Tag Archives: appetizers

Goat Cheese Tart with Sundried Tomatoes

This is a recipe I got from watching Barefoot Contessa’s show on Food Network.  Ina Garten was making a beautiful goat cheese tart with thinly sliced zucchini.  It looked positively gorgeous. But I am not a big fan of zucchini – no offense to zucchini fans. This recipe also called to make a homemade pastry crust – and I am not a fan of that either.

I decided to take Ina Garten’s recipe and make it my own. I used a store bought frozen piecrust (the kind you have to roll out) for the goat cheese tart, and instead of zucchini I used a jar of sundried tomatoes as my topping.  To turn this delectable tart into a meal – I served it on Sunday evening with a tossed green salad as part of my Sunday Salad routine.   Continue reading Goat Cheese Tart with Sundried Tomatoes

Edible Flower and Herb Embellished Goat Cheese

For her birthday Rani wanted to hang out with her friends in our garden. The timing was perfect, as I had just attended a book-signing event from authors Stefani Bittner & Alethea Harampolis on their new book Harvest.  I was eager to try something from the book and Rani’s birthday picnic became the perfect opportunity to make a goat cheese recipe with edible flowers and herbs for this soiree.

IMG_5064 Continue reading Edible Flower and Herb Embellished Goat Cheese

Simple Quesadilla

This is my go-to recipe when I want to make a quick quesadilla. Every time I’ve served this simple quesadilla to family and guests I’ve always received a “Wow, this is delicious” reaction.  I’ve made fancy variations of this recipe by adding sautéed mushrooms and roasted veggies and other condiments, I’ve even added fresh chopped tomatoes, but honestly, I don’t get that unanimous “Wow” reaction that I get when I make my original simple quesadilla.  What makes it so good is the minimal amount of ingredients in it. Here is the recipe. Continue reading Simple Quesadilla

Feta Cheese Bruschetta with Thyme & Red Onions

I was invited to a holiday tea back in December at my dear friend Radhika’s place and what a fun time we had. Radhika’s home was beautifully decked for the holidays and so warm and welcoming that I just didn’t want to leave on this cool winter afternoon.

For tea Radhika had made a delicious warm feta cheese bruschetta. Here is a look at this simple yet decadent winter-inspired tea. Continue reading Feta Cheese Bruschetta with Thyme & Red Onions

New Year’s Day Black-Eyed Pea Fritters

Growing up in the South in Texas and Louisiana, one of the New Year’s customs I became familiar with is having black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day for good luck in the coming year. There are many dishes that one can add black-eyed peas to from stews to soups, tacos and burritos to salads and appetizers. For my New Years Day black-eyed pea dish I have chosen to make Black Eyed Pea Fritters. Continue reading New Year’s Day Black-Eyed Pea Fritters