Tex Mex Dip

My mom has made this dip for as long as I can remember. It was always popular at parties my parents would sometimes host at the house. It goes great served with flank steak, warm tortillas and fresh squeezed lime.

TEX MEX DIP

Layer 1:  2 cans bean dip (I use Frito Lay, located in the chip aisle)

Layer 2:  3 ripe avocados, 2 tbsp lemon juice, salt and pepper

Layer 3:  1 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 pkg dry taco mix seasoning

Layer the above in a 9x 13 pan.

Toppings

3 ripe chopped tomatoes, seeded

1 large can black olives, sliced

1 bunch green onions (white and green), sliced

8 oz grated Cheddar cheese (I use Colby Jack)

Serve with your favorite tortilla chips.

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

I remember my mom started making these after subscribing to a local CSA through Kretchman's Farm. I haven't bought pickles from a store since.

FRESH DILL PICKLE SPEARS

1 or 2 cucumbers, sliced into spears and placed in a glass quart jar with a few sprigs of dill

Heat to boiling

2 tbsp kosher salt

1/4 cup white vinegar

2 cups water

cut- up clove of garlic

Pour the mixture over the cukes, cover with jar lid and when it cools, refrigerate.

To avoid breaking the glass jar, run hot tap water on the outside of the jar just before pouring the boiling liquid in.

Arby's Knockoff Fries

Ingredients you'll need: 3 # potatoes 2.5qt (2.25liters)warm water 2.5tbsp (25g) kosher salt

Soak the spiralized potatoes for 30 minutes and then cut them so they're not too long and dip them in the batter without needing to dry them. Then fry! Batter: 1/2 cup(80g) flour 2tsp (8g) kosher salt 2 tablespoon (24g) smoked paprika 2 tablespoons (19g) ancho powder 1/2tsp (1g)cayenne 1/2tbsp (7g) garlic powder 1 cup (240ml) water Mayo: 1/4 cup (60g) mayo 1/2 small grated black winter truffle (17g) 2 cloves grated garlic 1 small bunch chives finely chopped Splash fish sauce Black pepper to taste

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zqcRrhyb5Y

Fried Pork Wonton

Capturing this recipe for later! Mom made it for me in December 2017 when I wasn't feeling well and it immediately lifted my spirits.

1 pound ground pork

¼ cup chopped onion

2/3 can water chestnuts, chopped

2 tbsp sherry wine

½ tsp minced garlic

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

2 tbsp cornstarch

¼ cup soy sauce

60 wonton wrappers

Oil for frying

Brown pork in medium skillet.  Drain fat and rinse meat, then drain again.  Stir in onions, water chestnuts, and wine.  Add garlic and red pepper flakes.  Dissolve cornstarch in soy sauce, add mixture in skillet.  Cook, stirring constantly, over low heat until thick and translucent.

Place 1 rounded tsp of filling in center of each wonton wrapper.  Moisten edges with water.  Fold 2 opposite corners together, forming a triangle.  Seal edges.  Pull the right and left corners of the folded triangle down and below folded edge so they slightly overlap.  Moisten overlapping corners and pinch together.  It should resemble a boat.

Fry a few at a time in hot oil (350 degrees) just until a light beige color – a few seconds is usually enough time.  Drain on paper towels.  Cool, then freeze wontons points down.

Bake frozen wontons in 375-degree oven for about 10 minutes.  Serve with Sweet n Sour sauce and/or hot mustard.

Sweet n Sour Sauce – or use store bought J

¾ cup sugar

1/3 cup ketchup

1 tbsp soy sauce

2/3 cups water

½ cup cider vinegar

3 ½ tbsp. cornstarch

1/3 cup water

Combine first 4 ingredients, bring to a boil.  Add vinegar.  Blend cornstarch with 1/3 cup water and add to mixture.  Cook until mixture bubbles and thickens.

Hot Mustard Sauce – can make ahead, early in the day

¼ cup powdered mustard – I use McCormicks or Colmans brand

2 tbsp water

Stir and let sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes

Bourbon kolbassi

One of my favorite party snacks, this dish reminds me of the late 1980's and early 90's. It's easy and delicious.



