Category: Starters
Brie & Sun-dried Tomato Stuffed Mushrooms
Creamy melted brie combined with the intense sweet-tart flavor of sun-dried tomatoes nestled in earthy mushrooms make this appetizer party worthy
I have 2 dozen baby bella mushrooms that I’ve wiped clean with a paper towel and removed the stems
I chopped up the stems to add to a veggie omelet the next morning. Good use of leftovers!
Place the mushroom caps in a baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking oil. Lightly brush the mushrooms with olive oil
Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes until slightly softened
While the mushrooms are baking, let’s prep the rest of the ingredients
I like the sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil because they’re easy to slice and have a great flavor from the oil. Cut the tomatoes into 24 strips
What’s the difference between dry and oil packed sun-dried tomatoes?
Dry packed tomatoes are similar in texture to dried fruit and have little to no moisture. Before using the dry packed tomatoes, they must be hydrated in warm water. They stay a little more chewy than the oil packed even after re-hydrating them
Oil packed tomatoes are well, packed in oil. Sometimes they are seasoned with herbs and spices. These tomatoes can be used right from the jar and work well in cooked dishes as well as salads. Just be sure to blot some of the oil off the tomatoes before use
Thinly slice the brie and cut into 24 chunks
Remove the fresh thyme leaves from their stems and now we’re ready to assemble
Add a strip of sun-dried tomato, a chunk of brie and a small sprinkle of the fresh thyme to each mushroom
I drizzled the mushrooms with a little of the sun-dried tomato oil from the jar. This is totally optional but I just love the flavor
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes until the brie is melted
Sprinkle the warm mushrooms with a bit of kosher salt and serve immediately
Check out some of our other party worthy starters
Enjoy!
Simply Sundays ~ Brie & Sun-dried Tomato Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients
2 dozen baby bella mushrooms
1 4 ounce jar of sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
4 ounces of brie
3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme
Kosher salt for serving
Directions
Preheat oven to 250 degrees
Wipe the mushrooms clean with a paper towel and removed the stems
Place the mushroom caps in a baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking oil. Lightly brush the mushrooms with olive oil; bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes until slightly softened
Cut the sun-dried tomatoes into 24 strips; thinly slice the brie and cut into 24 chunks & remove the fresh thyme leaves from their stems
Add a strip of sun-dried tomato, a chunk of brie and a small sprinkle of the fresh thyme to each mushroom
Optional – drizzle the mushrooms with a little of the sun-dried tomato oil from the jar
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes until the brie is melted
Sprinkle the warm mushrooms with a bit of kosher salt and serve immediately
Tools used to make this recipe
Architec Carving Board, Gripperwood
Pyrex Glass Oblong Baking Dish 9 inch x 13 Inch
© Simply Sundays 2019
All rights reserved
Shishito Peppers & Fry Sauce
Again, I found myself at the farm market completely overwhelmed by the sheer amount of produce. Where do I start?
I typically have a list of what I know that I need and then I listen to what speaks to me Well, today, this lovely basket of shishito peppers spoke to me. They said “Susan… take us home!” So, of course I did
Shishitos cook quickly which makes them perfect for fast and easy appetizers
Now these are tasty all on their own, but I choose to serve them with fry sauce
Fry sauce is well, just that. A popular dipping sauce for french fries. But there’s no reason to stop there. It’s a creamy sauce with a zip! Let’s dunk our shishitos in it!
It’s best to prepare the dipping sauce first because the peppers only take minutes to cook and are best eaten immediately
Measure out 1/4 cup of mayo, 2 tablespoons of ketchup, 1 tablespoon of buffalo sauce, 1 tablespoon of pickle juice and 1/4 teaspoon each of garlic powder, kosher salt and black pepper
Combine all of the ingredients and refrigerate until ready for serving
Shishitos have thin skin that allows them to blister and char quickly, which intensifies the green chile aroma and flavor
Although they’re small in size these peppers are big in flavor. Shishito peppers are very mild & sweet but every so often you’ll encounter a slightly spicy one – consider yourself warned!
This was about 10 ounces of shishito peppers. I’m going to grill them on the flat top, but you can cook these in a skillet as well
Spray the cooking surface with olive oil spray and sear the peppers over medium heat for about 5 to 7 minutes
Remove from the heat once they slightly blister and soften a bit. Sprinkle with a pinch of Maldon sea salt or kosher salt
Serve immediately with some tasty fry sauce!
Enjoy!
Shishito Peppers & Fry Sauce
Ingredients
Shishito Peppers
Olive oil spray
Maldon sea salt or kosher salt for serving
Directions
Measure out 1/4 cup of mayo, 2 tablespoons of ketchup, 1 tablespoon of buffalo sauce, 1 tablespoon of pickle juice and 1/4 teaspoon each of garlic powder, kosher salt and black pepper; combine all of the ingredients and refrigerate until ready for serving
Spray the cooking surface with olive oil spray and sear the peppers over medium heat for about 5 to 7 minutes; remove from the heat once they slightly blister and soften a bit; Sprinkle with a pinch of Maldon sea salt or kosher salt
Serve immediately with fry sauce
Tools used to make this recipe
© Simply Sundays 2019
All rights reserved
Tsukune – Japanese Meatballs
Tsukune which is pronounced ‘sue-koon e’ is a form of Japanese meatball that gets a lot of flavor from ingredients such as shiitake mushrooms, ginger, garlic and soy
We are preparing this dish as an appetizer but these are so good they can definitely be a main
Make them a bit bigger and serve them with some steamed rice and salad and you have a full meal
You can use any protein that you want, beef, pork, even seafood but we are taking a more traditional approach and using ground chicken
So let’s start prepping
First off, we will need 4 ounces of shiitake mushrooms
Shiitake stems are woody so let’s twist them off and give the caps a slice
Discard the stems
Repeat until they are all sliced
Next we will need 2 tablespoons of sesame oil, 2 grated garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon of fresh grated ginger and 2 tablespoons of dry sherry
Heat the sesame oil in a pan over medium heat
Add in the mushrooms, garlic and ginger
Cook stirring occasionally for 3-4 minutes or until the mushrooms and garlic start to soften
Deglaze the pan with the sherry and cook another 2-3 minutes or until the sherry is mostly absorbed
Remove the mushrooms from the heat and allow to cool
Once cooled you will need 2 teaspoons of red miso which is a fermented soybean paste
Add the mushrooms and miso to a chopper or blender
Pulse until finely chopped
Time to start making some meatballs!
We will need 2 pounds of ground chicken
We’ll need the miso mushroom mixture, 3/4 cups of panko (Japanese bread crumbs), 2 scallions chopped, 1 egg white, 2 grated garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon of fresh grated ginger and 2 teaspoons of cornstarch
Add all of these ingredients to the ground chicken
Sprinkle with kosher salt and ground black pepper
Using your hands, gently mix the ingredients all together
Since we are using these as starters, I’m going to use a 1/8 cup as a scoop, you can the increase the size of the scoop and change the size of the meatball
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and give it a light spray of oil
Start scooping the meat, we will come back and roll them later
Once they are all scooped, start rolling
I find that wetting my hands a bit makes rolling easier
We actually made a perfect 30 meatballs out of this mixture
Place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to allow them to meld and solidify
You can also do these a day ahead
Preheat the oven to 350 F
You can also grill or pan fry these
Place in the oven and cook 18-20 minutes or until lightly brown and firm to the touch
While the meatballs are in the oven doing their thing, we are going to make a sauce
To start we will need 1/3 cup of mirin, 1/3 cup of soy, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of sherry vinegar
Place these four ingredients into a sauce pan and whisk together
Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cook 6-8 minutes or until slightly reduced and thickened
Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly
To finish the sauce we will need the juice and zest of 1 lime, 1 tablespoon of fresh grated ginger and 1 serrano pepper sliced thinly
We will also need a tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds for a garnish
Add the lime, ginger and pepper to the sauce
Mix to combine
I believe in full transparency… I’m going to admit to a blog blooper
Remember those toasted sesame seeds from a couple pictures back?
The ones I labored to toast perfectly myself, the ones that would have added some extra flavor and texture to these meatballs?
Well, they remained in their bowl behind a roll of paper towels on my counter after we completed our photo shoot!
That’s right folks, I left a basket ingredient off the plate
I guess I’m chopped!
You, however, don’t have to be chopped so feel free to add some toasted sesame seeds as a garnish!
To serve, we are using flat skewers with 2 meatballs on each
Place the meatballs on a serving platter and spread the sauce over them
We also served this with extra serrano peppers and slices of lime!
Enjoy!!!
Simply Sundays! ~ Tsukune - Japanese Meatball
Ingredients
For the mushroom mixture
4 ounces of shiitake mushrooms
2 tablespoons of sesame oil
2 grated garlic cloves
1 tablespoon of grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons of dry sherry
2 teaspoons of red miso paste
For the meatballs
2 pounds of ground chicken
mushroom mixture (see above)
3/4 cup of panko (japanese bread crumb)
2 scallions chopped
1 tablespoon of fresh grated ginger
2 grated garlic cloves
1 egg white
2 teaspoons of cornstarch
kosher salt
ground black pepper
For the sauce
1/3 cup of mirin
1/3 cup of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of sherry vinegar
1 lime zested and juiced
1 tablespoon of fresh grated ginger
1 thinly sliced serrano pepper
For garnish
1 lime sliced
sliced serrano
toasted sesame seeds (apparently optional, see above)
Directions
For the mushroom mixture
Remove the stems from 4 ounces of shiitake mushrooms and slice the caps. Heat 2 tablespoon of sesame oil over medium heat and add in the sliced mushroom caps along with 2 grated garlic cloves and 1 tablespoon of freshly grated ginger
Cook stirring occasionally for 3-4 minutes or until the mushrooms and garlic start to soften. Deglaze the pan with the sherry and cook another 2-3 minutes or until the sherry is mostly absorbed
Remove the mushrooms from the heat and allow to cool. Add the mushrooms and 2 teaspoons of miso to a chopper or blender. Pulse until finely chopped
For the meatballs
Place 2 pounds of ground chicken in a large mixing bowl. Add the miso mushroom mixture, 3/4 cups of panko (Japanese bread crumbs), 2 scallions chopped, 1 egg white, 2 grated garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon of fresh grated ginger and 2 teaspoons of cornstarch, then sprinkle with kosher salt a ground black pepper
Using your hands gently mix the ingredients all together. Use 1/8 cup as a scoop for the meatballs. You can use larger scoops for larger meatballs
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and give it a light spray of oil. Start scooping the meat. Lightly wet the palms of your hands and start rolling the meatballs. I find that wetting my hands a bit makes rolling easier
We actually made a perfect 30 meatballs out of this mixture. Place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to allow them to meld and solidify. You can also do these a day ahead. Preheat your oven to 350 F. You can also grill or pan fry these. Place in the oven and cook 18-20 minutes or until lightly brown and firm to the touch
For the sauce
In a saucepan add 1/3 cup of mirin, 1/3 cup of soy, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of sherry vinegar and whisk together
Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cook 6-8 minutes or until slightly reduced and thickened. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly
To the sauce add the juice and zest of 1 lime, 1 tablespoon of grated fresh ginger and 1 thinly sliced serrano pepper. Mix to combine
Serve the meatballs covered in the sauce and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Garnish with more serrano peppers and slices of lime
Tools used to make this recipe
Architec Carving Board, Gripperwood
NuWave Flex Precision Induction Cooktop
Reynolds Kitchens Parchment Paper
Royal Classique 10 Piece Stainless Steel Measuring Cups and Spoons Set with Silicone Handles
Wilton Recipe Right Non-stick Cookie Sheet Set, 2-Piece
ZELITE INFINITY Chef Knife 8 inch
© Simply Sundays 2019
All rights reserved
Jalapeño Poppers
So… we get invited to parties. We love parties
“What can I bring?” I say. “Can you make your Jalapeno Poppers??” they say.
Yes, of course I can.
I’ll show you why this 4 ingredient appetizer is so highly requested
I have 8 jalapeno peppers, 8 slices of bacon cut in half, 4 ounces of cream cheese, 4 ounces of pepper jack cheese and a teaspoon of garlic powder
First off, we need to seed these peppers
The seeds and membranes are what make them spicy and while we want some heat, we also want to be able to eat them without calling in the fire department
I generally choose to wear a disposable glove on my pepper-touching-hand. Just a precaution, but I cannot tell you how many times I’ve cut jalapenos and then rubbed my eye with soul burning agony
Maybe a little dramatic, but it’s better to be safe, right?
Slice the peppers lengthwise and scrape out the seeds and membranes
Using a spoon makes de-seeding the peppers an easy job
Let’s mix up our cheese stuffing
Add 4 ounces of room temp cream cheese, 4 ounces of shredded pepper jack cheese and a teaspoon of garlic powder to a bowl and stir to combine
It’s stuffing time. Divide the cheese mixture equally between the 16 pepper halves
I’m sure these jalapenos would be delicious if we cooked them right now
But, uh… bacon
Wrap each pepper with a bacon strip and now we’re ready to rock and roll
I’ve lined a sheet pan with foil for easy clean up. I’m using a wire rack so the bacon cooks evenly and doesn’t sit in it’s own fat
Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until the bacon is cooked to your liking. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes to crisp up. Let rest for about 10 minutes (the hardest part of this recipe) and serve!
Enjoy!
Simply Sundays ~ Jalapeño Poppers
Ingredients
8 jalapeño peppers
8 slices of bacon cut in half
4 ounces of cream cheese
4 ounces of pepper jack cheese
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
Directions
Slice the peppers in half lengthwise; scrape out the seeds and membrane
Add 4 ounces of room temp cream cheese, 4 ounces of shredded pepper jack cheese and a teaspoon of garlic powder to a bowl and stir to combine
Divide the cheese mixture equally between the 16 pepper halves; Wrap each pepper with a bacon strip
Line a sheet pan with foil for easy clean up. I’m using a wire rack so the bacon cooks evenly. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until the bacon is cooked to your liking. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes to crisp up. Let rest for about 10 minutes and serve!
Tools used to make this recipe
Architec Carving Board, Gripperwood
Pyrex Bakeware Scalloped Pie Plate
Simply Bamboo Maui Bamboo Cutting Board
Wilton Recipe Right Non-stick Cookie Sheet Set, 2-Piece
ZELITE INFINITY Chef Knife 8 inch
© Simply Sundays 2019
All rights reserved