Tag Archives: tomato

Veggie Party Dip

19 Jan

If you’re not in the mood for sandwiches, or just don’t have time to wait for the Veggie Party Sandwiches to set to cut the crusts, you can serve the dip by itself with crackers, crostini or even crudites.

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VEGGIE PARTY DIP

12oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 large tomato, seeds removed, chopped as finely as possible
1 medium cubanelle pepper or 1/2 green bell pepper, seeded, chopped as finely as possible
1/2 medium onion, chopped as finely as possible
Olive oil to taste
Garlic salt and pepper to taste
  1. Mix together the cream cheese, tomato, onion and pepper.
  2. Add olive oil in small increments to soften the mixture until it’s in an easy-to-spread consistency.
  3. Season with garlic salt and pepper.

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Veggie Party Sandwiches

19 Jan

Here in Puerto Rico we have a custom of serving at most birthday parties what we call “sandwichitos de mezcla”.  Roughly translated means “mixture mini sandwiches”.  They’re traditionally made with a bunch of things I don’t eat anymore… so a friend taught me to make this alternative version.

I will confess, my friend Ana Yolanda has requested these sandwiches for several of her home parties.  And I am not lying when I tell you these sandwiches go faster than the traditional version.  I make them on 100% whole wheat bread, so that’s why they are not super symmetrical.  Traditionally they’re made with club sandwich bread, but none of the brands available here are 100% whole grain.

 They’re super easy and super tasty…

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VEGGIE PARTY SANDWICHES

12oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 large tomato, seeds removed, chopped as finely as possible
1 medium cubanelle pepper or 1/2 green bell pepper, seeded, chopped as finely as possible
1/2 medium onion, chopped as finely as possible
Olive oil to taste
Garlic salt and pepper to taste
1 packet of 100% whole wheat sliced sandwich bread
  1. Mix together the cream cheese, tomato, onion and pepper.
  2. Add olive oil in small increments to soften the mixture until it’s in an easy-to-spread consistency.
  3. Season with garlic salt and pepper.

If you stop here… you can use this mixture as a veggie party dip.  Continue to make the sandwiches…

4.  Spread the mixture onto the one side of the sliced bread and assemble sandwiches.

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5.  Take a clean/new handi-wipe or 2 paper towel and dip it in milk or water.  Squeeze the excess milk/water.  Place it at the bottom of a tray or Pyrex where you can fit all the sandwiches.  Place the sandwiches on top of one paper towel or the opened handi wipe.  Cover the sandwiches with the remaining damp paper towel.  Place the tray in the fridge for a few hours or even over night.  The paper towel will keep the sandwiches moist while in the fridge.  If not using, the top bread will dry out on you.

6.  Remove sandwiches from fridge and cut away the crusts and cut in quarters – either diagonally or vertical/horizontal.  It’s up to you.

Serve on a platter and see them fly away…

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Egg-less Frittatas

25 Dec

 This recipe has many ingredients, but it’s easy to assemble and TASTY!!!!

I took them as an addition to a non-vegetarian party and they were all gone in about 10 minutes… my best friend and her mom almost did not get a chance to try them.  If non-vegetarians were devouring them at a Christmas party, image how good they taste.

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EGG-LESS FRITTATAS

1 package of firm silken tofu, drained of water
1/2 cup of soy milk
4 tablespoons of cornstarch
2 oz goat cheese – I used half of a small log
1/2 cup sour cream
squirt of Dijon mustard – about 1 teaspoon
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 cup of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained of as much water as possible
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, without sulphur dioxide
1/2 cup of chopped grape tomatoes
4 green onion stalks, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 teaspoon garlic and herb seasoning
Salt and Pepper to taste
Canola oil spray
  1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. 
  2. Place the first 7 ingredients in a blender.  Process until completely smooth and silky.
  3. Place tofu mixture in a large bowl and add the spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, grape tomatoes, garlic, parsley, seasoning, green onions, salt and pepper.
  4. Lightly spray 2 muffin tins with canola oil spray.  Spoon mixture into muffin pans using a 1/4 cup measure.
  5. Bake in oven for about 30 minutes until they’re set and a bit golden on top.  Check that a knife or wooden skewer comes out cleanly before removing from oven.
  6. When they’re done, remove from oven and let cool for about 20 minutes.  When they’re cooler, they’ll come out from the pan neater and nicer.

