Strawberry Volcanoes

The month of August has been really busy for me, between going out of town for 9 days, being swamped at work and many other things, I just haven't had a chance to sit down and post on my blog.  The fall is always a really busy time of year for me as well, with football season, a couple of trips (football related of course) and all the holidays; but it is also a good opportunity to do some cooking for the aforementioned football season and holidays, so I hope to bring you all some more foodie fun soon!

These were the last item that I made for my sister's housewarming party back in July (and I still need to post about her birthday dinner in June....yikes!), and I have saved the best for last.  My sister loves chocolate covered strawberries, so once I stumbled across this picture and description somewhere in my Internet travels, I knew they would be perfect for her party!  They do take a bit more work than just a dipped strawberry, but they are so cute and delicious that it is worth it! 

Strawberry Volcanoes

1 lb. strawberries, cleaned, with tops cut off to make flat

1 c. chocolate chips, melted

Whipped cream, in a can or homemade

After slicing the tops off of the strawberries, make a cross cut across the tips of each strawberry.  Drain the strawberries on paper towels.  Carefully dip flat bottoms of strawberries in melted chocolate; place on wax paper and cool. Carefully pipe whipped cream into the split opening on the top of each strawberry.  Chill until serving and enjoy!

Proscuitto, Marscapone & Fig Bruschetta

This bruschetta is so easy, it is embarrassing, but it looks so classy and people gobble it up, so it is a good recipe to have in your repertoire!  My friend Heather first introduced me to this combination, and she first had it at a local wine bar called Postino here in Phoenix.  The combination of the creamy cheese, salty prosciutto and the sweetness of the figs is the most awesome combination ever!  It may seem weird to some, but give it a try, you will have your guests thinking you are quite the gourmet!

Prosciutto, Marscapone & Fig Bruschetta

by Jenn

1 French baguette, sliced on the diagonal about 3/4" thick

1/2 lb. Prosciutto, thinly sliced

1 tub Marscapone cheese (Usually found by the gourmet cheeses at the store)

Dried Figs, sliced  (These are on the dried fruit aisle, near the raisins)

Cooking spray

Turn oven on to broil.

Place bread slices on a baking sheet and spray with cooking spray or olive oil.  Broil for about 3 - 4 minutes just until the tops start to brown.  Remove from oven.

Spread a layer of Marscapone on the toasted side, top with slices of Prosciutto and a couple of slices of figs. That is all, you are ready to go, and these hold nicely at room temperature!

Enjoy!

Caprese Skewers

A couple of weeks ago my sister moved into a new condo that she recently purchased.  She was so excited for her new place that she just had to have a housewarming party ASAP, never mind that she didn't even have bedding or things to put on the walls when she decided this.  But nonetheless, she planned it for a weekend after we got back from vacation, and asked me to help out with the food.  She had some very specific requests of things for me to make, but luckily they were all pretty easy to pull together.  Although the whole weekend was a mad rush with us spending all day Saturday running around to different stores to finish decorating the place and then going to buy and make all the food by 4:00 pm on Sunday, but we got it done with just minutes to spare!  I have to say, her place looks really good, and she was able to pull it together really quickly.  It took me months to figure out my place, although I was behind to start with because all I owned was a bed, TV and a retro baby blue recliner!  Oh the days of simplicity!

Here is a picture of the spread that we put out for the guests, and over the next couple of posts I will share with you what I made, starting with Caprese Skewers!

The guests loved all the food, and I just had to call my sister out when she was showing off all the food that SHE (code for me, Jenn, her sister) made!  But hey, that's what sisters are for :)  It is almost embarrassing to share this as a recipe, because it is really more of an idea, but it makes for such a great item to take to a party or a picnic because it can be made ahead of time and doesn't require a fork!  I first made these for one of my football tailgates and everyone went wild over them, so I knew I had me a keeper!

Caprese Skewers

by Jenn

Cherry Tomatoes (I bought a box at Costco and had about half leftover)

Fresh mozzarella (Once again, I bought this at Costco, it comes in a pack of 2, but I just used one log)

Prepared Pesto (I used Classico Brand, found on the pasta aisle, but use fresh or make your own!)

Toothpicks

Dice mozzarella into cubes, about 3/4" by 3/4".  Put cheese and tomatoes in a large bowl, spoon a couple of tablespoons of pesto into the bowl; stir to combine and coat the cheese and tomatoes.  Add more pesto until you get the desired amount of coating. 

Skewer the tomatoes and cheese onto toothpicks.  I usually do cheese, tomato, cheese; but do whatever combination you like!  Put skewers in a sealed container in the refrigerator and let sit at least an hour to let the pesto marinate into the cheese.  Enjoy!

