Appetizer Challenge: Tuna Tartare - YIKES!

Since 2003, goblue dad and I have cooked a fun meal at home for Valentine's day instead of spending our money at a restaurant. It paid off this year... as we selected TUNA TARTARE for an appetizer.

This was a stretch for me because I have not fully jumped on the sushi/raw seafood bandwagon. However, I was committed to trying it again.


Yes, I'm lame, but I had to show this photo. We found these fun Japanese soup spoons at World Market and loved the idea of serving the tuna tartare in these instead of regular spoons. We envision using them for other appetizers in the future.

Here is goblue dad slicing the tuna - the recipe suggested we cut it into 3/16" to 1/4" cubes. We used 1 pound of tuna, which probably would have served six or eight people. Needless to say, we had a lot of leftover tartare.


The tartare recipe from Ted Allen's book The Food You Want to Eat calls for extra virgin olive oil, dark sesame oil, soy sauce, wasabi paste, sushi-quality tuna (above), cilantro, fresh lemon juice (1/2 lemon).

We mixed the ingredients together with the exception of the tuna and lemon juice. You want to wait until the last minute to add the lemon juice because the acid starts cooking the tuna once combined. Add the tuna followed by the lemon juice and prepare to serve to guests.


The finished product...
Surprisingly subtle, but tasty. It's amazing how different raw fish tastes in comparison to cooked fish. I have heard that if fish is overcooked, it will taste 'fishy,' which means I have eaten a lot of overcooked fish in my life at various restaurants. The sushi grade tuna that we bought had a subtle, enjoyable flavor to it. Frankly, I tasted more sesame oil than tuna. We both agreed that a little more wasabi paste would bring up the heat as we barely tasted it. Despite our criticisms, we still think it is a fun appetizer that we'll try again for those who are willing to eat it.

FYI's... we made this again for company this week and used a small bit of canola oil instead of sesame oil, added more wasabi paste and worcestshire sauce and it tasted even better than before. My stepdad showed us how to cut the tuna finer, which improved the texture upon eating it. If you try this recipe, play with it until it fits your tastes.

Appetizer Challenge - Salami Cones

Here is the recipe for salami cones*:
http://www.recipezaar.com/Salami-Cones-204646

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a few photos, but the link has some on the web site. Our review... we enjoyed them, but they didn't receive rave reviews.

If you are wondering, why salami? We always have some in the fridge, so I thought it would be fun to find a quick and easy appetizer to make out of it. I will let you know if we improve on this one or find a new one.

*Notes:

• FYI... capsicum means pepper. The catch... it does not specify bell pepper, red pepper, etc. If you look it up online, you'll find several different explanations. We used a red bell pepper and skipped on red pepper flakes for seasoning to avoid the heat in the cones. However, if I make these again I will try banana peppers for a little heat afterall.
  
• You definitely want a pepper of some sort b/c the crunch definitely added to the texture of the dish.
  
• Make sure you have salami sliced thick enough to roll into the cone and hold the filling.
  
• The mixture needs more seasoning. We added some dried Italian herbs, but next time I'm thinking fresh basil and/or oregano.
• I'd argue for less sour cream - the mixture was to soft, would have like to see it thicker.
  

Appetizer Challenge: Roasted Garbanzo Beans

We decided to try a simple, easy recipe for our appetizer this weekend.

Roasted Garbanzo Beans
www.recipezaar.com/recipe/print?id=331939

Ingredients
2 15 ounce cans garbanzo beans (chick peas)
1 T cajun seasoning or creole seasoning, heaping
1 t garlic powder (optional)
1 t onion powder (optional)
cayenne pepper, to taste
cooking spray



BE CAREFUL with the Cayenne!!! Unless you like your food extremely spicy, I would recommend a pinch or dusting (very little) cayenne. I accidentally put too much cayenne in and while they beans tasted good, we could only eat a few because they just got to hot for our mouths. We let them roast for an hour instead of 45 minutes in the oven to ensure they were crispy and crunchy.

These would make a great snack to keep around the house to munch on when hungry. They are healthy and have a little zestiness in the flavor.

Bon Apetite!!!

Red Striped Jello

Our neighbor recently had her tonsils removed, so this gave Kaitlyn and I the opportunity to make this fun red striped jello to share with her. It's just in time for Valentine's day too!

I found the recipe in a parenting magazine and it called for the following:

• 3 box 3 ounces cherry jello
• 3 0.25 ounce packets of unflavored gelatin
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
• 1 1/4 cup white grape juice
• 2 cups water

In general, you add the two cups water to three boxes of cherry jello and 1 package of gelatin and bring to a boil for gelatin to dissolve. Pour 2/3 cup of cherry jello mixture into a separate bowl and mix with the yogurt to get your pink layer. In another bowl, combine 2 packets of gelatin with white grape juice for the white layer. Let sit for a few minutes and then microwave for one minute to dissolve gelatin.

Pour the red cherry jello layer first into an 8x8 pan/glass bowl followed by the pink and then white layer. Pour one layer at a time until just set (10 - 15 minutes in refrigerator) before adding the next layer. The process will take about 1 1/2 hours to complete.

As you can see, the jello passed the quality assurance test phase and the jello was delivered to her friend next door.

Appetizer Challenge

Toasted Ravioli with Spicy Marinara
&
Italian Sausage Balls with Spicy Mustard Sauce

Over the course of the next month, Go Blue Dad and I plan to improve our appetizer repertoire. This weekend, we experimented and made hot appetizers. Our goal is to find several appetizers to serve either hot or cold.

