Archive for Appetizer Recipes
Feast on This: Pear and Squash Bruschetta
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©USAPears
Tired of the usual bland artichoke and spinach dip, aka mundane holiday appetizers served everywhere? Feast on this: Chef Craig Richards from La Tovola restaurant in Atlanta shares a creative in season Thanksgiving or Christmas holiday recipe your guests will love: A warm pear and squash bruschetta with sourdough bread, topped with slices of savory cheese. Enjoy!
For more information regarding pear varieties, facts, recipes, and culinary uses, visit USA Pears.
Pear and Squash Bruschetta
Chef Craig Richards
12-14 pieces, serving 6-12 people
1 butternut squash (1-1/2 pounds)
2 yellow onions (1 pound), coarsely chopped
2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
4 sage leaves
3 ripe pears, cored and cut into half-inch cubes (we love the Bosc variety)
1/2 pound loaf sourdough bread
1/4 pound smoked ricotta or smoked mozzarella cheese
Pumpkin seed oil or extra virgin olive oil
Peel squash. Combine squash trimmings, onion and carrots in a large saucepan; add water to cover. Bring to a boil and simmer 45 minutes or until liquid is flavorful, adding additional water to keep about 3 cups liquid in pan. Strain. Reserve liquid and discard solids.
Scrape seeds from squash and discard. Cut squash into 1/2-inch cubes. Heat olive oil and butter in a large shallow pan. Add sage and fry for 30 seconds or until crisp and fragrant. Remove sage with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towel and reserve for garnish. Add squash and pears to pan. Cook over medium heat stirring frequently until just starting to brown. Add 1 cup of the squash stock and cook until reduced. Repeat, using about 3 cups stock. Pears and squash should be soft but still hold shape. Season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, slice bread into 1/2-inch slices. Toast in 350ºF oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Spoon about ¼ cup warm pear-squash mixture onto each bruschetta. Using a vegetable peeler, make ribbons of cheese and place on top of each. Drizzle with pumpkin seed or olive oil if desired. Garnish servings with fried sage.
Savory Dill Monkey Bread
Posted by: | CommentsChef Chris Pandel: At the ripe old age of 29, he has quite the impressive CV. He’s worked under Rick Tramonto and Daniel Boulud, and is now the executive chef and co-owner of The Bristol, a Bucktown Chicago hotspot. The Bristol serves local seasonally inspired rotating chalkboard menu items, but also has a standing menu of mainstays, one of which is his notoriously famous Monkey Bread. This is not the retro sticky sweet version made with biscuits from a can, but an amazing savory alternative served with a dill butter dipping sauce. Chicago diners can’t stop raving about it. Check out what these Yelpers have to say:
- Samantha: “I tried the monkey bread for the first time on this visit as well, and it was top notch”
- Sandy: “the table was in love with the famous monkey bread”
- Lindsey: “We started off the meal with the monkey bread, it was golden and delicious and the dill butter was amazing!”
- Cassie: “We started with the monkey bread and I’m glad we did – yum!”
- Ed: “the monkey bread was my favorite..it was so soft and warm”
- Brian: “The monkey bread with the dill butter was amazing.”
- Brett: “I don’t imagine ever finding myself tiring of that amazingly toasty, slightly salty and totally comforting monkey bread”
Chris Pandel from Chicago magazine on Vimeo.
Read on for the recipe: Read More→
Cremini Mushrooms Stuffed With A Caper And Crab Salad
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©Modern Luxury Magazine
Chef William Bradley is the executive chef of Addison, the signature restaurant of the The Grand Del Mar resort in San Diego. Here’s some recent praise for the chef from Troy Johnson of Modern Luxury Magazine:
“Paging Bravo! William Bradley’s time in the lights is now. He recently became the only Southern California chef to be anointed with both the AAA Five-Diamond Award and the Mobil Five-Star Award for his contributions to the mouth. The brainy charmer’s kitchen at the San Diego-based Grand Del Mar’s Addison restaurant is a sanctuary—not a single knife or shallot out of place. This obsessive attention to detail shows in his food, as well: think clean, perfectly separated tastes of wild leek vichyssoise with bacon crémeux, brioche and fennel pollen.”
In today’s featured restaurant recipe, the chef shares a simple to prepare yet elegant appetizer featuring stuffed cremini mushrooms. And did you know? Cremini mushrooms are nutrient packed, trumping all other mushrooms and many vegetables in levels of copper, potassium, Vitamin B2 (riboflavin), and the antioxidant selenium. You can view the comparisons in a chart from the Mushroom Council here.
Marinated Cremini Mushrooms Stuffed With A Caper and Crab Salad
Chef William Bradley
4 servings
Ingredients
16 cremini mushrooms
To taste Fleur de Sel sea salt
3 cups extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
4 whole shallots, sliced
2 cups picked Dungeness crabmeat
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup chopped chives
½ cup chopped capers
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Directions
Method for Marinated Creminis:
Place cremini mushrooms on a roasting tray, sprinkle with sea salt. Place in a preheated 350-degree Fahrenheit oven for 15 minutes. Remove mushrooms and rest for an additional 15 minutes. In a mixing bowl, add olive oil, garlic, shallots and mushrooms. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 48 hours.
Method for Caper Crab Salad:
In a mixing bowl, add crab, mayonnaise, chives, capers and lemon juice. Make sure all ingredients are mixed thoroughly.
Assembly:
Remove mushrooms from marinade. Divide mushrooms among 4 plates and place a generous amount of crab mixture on top of the mushrooms.
