Category Archives: Appetizers

Thai Spiced Tofu Lettuce Cups

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While wandering in Whole Foods one day, I came across this marinated, ready-to-cook tofu that looked delicious and I really wanted to try it in pad thai, but when I got home, I put it in the fridge, and it became lost in the cheese drawer and almost forgotten until just before it expired!

Wanting to make a quick, light meal, I decided to chop it up, cook it with some mushrooms and put it in some leftover lettuce I needed to use up. I also had some carrots and zucchini floating around in the fridge, as well as a half bottle peanut sauce, and a handful of dry roasted peanuts, and it turned out to be an instant dinner hit!

I would really try to seek out the marinated tofu for this, but if it isn’t available, drain a package of firm tofu, and marinade it for a few hours in peanut sauce.

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  • 1  8oz. package Thai-spiced tofu, chopped
  • 3.5 oz. oyster mushrooms, sliced
  • 3.5 oz. shitake mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 medium carrot, finely diced
  • 1 medium zucchini, finely diced
  • 3 green onions, 1/4 inch sliced
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 3 tbsp sesame oil
  • 3 tbsp peanut sauce, plus extra for serving ( I use San-J Gluten Free)
  • 1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped
  • 1 head Bibb or butter lettuce

In a large skillet or wok, heat 2 tbsp sesame oil over medium-high heat. Add tofu and cook and stir until slightly browned on all sides. Remove tofu from skillet and set aside.

Add 1 tbsp sesame oil to skillet and stir in zucchini and carrots. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and mushrooms. Continue to cook and stir for 5 minutes more.

Return tofu back to skillet and stir in green onions. Add peanut sauce and stir to coat. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts.

To serve, place a few heaping tablespoons into a leaf of lettuce and drizzle with extra peanut sauce, if desired.

Salmon Boxty

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It’s almost St. Patrick’s Day and I’m not a huge fan of corned beef and cabbage. I wanted to try something different this year, and traditional Irish Boxty sounded rather plain, so I thought adding salmon would make it a little more like a meal. This is more like Irish boxty and salmon croquettes got married and had little bundles of crisp, moist goodness. On first try, I added way too many mashed potatoes and they turned out like mush, so make sure you watch the salmon to mashed potato ratio!

I served it with dill cream sauce (recipe follows), but a good tartar sauce would be delicious also.photo 3

Dill sauce:

  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup mayo
  • 2 tsp dried dill
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until ready to serve.

Salmon Boxty:

  • 1 pound fresh salmon fillet, skin and pin bones removed
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup mashed potatoes
  • 2 cups uncooked, shredded hash browns
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I used Gillian’s Gluten Free)
  • oil for frying

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place salmon on a baking sheet and top with a good drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes, depending on thickness of fillet. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes, then shred salmon with a fork in a large mixing bowl.

While salmon bakes, melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat. Stir in the chopped onion and 1 tsp salt. Cook and stir for 15 to 17 minutes, until onions are caramelized. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

To shredded salmon, add mashed potatoes, hash browns, and egg. Season with salt and pepper. Stir cooled onions into salmon mixture and stir well to combine. Form into about 12 patties. Dredge both sides in breadcrumbs.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Fry patties in batches for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until nicely browned. Place cooked patties on a paper towel lined plate. Serve with dill sauce or tartar sauce.

Turkish Red Lentil Balls

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Every now and again, my son will save the “Food” section out of the paper if there’s a recipe he finds interesting or looks good. He saved this recipe almost a year ago from The St. Augustine Record, and I was very surprised he would hold on to a recipe like this one, but he may have been referring to the carrot cake that was pictured right next to this one.

At any rate, this looked challenging as I’ve never done anything with red lentils before and am very limited with my lentil experience period. I’ve also wanted to add a vegetable category so this seemed a good one to start with.

The original recipe calls for bulgur wheat and I replaced that with quinoa to keep it gluten free. I also couldn’t find harissa paste or any kind of chili-garlic paste like the recipe suggests as a substitute, so I made up a concoction of roasted red peppers, sriracha, and garlic for the harissa.

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  • 1  cup cooked red lentils
  • 1/2  cup uncooked quinoa
  • 1  cup water
  • 2  tbsp olive oil, plus a drizzle or two
  • 1  medium onion, chopped
  • 1  tbsp ground cumin
  • 2  tbsp finely diced roasted red peppers
  • 1  clove minced garlic
  • 1  tsp sriracha
  • 1  lemon
  • Butter lettuce leaves
  • Parsley

Cook red lentils to package directions.

While lentils are cooking, bring water and quinoa to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until quinoa is soft and most of the water is absorbed. Stir quinoa into the lentils and set aside to cool sightly.

In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook onions 5 minutes, until soft. In a small bowl, combine red peppers, garlic, and sriracha, and mash until well combined. Stir cumin and red pepper mixture into onion, then remove to a mixing bowl.  Add lentils and quinoa to onions, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Place lettuce leaves (about 25) on a serving plate, and shape a heaping spoonful of mixture into an oblong shape, and place on a single lettuce leaf. Repeat until all the mixture is used.

Sprinkle with parsley and drizzle with lemon juice.

Chicken Liver Pate

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And don’t turn your nose up! This isn’t fried chicken livers, or liver and onions, or any of that. This is really good stuff! I don’t like any of the above mentioned and have been known to leave the room if I even smell it, but for some reason, ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved pate! This is made even better with the addition of crushed pistachio nuts and heavy cream. If you’ve always wanted to try pate, this is the recipe for you! Very easy, and inexpensive! 

  • 1 lb chicken livers
  • 1/2 onion sliced
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 sprig thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 cup water
  •  1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 tbsp sherry
  • 2 tbsp heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped pistachios
  • 2 tbsp melted butter

In a medium saucepan, combine livers, onion, garlic, thyme, bay leaves, and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 10 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, remove livers, onion, and garlic to a food processor and pulse until smooth. Add salt and pepper, then add butter 2 tablespoons at a time, blending well between each addition. Add sherry, heavy cream, and pistachios, and blend until well combined. Spoon pate into 2 ramekins and top each with a layer of melted butter. Cover tightly and let refrigerate for 4 hours up to over night. Serve with toasted French bread slices, or crackers.

Wine Party Stuffed Mushrooms

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Had the girls over last night and opened one bottle of white and one bottle of red. The white, Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling, I served with Wesleydale with apricots and crackers. ( Almost like dessert first!) The red was Acacia Pinot Noir and made these tasty little morsels to enjoy with it! The filling can be made a few days in advance, and even freezes well, so it’s a no hassle appetizer!

  • 1 lb Italian chicken sausage, casings removed
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1/4 cup pecorino romano
  • 1/2 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
  • 3 tbsp sherry
  • a few drops hot sauce
  • 12 large mushroom caps, stems removed
  • melted butter or olive oil for drizzling

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Crumble and cook sausage and chopped onion in skillet until cooked through. Drain any fat from the sausage, then melt the butter with the sausage. Add cheese and breadcrumbs and mix well. Sprinkle sherry and hot sauce over the sausage mixture, and stir to combine. Remove from heat to cool.

Grease a casserole pan. When mixture is cool enough to touch, fill mushroom caps with heaping spoonfuls and use fingers to press the filling into the mushrooms. Drizzle melted butter or olive oil over mushrooms and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until mushrooms are cooked through.

Optional: I sometimes add an extra sprinkle of parmesan cheese on the top of mushrooms before baking.