Tag Archives: Black pepper

Mouth Party

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I had this at a new years eve party and its almost March and I am still thinking about it. I have problems I know. Anyway, I hit my buddy up and asked him how he made it and he turned me to this cool site. They have all sorts of recipe ideas so I went ahead and made these for a dinner party. Came out so yum, but two tips I have is to make sure the artichokes are properly dried (I had water squirt out when I bit into it, not cute and very hot!) My other tip is also in regards to moisture, make sure the chilies are dried from adobo sauce because the seeds have a lot of heat and you don’t want to over power the aioli, just give it a kick. Anyway, here is the party appetizer that will taste like a party in your mouth!

  • 2 (14 ounce) jar/can of whole artichoke hearts
  • 10 slices bacon, halved crosswise
  • 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Dipping Sauce aka Chipotle Aioli

  • 3/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 clove garlic, minced or grated (I did 2 because I’m crazy and LOVE garlic)
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1 whole canned chipotle chiles in adobo, minced

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*photo from Tablespoon, where this recipe idea originated from.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Then set up the bacon strips on a baking sheet lined with foil. Sprinkle the bacon with Parmesan. Place the artichoke heart in the center of each bacon strip. Wrap the bacon around the artichoke and, if you are clumsy and cant wrap then feel free to secure the bacon with a toothpick. Sprinkle the bites with a little Parmesan and pepper. Bake for 45 minutes, or until bacon is crispy. Meanwhile combine the mayo, garlic, honey, minced chipotle chiles and a pinch of pepper in a medium bowl. Stir until combined and smooth. Transfer to a dipping bowl and place in the fridge until ready to use.

Happy Eating, XO

Sassy Fish

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Hopefully everyone is full of chocolate from V-day and is now ready for eating better. As we know, fish is a staple to eating healthier, but I have a really a good twist on a basic pan seared fish recipe! I love it because its a lil sweet & spicy and I think it resonates with me/my personality. I’m a sassy girl! Overall I am sweet, but I have a lil fiery side to me as well. I also love this fish idea because it totally came out of no where when I was rummaging through my mom’s fridge over the holidays.

  • 2 5-6oz filets of a “meaty” fish (so think salmon, tuna, halibut and not tilapia or cod because they are more flaky)
  • 1 tbsp. minced garlic (3 cloves?)
  • 2 tbsp. minced onions (yellow, Spanish, shallots, whatever you want)
  • 1 tsp. sriracha (more if you like it spicier vs. sweeter)
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 tbsp. soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp. mango chutney (I use the brand Patak’s Major Grey Mango Chutney, but really any one would work)
  • Pinch of black pepper

In a small sauce saucepan simmer the chutney, soy, sriracha, garlic, and onions. This will not only marry all the flavors, but it will thin out the consistency since the chutney is chunky with pieces of mango in it. Think about 3-5 minutes. While that is happening coat the fish with olive oil and pepper (no salt really needed because of the sodium in the soy). Start to sear in a hot non-stick pan. Reduce the flame on the saute pan and add the sauce to the fish, finish cooking the filets with the sauce in pan. Approximately 10-12 min. of total cook time for fish.

Happy Eating, XO.

Home-made EASY Tapa

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So apparently the Italians aren’t the only ones that do cheese sticks. One night when I was in Madrid last month, the kitchen was closed at this local bar and the owner said he would whip us up yummy Venezuelan tapas. (Tapas literally just mean small plates). So much to our surprise these tapas were pretty much the Latin version of a cheese stick that they served with this slap your mama good aioli. I swear we crushed them in under 5 minutes so ofcourse I had to come home and try & replicate them immediately.

  • Store bought string cheese (4 sticks since you will be cutting them in half for 8 servings. I say use a mozz and don’t get fancy with any Colby Jack)
  • Store bought garlic flavored crescent rolls (don’t do the regular, these are more buttery & flavorful)

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Literally use the same method from the pizza roll ups, but just with the cheese and dough. Also make sure that the cheese is sealed in by the dough and nothing can ooze out when baking. The pizza roll ups were more free to form whereas in this recipe you want the cheese locked inside the dough. Bake at 350 degrees for 5-10 min. (until golden not brown). Let them cool for 3-5 min before serving.

