Category Archives: appetizers

Chicken, bacon & broccoli croissants

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A fun, quick recipe for parties or week nights.

Use the larger sized canned croissants. Use triangles for a stuffed croissant flair, or use squares with the perforation sealed up to make more of a turnover style.

If using the “flaky” variety, omit the egg wash.

Ingredients

  • 6 slices bacon (up to ½ lb)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 small broccoli crowns, trimmed and cut into florets
  • 4 medium Baby Bella mushrooms, cleaned, halved and sliced
  • ½ onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
  • 4 ounces grated cheddar cheese (see Cook’s Note)
  • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons honey mustard
  • 2 tbsp ranch dressing
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • Two 12-ounce tubes refrigerated rolled crescent dough
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup ranch dressing or marinara sauce, for dipping

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large skillet, cook bacon to crispy leaving fond, and reserving 1 tablespoon of fat. Transfer bacon to a paper towel to drain and cool.

Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to pan. Sear chicken breasts turning three times until an instant read thermometer registers 165°F at the thickest part. Set aside to rest.

Add mushrooms and sauté until tender. Add onion and sauté until translucent. Add garlic and broccoli and saute until fragrant and vibrant. Reduce heat.

Chop down bacon and chicken into ¼” pieces.

In a separate bowl, combine mayonnaise, ranch, shredded cheese and seasonings. Add chicken, bacon and sautéed vegetables. Toss to combine well, until everything is evenly coated.

Unroll and divide canned croissant dough into triangles or squares, as preferred. For triangles, add tablespoon dollops of filling and roll, with the tip on top of the roll. For squares, seal the perforation by breeding/pinching, then add ½ cup dollops at the center of the square. Fold and pinch opposite corners into a turnover, tube or petit four.

Brush down pastries with egg wash. (Omit this step if using Flaky dough.)

Arrange pastries on a parchment lined sheet. Bake 14-20 minutes in 350°F oven, turning once.

Egg Bites #2

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Savory, muffin-sized quiche bites prepared without dairy, gluten or soy.

Egg Bites
Egg bite mini quiche

Use a large measuring cup or graduated pitcher to distribute batter evenly. One liter (1000mL) of batter makes 12 bites using a standard muffin tin. Serves 4 to 6.

Ingredients

  • 500mL eggs (approximately 10)
  • 4 slices thick-cut bacon, diced (about 1 cup)
  • ½ red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 medium shallot, diced
  • 3 clover garlic,.smashed and minced
  • 1 cup plain white rice, cooked, dried and chilled
  • 2 tbsp 1:1 gluten-free flour substitute
  • 1 sprig fresh chives, doced (about 2 tablespoons)
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary, minced
  • 1 sprig fresh thyme, minced
  • 1 sprig fresh parsley, minced
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

Clean and lightly oil a nonstick muffin pan with olive oil or another high temperature neutral oil. Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a 10″ skillet, brown the diced bacon until it is slightly crisped, browned and several tablespoons of fat have rendered. Add the diced red pepper and shallot, then saute until tender, about 6 minutes.

While the peppers are cooking, scramble approximately 10 eggs with salt to make 500mL of batter. Whisk in fresh herbs and rice, breaking up any stubborn clumps with the whisk.

When the peppers and shallot have mostly sweated out, add the garlic and saute one more minute until the garlic is aromatic. Remove from heat.

Working in thirds, add the bacon and peppers from the pan to the eggs while stirring continuously to prevent the eggs from cooking. Combine thoroughly, adding up to 2 tablespoons of gluten free flour substitute to thicken.

Using a spoon, distribute the batter among the muffin cups, filling to approximately ¾ full, and ensuring even distribution of the solids.

Optional: top muffins with shredded cheese.

Transfer to the oven and bake at 375°F uncovered for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned and puffy. The muffins are done when a wooden tester pulls clean.

Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)

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This is a traditional recipe as presented on YouTube’s Alex the Cooking Guy “Swedish Meatballs” episode. The units are converted from the given recipe and adjusted based on observations.

This recipe freezes well for longer term storage. Arrange the finished meatballs in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze uncovered until they will will not stick, about 2 hours.. Seal frozen meatballs in a freezer bag and store up to 2 months. Reheat meatballs from frozen in warm gravy.

Makes approximately 20 meatballs.

Ingredients

This recipe forms a loose, delicate meatball. Be sure to keep the meat mixture cold, and do not over work or the meatballs may crack while cooking.

Meatballs

  • 200 g ground beef
  • 100 g ground veal
  • 100 g ground pork
  • 100 ml bread crumbs
  • 200 ml cream
  • 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 egg (or two egg yolks)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp ground allspice
  • Pinch of ground nutmeg
  • Pinch of ground cloves  
  • 2 tbsp cooking oil, reserved for pan frying
  • 2 tbsp butter, reserved for pan frying

Gravy

  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 4 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 3 cups beef broth
  • 2/3 cup heavy cream, sour cream or creme fraiche
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions

Soak bread crumbs in cream for 5-10 minutes.

Finely dice onion, not quite mincing it. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent and lightly browned, about 3-5 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine all three ground meats, soaked bread crumbs, egg, spices, salt and cooked onion. Using a wooden spoon or clean hands and keeping the meat as cold as possible, stir until well combined, nearly a pâté consistency. If using a stand mixer use a paddle attachment on low speed, being careful not to overwork. Chill the mixture in a refrigerator or freezer before shaping balls.

Roll the mixture into 1 1/4-to-1 1/2-inch meatballs, forming about 20 meatballs.

Add 2 tablespoons cooking oil and 2 tbsp butter to the skillet. Add the meatballs in batches and cook until all sides are browned, about 4-5 minutes. Do not overcrowd the pan. Transfer finished to a rack or paper towel-lined plate.

For the gravy, reserve 1 tbsp of fat in the pan and melt 1/4 cup of butter. Do not allow to foam. Dust flour over the butter and whisk until combined into a roux. Cook over medium heat until aromatic and blonde. Add beef broth and deglaze the pan, scraping up browned bits of meat. Add the heavy cream, sour cream or creme fraische and whisk to combine. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil whisking constantly until thickened.

Adapted in part from Alex the Cooking Guy, Swedish Meatballs

Stuffed Mushrooms

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Tender mushroom caps stuffed with cheese and topped with breadcrumbs.  Yields 4 servings.

Cheese Filling

* 1/3 cup whipped cream cheese
* 1/4 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
* 1/2 teaspoon dry Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix

Mushrooms

* 6 large button mushrooms, cleaned and de-stemmed
* 1 cup bleached flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1/2 cup buttermilk
* Vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

Combine ingredients for cheese filling and set aside 10-15 minutes.

Clean mushrooms and remove stems. When cheese has rested, use a teaspoon to fill mushroom caps to level or slightly domed.

Combine flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and cayenne pepper in a small bowl.  Prepare a second small bowl with buttermilk Wash mushrooms in buttermilk, then dredge in flour, repeating once for each mushroom.  Arrange coated mushrooms on a cookie sheet and freeze at least three hours.

Heat vegetable oil in a skillet to 350°F, using enough oil to cover mushrooms completely.  Fry mushrooms 8-10 minutes, until golden.  Remove and drain mushrooms on a paper towel, allowing several minutes to cool before serving.