Tag Archives: appetizer

Heirloom Tomatoes

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Nothing says late summer like heirloom tomatoes! Now I realize it’s fall, especially with the rain in Seattle this week, but I found the last of the heirlooms of the season this weekend!

One of my favorite snacks used to be tomato sandwiches: fresh bread, mayo, slices of juicy heirloom tomatoes. Heirlooms in particular are rich in flavor and super delicious. I am strict GF now and eat few grains, but tomatoes are so good just on their own!

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Ingredients

  • Tomatoes, sliced
  • Olive oil
  • Fresh basil, chopped (optional)
  • Sea salt (optional)

Directions

  • Drizzle olive oil on tomatoes and sprinkle with a little sea salt and fresh basil

dit-elle-Esther

Stuffed Mushrooms

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It’s mushroom season! White or Crimini Mushrooms work great for this recipe. This is a great paleo snack. Make them with or without cheese!

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Ingredients

  • 6 oz white or crimini mushrooms
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 1/2 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 lb mild Italian sausage, casings removed
  • 1 cup celery, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup red bell peppers, finely chopped
  • 2 Tbsp fresh oregano leaves, minced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 egg
  • 3 tsps. fresh Italian parsley, minced (or 2 tsp dried parsley)
  • Salt/pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (optional)

Directions

  • Oven to 350*
  • Clean mushrooms with a damp cloth and remove stems
  • Finely chop just the stems
  • Place cleaned mushrooms, caps down on baking sheet and set aside
  • Heat butter and saute onion for 4-5 minutes or until golden
  • Add sausage to skillet and cook until browned
  • Add celery, red bell pepper, and finely chopped mushroom stems and cook for another 5-7 minutes
  • Add oregano and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes
  • Place meat mixture in food processor with egg and parsley and pulse until mixture is finely chopped
  • Spoon meat mixture into each mushroom cap, top with cheese (optional and bake for ~20-30 minutes until mushrooms are tender and filling is starting to brown
  • Enjoy! 🙂

dit-elle-Esther

Creamy Feta Dip and Veggies

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The thing that makes this Feta Dip unique is the cumin spice. It is creamy and fresh and delicious and wonderful paired with fresh veggies!

Mom tip of the day: I left some stems and leaves on the carrots and asked my kids if they wanted “bunny carrots”? They were so intrigued they ate the carrots up (don’t eat the leaves or stems!). Funny how something slightly out of the ordinary is so interesting! 🙂

feta buttermilk and veggies dip blog (2) feta buttermilk and veggies dip blog (1)
Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup buttermilk or Greek Yogurt
  • 6 oz Feta, crumbled (about 1 1/4 cup)
  • 3/4 tsp cumin (optionally for richer flavor – heated in a small skillet until just fragrant)
  • 2 tsps. fresh lime juice
  • Pepper, to taste
  • Olive oil
  • Radicchio leaves, carrots, cucumber or other favorite veggies

Directions

  • Combine buttermilk, 1/2 cup of the Feta, cumin and pepper in a food processor and process until smooth
  • Add remaining feta and pule a few times to combine
  • Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days
  • Before serving, stir in lime juice and serve the dip drizzled with olive oil and a sprinkle of black pepper
  • Serve with fresh cut veggies

dit-elle-Esther

Jalapeno Poppers

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These are delicious! I mean how could they not be? Cheese filled jalapeno peppers wrapped in bacon and baked to crispy perfection! These must be a total crowd pleaser – an awesome app for any season! Enjoy. 🙂

Blog jalapeno popper

Ingredients

  • 12 jalapeno peppers, halved and seeds removed (keep a few seeds if you like spicy – as the seeds hold the heat!). And a note of caution – don’t touch your eyes while chopping. The oil from the seeds is very hot!
  • 1 8oz block of cream cheese
  • 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
  • 6 strips of bacon, halved

Directions

  • Mix cream and cheddar cheeses
  • Fill jalapeno pepper half with cheese mixture and put on the other half
  • Wrap in bacon
  • Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until bacon is crispy (use broiler for a few minutes at end for extra crispiness if needed!)

dit-elle-Esther

Guacamole Deviled Eggs

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A great variety of deviled eggs that adds yummy avocado to a protein rich appetizer!

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Ingredients

  • 6 large hard boiled eggs, cooled and peeled
  • 2 ripe avocados
  • ¼ cup cilantro, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon chives, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • chili powder, for garnish

Instructions

  • Cut eggs in half and remove yolks
  • In a bowl, mash yolks and avocados
  • Stir in cilantro, chives, lime juice, salt, and red pepper flakes
  • Scoop filling into egg whites with a 1 tablespoon ice cream scoop
  • Refrigerate until serving
  • Sprinkle with chili powder and serve!