Aioli (I think this is how its made, no clue since the guy barely spoke English, but it tasted like this so I cant be that far off)

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  • 1/4 cup of plain yogurt (don’t do greek, its too thick & tangy)
  • 1 tbsp. of mayo
  • 1 tbsp. of crushed garlic
  • 1 shallot (dice it a bit so it breaks down easier in the processor or blender)
  • pinch of salt, black pepper, and dried parsley

Blend in food processor & serve chilled.

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Happy Eating, XO.

Truffled Crostini

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Now, you all know our obsession with anything truffle and I was lucky enough to get an assortment of truffle goodies from Jess for Christmas. Ranging from truffle salt, to truffle honey, to actual black truffles themselves. I was so excited to see all the unique dishes I could make with my new treats & did a quick experiment for this Saturday night’s wine induced festivities. See below for my quick, no cook appetizer/snack that was almost finished before I could post the photograph to our Instagram account! Make sure you like the photo, especially because my friend Caitlin’s Kate Spade salt & pepper shakers are the star of the show 🙂

  • Store bought (obvi from Trader Joe’s, like I shop anywhere else) toasted baguette chips (the base of the crostini).
  • Marscapone cheese (you can actually use ricotta cheese as well, but I had left over marscapone in the fridge and so I just used that vs. making a trip to the store). I smeared about 1 tbsp. on each piece.
  • Truffle honey (the smallest drizzle you can do, since the truffle is a very strong flavor. I used the back of the tablespoon I was using for the cheese to drizzle a tsp. worth of the honey on each piece).
  • Blackberries (I suggest cutting them in half because of the way they will fit on the crostini & you don’t want the fruit to over power the other flavors).

I add a pinch of sea salt and black pepper before adding the halved berry on top. It’s just that easy! No cook apps are my fav. They are quick to put together, require minimal clean up, and are also easy to transport.

Happy Eating, XO.

Simla mirch paneer

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Merely translates to bell pepper paneer. If you don’t know what paneer is, google it. (Their explanation will be much better than my cliché response: its like “cottage” cheese). Point here is to reuse the lovely ingredients you purchased for the Goan Shrimp Curry recipe. Swap out the shrimp for paneer and the coconut milk for green bell peppers. Yes, its just that simple! Now, I will say there are many ways to prepare this dish, but this one is the easiest, as well as, my favorite.
  • 1 chopped medium yellow spanish onion (vidalia is too sweet)
  • 2 tbsp. tomato paste
  • 1 tbsp. of the minced garlic
  • 2 tsp. Tumeric powder
  • 2 tsp. Cumin (the powder or seeds, I personally hate the seeds and always use powder)
  • 2 tsp. Coriander powder
  • 2 tsp. Garam Masala
  • 2 tsp. Ginger powder (I tend to think fresh is too strong, but would work fine)
  • Red chili powder to taste
  • Salt to taste
  • Black pepper to taste
  • 2 chopped green bell peppers (keep the diced size similar to the size you cut the paneer so it all cooks well and evenly together. Also, Green is best in my opinion as red & yellow tend to have a sweeter flavor that would detract from this dish).
  • 250 gm Paneer (Store bought paneer is fine, I know your moms probably make it from scratch, oh well. Dice into cubes).

Create the tadka (remember that fun word we learned previously? No? Its just browning the spices in hot oil, 3 tablespoons of oil on high heat) then add tomato paste (note I use the paste vs. most people who use actual tomatoes. Feel free to use either, I just think real tomatoes have too high of a water content making the dish more wet & I prefer the sabzi to be dry), chopped onions and bell pepper. Once the tomato paste has melted and mixed in with the veggies add the cubed paneer. Cook stove top on medium heat for 15 minutes. Serve with rice or roti.

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Happy Eating, XO.