Embarrassingly Easy

Baked Brie Bites

As much as I love to cook and bake, I am a huge fan of serving food that does not require me to be stuck in the kitchen when I have guests over.  And while frozen foods are great for things like that (TGI Friday's apps anyone?), 99% of the time, I still prefer to make my easy appetizers myself.  I think it allows for more creativity and it LOOKS like you spent all day in the kitchen prepping for your guests.  The only downside of super easy appetizers is when someone asks me for the recipe.  I begin to awkwardly blush and suddenly feel guilty for accepting all their compliments on my cooking skills.  I mean, yes, I did make them, but it was so easy is it really fair for me to accept all this praise?  Also, do I want to admit just how easy it was and let them know I wasn't cooking all day with them in mind?  I usually end up caving in and letting them in on how simple the food was and hope that they use my simple recipes in the future.  Which is why I'm posting some of my favorites here, because who doesn't love easy entertaining?  ...And I hope to try some of your appetizers next time I come over :)

Baked Brie Bites (pictured above)

Ingredients
24 Frozen Phyllo Cups (my supermarket sells them in packs of 15, so I buy two)
1 Wheel of Brie
1/4 c. Sliced Almonds (you will not use it all)
Brown Sugar for sprinkling

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut the wheel of brie into small pieces, so that one piece will fit inside a phyllo cup (I find 1 wheel of brie makes about 24 bite size squares).
3. Arrange the phyllo cups on a baking sheet and place a square of cheese in each one.
4. Bake for 5 minutes.
5. Remove them from the oven and sprinkle the sliced almonds and brown sugar on top of them.
6. Return to the oven and bake for another 2 minutes.
7. Remove, serve & enjoy!

*Note: I've made these also using Craisins instead of (and along side of) the sliced almonds.  Both are equally delicious.  I also think adding some green apple in there would be tasty - try it out!

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Ingredients
1 can of Chick Peas (15 oz)
1/3 c. Tahini (found in the Middle Eastern section of the grocery store)
Juice of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp. EVOO
2 Garlic cloves, crushed
3/4 c. Roasted Red Peppers
Pinch of kosher salt

Instructions
1. Combine the chick peas, tahini, lemon juice, and EVOO in a food processor and process until smooth.
2. Add the garlic and roasted red peppers and continue to process. 
3. Add salt to taste.

I like to serve the hummus with a tray of veggies, some pretzels and pita chips.  A fun serving idea is to use a pepper as a bowl, just cut off the top and scoop out the insides. 

Mango Salsa Scoops (from Food Network Magazine)

Ingredients
1 c. Mango, diced
1 c. Black beans
1/4 c. Red onion, diced
2 Tbsp. Pickled jalapenos, chopped
2 Tbsp. Pickled jalapeno liquid (from the jar)
Chopped cilantro
Lime juice
Kosher salt
Bag of Tortilla Scoops

Instrucitons
1. Combine the mango, black beans, red onion, chopped pickled jalapeno and the liquid.  Add the cilantro, lime juice and salt to taste.
2. Spoon the salsa into the tortilla scoops and serve!

Marinated Garlic-Lime Shrimp

Ingredients
Frozen raw shrimp - peeled & de-veined to make your life easier
Garlic-Lime Marinade (I used Lawry's and it came out delicious, you could also make your own if you'd like or choose another brand)

Instructions
1. Place the raw shrimp in a ziploc bag and pour marinade in, enough to coat.
2. Let sit in fridge for at least 1 hour.
3. Heat a saute pan on medium-low heat (I don't use any oil, just a non-stick pan) and add the shrimp, but not the excess marinade.
4. Cook until done, when the shrimp are all pink and shaped like a "C" - not a very long time
5. Plate and serve!

