Alevropita (Feta Tart)

Hi again, it's me, trying to touch base with my neglected blog. I am super excited and wanted to share this recipe I found in my new August issue of Saveur magazine called "The Greece Issue." I am really looking forward to trying more of the recipes because they all look fabulous. This tart was super easy to make and delish! The olive oil in the bottom of the pan gives it a nice crispy crust and the charred feta is both creamy and tangy. Although this was lovely as is, I think that it can be played around with...next time I might add some oregano or diced olives.

I love Saveur because it is not just a recipe magazine, but contains many stories about world travel centered around food. Each and every time I find the time to sit down and read, it ignites my fire to someday experience this kind of travel and get to the heart of a different culture by way of food. This particular dish was described by the writer as coming into the taverna after a morning of hiking the hills above a small village and finding her Greek hostess offering this straight from the oven. She found that the alevropita "might as well have been sent down by gods from Mount Olympus - nourishing, elemental and satisying to the soul." I heartily agree and all I did today was change diapers and pick up toys (not quite hiking the hills above a quaint Greek village - but oh well!)

I made this along with some baked chicken and a Greek salad for dinner, thinking the kids would not touch it, but they loved it and asked for seconds!! Give it a try as a side dish or appetizer...yum!!

ALEVROPITA (Feta Tart)

6 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp. vodka
1 egg
1 1⁄4 cups flour, sifted
1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
1⁄8 tsp. baking powder
10 oz. feta, crumbled
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

1. Heat oven to 500°. Put an 18" x 13" x 1" rimmed baking sheet into oven for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, whisk together 2 tbsp. oil, vodka, egg, and 1 cup water in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, salt, and baking powder. Pour wet mixture over dry mixture and whisk until smooth.

3. Brush remaining oil over bottom of hot pan and add batter, smoothing batter with a rubber spatula to coat the bottom evenly, if necessary. Distribute cheese evenly over batter, and dot with butter. Bake, rotating baking sheet halfway through, until golden brown and crunchy, about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly before slicing and serving.

Pesto Cheesecake

I had this at my friend Cathy's Christmas party and loved it so much that I tracked the baker down for the recipe. I'm not sure that "cheesecake" is the right term for a savory dish like this, but whatever the name, I'm digging it bigtime. I suggest reading the entire recipe before starting.

Pesto Cheesecake courtesy of Rebecca A.

Crust:
Butter
¼ C bread crumbs
2 T grated parmesan cheese

Filling:
2 – 8oz packages cream cheese
1 C ricotta cheese
½ C grated parmesan cheese
½ t salt
1/8 t cayenne
3 large eggs
½ C pesto sauce
1/3 C pine nuts
2- 3 T. Bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350. The instructions call for a 9 in springform pan but you can use a pie dish that is about 10 inches in diameter. Rub butter over sides and bottom of the pan and sprinkle with about 1/4 cup bread crumbs and 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese.

Filling - With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, ricotta, Parmesan, salt and cayenne until well blended then add eggs one at a time, beating well. Transfer half the cheese mixture into a separate bowl and mix the pesto into one of the portions of cheese. Spoon the pesto cheese mixture into the pan, sprinkle with 1 T. bread crumbs, then add the plain cheese mixture on top and smooth gently. (I added too much breadcrumbs in the middle...you want the layers distinct, but my sprinkling of bread crumbs was so thick that the layers came apart too easy when cutting into it). Sprinkle pine nuts over the top and add the rest of the bread crumbs.

Bake for about 45 minutes or more until the center doesn't jiggle and it is lightly browned. It will puff up slightly and then fall back when cooled. Garnish with springs of basil.

Cut into small wedges for easy serving. Crackers would be great alongside.

Olive Tapenade

I love olives, don't you? What could possibly be better than putting black olives on your fingers and pretending you have long fingernails? Well, I'm not 8 anymore, so I had to find something better to do with them, so here goes.