3 lbs of kolbassi, boil to remove fat (I do not do this)
1 c. bourbon
1 c. catsup
1 c. chili sauce
1 c. brown sugar

Bake at 300 degrees F for 2 hours or place in crock-pot

Recipe dated November 9, 1990 from Mom.

Ham and cheese buns

Another mom recipe - I have memories of these little sandwiches on special occasions. They're buttery, savory and simply delicious. I could not find poppy seeds at the grocery store I visited for ingredients and so substituted caraway seeds and it was delicious. I also used pretzel buns from Costco.

½ pound soft butter (I only use one stick of butter)

3 tbsp prepared mustard

1-1/2 tbsp poppy seed

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp dehydrated onion

24 Pepperidge Farms dinner rolls (2 packages in aluminum foil trays)

1 pound deli sliced ham

12 slices swiss cheese (approximately ¾ pound)

Mix first five ingredients (can melt butter and add remaining 4 ingredients).  Cut the rolls in half and spread mixture on both sides of rolls.  Place ham and cheese on rolls.  Assemble the rolls into small sandwiches, return to the aluminum foil trays, and wrap in foil.  Heat 10 minutes at 400 degrees.  May be made ahead and refrigerated.  If so heat 15 minutes instead of 10 minutes.  Can also freeze.

You can also make 12 sandwiches using 12 hamburger/sandwich rolls.  Delicious served with Corn Chowder.

Rosemary Cashews - A fan favorite!

This is one of Mom's recipes and people just love these cashews. They're easy to make ahead and for longer-term storage they're freezable. I have fond memories of eating these cashews over many family cocktail hours, especially with Washington can cheese at the beach.

1 ¼ pounds roasted cashews, unsalted

2 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped (put into coffee cup and snip with scissors)

½ tsp cayenne

2 tsp dark brown sugar

2 tsp salt

1 tbsp butter, melted

Toast cashews on a baking sheet at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  Place in bowl.  Mix remaining ingredients together – pour over nuts, stirring well.

Can also use mixed nuts.  If using salted nuts, reduce the amount of salt added.  Can freeze the nuts.

Fried sage leaves

The first time I ever tried these was at the Four Seasons Hotel in Milan after a week of heavy travel. Enjoy these with a cold beer on a hot summer day!

Mix cider and flour for a "beer batter" and pan fry these to taste. Dash with salt immediately after frying. I made this sage bouquet for Mother's Day 2017. Following this appetizer we served mashed turnips and potatoes, Ina Garten's peppercorn filet mignon, and salad.

Spring roll rainbow tray

Pedro and I love spring rolls - especially when we can grab half the ingredients from our herb garden. I thought this "rainbow tray" was a creative way to put together the presentation of ingredients. I also really liked the peanut ginger dipping sauce recipe that we used for this particular Sunday-evening, back-to-work treat.

GINGER PEANUT SAUCE

• 1/2 cup salted natural peanut or almond butter
• 1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce (GF for gluten free eaters)
• 2-3 Tbsp brown sugar or maple syrup (add to taste)
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 1/2 tsp chili garlic sauce
• 1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger (optional)
• hot water to thin

Warm Summer Tomato Caprese Salad

Basically one of the best salads I've had this summer. I love using my small all-clad bakers for this salad. I slice locally grown, perfectly ripe tomatoes into thick slices and drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper on top. Then I top the tomatoes with shredded mozzarella and place under the broiler for about 8 - 10 minutes. Finish off the salad with fresh cut basil and a drizzle of high quality olive oil. Serve with sliced baguette to sop up the juices. Summer time!

Forget the gravy; give me chimichurri!

Pedro's brother Sebastian is preparing prime rib for Christmas dinner and instead of gravy he's making a red and green chimichurri sauce (I believe at my suggestion after seeing it on a PBS program this morning in Minneapolis. I love that the Maiz brothers are up for any challenge - though the green chimichurri captured below is one that Sebastian regularly makes :)

Let's start with the red version. Simmer finely diced onion (maybe shallots next time) with olive oil and saffron. Let it cool. Add half cup of chopped parsley, 1 garlic clove, one tbsp of paprika, 3 tbsp of sherry, pinch of cayenne, and salt to taste to a mortar and pestle. Add this paste as the base to a bowl and slowly mix in about a half cup of olive oil along with the simmered onions. Smokey and delicious!