Shrimp in a martini glass, keeping it classy ;-)

Fruit Bar

Remember in college when you would soak oranges and watermelons in vodka so you could enjoy some nice fruit while pre-gaming? Well, this is the more mature version of that. Macerated fruit served over pound cake, topped with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Macerating, or soaking the fruit in liquid infuses the flavor of the liquid into the fruit. With fresh fruit, the most common way to macerate is to sprinkle some sugar on top, pour the liquid in and let it sit for an hour or so - that's it! This is a great dessert, especially in the summer, and is so simple to make. It's also perfect for group gatherings. You can simply make the pound cake, slice it or use a biscuit cutter to make individual sized cakes, set up bowls with different fruits, whipped cream and chocolate shavings to allow everyone to make their own a dessert. And because it's so easy, you can make a few different options in no time. For the pound cake, you can either make your own or buy one already made. I included a recipe below, but you can always substitute it with your favorite. Also, you'll see below that the technique for all of these fruits is pretty much the same, so go ahead and make up your own! Enjoy!

Pound Cake

Ingredients

1 pound/2 cups (4 sticks) butter, plus 1 tbsp.

1 pound/2 cups cake flour*, plus 2 tbsp.

1 pound/2 cups sugar

9 eggs (at room temp.)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Using the extra tablespoon of butter, butter two 9x5 loaf pans. Use the extra 2 tablespoons of flour to dust them.

3. Cream the butter and the sugar together (about 6 minutes on a medium speed). Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

4. Add eggs one at a time, making sure each egg is fully mixed in before adding the next.

5. While continuing to mix, add the vanilla and salt.

6. Slowly add the flour into the bowl, while still mixing.

7. When fully mixed, mix for about 30 seconds more. Then divide the batter evenly amongst the 2 pans.

8. Bake for approx. 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown but the crack in the middle will appear moist. The cake should spring back if you press it.

9. Allow to cool, then slice. If you want to make individual round cakes, you can slice it, then use the biscuit cutter in the middle of each slice.

Sliced Oranges with Grand Marnier

4 naval oranges

1 tbsp. sugar

1/4 c. Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur

1. Cut oranges in half and peel using a sharp knife. Be sure to remove all the orange rind and the white pith.

2. Cut the orange into segmants. Do this by slicing along its divided membranes. Place in a bowl.

3. Sprinkle the sugar over the oranges and pour the Grand Marnier over the pieces.

4. Allow the oranges to sit for at least 1 hour before serving.

Raspberries in Red Wine

2 cups raspberries (rinsed)

Sugar

1/2 cup red wine (pick your favorite!)

1. Put the raspberries in a bowl and sprinkle with sugar (to taste).

2. Pour the wine in and let macerate for at least 1 hour.

Strawberries Romanoff

2 cups strawberries (washed, hulled and halved)

1/2 c. fresh orange juice

1/4 c. Curaçao or other orange liqueur

1. Place strawberries in a bowl and add the orange juice and Curaçao.

2. Let sit for 2-3 hours.

Peaches with Marsala

4 ripe peaches (chilled)

Sugar

1/2 c. marsala wine

1. Peel and slice the peaches.

2. Sprinkle sugar over peaches (to taste) and pour the wine over the peaches.

3. Serve immediately*

*Yes I realize this isn't macerated, but it still tastes good!

A recipe for homemade whipped cream can be found here.

For chocolate shavings, just grab a chunk of chocolate and take it to a cheese grater. It's very simple but adds a nice touch.

Your guests can make something that looks like this:

East Meets West Coleslaw

In my previous post, I posted the recipe that my friend Moira and I created for braised pork to celebrate LOST. Well here is another recipe that I served at the Lost party. This coleslaw was the easiest dish to make and was absolutely delicious. I would definitely recommend it for a summer barbecue.

Ingredients

-1/2 Head of purple cabbage, shredded

-1 c. Slice almonds

-2 pkgs. Ramen noodles, broken up

-1 bunch Scallions, chopped (add to your discretion)

-1/2 c. Vegetable oil

-2 tsp. Toasted sesame oil

-1 Tbsp. Soy sauce

-1/3 c. Sugar

-1/4 c. Rice vinegar

-2 Season packets from Ramen noodles (chicken flavor)

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, almonds, Ramen noodles and scallions.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar, rice vinegar and Ramen seasoning packets.

3. Pour the dressing over the dry ingredients and toss. Let sit for a few hours.

I didn't take picture of it that night in the bowl, so here's a picture of the leftovers: