Wordless Wednesday - Cactus Blossom

CACTUS BLOSSOM

This is the appetizer we had on Valentine's Day at Texas Roadshow. A Texas-sized onion, hand-battered, golden fried and served with special Cajun Horseradish Sauce. Really crunchy and tasty.

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Kitchen Sink Cookies

I'm a sucker for easy and healthy recipe. This is an interesting cookie recipe I got from one of my fave Food TV Network stars, Ellie Krieger. I'm not sure why it is called Kitchen Sink Cookies, probably because it is so easy to make, very basic and you can really mix everything by hand. I love the recipes of Ellie Krieger because they're very healthy and the portion is just enough so you won't indulge.

KITCHEN SINK COOKIES

INGREDIENTS

2 Tbsps unsalted butter, softened
2 Tbsps canola oil
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup applesauce
1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped dried cherries
1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup lightly toasted walnuts
2 ounces dark chocolate, cut into chunks
Cooking spray

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 deg. F. Combine butter, oil and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on high speed, stopping occasionally to scrape down bowl, until mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
2. Add applesauce, egg white and vanilla and mix to combine. Add flour, oatmeal, salt and cinnamon and mix just until just combined. Add cherries, apricots, walnuts and chocolate and mix to combine.
3. Spray 1 baking sheet with cooking spray. Using 1 tablespoon cookie dough at a time, roll into balls and place 2-inches apart on baking sheet. Press cookies down with the palm of your hand to flatten slightly, as cookies will not spread as much as cookies with more butter.
4. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until lightly browned but still soft. Remove from oven and cool on racks.

Shepherd's Pie

One of the sweet things that my hb does is he lets me rest on weekends in terms of cooking meals. He likes to cook breakfast and Saturday night dinners. Two weekends ago he made this Shepherd's Pie, one of his fave dishes that I learned to like myself. Hb is a Brit and this is a famous English dish, so no surprise there ;-).

SHEPHERD'S PIE

INGREDIENTS:
2-3 pcs medium potato
1 2/3 cups milk
2 Tbsps butter
1 tsp salt, divided
1 lb ground beef
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 jar (12 ounces) beef gravy
1 package (10 ounces) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed and drained
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:
1. Peel, cube and boil potatoes until tender. Mash with 1/2 tsp salt, whole milk and butter. Add more or less milk depending on the desired thickness or creaminess. Set aside.
2. Preheat broiler. In a separate skillet, brown meat on medium-high heat, stirring to separate meat. Drain drippings. Sprinkle meat with the remaining 1/2 tsp salt and pepper. Add gravy and vegetables; mix well. Cook over medium-low heat 5 minutes or until hot.
4. Pour in a broiler-proof baking dish and even out. Spoon prepared potatoes on top of the meat mixture and sprinkle cheese evenly on top.
5. Broil 4 to 5 inches from heat source 3 minutes or until cheese is golden brown and meat mixture is bubbly.

Food Friday - Roasted Winter Vegetables

This dish is a perfect partner to my Broiled Salmon with Pesto Mayonnaise. Don't worry if you don't have every vegetables listed here. You can substitute your favorite vegetables if you want. I actually added red, yellow and orange bell peppers for added colors. You can't resist this dish, your kitchen will be filled with inviting aroma from the rosemary while roasting.

ROASTED WINTER VEGETABLES

INGREDIENTS:
2 potatoes
2 sweet potatoes

2 parsnips
2 turnips
4 carrots
2 stalks celery
2 red onions
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
salt
1/4 cup fresh rosemary
2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

DIRECTIONS:
1. Peel the potatoes and turnips, scrape the parsnips and carrots, and cut all the vegetables into 2-inch chunks. Cut the onions into quarters or sixths.
2. Put all the vegetables in a large roasting pan and rub all over with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and half the rosemary.
3. An hour before dinner, put the pan into a 450 deg. F oven and roast, tossing the vegetable every now and then, for 30 to 40 minutes until the potatoes are browned and tender.
4. Take out of the oven and pour on the vinegar and toss rapidly to glaze. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons rosemary needles.