Toasted Ravioli

• 1 package meat or cheese ravioli (or you can make your own fresh - yum!!)
• Italian breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Parmesan Reggiano cheese, grated
• Marinara Sauce (if using store bought, we recommend adding some crushed red pepper flakes, oregano and basil to give it more flavor)

Bring pasta water to a boil and cook the ravioli until al dente. Drain and cool before breading. Heat oil in fryer or deep sauce pan to 375 degrees F (please be careful with hot oil!!). Place a cup or two of Italian bread crumbs in to a shallow bowl and beat two eggs in a separate bowl. When ravioli is room temperature, dip the ravioli in the egg wash, drop in the bread crumb bowl and coat ravioli with bread crumbs on both sides. Lay ravioli on parchment lined baking sheet. When all ravioli are coated, fry them until golden brown - approximately 1 minute per side. Set on wire rack to drain and sprinkle with grated Parmesan reggiano cheese.


For the dipping sauce: heat marinara sauce on range and if necessary add herbs to 'spice it up.' Pour into dipping bowl and serve with ravioli.

Italian Sausage Balls with Spicy Mustard Sauce

• 1 lb Italian sausage (mild or hot)
• 12 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
  
• 2 cups Bisquick
  

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix raw sausage, cheddar and Bisquick in bowl. When ingredients are combined, scoop mixture into 1 - 2 inch balls and place on parchment or tin foil lined jelly roll pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until sausage appears done. Remove from oven and place on paper towel to absorb grease. Serve with mustard sauce.

Mustard Sauce (made without measuring): mix spicy brown mustard with horseradish mustard (almost 1:1 ratio), add a bit of Worcestershire sauce and a tablespoon or two of brown sugar. Taste and adjust as necessary. The sauce should have a sweet kick to it.

If we had to pick between the two appetizers, our choice would be the toasted ravioli. The Italian sausage balls were good mainly because of the dipping sauce. Stay tuned for more appetizer adventures...

Wee Men - Wee What?!

Wee Men
http://www.recipezaar.com/Wee-Men-271824

If you like sugar sweets or chocolate, the Wee Men are sure to please! In a recent search for fun appetizer recipes, I came across the recipe for Wee Men. After reviewing it, I decided that this is one that I wanted to add to my kid friendly and fun recipes to one day make with Kaitlyn. When go blue dad got home, I showed it to him and he suggested we give it a test run while Kaitlyn was napping. They were simple and easy to make and tasted yummy!! We can't wait to make these with Kaitlyn one day when she is old enough.


Wee Men Recipe

• 8 ounces hershey's special dark chocolate

OR

• 8 ounces milk chocolate (kid's might prefer milk chocolate over dark chocolate)

• 1 bag regular size marshmellows

• 1 regular size bag M&M's (need about 30 M&M's)

• Parchment Paper

Making the Wee Men is as simple as it looks. You melt the chocolate bar, dip the marshmallows, place a small amount of melted chocolate on top, and add the M&M. I prefer to melt the chocolate on the stove in a metal bowl over a pot of simmering water, but you can do it in the microwave if you want to save time. Once melted, pull the bowl off the burner and start dipping the marshmallows. Dip marshmallows about 1/3 deep into the chocolate and set on parchment paper. Gently spoon a drop of chocolate on top of the marshmallows and place the M&M's on top of each one. After finishing, we put the Wee Men in a cool environment (cold garage in January or refrigerator) to allow the chocolate to set. We stored them in the refrigerator overnight. Enjoy!!

How to Involve the Kiddos...

• Melting Chocolate - adult task unless working with older kids due to burn potential
• Dipping & Dropping - One kiddo can dip the marshmallows into the melted chocolate and place on parchment paper while another kiddo adds the dollop of chocolate on the top of it
  
• Placing M&M's - Kiddo(s) can place the M&M's on top of the marshmallows once the teaspoon of chocolate has been added on top
  
• Indulging - all adults and kiddos can indulge!
  

Shhh... we're going to share a BIG secret

Well, for us it's a big secret to share...

For the last few years, Go Blue Dad and I have struggled to cook a pot roast and short ribs to our liking. We have ended up with chewy, rubbery meat instead of tasty meat that falls apart. However, Go Blue Dad figured it out and made two excellent dinners of pot roast and short ribs.

Our secret for success: LOW and SLOW.


Braised Short Ribs with Carrots and Baked Red Skin Potatoes

Seared short ribs and roasted in oven for 4 hours at temperature of 265 degrees F on day 1. Then pulled off fat and put meat in fridge overnight as recommended by Thomas Keller in his cookbook. Roasted again for 1 hour 20 minutes at 325 degrees F on day 2.

If you read recipes from Food Network or other places, some say to cook a roast for two and a half hours or until the meat reaches a temperature of approximately 155 degrees F. However, we found that this does not leave you with tender, tasty, fall apart meat. Instead the meat is tough and underdone. Medium or medium rare meat is okay for steaks, but not if you strive for meat that breaks apart in your hands and does not need a knife to cut through it. Now that we use the Low and Slow method, we cook the meat past the 155 or 165 degree point listed in recipes, but it turns out SO MUCH better.

Pot Roast with Carrots, Turnips, Onion and Potato
Roasted in oven for 6 hours at 265 degrees F.

The roasted vegetables tasted great and the juices (roast juice, red wine, beef stock, etc.) made a great au juice for the roast.

Corned Beef with Potato Latkes
We cook our corned beef on the stove top submerged in water with seasoning for about 8 hours. We cover the corned beef with water two inches above the top of the meat, add the seasoning and bring it to a simmer. Once it simmers, we reduce the heat to low and let it simmer all day.

While I do not have a photo, we cook our pulled pork the same way on the grill - low and slow and it turns out delicious!

Hope this tips helps!! Bon Apetite!!