread, which I assembled ahead of time to help me ring in the New Year this evening. The Cheese Ball, and its accompanying spread couldn’t possibly be easier to put together, while at same time being an appetizer that’s sure to impress your guests.

Living the Gourmet

Yields 8-10

Italian Cheese Ball

10 minPrep Time

10 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

8oz bar of cream cheese
4-5oz Gorgonzola cheese
3-inch piece of hard Italian salami, diced
3-4 tablespoons lemon juice
4-5 tablespoons Blue Diamond Lightly Salted and Honey Roasted Almonds, coarsely chopped

Instructions

Place the cream cheese, Gorgonzola, diced salami, and lemon juice in food processor. Process until creamy.
Remove cheese batter from bowl and form into a ball.
Place chopped nuts on smooth surface and roll the cheese ball in the nuts to coat on all sides.
Place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving.
Serve alongside your favorite appetizers.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2015/12/italian-cheese-ball-a-happy-new-year.html

Living the Gourmet: Italian Cheese Balll #ad

What are some of your favorite New Year’s Eve recipes? We would love to hear from you.

Wishing you all a happy & healthy New Year!

Enjoy with Love,
Catherine
xo

Blackberry & Honey Crostini with Blue Cheese

0 · Dec 18, 2015 · 15 Comments

Toasted then spread with fresh blackberry preserve, these sweet and savory crostini are a bold fusion of flavors.

The Creative Cooking Crew is back for the holidays after a long, but needed break.

With our minds refreshed, our creativity renewed, and our mouths craving something new and delicious, we are sharing our best holiday dishes with honey as the star of the show!

You may recall a couple of months back when we reviewed Don Victor Honey. Ever since then, it has easily become my favorite honey to use because it has a richer depth of flavor and I believe that is due in part to it having the raw honey comb in the jar.

In fact, I used a bit of the honey comb in my blackberry preserve. It evenly countered that bitterness from the blackberries but rather than masking the tartness, the honey complimented it.

To top it off, I crumbled some blue cheese, an additional drizzling of honey, fresh basil and finely chopped nuts to accent the flavors.

What a delightful pairing. This is truly a perfect and best of all, easy appetizer for Christmas and New Years.

This week, I will be sharing the recipes from this month’s Creative Cooking Crew’s Honey Challenge.

I do hope you enjoy today’s recipe and give it a try.

Living the Gourmet

Yields 12

Blackberry & Honey Crostini with Blue Cheese

5 minPrep Time

15 minCook Time

20 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

1/2 Semolina or Baguette
Olive Oil, for brushing the sliced bread
1 cup blackberries
1/4 fresh honey comb, about 1 tablespoon worth
3 tablespoons honey, plus more for drizzling
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 sprig fresh basil, finely chopped
1/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Slice your bread and place on baking sheet. You should have about 12 slices. Brush each slice with olive oil and bake for about 6-8 minutes.
In a small saucepan, cook down blackberries, cornstarch, honey comb and 3 tablespoons of honey. Let simmer until the mixture has thickened and the berries are completely cooked down. Let cool.
Spoon about 2 teaspoons of the blackberry preserve over the sliced crostini. Add a sprinkle of blue cheese, basil and the walnuts. Drizzle with honey and return to the oven for 5 minutes.
Serve & enjoy!

https://livingthegourmet.com/2015/12/blackberry-honey-crostini-with-blue-cheese.html

Living the Gourmet: Blackberry & Honey Crostini with Blue Cheese | Creative Cooking Crew

Toodles,
Tammy<3

Olive Tapenade & Giveaway

0 · Nov 22, 2015 · 17 Comments

This Old-World classic tapenade is best served with cheese, crusty warm bread or crackers. It’s a delicious spread and a perfect holiday dip!

**ENTER IN THE MEZZETTA HOLIDAY SWEEPSTAKES**

As the “Noir Prophet” William Gibson remarked, “Time moves in one direction, Memory another.”

Time has been called our most precious resource, the metaphoric ‘meter’ by which our lives are gauged. It is a currency to be used as we wish, but is never conserved. One might think of it as a sort of Mephistophelean bargain – for though it is subject to our whims to be used, spent wisely, or wasted as we see fit, it is at the same time a cruel and ultimately unknowable master, pressing us forward on a journey in whose advancement we are given little choice.