El Charro Cafe - Tucson, AZ

Yes friends, your eyes are not deceiving you, I went to Tucson.  I know that anything related to Tucson is against my religion being a Sun Devil and all, but I went to see this country lady.

 

Do you recognize her?  It's Carrie Underwood!  I have loved Carrie since her days on American Idol, and when she won and started putting out country albums, I loved her even more!  The first time she came to Phoenix I had a conflict and couldn't go to the show....fast forward a year later and it is announced that she is coming back to Arizona....but this time to Tucson....yuck!  But this is how much I love Carrie, I will head into enemy territory to see her!  The show was awesome, and the picture above is of her in an old truck that literally was right over our heads!  My sister and I had a great time, but not wanting to stay in Tucson for too long, we left and drove back to Phoenix right after the show!

We got to Tucson about an hour and a half before the show and wanted to grab some dinner.  My sister and I are both Mexican food junkies, so we decided to check out some of the local food and plugged in our request to the GPS and let it guide us.  Our GPS led us to the El Charro Cafe, which was an adorable, old, little building in downtown Tucson, it didn't look scary and the parking lot was busy so we decided to give it a try!

The restaurant is comprised of a couple of little old houses and patios, very cute, but very lacking in bathrooms!  Once we were seated at a table indoors, we were presented with a basket of chips and two kinds of salsas, one red and one green.  The chips were on the thick side for my taste, and not warm, but they were decent.  The red salsa was milder than the green one, but still had some nice kick to it.  Both were tasty, but not the chunky kind of salsa that I like the most.

My sister was wanting to eat lighter that night and decided to start with the Charro Salad.  The menu didn't have much of a description, but she was treated to what she called the "most amazing salad ever!"  The salad was mixed greens, with chunks of mango, roasted pepitas, dried cranberries and Casero cheese in a light vinaigrette.  The presentation was beautiful, and she loved the combination of flavors; just the other day she mentioned how good it was and we were there 2 months ago!

In the last 6 months, my sister has become absolutely obsessed with shrimp tacos.  She orders them wherever we go, and rules out places and picks places based on the availability of shrimp tacos!  Well, this night she didn't get shrimp tacos, even though they had them on the menu, but she opted for Shrimp Ceviche Tostadas.  The tostadas were on the appetizer menu, but the serving was 3 large tostadas, so definitely enough for a meal.  The shrimp tasted so fresh with the lime, lemon and tomato marinade.  The crispy shells with the cool seafood topping were the perfect dish for a hot summer night.

The menu at El Charro is huge, and I had such a hard time deciding what to order!  There were many items that sounded good and were so different from some of the items that are typically found on menus, but we were in a bit of a rush to go to the concert so I got an old stand-by, a Green Chile Beef Burrito Enchilada Style with a side of beans!  I like to measure most Mexican restaurants by their Green Chile, so I figured I would give it a try here.  The beef was nice and tender, and the green chile packed just enough heat that made it flavorful but didn't make it so it scalded my mouth.  The beans, well they were just blah, boring, no flavor, not good.  And look, they didn't even garnish them with any cheese!

I don't think we could have stumbled upon a better place to eat on our trip to Tucson, for the most part the food was tasty, the building was historic (built in 1922) and they got us in and out in record time, letting us get to the show, which was our real mission for the night.  I wouldn't go back if I was really in the mood for some good beans, but I would return just to try out some of their other intriguing dishes.

El Charro Cafe (5 Tucson locations)
311 N. Court Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85701
www.elcharrocafe.com

Nifna's Green Salsa

I actually made this about two months ago, which will probably come as no shock since I haven't been posting regularly, but it is such a nice change of pace from regular salsa that I couldn't just not post it.  Apparently Nifna's is a well known Mexican restaurant in the Houston area and this dip is served to everyone with the complimentary chips.  (Side note: I recently read that we are getting a Nifna's here in the Phoenix area, so I will have to check it out and compare once it opens!)  I was not only intrigued by the ingredient list, but also by the preparation because the tomato component is actually cooked first.  This was really good, it had a hit of heat, but the sour cream and avocado in it helped to temper the fire.  Also, this made a ton!  So unless you are going to a party or have a huge family, you may want to cut the recipe in half...or maybe not....cause it probably won't last long!  I took this in to my office and my co-workers went wild over it!  I have a pretty small office and had two requests for the recipe...which can only mean one thing...it's a keeper!

