Appetizer | Kitchenbelle

Escarole Soup

Posted on September 10, 2009 by kitchenbelle

Sept

Wow–it has been a while! It has been a whirlwind of a summer and the reason for my recent absence is that my husband and I just returned from a fabulous vacation in Spain. We had a really fantastic time and I have returned so inspired and excited to get cooking with some newly acquired Mediterranean perspective! We ate so much delicious food and I cannot wait to recreate some of the dishes.

With so many family birthdays and exciting celebrations of all sorts during the summer, I spent quite a bit of my time baking, as you can tell:

Yikes! Though it seems counterintuitive to spend so many hours indoors baking in a hot kitchen during the peaks of summer heat, in an odd way, it makes some sense. Summer tends to be a time of indulgence. Ice cream becomes a priority and my husband plays on 2-3 softball teams each summer, which prevent regular balanced sit-down dinners each night. Also, when the weather is nice and there are more hours of sunlight we are less likely to sprint home immediately after work to settle in and eat dinner. Now that fall is here (man do I love fall) it is time to get back into a routine and return to the table for long warm meals.

In addition to the overabundance of sweet treats, you may have also noticed some changes on Kitchenbelle.com! Yes–we got a facelift! I’d be happy to hear your thoughts about the new design. Please email me with any suggestions or feedback: kitchenbelle at ymail dot com.

And now, onto the soup! I did some major food shopping immediately upon returning from vacation. In Whole Foods, I picked up a leaflet advertising meals for under $15. This escarole soup caught my eye. In need of something easy, filling and nutritionally sound to make for dinner–something that could sit on the stove while I continued to unpack and restore order to the apartment–I settled on this soup.

The moment it began simmering our place smelled like my grandmother’s! She used to make escarole soup all of the time when I was a child, yet I didn’t realize it until the smell evoked the memory. The sense of scent is a wonderful thing.

I adapted the recipe by cooking the garlic and olive oil with just the smallest pieces of bacon fat. I was incredibly and pleasantly surprised by how unbelievably flavorful this soup turned out. What I found especially strange is that I did not even use any salt AND I used low sodium broth–something I very rarely do.

Escarole Soup:

3-4 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (less or more depending on your preference)
1 very thin strip of bacon or bacon fat
One large bunch of escarole, rinsed, dried and chopped
One 48-ounce can of chicken broth
Two 14-ounce cans of Pinto beans, drained and rinsed

Heat oil on medium-low and add garlic, bacon, and red pepper flakes. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Add the chicken broth and escarole and bring to a boil for about 15 minutes or until the escarole wilts. Add the pinto beans and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Remove bacon. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with crusty bread for dipping.

Adapted from Whole Foods leaflet.

Filed under: Appetizer, beans, escarole, Side, soup | 4 Comments »

Curried Chicken Salad

Posted on July 23, 2009 by kitchenbelle

As I previously mentioned, I have been in search of low-fuss no-cook appetizers. There is nothing worse than slaving over a hot oven in the middle of summer! (That kind of heat makes me grumpy and that is no way to greet guests!) Again, with the guidance of MyRecipes.com editor Ashley Johnson, I decided to make this curried chicken salad. Not only was it a success with my guests but I have been eating it for lunch every day!

Some notes:

–I chose to serve this as an appetizer with pita chips, therefore, it was extremely important that I diced the components of the salad into very small pieces. I made sure there weren’t any large chunks of chicken that would be larger than the pita chips. The same for the apple, pineapple, and grapes. Definitely cut each grape into at least four pieces–possibly even six. When you are chopping envision each pita chip scooping up some of the salad–if your dices are the right size each bite should contain almost every component of the salad. You would never want one scoop to contain nothing but a giant grape! On the other hand, if I were serving this in sandwich rolls at a luncheon, it would be okay to leave the components of the salad in larger cubes because in that situation your guests are filling an entire roll. Make sense?

–I substituted Chobani plain-flavored yogurt in place of mayo.

–Some commenters on MyRecipes.com indicated they used raisins instead of currants. I suggest sticking to the currants. They are nice and small and make the salad a little jazzier.

–For the chicken, I grilled fresh cutlets seasoned with salt and pepper and then shredded/diced them up, however, you could use a grocery store rotisserie chicken or even canned water packed chicken (drained) in a pinch.

–Add the curry powder and then taste. You may want to add more.

–I think I doubled (or maybe even tripled) this recipe.

Curried Chicken Salad:

1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast

1/2 cup halved seedless red grapes (dice size depends on you want to serve the salad)

1/2 cup diced peeled unpeeled green apple

2 tablespoons diced pineapple

1 tablespoon dried currants

3 tablespoons plain Chobani yogurt

1 teaspoon honey

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine chicken, grapes, apple, pineapple, and currants in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine yogurt, honey, curry powder, lemon juice, salt and pepper stirring with a whisk. Pour dressing mixture over chicken mixture; toss gently to coat. Cover and chill.

