Food Minia

These are the perfect two bite party food! They are filling yet easy to make and always a hit.  This recipe is from Food Lovin Family . 2 cans pillsbury grands jr biscuits frozen italian meatballs (thawed) 3 sticks mozarella string cheese (cut into pieces) 1/2 tsp italian seasoning 1/4 tsp garlic powder 1/2 cup butter (melted) marinara sauce for dipping Heat oven to 375. Melt the butter in a bowl then stir in the italian seasoning and garlic powder. Separate the biscuits and flatten them. Cut the meatballs in half then place half a meatball and two pieces of string cheese in the dough then wrap the dough around and seal it.  Place the sealed side down in the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining biscuits and meatballs.  Brush with the butter mixture. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Remove from oven and serve with marinara sauce.

Start your dinner party with this irresistible appetizer Your guests will absolutely love these savory bundles filled with creamy radicchio This post is sponsored by Cavit Wines in collaboration with Honest Cooking. Thank you for your support! Want to outshine every other appetizer this year at your holiday party? Now you can, with this beautiful and scrumptious vegetarian dish. It will

What is Ahi Poke?  It's a raw (sushi grade) tuna salad served as an appetizer.   I ordered this appetizer at Tommy Bahama Restaurant in Florida, it was so good!  I wanted to try and make it at home and was so excited to find the recipe on Tommy Bahama's website.  Check it out  here ,   and I also came across a youtube video,  here .  So now that I had the recipe, I went shopping for the ahi tuna.  I tried Whole Foods first.  The seafood guy was so nice and helpful.  I didn't really know what I was looking for but told him what I was making.  He let me know that I needed sushi grade tuna and where I could get it ( Seafood Center ) as they didn't have any at the moment.  He did say that he can always get it in if he had a couple days notice.     We went to the  Seafood Center and they had a beautiful piece of ahi tuna.  It's pricey, $34.99 per lb but you only need 1/2 lbs for 8 servings. ...

I don't know if this is due to my lyonnaise origins (Lyon is renown for its fine  charcuterie , or deli meats), but if you ask me what my favorite food is, there is a good chance I'll answer pâté (pronounced pah-TAY). It's hard to explain, but just thinking of it makes me salivate. There are all kinds of pâtés. Some can be spread on bread, others are sliced and eaten with a fork and knife, like this one. Some are baked in a crust (my favorite). Others are baked in a terra cotta or ceramic dish, called a terrine . Although originally a country dish, they can be very refined—some contain truffles, foie gras , or other fancy ingredients. There's one for every taste (and in my case, I love them all!). If you ever go to France, stop in a charcuterie-traiteur (deli shop) and try a few. Each region has its own specialties.  Since I am far from France, I make my own pâté from time to time. I tried various recipes over the years, but the one I'm about to give is my favori...

The other day we made a delicious kale and walnut pesto based on this recipe by Shutterbean . We ate about half of it with fresh pasta (yum!), and used the other half for this tomato tart. I used my beloved quiche crust recipe , but used whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose, and replaced the cream with water. Actually, I had made the dough in advance (I double or triple the proportions then divide the dough into small balls and freeze them), so I just had to unfreeze a ball of dough (20 seconds in the microwave), roll it out on parchment paper and voilà. I poked a few holes in the crust with a fork to let air go through and prevent the crust from bubbling up while baking, spread the kale pesto evenly, then laid thin tomato slices in concentric circles, starting from the edge of the dish. I sprinkled with a little salt and pepper, then baked at 350ºF (180ºC) for about 30 minutes.

Last week I listened to an interview of Alice Waters on NPR (by Terry Gross on Fresh Air). It was so inspiring that it got me dreaming about opening a place of my own all over again. (This is a recurring fantasy... which shouldn't surprise you too much). I spent last night in my Dream Café, welcoming patrons with delicious yet simple, healthy, affordable food made from the freshest ingredients, presented in a short, ever-changing seasonal menu, and featuring a fun selection of small plates for children, and a place for them to quietly play and read after their meal, so grown ups can have a few minutes of respite. Sigh... As I was listening to Alice, two thougts came to mind. First, she mentioned that she stopped seeing her friends when she got into the chaos of opening Chez Panisse . She also said that she stopped cooking there when she had her daughter... So this dream business of mine sounded quite incompatible with my dream life of the moment. Unless maybe I could have a cafe ...