Tomatoes Round the World

I'd like to extol the virtues of tomatoes for a second. Think about it--tomatoes are used in so many different food cultures--European, South American, African, I can name more continents if you'd like. And each of these cultures uses tomatoes in its own unique way. For today, I'll be showing you a European, specifically Italian, way to use tomatoes. 

Tomato Bruschetta with Mozarella and Baguette:

Serves 2-3 as an appetizer or 1-2 as a meal

 

Ingredients:

2 whole ripe tomatoes

1/4 cup onion (I only had red onion when I made this recipe, but you'd typically use yellow onion. Actually, though, the red onion had a nice flavor and added some fun color.)

2 garlic cloves

1/4 cup basil

1-2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

Salt 

Pepper

That's all folks. It's the simplest thing to make. Basically all you do is cut up the tomatoes into small-ish pieces, chop up the onion, dice the garlic, chop the basil, throw it in a bowl with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Let it percolate for 10-15 minutes just to get the juices all nice and melded, and you're good to go!

This is a really basic, good-for-everything recipe. You can use this mixture over pasta with sausage added (stay tuned for that post), you can put this over bread like I'll show you below, or you can use it as a base for more complicated Italian sauces, pasta salad, etc etc, the list goes on.

Continuing on!

Next for this recipe (read: experience), you add mozzarella into the program. I like this kind from Trader Joe's:

It comes in full mozzarella ball form, and you cut it into slices about a 1/4 in thick (or however thick your heart fancies. We are not nit-picky here.) 

Now, slice the baguette. 

I'd do it the same size or so as the mozzarella, just to keep things comfortable. Brush a little bit of olive oil on both sides of each piece and toast slightly til golden brown or less. You really just want to warm it and give it a little crunch. No more than a few minutes in the toaster is necessary. 

Finally, add the mozzarella on top of the bread, sprinkle the bruschetta on top of that, and you've got yourself a party, my friend! Enjoy with some nice wine!

Mushrooms and Cheese Making a Baby

Alright folks, this here is a very simple recipe. It takes about 10 minutes to perform, but the results are pretty delicious. It's a nice appetizer or side. I've had it twice this week with steak, but it works will all sorts of meals. I present: Cheese-Stuffed Mushrooms. I wish there was a sexier name for it...maybe Mushrooms Humped with Cheese. Or Mushrooms and Cheese Making a Baby. I think I like that last one.

Mushrooms and Cheese Making a Baby

Ingredients:

Mushrooms (as many as you like. I can eat 6 in one sitting. But I pig out on these things. Make 4-5 per person.)

Boursin cheese (or you can substitute another soft, tasty cheese.)

Parmesan cheese

That's it!! Just 3 ingredients. Isn't that easy!?

Just to clarify, as far as it goes for the cheese, this is what we use:

But I'm sure a Rondele or something similar would be just fine:

It's not a big deal.

Directions:

All right, let's do this thing. Heat the oven (or toaster oven) to 350 F. 

Clean the mushrooms. Now you're not supposed to wash mushrooms because I guess they soak up the water and get mushy. You clean them by lightly brushing the outside of them with a paper towel to get any dirt or debris (!) off of them. Usually I lightly brush off the outer layer of the mushroom. Remove the stem from the mushroom. Discard it like a used condom.

NEXT. Get a spoon and put some of the Boursin (or other cheese) in the mushroom hole. Just fill it to the top/slightly above. This is up to your discretion, people. 

Finally, sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top. VOILA! 

Place on foil or a metal pan to cook. You're just warming it. It's finished when the top is golden brown. This usually takes about 10 minutes. Give or take 5 minutes. 

These things are a crowd-pleaser! And EASY! Enjoy!

Frozen Choco-Nuto

I should probably work on my recipe naming skills. Bear with me. I'm new at this.

I originally made this recipe about 10 years ago (I started young), but it fell out of favor because my ma got creeped by the raw eggs in it. But I say, nay! It's really good, and if a little egg scares you off, it's your loss, because this stuff is crazy good. A little food knowledge--I'm Alton Brown--that I stole from the USDA: "Freezing to 0 °F inactivates any microbes — bacteria, yeasts and molds — present in food." Boom. So just freeze for the whole two hours, and you're good to go.

Ingredients for Crust:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup softened butter
1 cup flour

Ingredients for Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup Cool Whip* (We didn't have Cool Whip, but we had whipping cream, so I beat 1/2 cup whipping cream with 2 1/2 tbsp sugar in a cooled bowl for approximately 5 minutes or until thick and fluffy.)
1 cup melted chocolate chips

Directions for Crust:
Heat oven to 350 F. Cream brown sugar (or suga if you fancy), butter, and peanut butter until light and fluffy.

Add flour and blend until crumbly.

Press into bottom of 9x13 pan and bake for 10 minutes. Stick in the fridge to cool until filling is ready. Easy.

Directions for Filling:
Beat cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Add eggs. Beat well. Maybe too well.

Fold in Cool Whip *see directions above if you don't have Cool Whip but you do have whipping cream...probably unlikely unless your mom is Foodie Kim. I'm lucky that way.

Spread whipped cream/peanut buttery filling over cooled crust.

 
Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler or in a metal bowl over a pot with water in it. We have a double boiler but it was really high on the shelf, so I McGyvered a lil' contraption.

 

Drizzle the chocolate over the peanut butter filling. You can make swirls or boxes. Lines. Let your world awaken in creative expression. Doesn't really matter, so long as chocolate ends up on top. You can cut through gently with a knife if you feel like marbling it. Whatevs.

 Freeze for at least two hours. Take out of freezer 10 minutes before serving.

What's that? You said something? I couldn't hear you, my mouth was full of a frozen PB snack.

Oh hey, don't eat this if you're allergic. DUH.

Peach and Blueberry Crumbly Goodness

This week, with all the new peaches in season, I decided I wanted some peachy cobbler-like substance in my mouth. I think that's all I need to say about that. Now this recipe is kind of a mash-up of a few recipes combined with a few baking errors on my part, but the mini-cobblers turned out delicious, so I'm going to keep the errors in the recipe I write here. Now, I'm not sure I've ever written a recipe before, so if this is a little ragged, I apologize. I am like a toddler taking my first steps. Sometimes I will stumble. But NOT TODAY. Even if I do, this recipe is pretty fool-proof. Like I said, I messed it up, and they were still delicious. 

So, here goes: 

Lauren's Peach and Blueberry Extravaganza:

Ingredients for Peach and Blueberry Mix:

6 peaches

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup sugar 

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp fresh nutmeg

2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup of fresh blueberries

Ingredients for Cobbler Topping:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup oats

3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter the interior of six individual-sized ramekins. Blanch peaches in a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds each. Run peaches under cool water after removal from the hot water. Peel the peaches with a knife (or your hands if they're really blanched and you're feeling wild). 

Cut each peach into approximately 10 slices each (11 or 9 slices would be just fine. FINE I SAY.)

Transfer to a large bowl and toss with the lemon juice.

Whisk together sugar, flour, and nutmeg in a small bowl. Toss with peaches. 

Add the blueberries and mix the whole mess together. Transfer the mix evenly into the 6 ramekins and dot evenly with the butter.

Now it's time for the topping. Mix together flour, baking soda, oats, and salt in a small bowl. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the dry ingredients and mix until it thickens a bit into clumps. Sprinkle topping over the peach mixture. Bake 35 minutes or until the top is golden brown. 

Here is the finished product! Aren't they beautiful?! I'm a TOP CHEF.