I learned this dip from my sister in law (she's from Boston) several years ago at our extremely traditional family Thanksgiving. We are talking the same menu every year - turkey, mash, candied yams, green bean casserole, apple salad and cranberry sauce from a can. I think that was the same year she brought Oysters Rockafeller, which went over like a ton of bricks. But this one was a hit, and I've been making it every year since. Thanks, Lori!

It calls for ripe black olives, but if you have an adventurous bunch, use half kalamata.

Olive Tapenade

1 can black olives drained

2 t. capers

1 T. chopped fresh parsley

1 clove garlic, minced

2 T olive oil

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. Tabasco

Pulse all in Cuisinart until blended. Let sit overnight in fridge.

Vegetarian Salad Rolls with Nuoc Cham

Ever since tasting the yummy style salad rolls with the spicy lime dipping sauce at a Vietnamese restaurant, I have wanted to try making them myself. I picked up the dried rice wrappers at the Asian market with the intention of giving it a whirl.

It was pretty funny because when I looked at the rice wrappers, there was not a single word in English...no pictures either! However, with the internet, nothing is a mystery for long....I found a cool web page all about it here. I made the water a little too hot because the first one turned into a gummy mess, but once the water cooled down a little, they came out fine.

I know these are fabulous with mint and shrimp inside, but I just went with what I had on hand.
This is a very light and delicate starter, perfect for an asian themed party or meal. I actually made quite a few and they stood up in the fridge for 4-5 hours.

Onto the recipe:

Vegetarian Salad Rolls with Nuoc Cham

Salad rolls:
1 package round rice papers
2 carrots, shredded
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 package extra firm tofu, baked or fried
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
2 cups spinach or lettuce

Nuoc Cham (Vietnamese dipping sauce):
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 cloves minced garlic
2-3 chopped Thai bird chiles

Mix up all the sauce ingredients and let sit while you prepare rolls.
Sprinkle tofu with garlic, ginger and soy sauce. Bake at 400 for 2o minutes. (or fry it up)
Get all the ingredients for the rolls prepared.
Heat a pan of water to almost boiling.
Soften 1 paper in the hot water.
Layer the ingredients in the wrapper and roll up tight like a burrito.
Repeat until the ingredients are gone.

For me and tall guy, it seemed like a gourmet treat to eat with our coconut chicken and sticky rice. Nummers!

Tomato Tartlets

I had a bunch of tomatoes and really wanted to make one big tart with a sheet of dough because I think it looks so striking, but could only find the little puff pastry shells at the store. Despite the few ingredients and simplicity of this dish, these were so elegant and incredibly addicting!

Tomato Tartlets

1 package puff pastry shells

5 oz. goat cheese

1 garlic clove, minced and crushed into a paste

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

salt/pepper to taste

4-5 medium sized ripened tomatoes, sliced and quartered

Preheat oven to 400. Take the almost thawed shells and separate them. With a rolling pin, roll them out a little bit flatter and bigger. Place on cookie sheet. This way they don't puff up so high. Mix the goat cheese, garlic, thyme and salt/pepper together. Spread about 1/2 tsp. cheese mixture on each tart shell and top with tomatos slices. Sprinkle with pepper and bake for 20-25 minutes, until desired golden color.

Zucchini Blossoms with Ricotta

Pssst. Don't tell anyone, but I've been having a summer fling. His name is Ricotta. He is so great to be around - he gets along with everyone and never talks back or steals the remote. If you want, I can give him your number.

Anyways, it's farmer's market Thursday again, usually one day I'm feeling a little adventurous in the kitchen. I can honestly say that I've been wanting to make these for 6 years!! How do I know the exact moment, you ask?

That was the first time I tasted ricotta-stuffed zucchini flowers in a restaurant....it was shortly after we got married and I remember making the reservations to A'Cote in Berkeley with my new last name. I was giddy - and even more giddy after finding these on the menu. To me, it was so fru-fru and fancy, but now with the explosion of foodie bloggers comparing notes, nothing seems out-of-the-ordinary anymore.