Adapted from MyRecipes.com.

Filed under: Appetizer, apple, chicken, Main Dish, pineapple, salad, sandwich | 5 Comments »

Caprese Kebabs

Posted on July 21, 2009 by kitchenbelle

For the past few weeks I have been looking for no-cook delicious appetizers for a low fuss girls’ only cocktail party. Luckily, I had the opportunity to brainstorm recipes and ideas with MyRecipes.com editor Ashley Johnson. Ashley had so many wonderful suggestions and fun ideas that it was impossible to incorporate all of them! (Check out some of her girls’ night recipe ideas here: Girls Night In– Party at the Grill )

First on my menu: caprese kebabs. Nothing says summer like this classic flavor combination! I especially like these kebabs because they add some sass to your spread. They aren’t your typical “chip and dip” that guests have come to expect. They are fresh, delicious and ridiculously easy to make!

Caprese Kebabs:

1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
10 to 14 fresh small mozzarella cheese balls, cut into thirds
wooden skewers
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
6 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Thread 1 tomato half, 1 piece of cheese, and another tomato half onto each skewer. Place skewers in serving dish/bowl.

Whisk together oil and next 3 ingredients. Drizzle oil mixture over skewers; sprinkle with basil and salt and pepper to taste.

Adapted from MyRecipes.com.

Filed under: Appetizer, basil, cheese, mozzarella, tomato, VEGETARIAN | 3 Comments »

Avocado, Corn, and Tomato Salsa

Posted on July 5, 2009 by kitchenbelle

This salsa is a delicious addition to any cookout! The flavors are so fresh. It is a nice alternative to traditional chips and dip. I like to serve it with assorted colored tortilla chips because it makes for a pretty presentation, however, traditional corn chips work just as well.

Avocado, Corn, and Tomato Salsa:

2 avocados, diced into small cubes
4-5 vine ripe tomatoes, diced into small cubes (seeds removed)
4 cobs of corn cooked and then kernels removed or 2 cups frozen corn
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, finely minced

Combine avocado, tomato and corn in one bowl. Whisk together remaining ingredients (dressing) in another bowl. Pour dressing over salsa and use a spoon to toss to combine. Serve with chips.

Adapted from MyRecipes.com.

Filed under: Appetizer, corn, tomato, VEGETARIAN | Leave a comment »

Grilled Swordfish with Grilled Caponata

Posted on June 16, 2009 by kitchenbelle

When the weather is hot and you don’t have central air conditioning, using the oven and the stove are not very appealing. Even baking something for just a few minutes can turn the kitchen into a sauna. That is when an outdoor grill can be really handy. Some people reserve the grill for hot dogs and hamburgers on the weekends only, but there is no reason not to fire up the grill for a quick and healthy weeknight supper.

Unfortunately, the problem of warm weather has not been an issue in Boston. The last couple of days have been downright cold. For this dish I stayed in my comfortably warm kitchen and used our grill pan in place of the outdoor grill. (The grill pan works really well for grilling pretty much everything.)

Whether prepared indoors or outdoors, this dish is wonderful. The flavorful chunky vegetables paired so nicely with the firm swordfish steaks. For not using very many spices, the flavor factor of the caponata was off the charts. Each bite contained different vegetables—you may get a piece of eggplant and a caper in one bite and then a tomato and olive in the next. This meal was really satisfying and balanced. And it is so simple to make! The caponata is so versatile it could be served on its own as a side or with crackers as an appetizer.

Grilled Swordfish with Grilled Caponata:

Caponata

1 medium eggplant, sliced lengthwise
1 large red onion, peeled and sliced into rings
4-6 plum or roma tomatoes, halved
Olive oil, for brushing vegetables, plus 1/2 cup
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup green olives, chopped
2 tablespoons capers, drained
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted (optional)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Pinch red pepper flakes
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons honey

Heat grill on high. Brush all vegetables with olive oil (or spray with cooking spray) and season with salt and pepper. Grill both sides of the eggplant slices until cooked through, about 8 minutes per side. Grill both sides of the onion slices until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Grill the tomatoes (seed side down) until charred and soft, about 3 minutes. Remove all vegetables from heat and cut into 1/2 inch chunks. Put all vegetables into a bowl. Add the olives, capers, and pine nuts to the bowl of vegetables and use a wooden spoon to toss to combine.

In a small bowl combine the vinegar, garlic, red pepper flakes, and honey. Season with salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in about 1/2 cup of olive oil.* Pour this dressing over vegetables and toss so that all are well-coated with dressing. Let stand at room temperature about 30 minutes before serving.

Swordfish

2-4 swordfish steaks
olive oil or cooking spray
salt and freshly ground pepper
Caponata (see recipe above)

Heat grill to high. Brush both sides of swordfish steaks with olive oil or coat with cooking spray. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cook swordfish steaks until done, about 4 minutes per side, depending on the thickness. Remove from grill and top with grilled caponata.