Archive for the Category » Finger Food Fridays «
26
Aug 2011
Aug 2011
Happy Finger Food Friday! I’m worn out today after a marathon week of work, homework, test prep, after-school activities, Curriculum Nights, cooking, cleaning and everything else that a mom does to make the “ship run smoothly.” But I don’t want to start the weekend in a fog. So I’m breaking out the chips and dip. This may sound like funky therapy to some, but it’s the perfect remedy for me. And this Warm Blue Cheese Dip has got it going on (as does anything that contains cream cheese and a splash or two of liquor). I’ll be serving the dip [ ... ]
19
Aug 2011
Aug 2011
One of the ultimate finger foods has to be the good old American sandwich. And it dawned on me last week, while working on my banh mi appetizers, that I have never posted anything on the muffuletta (pronounced “muff-uh-LOTT-a”)–one of the greatest and most generous sandwiches New Orleans has to offer. The muffuletta was created in the early 1900s by the original owner of Central Grocery, a small family-owned Italian grocery store/lunch counter in the French Quarter. This unique sandwich is made on a soft, circular Italian bread loaf piled high with cured meat, Swiss or provolone cheese and olive [ ... ]
12
Aug 2011
Aug 2011
New Orleans is known for lots of wonderful food stuff, including sandwiches. The two most popular being the poor boy and the muffuletta. But there’s another sandwich in town that’s gotten a lot of attention over the past few years. It’s “banh mi” (pronounced bun-me). The word refers to both a Vietnamese-style baguette loaf and the sandwich that’s made with it. The story behind the New Orleans-Vietnamese banh mi goes something like this.
Way back when, the French introduced a baguette smeared with liver pate to the Vietnamese people. The Vietnamese called it banh (biscuit/cake) mi (flour/wheat). The French-style baguette was [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Poor Boys, Pork
Tags: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Po-Boy, Pork One Comment
05
Aug 2011
Aug 2011
Better Cheddar is a coveted prepared food item in New Orleans sold at a couple of local grocery stores. Langenstein’s, one of the oldest family-run institutions in the City, has arguably the best with Robért’s Fresh Market’s version running a close second. This addictively delicious spread is made with white cheddar cheese dotted with walnut pieces, green onions and garlic. It’s perfect served on crackers. Yet, it also makes a delicious topping for baked potatoes. And it’s a great inspiration for other dishes such as “Better Cheddar Burgers”! I crave it often, which is why I had to start making [ ... ]
29
Jul 2011
Jul 2011
I’ve got football fever bad and it’s not even August! I think it’s from the flood of news coverage following the NFL owners/players agreement. I’m just thrilled the season will start as scheduled. And by the sound of things, the Saints are building another winning team. Isn’t it exciting? And you know, the only thing better than watching football is throwing a football party. Which brings me to today’s finger food. I’m revisiting Caesar Salad Pancetta Cups–one of the dishes I hurriedly prepared for last season’s Super Bowl. Back in February, I [ ... ]
22
Jul 2011
Jul 2011
This Tomato-Pesto Tart is a deliciously savory hand-me-down recipe. My sister’s mother-in-law Pat handed it down to my sister Giselle who handed it down to me. Maybe what I should have said is that my sister simply handed it over to me since we’re of the same generation. Either way, I’ve got a copy and I’m sharing it with all of you!
This tart could easily be called “Summer Pie” because it hits two of the most vibrant flavors of the season, tomatoes and basil. For the best tasting tart, use the freshest ingredients. If you can get your [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Vegetables
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15
Jul 2011
Jul 2011
I have no intentions of preheating the oven or even lighting up the grill today. It’s just too doggone hot to play with fire inside or out, if you know what I mean. So, I’m planning three no-cook meals beginning with fresh strawberries and a hard-boiled egg for breakfast and ending with Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus and a refreshing cocktail for dinner.
Now I don’t know about you, but I was raised on only a handful of fresh vegetables and asparagus wasn’t one of them. No, the asparagus I was familiar with came from the grocery store shelves. I’m not [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Salad, Vegetables
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08
Jul 2011
Jul 2011
Have you figured out by now that I’m a chips-and-dip junkie? Oh yeah! My addiction is well-documented in many of my Finger Food Friday posts … and there’s plenty more where those came from! I spend the better part of most days playing around with refrigerator finds in the hopes of creating yet another hot, cold, creamy or chunky dip to scoop onto whatever salty, crunchy vehicle I have on hand. Today, for instance, I have an unopened bag of Xochitl (pronounced “so cheel”) thin and crispy tortilla chips–my new favorite–and a handful of perfectly [ ... ]
01
Jul 2011
Jul 2011
Througout the years, I’ve eaten deviled eggs every which way. Many were decades-old family recipes that followed some combination of mashed yolks, mayo, mustard and sweet pickle relish. Others were filled with more interesting ingredients like crabmeat, chipotle peppers or Underwood Deviled Ham in the can. Do you remember that stuff? All of them were delicious, even the ones with pickle relish–which I firmly believe should be relegated to hotdogs! At home, however, I’ve always stuck to my traditional recipe of Hellman’s mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and black pepper. I’ve relied on those basic ingredients [ ... ]
24
Jun 2011
Jun 2011
Are there certain foods you love but haven’t had in years? It could be a favorite childhood dish or maybe one of the first things you learned to cook on your own. If your answer to that question is yes, have you ever stopped to ask yourself why? I do that Q&A thing throughout my daily ritual of “recipe diving” (the fine art of digging through years and years of recipes for inspiration and sustenance) and meal planning. That question is also one of the reasons I started this blog–to protect “endangered” foods. You know, the ones on [ ... ]