I've tried to reproduce them making my basic ricotta stuffing that I use to make stuffed pasta shells. I found the tempura batter online, a really easy flour/egg/water mixture.

Pick some zucchini flowers from your own garden, steal them from your neighbor's garden, or just seek them out from your local farmer's market. Brush off any visible bugs and cut out the pistil or stamen, whichever reproductive organ you see lurking down inside. Ack!

Cut up some veggies really tiny and saute until soft. Add some herbs like basil or thyme.
Add the veggies to some fresh ricotta and stir together.
Stuff each blossom with the ricotta mixture and coat with the tempura. Fry those puppies up. Get your splatter screen out. Trust me. Do it.
You can serve them up on a plate and let people pick them up like perfect little hand-held appetizers or......
.......make an appetizer plate for each person. I found some beautiful heirloom tomatoes to use as a base. They were so incredibly sweet and juicy - a perfect way to balance out the creamy fried goodness.
Nibble nibble. Munch munch.
Zucchini Blossoms with Ricotta

12 zucchini blossoms

oil for frying

1 cup finely chopped veggies (zuc, carrot, onion, broccoli, peppers etc.)

1 clove minced garlic

2 T. chopped herbs (basil, thyme, oregano, etc.)

salt/pepper

1 small container of fresh ricotta

tempura mixture:

1 egg

1 cup ice water

1 cup flour

Directions: Saute the veggies in 1 T. water until starting to turn soft. Add the garlic, cook for another minute. Remove from heat and cool. In a bowl, mix ricotta, veggies and fresh herbs. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stuff each blossom with 1 - 2 T. of ricotta mixture. I think you could put these in the fridge at this point (not sure on that).

Heat up enough oil to cover the bottom of your pan. For the tempura batter, mix the egg and super cold ice water together, then add sifted flour, stirring briskly to avoid lumps. (This reminded me of the paper mache "glue" we made as kids). Dip the blossom into the batter, twisting the top of the flower to seal it up. Fry until golden brown on all sides. Sprinkle with sea salt after removing from pan. Enjoy!

More Filo Fun

Leftover filo dough from previous night + leftover grilled asparagus + last of the goat cheese = yummy snacky thingy.

With only a few ingredients I made this cute little appetizer AND used up my leftovers. It's all about efficiency, folks. Especially now with the state of affairs, rice will be like $10 a pound or something like that. If you haven't stocked up on rice, go to the grocery store now and fill up your cart. Seriously.

Anyways, I took one sheet of filo and put a bit of leftover asparagus, goat cheese and lemon zest in one corner. Then you just fold it over and over into special triangular shape until you run out of dough. It was kind of heavy on the filo, so maybe a half sheet would have been sufficient. Baked at 350 until golden (15-20 min). I ate one really hot and the other at room temperature. I suggest the latter.

Polenta Brushetta with Peppers and Olives

I made a big pan of polenta yesterday to have with that piccata. I've never really made it before, and didn't know that one cup of dry grits would make so much. Here is my solution for the leftovers: it's an appetizer type thingy. All I did was cut the polenta, added a slice of swiss cheese, a basil leaf, roasted red pepper strips and green olives. Popped it under some heat until melty. I won't even post a recipe because it was so easy, and you really could top it with just about any combination of cheese/herb/produce. I think a sauteed mushroom and goat cheese would be awesome!

White Bean Dip

What to do, what to do? Had some toast for breakfast, so I really need to stay away from any more bread for the day. I'm also out of lettuce and threre are no leftovers lingering in the fridge...gasp!

Here is what I came up with. It was a nice lunch, but I ended up sneaking a piece of bread and dipping it in there anyways.....arrgh! I also think it would make a great appetizer with veggies. It would even be good with chips as an alternative to the refried bean dip at your next Mexican dinner. Next time I might add a dash of cumin too.


WHITE BEAN DIP

2 cans cannelini beans
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 jalepeno, chopped
juice of one small lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all in a blender. Add a little water if its too thick.