starters – Simply Sundays

Sausage & Pepper Poppers

Continue reading “Sausage & Pepper Poppers” →

July 18, 2020

simplysundaysfoodblog1 Comment

Gorgonzola Cheese Bites

These buttery, creamy cheese bites have a slight woodsy flavor from rosemary and a welcome crunch from toasted pecans

I’ve used gorgonzola for this particular recipe, but you can just as easily substitute blue cheese

Our son Mike and I are blue cheese buddies. I’m not sure who loves it more! I’ll order something in a restaurant just because it has either gorgonzola or blue cheese in it

What’s the difference between gorgonzola and blue cheese?

Gorgonzola is produced in Northern Italy is made primarily from cow’s milk. It’s milder in taste and softer in texture than its blue cheese cousin

Blue cheese can be made from cow’s, sheep’s, or goat’s milk. It has a sharper bite and is more hard and crumbly than gorgonzola.

Measure out 8 ounces each of room temperature gorgonzola and cream cheese. Combine in the bowl of a mixer with 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh rosemary, 2 tablespoons of dry white wine, a dash of worcestershire, and a pinch each of kosher salt and black pepper

Mix on medium until the ingredients are well combined and creamy

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm for at least an hour. If prepping ahead, you can keep the mix in the fridge overnight and then scoop out into balls before serving

No need to be this particular, but I like to weigh each ball to make sure they are all uniform. I’ve done the math for you… 3/4 ounce will give you 20 gorgonzola cheese bites

I scoop the cheese mixture out onto a sheet pan lined with parchment and roll into balls

Once they’re all rolled, put back in the fridge for another 15-20 minutes so they firm up

Final step is to roll each ball in chopped toasted pecans. You can buy the pecans chopped and just heat them in a frying pan over low heat for a few minutes until fragrant. This brings out the nutty flavor

Once the nuts are cooled, place in a small bowl and roll one cheese bite at a time until coated and place them back on the sheet pan

Serve either chilled or at room temperature and garnish with a sprig or two of fresh rosemary

Enjoy!

Simply Sundays ~ Gorgonzola Cheese Bites

Servings: 20
Time: 20 minutes prep, 20 minutes chill
Difficulty: Easy
Print

Ingredients

8 ounces room temperature gorgonzola

8 ounces cream cheese

2 tablespoons of chopped fresh rosemary + fresh rosemary for serving

2 tablespoons of dry white wine

a dash of worcestershire

A pinch each of kosher salt and black pepper

1 1/2 cups of toasted chopped pecans

Directions

Measure out 8 ounces each of room temperature gorgonzola and cream cheese and combine in the bowl of a mixer with 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh rosemary, 2 tablespoons of dry white wine, a dash of worcestershire, and a pinch each of kosher salt and black pepper

Mix on medium until the ingredients are well combined and creamy

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm for at least an hour. If prepping ahead, you can keep the mix in the fridge overnight and then scoop out into balls before serving

Scoop the cheese mixture out onto a sheet pan lined with parchment and roll into balls

Once they’re all rolled, put back in the fridge for another 15-20 minutes so they firm up

Heat the chopped pecans in a frying pan over low heat for a few minutes until fragrant

Once the nuts are cooled, place in a small bowl and roll one cheese bite at a time until coated and place them back on the sheet pan

Serve either chilled or at room temperature and garnish with a sprig or two of fresh rosemary

Tools used to make this recipe

<br />

Mini Prep Glass Bowl

Reynolds Kitchens Parchment Paper

Wilton Recipe Right Non-stick Cookie Sheet Set, 2-Piece

OXO Stainless Steel Food Scale

December 29, 2019

simplysundaysfoodblog2 Comments

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

Servings: 30 Meatballs
Time: Prep 20 Min, Chill 30 Min, Cook 18-20 Min
Difficulty: Medium
Print

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

<br />

Cuisinart Boxed Grater

Architec Carving Board, Gripperwood

Mini Prep Glass Bowl

NuWave Flex Precision Induction Cooktop

Pyrex Mixing Bowl

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

OXO Good Grips Balloon Whisk

August 11, 2019

simplysundaysfoodblogLeave a comment

Rustic Asparagus & Prosciutto Tart

Fresh Spring asparagus, smoky gouda and crispy prosciutto come together on a decadent puff pastry to form this rustic and delicious tart

This is one of our favorites to serve at parties because it’s so easy to put together and everyone raves about it!

Funny story… we made 2 of these tarts to serve as a starter last year for a get-together. My hubby and I we’re talking, cooking, drinking cocktails… reached for a square of tart and they were ALL gone!

Sheesh. They could have saved us as least one to share

In the kitchen flurry, we left the second tray in the lower oven and didn’t realize it until hours after everyone left! Oh my, what a post party snack that was!

Enough chatter, let’s get cooking!

Assemble 12 ounces of asparagus, woody ends trimmed, 5 ounces of shredded smoked gouda and 2 ounces of thinly sliced prosciutto and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F

On a floured surface, roll out 1 sheet of defrosted puff pastry to roughly the size of a sheet pan

It doesn’t have to be exact… that’s why we’re calling it rustic!

Prepare a sheet pan with parchment sprayed with cooking oil and carefully place the dough on the pan

Lightly poke the dough with a fork, leaving about a 1 1/2 inch border

This will help the tart to stay flat and not puff up while baking

Add the shredded cheese leaving a border of dough that will puff up and form the crust

Next, add the asparagus in a layer and top with the sliced prosciutto

Two last steps before we bake this tasty tart

Brush the border of the dough with a beaten egg. This will give a nice, browned color to the tart

Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper to taste. Hold off on adding any salt – the prosciutto is salty on its own and we’ve used salted butter to brush the crust. This should give enough seasoning without having to add more