Now for the green sauce (get it? They're Christmas colors!) Add to a mortar and pestle salt to taste, one 1 clove of garlic, chile flakes, 1 part parsley, half a part cilantro, a quarter part fresh oregano, couple tbsp of finely chopped shallot and sherry vinegar to taste. Add fresh lemon to the paste in the mortar and pestle, and then transfer it to a bowl and slowly incorporate olive oil. So much better than gravy!

Feliz Navidad from Minneapolis 2015 - Aguachile!

Pedro and I are enjoying our first married Christmas together with his brother and sister-in-law in Minneapolis. Jaime is due to give birth to their first son in a few weeks and the weekend has lots of treats in store. This first, pictured below, is a delicious Aguachile made with chiles from a chile piquin tree in their sunroom. Simply ground 3 chiles with salt and lemon using a mortar and pestle. And then pour the lime sauce over raw shrimp (or cooked like we did tonight) and enjoy. Be warned - this dish is totally addictive.

Hot pickles!

I love pickles. And I love all things spicy. So why not combine the two and make a delicious, fresh, crunchy, salty treat?! These babies are spicy!

Follow the below recipe and add sliced jalapeños to the jar of cukes before pouring in the boiling water/vinegar mix. You could really pickle anything with this... Add red onions, red cabbage or green beans. Experiment with different veggies and have fun!

FRESH DILL PICKLE SPEARS

1 or 2 cucumbers, sliced into spears and placed in a glass quart jar with a few sprigs of dill

Heat to boiling

2 tbsp kosher salt

1/4 cup white vinegar

2 cups water

cut- up clove of garlic

Pour the mixture over the cukes, cover with jar lid and when it cools, refrigerate.

To avoid breaking the glass jar, run hot tap water on the outside of the jar just before pouring the boiling liquid in.

Beach Bacon and Raspberry Bites

The Waller family is enjoying a week at the Outer Banks and I threw together this appetizer for happy hour (5:30 p.m. sharp!). The recipe was inspired by a similar crostini creation that my mom and I watched from Giada on the Food Network this morning.

Start with a fresh baguette. Slice thinly and toast in the oven with olive oil drizzled on top.

Meanwhile, work on the toppings. The first layer is a mix of goat and cream cheeses with crushed garlic and lemon (it actually works a little better if you prep this ahead of time and let sit for a couple hours for the garlic and lemon to settle with the cheeses). The second layer is a thin dallop of raspberry (or fig) jam with a little Tabasco. I mixed about 1/2 c. jam with 4 squirts of Tabasco and spread this across all of the crostinis. Then spoon a mixture of carmelized diced red onions with crispy bacon bits. Garnish with freshly julienned basil.

Enjoy with cocktail hour!

Pete's Spicy Hummus

Pedro makes hummus for us all the time. It's great to have a healthy snack around the house and to take to the office. The ratios listed below are rough estimates from Pedro's version, but every batch turns out a little different so play around and see what works for you!

Also note that you'll need a high horsepower blender to make the hummus smooth and creamy. Try a blendtec or vitamix from Costco. 

Add 2 cans (drained) of chickpeas to the blender. Throw in 2-3 large cloves of garlic (we like ours spicy with the garlic!), 1/4 c. tahini, juice from two limes, between 1/4 and 1/2 c. water, depending on how thick  you like your hummus, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

This makes an excellent base to play with. For Pete's spicy hummus we add one raw jalapeño with the seeds. Other examples of things to give your hummus an extra kick include sun dried tomatoes, pesto, or Asian peppers! The sky is the limit.

Serve with pita triangles and garnish with extra olive oil and paprika. Enjoy!

Cheese Cookie Logs

Another one of my favorites from mom!

Sausage pinwheels

This is one of my favorite appetizers that my mom makes. She prepared a little cooking lesson to teach me how they're made. The recipe follows but it's important to note that these should be rolled lengthwise and each full roll (1/4 of the dough ball) makes 12 pinwheels. Cut a full roll in half and freeze for convenient 6 cut appetizer available whenever!