Kitchen Tip #6

High-heat roasting works magic on most vegetables.

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Vanishing Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe is straight from a Quaker Oats box, very easy and simple. I usually bake my own oatmeal-raisins cookies instead of buying them. I love it when they're freshly baked and paired with hot green tea or black English tea.

VANISHING OATMEAL COOKIES

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs or 4 egg whites ( I used 2 whole eggs)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
3 cups Quaker Oats Old Fashioned, uncooked
1 cup raisins

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 350 deg. F. In large bowl beat together butter and sugars until creamy.
2. Add eggs and vanilla, beat well.
3. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well.
4. Stir in oats and raisins. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
5. Bake 8 to 10 minutes for a chewy cookie OR 11 to 12 minutes for a crisp cookie. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet, remove to wire rack. Cool completely.

Crabmeat Cucumber Rounds

Here's another easy and refreshing appetizer that I got from Sandra Lee of Semi-Homemade in Food TV Network. Bite-size cucumber rounds topped with very tasty crabmeat is a welcome change to our usual chips appetizer. This was one of the appetizers I served during our Christmas get-together with friends.

CRABMEAT CUCUMBER ROUNDS

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp prepared horseradish
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp Worcesterchire sauce
1 can (4.25 oz) crabmeat, drained
1/2 large unpeeled English hothouse cucumber, cut crosswise into 16 thin slices (1/4" thick)
8 pimiento-stuffed green olives, sliced

DIRECTIONS
1. In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, horseradish, mustard, and Worcesterchire sauce. Stir in crabmeat (be sure to drain all liquid from canned crabmeat). Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Arrange cucumber slices in a single layer on a serving tray. Spoon 1 Tbsp of crabmeat mixture onto each cucumer slice. Garnish with olive slices and serve.

Bacon-Wrapped Artichoke Hearts

This is a very simple appetizer that I served during our Christmas Party with friends. Anything you wrap with bacon will surely taste good. I already tried bacon-wrapped mushrooms and bacon-wrapped scallops in the past and I thought of trying artichoke hearts this time for new flavor.

BACON-WRAPPED ARTICHOKE HEARTS

INGREDIENTS
1 jar (12-ounce) marinated artichoke heart quarters
9 slices bacon, cut in half

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 425 deg. F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Drain artichoke heart quarters, reserving liquid.
2. Wrap each artichoke heart quarter with a half-slice bacon. Secure with a toothpick.
3. Place on baking sheet. Drizzle with reserved liquid from artichokes. Roast in preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned and cooked through.

Broiled Salmon with Pesto Mayonnaise

This was a hit in our holiday party especially with the seafood lovers. I got the recipe from Sandra Lee of Semi-Homemade fame at Food TV Network. It was an easy recipe that I made even easier. The original recipe calls for a marinade of olive oil, lemon juice and Italian seasoning and I made a short-cut and just used Italian Dressing instead. It saved me time to squeeze lemons and mix the ingredients together.

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 lbs center-cut fresh salmon fillet, 1 inch thick, cut into 4 pieces
1/2 cup Italian Dressing

For Pesto Mayonnaise
3 Tbsps Mayonnaise
1 Tbsp prepared Pesto (store bought)

PROCEDURE:
1. Preheat broiler. Rinse salmon with cold water, pat dry with paper towels. Line baking sheets or broiler pan with aluminum foil and set aside.
2. In a ziplock bag combine salmon and dressing. Squeeze air out from bag and seal. Gently massage bag to coat fish, set aside.
3. For Pesto Mayonnaise - combine mayonnaise and pesto, stir, set aside.
4. Remove salmon pieces from bag and place on the baking sheet flesh side down. Discard marinade. Broil fish 4 to 6 inches from heat for up to 10 minutes until flesh flakes easily when tested with a fork.
5. Serve salmon with pesto mayonnaise on top.