Yet as this ‘most precious resource’ slips into the oblivion the past, it oddly leaves behind nothing material of itself, except the fading images we journeyers carry with us – Memories.

I’ve written previously about how it’s strange the things that can conjure a memory. The design on a mundane piece silverware might bring you back to a table crowded round with familiar faces, and rekindle the echoes of a warm conversation once long forgotten. A faded recipe card might transport you several years not to a holiday’s dinner, but to that year’s Christmas shopping.

At least, that’s what happened to me the other day as I was going through my old recipes looking for inspiration for this year’s holiday menu. I came across something I had served ages ago – an olive and anchovy tapenade, a beautifully rustic dish which is deceptively simple to prepare. I had entirely forgotten about the tapenade, but seeing the recipe again brought back a flood of memories from that year, very few of which, oddly enough, actually had anything to do with the meal at which it had been served.

For the sake of the nostalgia, and simply because this was a great addition to my holiday menu, I decided to remake it this year, but with a few minor updates.

To start things off, drain and rinse a 10oz jar of Mezetta pitted Greek Kalamata Olives, and a 10oz jar of Mezetta Spanish Queen Olives, Pimento Stuffed. Combine those in a food processor with about eight sundried tomatoes, four anchovy fillets, a large clove of garlic, two tablespoons of capers, fresh parsley, fresh basil, the juice of half a lemon, olive oil, grated Parmesan cheese, and red pepper flakes, and process until fine.

**ENTER IN THE MEZZETTA HOLIDAY SWEEPSTAKES**

Living the Gourmet

Yields 10-12

Olive Tapenade

10 minPrep Time

10 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

10 oz. Mezetta pitted Greek Kalamata Olives – drained and rinsed
10 oz. Mezetta Spanish Queen Olives, Pimento Stuffed – drained and rinsed
6 – 8 Sun dried tomatoes
4 anchovy fillets
1 large clove garlic
2 tablespoons capers
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
Juice of 1/2 small lemon
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 – 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Instructions

Place all of the above ingredients in a food processor and process.
Place in a serving bowl and serve thin sliced cheese and thin sliced Artisan or Italian bread.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2015/11/olive-tapenade.html

Living the Gourmet: Smokey Almond Crusted Blue Cheese Meatballs | #MezzettaMemories #ad

While this can be served simply as a sort of ‘dip’ accompanying the rest of your appetizers, I prefer to put this on a tray all its own with sliced artisan bread or perhaps garlic bread, and infused olive oil to further enhance its already rustic profile.

What are some of your favorite holiday recipes for memory making? We would love to hear from you.

**ENTER IN THE MEZZETTA HOLIDAY SWEEPSTAKES**

From now until December 31, (1) Grand Prize Winner receive an Instant Print Digital Camera plus an Ultimate Olive Lover’s Gift Basket, while (10) Follow Up Winners will receive an Ultimate Olive Lover’s Gift Basket.

Enter for your chance to win HERE!

Enjoy with Love,
Catherine
xo

Thank you to Mezzetta for sponsoring today’s post!

Attems Winery

0 · Sep 27, 2015 · 1 Comment

Thank you to Attems Winery for sponsoring this post. All opinions expressed are my own.

Whether by simple chance, subconscious selection, or just a fortunate turn of fate, we’ve featured a rather lengthy line of Italian wines lately. Naturally, when the Attems winery contacted us, asking if we would be interested in sampling a pair of their bottles, we were instantly enthused.

Shortly after agreeing, we received a Cicinis 2013 Sauvignon Blanc from the Collio DOC, and a 2014 Pinot Grigio Ramato from the Venezia Giulia IGT. Given that the Attems winery is Located in La Aquileia in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the region responsible for the majority of Italy’s sauvignon blanc production, the bottles had a tall order to fill if they were to live up to their regional heritage.

Time to begin.

While on most occasions I personally would have reached for the Pinot Grigio, I simply had to sample the Sauvignon blanc first given its origin. The wine introduces itself with an instantly herbal bouquet, with hints of sage and lime from the top of the glass. Towards the middle of the glass, strains of passion fruit and grapefruit melding with herbal essences, particularly tarragon. Towards the bottom of the glass, especially as I allowed the aroma to linger, the bouquet became intensely earthy and almost overpoweringly herbal, manifesting itself as dried tobacco leaf veiled across nutty earth tones such as dark coffee or perhaps mineral chalk. Overall it was a pleasant and unexpectedly complex bouquet.

