:: Bruschetta with Garlic Cream::

I innovated a recipe! Every now and then I get it right.

Garlic Cream
In a food processor, mix:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sour cream
1 large clove garlic
chives
fresh shaved Parmesan, to taste
fresh basil
salt & pepper

Tomato Mixture
2 tomatoes
1 large clove garlic
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
fresh basil, shredded
chives
freshly shaved Parmesan
salt & pepper

What To Do: Cut a baguette into rounds. Brush with olive oil. Broil until golden. Top with garlic Cream, followed by Tomato Mixture.

Fully Loaded Potato Skin Cakes

THIS RECIPE NEEDED A PRETTY-PICTURE UPDATE.
THESE WERE SOOOOOO GOOD.

Ingredients:

12 slices of bacon
2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled & cubed
4 cloves garlic
1 1/2 cups shredded old cheddar cheese
3 green onions, thinly sliced
Pepper to taste
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 all-purpose flour
1/3 vegetable oil (approx)
Sour cream & salsa (optional)

* Cook bacon in skilled over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, for about 8 min or until crispy. Drain on paper-towel-lined plate; set aside
* Place potatoes and garlic in large pot of cold water and bring to boil. Boil for about 20 min or until tender. Drain well & return to pot. Using potato masher, mash potatoes & garlic and let cool slightly
* Add cheese to pot & mash to combine. Crumble bacon and stir into potatoes.
* Add green onions & peeper to taste. Add egg & flour and stir until smooth & thick.
* Dust hands lightly with flour and, using 1/2 c of mixture, for patties 1/2" thick and about 2" wide and place on parchment-paper-lined baking sheet.
* Heat some of the oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and fry patties in batches, about 3 min. per side, turning once gently with spatula or until golden and crispy. Place on paper-lined plate.
* Arrange cakes on platter and serve with sour cream & salsa if desired.

NOTE: Can be made ahead and then warmed for 10 min. in a oven preheated to 375 F before serving.

Brie & Puffed Pastry

BRIE IS GOOD.
BRIE WRAPPED IN PUFF PASTRY IS BETTER.

Ingredients:
Package of Puff Pastry, thawed
1 egg
1 T water
1/2 cup apricot jam, or seedless raspberry jam
1/4 cup pecans
Brie, small round

1. Roll out your puff pastry.
2. Mix egg and water and brush over the pastry. Spread jam over the pastry aswell.
3. Place cheese in the center of the pastry. Top with nuts.
4. Fold pastry up over the cheese in pleats. Close the seam as best you can. Brush all with egg mixture.
5. Place in an ovensafe dish and bake for 20 minutes in a 4oo degree oven.

Serve with baguette rounds or crackers.

Hot Spinach Dip

Rich and Cheesy
[Via Alanna-Thanks!]

1 pkg cream cheese
1/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup parmesian
1/4 cup Romano
1 clove garlic
1/2t basil
salt+pepper
1 pkg thawed spinach

1.Place all in an ovenproof dish, topped with mozzarella
2.Heat for 25 minutes at 350 degrees

Tortilla Soup with Avocado Salsa

Karin and I made this last weekend. I thought it would be a heavy meal. Instead, it was refreshing, yet full of taste. Apparently, this soup is a touted as cold remedy. "Healthful." None of us had colds at the time, so you can't take our word for it.
This provides enough for 4 main courses, or 8 appetizers.

Tortilla Soup with Avocado Salsa

Avocado Salsa:
1 ripe avocado
1 plum tomato
1/2 jalapeno
1 green onion
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
2 t lime juice
1/4 t salt
Note: Double this recipe if you want a chunkier soup. We did!

Tortilla Soup:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 T peanut or canola oil
8 large cloves garlic, peeled
8 cups chicken broth
2 sprigs cilantro
1/2 c green salsa
2 green onions
1/4 fresh chopped cilantro
Bag of tortilla chips
2 limes

SALSA:
1. Cut avocado into cubes and place in a bowl. Add: Seeded and diced tomato and jalapeno; chopped green onion and cilantro; lime juice and salt.
2. Stir and set aside.

SOUP:
1. Flatten chicken breasts with a meat mallet. (I put the chicken between two pieces of waxed paper, and use a rolling pin.) Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add chicken, and scatter garlic around the sides. Cook over med-low heat, flipping chicken once, until chicken is done. Take off the heat. Push garlic off to one side of the pan and mash it with a fork. Pull at the cooked chicken with a fork until it is reduced to shreds. Combine garlic and chicken. Set aside.
2. Prepare broth in a large soup pot, setting aside 1 cup of it. Heat broth over med-high heat along with sprigs of cilantro until boiling. Scoop out the cilantro, and discard. Add chicken mixture, green salsa, green onions, an chopped cilantro. Also, using the reserved cup of broth, deglaze the pan the chicken was cooked in, scraping up any browned bits. Add this to the soup pot.
3. Serve soup with a bowl of tortillas and Avocado Salso, (see below).

Notes: The tortillas and salsa are to be dumped right into your soup. The torillas add saltiness, while the salsa adds substance. Soooooo good.

Guacomole

This is one of the other recipes that I make quite often. This one I don't really have exact amounts - it's the kind where you just add until it tastes right - so definately start out adding less than you think because once you over do it with one ingredient it's hard to go back.

1 avocado (remove the pit and skin and mash it up)
1 clove of garlic
1/2 - 1 tsp of dried onion flakes (optional)
1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
a dash of lemon juice to keep it from going brown too quickly.


I remember the first time I bought a avocado it was for a party at my parents and I had no idea how to pick out a good avocado - and since the brown ones felt mushy I figured the nice bright green ones must be the best. Wrong - the green ones are hard as rock and don't have much flavour - but they will ripen in a few days. So which avocado you buy depends on how soon you want to use it. A ripe avocado is more redish brown and when you press it - it will give a little bit. But not too soft or it will be over ripe by the time you get home and over ripe avocado is worse than the rock hard un-ripe ones.