Thanks ElanasPantry!

dit-elle-Esther

Classic Deviled Eggs

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Do you love deviled eggs? This is a classic recipe – a bit art and a bit science – but with the promise of a super delicious appetizer!

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Ingredients

  • Eggs
  • Mayonnaise
  • Chives, chopped
  • Parsley, for garnish
  • Paprika, for garnish

Directions

  • Bring pot with eggs and water to a boil and then simmer eggs for about 15 minutes
  • Peel under cool water
  • Cut each egg in half and remove the yolks into a separate bowl
  • Stir in mayonnaise until desired color and consistency is reached (this is the art part.. you’ll need to try your way forward)
  • Stir in chopped chives
  • Scoop yolks back into egg-whites and top with chopped parsley and a dusting of paprika
  • Refrigerate until ready to serve
  • Enjoy!

dit-elle-Esther

Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella and Watermelon Skewers

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We’re having another “heat wave” (Seattle doesn’t really know what to do when it’s 80+ degrees (except celebrate perhaps). Get to 90+ though and we start melting). With no air conditioning, we try not to cook and bake much, instead we head to the lake for picnic dinners or grill on our deck. These skewers require no grilling or cooking however and are totally summer, totally simple, and totally delicious.

We had these at a wedding few weeks ago in California. It was the perfect appetizer.

You skewer cherry tomatoes, cubed mozzarella, cubed watermelon and fresh basil leaves. Then drizzle with your favorite balsamic vinaigrette and serve! So easy!

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Ingredients

  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Watermelon, slice into 1″ cubes
  • Mozzarella, cubed
  • Fresh basil leaves
  • Balsamic vinaigrette
  • Skewers (look for bamboo knot cocktail / Hors’ D’oeuvre picks)

 Directions

  • Skewer tomatoes, watermelon and cheese with basil layered in
  • Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette
  • Keep refrigerated until ready to serve
  • Enjoy!

dit-elle-Esther

Parsley Walnut Pesto

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A great summer pesto when parsley is in season – use to pair with salmon, poultry, or mix into pasta or rice!

Blog parsley walnut pesto

Ingredients

  • 3 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil (or more if desired for consistency)
  • 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • salt
  • ground black pepper
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped

Directions

  • Combine all ingredients in food processor – process until smooth.
  • Yields about 12 tablespoons

dit-elle-Esther

Spinach, Bacon and Artichoke Dip

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It feels like I’ve been on this Artichoke Dip frenzy now that I look back at our recipes, but then I guess we’ve also been doing this blog for a while! 🙂 Over the holidays I discovered Hot Artichoke and Crab Dip, then I was looking for a very simple baked dip and discovered the awesome Warm Artichoke Dip with only FOUR ingredients, then finally with some tweaking and consulting of multiple recipes, discovered this excellent Spinach, Bacon and Artichoke Dip that I’m posting today.

This recipe is very similar to my Spinach Artichoke Dip with Bacon, with one key difference being that this one calls for sour cream and the other one calls for mayo, and this one uses a mix of cheeses. This recipe has more veggies and less dairy that many similar dip recipes that you’ll find out there, but that’s the way I like it. And you know, with ingredients like cheese, artichoke, spinach, and BACON.. well.. you can’t really go wrong! Enjoy whatever variation you decide on or come up with. 🙂

Blog spinach bacon dip

Ingredients

  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese + more for topping
  • 1/3 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese + more for topping
  • 5 bacon strips, cooked and chopped (an easy way to cook bacon is to microwave between paper towels until crispy)
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 (14oz) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
  • 1 (8oz) blocks of cream cheese, softened
  • 1 (10oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
  • Serve with fresh cut veggies or tortilla chips

Directions

  • Heat oven to 350*
  • Combine mozzarella, sour cream, Parmesan and next 6 ingredients (through spinach) in a large bowl and stir until well blended
  • Spoon mixture into a baking dish and sprinkle with remaining cheese
  • Bake at 350* for ~30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown
  • Serve warm

Super Mom Tip: this freezes well! Put in individual containers and let thaw in fridge a day ahead of use. 🙂

dit-elle-Esther

Warm Artichoke Dip

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This is a staple – super easy to make – artichoke dip. Four ingredients, mix well and pop in the oven. Voila! Serve hot with fresh cut vegetables or crackers!

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Ingredients

  • 1 can (~14oz) artichoke hearts, quartered
  • 1 can (4oz) chopped green chilis (you can find them with varying degrees of heat, so check the can – mild, medium or hot – whatever your preference)
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup mayonnaise

Directions

  • Combine all ingredients
  • Turn into 8 inch round baking dish
  • Bake 350* for 25 minutes or until it starts to turn golden around the edges and bubble
  • Serve warm as a dip with fresh cut veggies, crackers or chips

dit-elle-Esther