On sampling, the wine introduces itself with razor sharp acidity, typical of Italian sauvignon blanc. The palate is instantly fruity, announcing itself with notes of crisp white peach, and later gooseberry. The wine features a balanced, and pleasant finish.

For pairing, I would suggest mildly soft and slightly sour cheeses such as a mellow gorgonzola or chèvre. I could also picture this pairing excellently with fish such tilapia, sea bass, or monk fish prepared in olive oil, garlic and herbs.

The pinot grigio introduces itself with a very ‘bright,’ very fruity bouquet, with hints of yellow apple and lemon predominating throughout. On sampling the wine is strikingly dry with an almost ‘oily’ texture as it lingers in the mouth. Minerality is immediate and pleasant, with tangy fruit essences such as ripe nectarine and ginger perforating throughout. Towards the end, vague spice notes and bitter almond linger on the palate, creating a weighty and pleasant finish.

For pairing, I would suggest mussels, clams, or oysters with herbal seasoning. This bottle would also pair excellently with light appetizers, especially a vegetable and sharp cheese platter.

Overall, I was very pleased with these bottles, and would easily recommend them to my readers.

Cheers,
Mike

Mozzarella & Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms

0 · Aug 25, 2015 · 16 Comments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BackYourSnack #CollectiveBias

We are partnering up with Farm Rich Snacks to bring you a deliciously simple recipe and share with you the exciting details about the Back Your Snack contest where you can vote in-store and be eligible to win one of many Game Time prize packages!
*See bottom of post for details*

Here at Living the Gourmet, we are on a mission to bring healthy back into snacking.

There is common misperception that snacking includes only finger food, most times uncooked. Well, push aside the chips, unhealthy dips, and crackers. Today, I am reintroducing snack food.

To me a snack is something that is light and simple but also delicious and fresh. For my family, I have always made my own snacks, making sure I know every ingredient that goes into every dish I serve. Like most, occasionally we will cheat, but on the whole, healthy snacking is something I don’t play around with.

So, while shopping for some wholesome foods the entire family can enjoy and feel good about, I came across some of my favorite Farm Rich Snacks during a recent trip to Walmart. Immediately, I was inspired to reconstitute Mozzarella Sticks and transform them into a dish that was suitable for any occasion, yet easy enough for anyone to make.

With only 6 ingredients, these stuffed mushrooms are a perfect way to get your family and friends snacking healthier with fresh produce and wholesome ingredients. Farm Rich Mozzarella Sticks are made with 100% real cheese, contain 0g trans fat per serving and are a good source of calcium and protein.

Each mushroom is packed with a creamy spinach filling that is blended with the mozzarella sticks for a helping of cheesy goodness. I finished them off with a sprinkle of breadcrumbs and a drizzle of olive oil before baking them just until the tops were golden and the mozzarella melted through.

These stuffed mushrooms are perfect for a light lunch, snack, or side dish. The possibilities are endless, and we encourage you to get your snack on and show us how you would use Farm Rich for a simple, delicious snack!

Living the Gourmet

Mozzarella & Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms

10 minPrep Time

10 minCook Time

20 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

8 Portobello Mushrooms – stems removed
10 Farm Rich Mozzarella sticks
1 lb. of fresh baby spinach
3 cloves of garlic
Italian style bread crumbs – for topping
Olive oil for drizzling

Instructions

Preheat Oven 450 degrees F.
In a food processor combine the bread sticks, spinach, garlic and 3 tablespoons olive oil. Process until a crumb-like mixture is formed.
Fill each mushroom with this mixture and place on a baking sheet.
Sprinkle each mushroom with breadcrumbs and finish with a drizzle of olive oil.
Serving suggestion - serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon.
Bake 10 – 12 minutes.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2015/08/mozzarella-spinach-stuffed-mushrooms.html

Living the Gourmet: Mozzarella & Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms | #BackYourSnack #ad

As mentioned earlier, Farm Rich is hosting an exciting contest. Well now comes time to vote! When you stop by these select participating stores (vote on the semi- finalists on 9/19 and 9/20, and the finalists on 10/9 and 10/11), you will entered to win several prizes including a tote bag, kitchen essentials, $50 worth of Farm Rich product coupons and a $50 Walmart Gift Card!

