Roasted Shallot with Spinach Dip

Shallots are an easily forgotten, yet delectable cousin to onions and garlic.  This recipe showcases their brilliance while providing an alternative to boring, predictable onion dip, and can even make you the hero with the best snack at the Super Bowl Party.  Well, lets not get crazy.

 

INGREDIENTS

1. 3 large french shallots (or 6 -7 of the small shallots), chopped
2. 1 medium onion, chopped
3. 1 clove of garlic, petals detached
4. Olive Oil
5. 8 oz Reduced Fat Sour Cream
6. 1/2 cup half and half
7. 1/4 cup water
8. 1/2 tsp minced fresh rosemary or Dried
9. 1/2 cup cheddar, grated (I used 2% Cracker Barrel Sharp)
10. 4 oz fresh spinach
11. 1 bunch green onions, chopped
12. 1/4 cup minced parsley (packed)
13. Sea Salt
14. Pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Place onions, shallots and garlic on separate pieces of foil with 2 - 3 tbsp olive oil and roast.
   
   1. Shallots: 30-40 minutes, or until brown and caramelized.
   2. Garlic : 10 - 15 minutes, or until soft when squeezed.
   3. Onion: 60-75 minutes, or until brown and caramelized.
3. Cool roasted vegetables.
   1. Remove shells from the garlic petals and any peel from shallots or onions
   2. Collect any extra olive oil.
4. Combine the garlic, onion and half of the shallots in a blender, and puree until smooth.
   
   1. Add remaining olive oil, and if the mixture is too think, a few drops of water.
5. In another bowl, mix the sour cream, puree and remaining shallots. 
   
   1. Refrigerate until needed.
6. Combine the half and half, water, and rosemary in a 2 quart sauce pan, and simmer on low heat, whisking constantly.
   
   1. Slowly add 2 tbsp grated cheddar at a time, whisking until the cheese is completely melted and incorporated before adding more.
   2. Add the parsley, spinach and green onions
   3. Continue to simmer and whisk until the mixture is very thick and reduced in volume by 25%.
7. Add the warm cream mixture to the sour cream. 
   
   1. Add salt and pepper to taste.
   2. Serve warm with a sliced baguette.

 

Sun-dried tomato pesto

INGREDIENTS

1. 1 cup smoked sun-dried tomatoes
2. 1/2 large onion
3. 15 garlic petals
4. 1/2 large bunch italian parsley
5. 1/3 of a fresh herb box of Oregano
6. 4 -5 large basil leaves
7. 1/3 cup parmigiano reggiano
8. 1/4 cup pine nuts
9. 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
10. 1/4 tsp salt
11. 1/4 tsp pepper
12. Olive Oil

 

DIRECTIONS

1. Chop onions and roast in olive oil until caramelized, about 2 hours on 325
2. Roast garlic in olive oil until soft, about 20 minutes on 325
3. Process the herbs
   1. Remove parsley, oregano and basil leaves from the stem
   2. Wash
   3. Chop basil 
4. Process the following separately in food processor until well ground, adding a small amount of olive oil if needed for consistency:
   1. Onions and garlic
   2. Sun dried tomatoes
   3. Parsley and herbs
   4. Cheese
   5. Pine nuts (add olive oil)
5. Place all ingredients in food processor, including lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Add more olive oil if mixture is too thick
   1. Process for 20-30 seconds
   2. Taste for Quality Control purposes

Fire Roasted Salsa

 

This recipe is always a winner, who doesn't love fresh salsa?  

INGREDIENTS

Yield: 3 cups

9 vine ripe tomatoes
1 small onion
1 jalapenos, diced
9-10 petals of garlic
1 petal of garlic, minced
½ bunch fresh cilantro
1 1/2 limes
Olive oil
1/4 tsp cumin
sea salt
Olive oil cooking spray

DIRECTIONS

 

1. Process vegetables
   1. Cut tomatoes in half
   2. Cut onion into quarters
   3. Mince one quarter of the onion, and set aside.
2. Roast vegetables
   1. Heat toaster oven or broiler to 450, oven to 325
   2. Line large baking pans with foil
   3. Spray with cooking spray
   4. Place tomatoes, 3/4 onion and garlic separately on baking pans and drizzle with olive oil
      1. I like to make little pouches with foil so that I can put onions and garlic on the same pan
   5. Roast tomatoes until charred in broiler, 5 - 10 minutes
   6. In the oven, roast onions until carmelized, and garlic until squishy when squeezed.
      1. 45+ minutes for onions
      2. 15-20 minutes for garlic
3. Remove skin from onion and garlic, then puree onions, tomatoes, garlic and olive oil in blender
4. Remove cilantro leaves from stem, and discard stems
   1. Mince cilantro
5. Mix vegetable puree, cilantro, and minced garlic, onions and jalapeno.  Squeeze lime juice into mixture, tasting for consistency
   1. Add cumin
   2. Add sea salt in 1/4 tsp increments, tasting after each addition.  Stop adding sea salt when desired saltiness is reached.  I used 1/2 tsp.

Top 10 Super Bowl Recipes

While considering the Super Bowl party I'm not having, I started thinking about all the great appetizer-type dishes that make these parties fun for those of us who aren't such big football fans. There are the classics, of course, and the misadventures (usually in the form of a seven-layer-bean-dip) - but good food always makes a good party. 

Roasted Garlic Bean Dip

So I'm standing on line at the grocery store, and I'm next. There are several people behind me with loaded carts and I notice I have a voice mail. It's from my wife. She's asking me to bring home some hummus. There's none in my cart but there's no way I'm abandoning my spot in line.

I'd be committing another 30 minutes for those mashed garbonzos and it's not that my wife isn't worth it, but I figured I could come up with a substitute when I got home. Here's what I improvised.

Stuffed Mushrooms Recipe

I've only made these twice, but each time they were well received. I'd be interested to hear how other folks prepare stuffed mushrooms. It seems to me there are lots of options here. Anyway, here's how I do it.

Buffalo Chicken Wings Recipe

Buffalo Chicken Wings seem to go hand in hand with autumn. Maybe it has something to do with football, or maybe buffalo wings just make for a nice transition from outdoor grilling to indoor cooking. Whatever the reason, the recipe is fairly simple, though I depart from the original by baking my wings instead of frying, and adding a couple ingredients to the sauce.

Corn and Roasted Pepper Salsa

As the summer draws to a close more and more fresh corn will be available at your local farm-stand-on-a-dusty-corner. I tend to buy too many ears than we can possibly eat at one sitting but, as I've mentioned many times, leftovers make me happy. Here's a quick salsa to use up all that leftover grilled-or-boiled corn you're sure to have this season.

Salsa Recipe

I really dislike canned / jarred salsa. The texture is often too pasty and there's zero freshness when all that really matters in good salsa is fresh ingredients. I like to balance mine with a bit of sweetness. Sometimes I'll use fruit (mango, for example) and sometimes I'll use roasted peppers. Roasting your own peppers takes a little more time, but it makes the dish.

Guacamole Recipe

Guacamole is one of those dishes that is so incredibly easy to make and yet I find lots of folks who think it can only be obtained from a mexican restaurant. Well, I'm here to lead the avocado revolution and say that you, too, can make good, fresh, guacamole in your very own kitchen. And you can do it in about 5 minutes. Read on, intrepid soul.