Zucchini herb fritters with mint yogurt

Pedro and I both enjoyed this recipe as a delicious appetizer. My yogurt came out sweeter than what I would normally make, (I think I added more honey than called for and less garlic) but the plate was very yummy nonetheless.

Zucchini-Herb Fritterswith Garlic Yogurt PUBLISHED: MAY 2015 USER RATINGS SERVINGS: MAKES ABOUT 12

Squeezing the liquid out of the zucchini is the secret to crisp fritters. (The potato helps, too.) Ingredients SERVINGS: MAKES ABOUT 12

Garlic Yogurt
½ cup plain yogurt (not Greek)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon honey
1 garlic clove, finely grated Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 small zucchini, ends trimmed
1 small russet potato, peeled
½ medium onion
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more
2 large eggs, beaten to blend
1 garlic clove, finely grated
½ teaspoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint, plus more for serving
 Freshly ground black pepper
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ cup vegetable oil Olive oil (for serving)

Preparation Garlic Yogurt Mix yogurt, mint, lemon juice, oil, honey, and garlic in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper. Cover; chill. Fritters And Assembly Grate zucchini, potato, and onion on the large holes of a box grater. Transfer to a mesh sieve set over a bowl and toss with 2 tsp. salt. Let vegetables sit until they release their liquid, 30−40 minutes. Mix eggs, garlic, cumin, 3 Tbsp. parsley, and 2 Tbsp. mint in a medium bowl; season with salt and pepper. Gather up half of zucchini mixture in a kitchen towel; squeeze out excess liquid. Add to bowl with egg mixture and repeat with remaining zucchini mixture. Sprinkle flour and baking powder over; mix gently. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Working in batches, spoon scoops of mixture into skillet, flattening gently with a spatula. Cook until golden brown and crisp, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a wire rack; season with salt. Drizzle yogurt sauce with olive oil and top with more herbs; serve alongside warm fritters. 

Mustard aioli grilled potatoes with tarragon

These were very tasty - almost like a Spanish style potato salad. I had never tried tarragon and was surprised to discover its licorice taste.

Boil 5 whole Yukon gold potatoes until you can pierce the entire potato. Once cooled, cut the potatoes into just larger than bite sized chunks and coat with aioli (see recipe below). Grill until chat marks appear. Once plated, season with salt and pepper, olive oil and fine herbs of your choosing. I used tarragon.

For the aioli mix:

1/2 c. Mayonnaise

Heaping tbsp of Dijon mustard

Heaping tbsp of course ground mustard

1 clove crushed garlic

Dallop of honey

Salt and popper

Peter's Hot Wings

It's Super Bowl season and everyone loves a good spread of bar food to snack on for the event.

Pedro decided to bring the best of Pittsburgh bar food to our home last night, creating what he called "99 Bottles - the home experience." If you haven't been to 99 Bottles in Carnegie, we highly recommend it. My parents discovered this little gem (read dive) and it's a fun spot to watch the Penguins play during hockey season.

My favorite item from last night's fixings were Pedro's homemade chicken wings. He started with a couple packages of the full chicken wing and broke these down to the wingette and the drumette. You can discard the wingtips or use them to make chicken stock.

Make sure the wing parts have enough moisture to really soak in a good coating of flour. Pedro didn't feel ours had enough moisture so he soaked them quickly in a milk and egg bath. Then he coated them with seasoned flour which included salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayenne pepper. Pedro says "wings should always be tasty enough to eat on their own, the sauce is just an extra something."

Fry these wings in 3/4 inches of vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet, or use a deep fryer. Let them sit a minute before soaking them in sauce.

For Pedro's sauce he first melted about 3 tbsp. of butter in a sauce pan and then added 5 cloves of crushed garlic. Once the garlic started to brown just slightly, he added a little more than 3/4 c. of Frank's red hot. Then about 1/2 c. high quality BBQ sauce. And finally about 1/4 c. Siracha sauce. The sauce is really a free for all - a place to bring your own creativity to the table. You could add honey or habanero, just depending on the final flavor profile you're looking for.

Serve your wings with blue cheese, ranch and/or fresh veggies. A yummy bar food classic!