For all of the details, check out the rule book, and when voting in-store, you can opt in to a drawing for one of the Sweepstakes Prizes as well!

Enjoy with Love,
Catherine
xo

Linking up to these parties!

Cannellini Bean & Sun Dried Tomato Dip

0 · Jul 25, 2015 · 16 Comments

This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Nut Thins.

Creamy cannellini beans and sun dried tomatoes are blended together with fresh basil, garlic and spices for a wholesome, irresistible accompaniment to Artisan Nut Thins – crisp rice and almond wafers speckled with flax-seed and nuts.

Have you tried Blue Diamond’s Artisan Nut Thins?

If you are looking for a healthy snack alternative, these crisp wafers offer loads of flavor and a deliciously nutty texture that is most perfect for dipping.

This weekend, I am whipping up a Cannellini Bean & Sun Dried Tomato Dip. Its creamy texture is compound in every aspect. The smooth base is speckled with chunky bits of citrus, tomatoes and cheese; and the flavor is bold and symmetrical with subtle hints of salt and red pepper. This dip is easy, but tastes like it was store bought at the gourmet grocery store- you know, the one that boasts of overpriced hummus and dips?

It is easy to make your own, especially when the garden is in season. Simply blend all ingredients in your food processor then serve alongside Artisan Nut Thins. This is a deceptively easy, yet gourmet appetizer or afternoon snack that will satisfy and delight.

Living the Gourmet

Cannellini Bean & Sun Dried Tomato Dip

10 minPrep Time

10 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

15 oz. can of Cannellini Beans, rinsed & drained
2 cloves garlic
3-4 sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2-inch piece of Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

Combine all of the above ingredients in a food processor until smooth and creamy.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2015/07/cannellini-bean-sun-dried-tomato-dip.html

Living the Gourmet: Cannellini Bean & Sun Dried Tomato Dip | #ad

Enjoy with Love,
Catherine

Linking up to these parties!

Fava Bean and Tomato Crostini #SecretRecipeClub

0 · Jul 20, 2015 · 17 Comments

Seasoned fava beans and a fresh tomato puree topped on toasted baguettes make a simple & delicious seasonal appetizer. A perfect accompaniment to almost any meal.

Like most other bloggers, there is an endless list of recipes that I someday hope to get around to. Everyday, I find something new, whether it be on Pinterest or other blogs I visit…everywhere I go I am constantly inspired by food!

Of course, due to other demands and life in general, I can’t make everything I would like to.

It is for this very reason that I love being a part of the Secret Recipe Club. Each month bloggers are assigned a blog from which they must recreate an original recipe. Then on ‘reveal day’, we publish our recipes, thus revealing whose site we have been assigned. It is a nice way to meet new foodies and try recipes I would probably not have made otherwise.

In this case, I chose fava beans. They are in season and with their beautiful green coloring they are a perfect addition to any summer table scape.

If you want to join in on the fun, feel free to apply to SRC. New Members are always welcome.

This month we were assigned Authentic Suburban Gourmet, a beautiful site that boasts of fresh, seasonal fare. You’ll fall in love with Lisa (and her cute little pups Marty and Stewart too)! She is a wonderful cook and I have had such great joy cooking from her site this month. I have about ten more recipes I would love to make added to my long and endless list.

From cookies to salads and everything in between, there is something for everyone to enjoy.

I was perusing through Lisa’s site for something light and summery, while branching out and trying something new. Then I discovered her fava bean crostini. In all my years of blogging, I have not one fava bean recipe. I could not believe it either.

We had these last weekend for dinner. The air was hot and humid and I didn’t want a fussy dinner. I served them along with my citrus salad. It was a perfectly light meal and I could not have asked for anything more. …As Lisa says, “Fava beans are one of life’s delightful pleasures.” Well, they certainly are.

We made a few changes to Lisa’s original recipe for Fava Bean & Roasted Tomato Crostini.

Instead of topping with roasted tomatoes, I made a fresh tomato puree with garlic, balsamic and fresh basil then topped that over the fava beans.