Nifna's Green Salsa

adapted from Home with Mandy

3 medium-sized green tomatoes, coarsely chopped (you can substitute yellow if you can’t find green ones, and you are not supposed to use red, but that is all I could find and it still worked!)
4 tomatillos, cleaned and chopped

1 to 2 jalapenos, stemmed and coarsely chopped

3 small garlic cloves, chopped
3 medium-sized ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and sliced
4 sprigs cilantro
1 tsp. salt
1 c. sour cream

Combine chopped tomatoes, tomatillos, jalapenos and garlic in a saucepan and heat on medium high  Add garlic.  At this point, using a potato masher, start to smash the tomatoes to bring out the juices.  Let the mixture cook, mashing more and stirring occasionally for 15 minutes.  After 15 minutes remove from heat and let cool a bit.

Meanwhile, put avocado, cilantro and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times until combined.  Add cooled tomato mixture to food processor and pulse until smooth.  Remove mixture to a different bowl and stir in sour cream.  (I chilled mine for a bit after this because it was still warm from the tomatoes.)  Dig in with some tortilla chips....mmmm!


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Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

A few weeks ago I hit an awesome sale on strawberries, just 99 cents for a package, so I picked them up thinking I would snack on them.  Well, I am a bad girl and put them in the fridge and forgot about them, until one Sunday night when trying to figure out dinner I found them and realized that they needed to be eaten, and quick!  Was I going to eat a whole container by myself that night, probably not, but I remembered seeing a recipe for these Strawberry Shortcake Cookies and figured at least they would be going towards a good cause! 

This is a Martha Stewart recipe, and she did not disappoint!  They tasted just like a strawberry shortcake minus the whipped cream, they were heavenly!  I did have a bit of a problem getting the strawberries incorporated into the dough, but I think it was my fault for bringing the dough together too much before adding the strawberries, so I had to mash pieces into the balls of dough.  I almost decided to throw the towel in because I didn't think they were going to turn out, but after tasting them, I would have been very mad at myself for missing out!  These really are best warm out of the oven and really should be eaten within a day or two of baking, but honestly, they are so good, you'll be lucky to have any left by day two!

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

adapted from Martha Stewart

12 oz. strawberries, hulled and diced into 1/4-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
1-2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 c. plus 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
6 Tbsp. cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 c. heavy cream
coarse sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and 2 Tablespoons of granulated sugar in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Whisk together the flour, remaining sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter, cut in the butter to the flour mixture until coarse crumbs are formed. You can also use your fingers. Stir in the heavy cream until the dough starts to come together, then gently fold in strawberries.

Using a 1-1/2 inch cookie scoop, drop dough onto cookie sheets, evenly spaced apart. Sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake for 22-27 minutes, or until cookies are golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Chicken Suiza Tostadas

Oh my goodness, it has been way too long since I have been able to post anything food related here, but my computer is working again (for the most part) and I am ready to get back to making a more regular appearance on here!

According to my camera, I actually made these back on April 12, so it seems that I am about 2 months behind in all my posting, which is a shame, because I have made some yummy stuff during that time!  These tostadas are actually a spin on a recipe that was getting posted all over the various blogs that I read, they were intended to be eaten as a sandwich, but being such a Mexican food lover, I have a hard time putting the concept of Mexican food and sandwiches together, plus I wanted something crunchy, so thus I served it tostada style!  But feel free to serve on a nice crusty roll if it is a sandwich that you crave!

This is actually a Rachael Ray recipe, and it actually took less than 30 minutes!  The basis is a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken, so that really eliminates a lot of time, but there is some prep involved with getting all of the chicken off of the bone.  (Quick Tip: It is much easier to pull the chicken off the bone and shred it while it is still warm, so if I go to the grocery store early in the day, I always de-bone and shred the chicken when I get home and then just refrigerate until I am ready to start cooking.)  This smelled delicious while cooking, and the end result confirmed it, the chicken mixture was creamy with a touch of heat.  For the shells, I just took corn tortillas and fried them in a little bit of oil until crispy, but you could always use pre-made shells or bake them until crispy for a lighter version.

Since it was just me eating this, I was able to package up two more portions for the freezer, which will be just perfect when I need a Mexican fix after a long day at work!

Chicken Suiza Tostadas

adapted from Everyday with Rachael Ray - September 2009

1 Tbsp. olive oil 

1 small red onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1 Tbsp. honey
1 1/2 c. store-bought salsa verde
1/2 c. sour cream
1 rotisserie-style chicken, skin discarded and meat shredded
4 tostada shells
4 slices Monterrey jack cheese (I just used shredded)

1. Preheat the broiler. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the lime juice and honey, then stir in the salsa and heat through. Mix in the sour cream. Stir in the chicken to coat.

2. Pile the chicken mixture on the tostada shells. Top with the cheese and broil to melt. Serve with extra sour cream and salsa if desired....and of course....a side of beans!