They’re light…  you can serve them as a party appetizer, you can also serve them as a nice brunch entree with a nice green salad.  I guess you could also bake it in a baking dish and cut it into pieces instead of doing individual servings… I just have not tried it like that yet… so I am not sure if we’ll need to make adjustments to to baking time.

This recipe yielded me 20 individual fritattas.

  

 ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 This is my last post of the year.  I will take a few days off from cooking and blogging.  This has been a wonderful few months… I promise to come back in the new year with new added inspiration to cook and share with you all.

May the New Year 2008 bring only the best…  until then.

Madelyn.

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Baked Pasta with 4 Cheeses

22 Dec

This is my FAVORITE pasta dish of all time!!!!!!

 I did it last night as a Birthday present dinner for my friend Walter, who traveled with me to Spain this past Summer.  And whom I am trying to convince to apply with me to be in The Amazing Race.

If I have to ask for a Last Meal, this will be the dish I would request.  This is an adaptation from a Martha Stewart recipe, which is actually a recipe from a Providence, Rhode Island restaurant called Al Forno.  I’ve never been to Providence, but if I get to go, Al Forno is the only restuarant I need to go.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do…

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BAKED PASTA WITH 4 CHEESES

1/2 pound whole-wheat pasta – shells, penne or rigatoni would all work well
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese – I sometimes use a pre-shredded cheese blend from the store
1/2 cup  freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese, divided in half – half for mixture, half for topping
1/4 cup freshly grated Fontina cheese
2 tablespoons ricotta cheese
1/2 cup pureed tomatoes
10 fresh basil leaves, torn with your hands
1/4 teaspoon salt
a few grinds of freshly cracked pepper
  1. Heat oven to 500 degrees. 
  2. Bring large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook until al dente.
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  4. While pasta cooks, place cream, cheeses, pureed tomatoes, salt, pepper and basil in a large bowl.
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  6. Drain pasta and toss together with cheese mixture in bowl.
  7. Pour into a medium-sized baking dish.  Sprinkle with 1/4 cup remaining Pecorino Romano on top.
  8. Bake until bubbly and brown on top for about 15 minutes.
  9. Turn off oven and leave in there for a few minutes for the sauce to set a bit.
  10. Serve immediately afterwards while still hot.
  • It’s important to watch out the measurements of the cheeses.  The right amount will melt beautifully and create the most wonderful sauce.  When I started to eye-ball the amounts, sometimes the results were not as I expected. 
  • I make this recipe right in my toaster oven…    
  • And the recipe doesn’t reheat very well.  It will still be tasty, but the sauce becomes a bit oily…  just so you know.  This is one of those recipes to make and eat in the moment.  Every time I do it for company, people can’t believe that came out of a home kitchen.  It’s unbelievable!!!

I served this last night with my Cinammon Vanilla Plantains and my Super Easily Dressed Green Salad.  Oh, and I also did my Garlic Parsley Breadsticks.

Buen Provecho.

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Stewed Potatoes – Papas Guisadas

20 Dec

This was my dinner last night.

Back in my omnivorous days, I used to love when my aunt made stewed chicken, but not for the chicken… it was for the sauce and the potatoes in the stew. So when I decided to go veggie, I created this dish to celebrate all the good things I love about my aunt’s cooking.

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STEWED POTATOES

2 large potatoes, cubed
1 large onion, diced
1 cubanelle pepper or green bell pepper, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced or 1 tablespoon of sofrito
1 jar of stewed tomatoes or chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup of water – if needed
Salt and pepper to taste
10 large olives or 2 tablespoons of capers
2 bay leaves
a large dash of paprika
1 roasted bell pepper – optional
a few splashes of apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
  1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, pour olive oil. Mix in the onions, peppers and sofrito, if using. If using just the garlic, wait a few minutes to mix it in. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  2. When onions and peppers have softened, add in the potatoes. Stir a few times for them to cook a bit.
  3. Add the tomatoes, olives or capers, roasted bell peppers, bay leaves and paprika. If there is not enough liquid for the potatoes to cook in, add a bit of water. Add the vinegar.
  4. Simmer in the covered pot for about 30 minutes, until potatoes are fork tender.

Serve over brown rice or eat on it’s own.  Here, I show it over basmati rice.  You could add veggie hot dogs to this and it would taste great too.

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