Living the Gourmet

Fava Bean and Tomato Crostini

10 minPrep Time

15 minCook Time

25 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

1 fresh baguette

For Fava Beans:

1 cup of fava beans
3 – 4 tbs. grated Parmesan cheese
4 tbs. olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

For the Tomatoes:

1 pint of grape tomatoes
1 cloves of garlic
2 tbs. olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tbs. balsamic vinegar
2 tbs. lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

Instructions

For Fava Beans:

Bring the fava beans to a quick boil; drain and place in cool water.
Remove the beans from their shell and place in a food processor with the grated cheese, olive oil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and fresh basil leaves.
Give a few good chops to this mixture then refrigerate while preparing the tomatoes.

For the Tomatoes:

Preheat Oven 350 degrees F.
Place the tomatoes on a baking sheet and bake for 10 – 12 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cool.
Place the cooled tomatoes in a food processor with the garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and olive oil. Give this mixture a few good chops.
Slice the bread approximately one inch thick and place on a baking sheet with a drizzle of olive oil.
Bake 5 – 6 minutes; then remove from oven.
Place a spoonful of fava bean mixture on each slice of bread, top with the tomatoes, fresh grated parmesan cheese and an extra drizzle of olive oil.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2015/07/fava-bean-and-tomato-crostini-secretrecipeclub.html

Enjoy with love,
Catherine & Tammy
Linking up to these parties!

Almond Rice Crackers & Spicy Guacamole

0 · May 27, 2015 · 25 Comments

This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

One of my absolute favorite things to do during the summer is to have a ‘micro-gathering’ of just a few close friends, and either enjoy the balmy weather on my porch, or sit at the table beside my bay window overlooking the garden, while enjoying conversation across a spread of late afternoon appetizers.

While summer entertaining is synonymous with big barbeques and poolside parties, smaller gatherings allow for an added layer of care, a closer eye for detail, and a greater range of table options. While the oversized, the grand, and the loud certainly have their place, some of my fondest summer evening memories are of smaller, more intimate affairs. For example, I recently had two friends over for a late lunch, and it ended up turning into an early dinner since we were able to linger on the porch until well after sunset.

To start things off, I knew that we would want something light and summery, while still being a satisfying introduction to the meal ahead. To achieve this, I decided to put a spin on a classic warm weather tapa, and prepared a creamy guacamole with roasted garlic and fresh lemon juice for savory acidity, a roasted jalapeno with the seeds intact for a bit of subdued flare, and fresh parsley and olive oil to enhance the body.

However, I didn’t want to put the guacamole out on the table on its own, instead I wanted to do something a little extra. Since there were just a few of us I decided to prepare the guacamole on almond crackers, which I find lend a distinct crispness while at the same time adding an underlying savory note. I prefer the Blue Diamond brand for this. After dolloping each cracker, I crumbled almonds over the platter with parsley for garnish. Dates and grapes rounded out the spread.

Wanting to avoid conversations interrupted by kitchen intermissions, I did this all ahead of time, and had the table set out on the porch before they arrived. Needless to say, the spread was a success, with our late luncheon turning into an impromptu dinner party.

Living the Gourmet

Almond Rice Crackers & Spicy Guacamole

10 minPrep Time

5 minCook Time

15 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Nut Thins

Spicy Guacamole:

2 avocados
3 large cloves of garlic – grilled
1 jalapeño – grilled whole
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup of fresh Italian parsley
3 – 4 tbs. olive oil
3 – 4 tbs. lemon juice
Almonds and fresh parsley for garnish

Instructions

Heat a cast iron frying pan and place the garlic with its skin and the whole jalapeño in the pan to grill.
When the garlic starts to gain color and the jalapeño is slightly charred; turn the heat off and remove from the pan. The garlic will pop out of the skin with a gently squeeze.
Place the avocado along with all of the other ingredients in a food processor and process until creamy.
Using a piping bag; pipe the guacamole on each nut thin, topped with a sliver of almond for garnish.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2015/05/almond-rice-crackers-spicy-guacamole.html

Living the Gourmet: Almond Rice Crackers & Spicy Guacamole

Enjoy with Love,
Catherine
xo

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Almond Rice Crackers & Spicy Guacamole

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