Artichoke-Lemon Tapenade

 

Earlier this week I dove into one of my new favorite cookbooks, Cold Canning, a treasure trove of recipes so inspiring I hope I have enough years to try them all! The first recipe that caught my eye was this vibrant Artichoke-Lemon Tapenade. It’s incredibly simple to whip up, bursting with bright, fresh flavors, and versatile enough to elevate any meal or occasion. Whether you’re hosting a gathering or looking for a quick flavor boost, this tapenade is a must-try.

Artichoke-Lemon Tapenade

 1½ c. pitted green olives

1 12-oz. jar of marinated artichoke hearts, drained

Finely grated zest and seeded juice of 1 large lemon

3 T. olive oil, preferably extra virgin

2 medium garlic cloves, peeled and halved lengthwise

Put all the ingredients in a food processor. Cover and pulse repeatedly, uncovering and rearranging ingredients with a rubber spatula as necessary, until the mixture has the consistency of a coarse, slushy relish.

Transfer to two clean ½ pint jars or other containers, leaving about ½ inch headspace in each. Cover or seal, then refrigerate or freeze. 

 For a layered and sophisticated heat, add 1 stemmed pickled Calabrian chili.

 The artichoke tapenade can be used as:

A spread on crackers or toasted bread.

A topping for pizzas or flatbreads.

A filling for omelets or sandwiches.

A dip for vegetables or pita chips.

A flavor enhancer in pasta or grain salads.

 This tapenade is a game-changer—its bright lemony notes, savory olives, and tender artichokes create a perfect harmony of flavors. The optional Calabrian chili adds a subtle, sophisticated heat that elevates it further. I’m already excited to experiment with more recipes from Cold Canning. Stay tuned for my next culinary adventure!

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Bacon Mushroom Caps

 

These are wonderful appetizers, easy to make and delicious. I have served them both at brunches and cocktail parties with equal success, and I always get requests for the recipe. Recipients are continually surprised by one of the ingredients - corn chips!

 Bacon Mushroom Caps

40 medium button mushrooms

½ lb. bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled

1 c. shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

½ c. butter, softened

½ c. finely crushed corn chips

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 T. finely chopped onion

1 T. dry red wine

 Remove stems from cleaned mushrooms; chop stems. Combine stems with remaining ingredients. Fill mushroom caps. Place an inch apart on baking sheets and broil 5 to 7 minutes until lightly browned and bubbly. Serve hot.

 

Crush corn chips very fine. I used an ice cream scoop.The recipe calls for Monterrey Jack, but I used Fontina.Cook bacon until well done and crispy, and then chop with a sharp knife.Stir ingredients together well. I cubed the butter in order to allow it to more quickly incorporate.Rolling the filling into loose ball shapes makes it easy to fill each cap.

These are a MUST TRY!

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Artichoke Butter in Phyllo Cups

Sometimes I'm a bit slow on the uptake. For example, only recently have I discovered the convenience and crunchy deliciousness of frozen mini phyllo cups. Where have these been all my life? They are amazing!  Crisp them up a bit in the oven and fill them with any and every luscious filling you can think of, bake, and serve to appreciative and amazed guests. Fill them with lemon curd or pipe them full to bursting with chocolate mousse and you have one heck of a delicious hand-held dessert. This product goes on my list of favorites.

For a snack prior to my annual St. Patrick's Day dinner I decided to fill them with Artichoke Butter. I made the filling the day prior and stored it in a sealed container in the fridge. About fifteen minutes before I intended to serve them I dolloped a healthy teaspoon (to a teaspoon and a half) of the mixture into the cups and baked at 350°F for 10-12 minutes. Yummy!   

Artichoke Butter

1 6.34-ounce package Melissa's Steamed Artichoke hearts, finely chopped*
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Mix all ingredients together until thoroughly blended. Fill thawed and oven crisped phyllo cups, and bake for 10-12 minutes.

*If using canned or frozen artichoke hearts, drain, chop finely, and measure out one cup.

This post is linked to:

Creative Ways

Create It Thursday

Full Plate Thursday

Foodie Friday

Friday Finds

Super Bowl Snacks

Super Bowl is nearly upon us, so it's time to get out those recipes for tasty snacks. I have given you some exceptionally easy and, oh so delicious recipes during the past week, but here are four more that are also a cinch to make, universally appealing, and allow you time enough to actually enjoy the game and your company.

Click on the name of the dish to get the recipe.  From top left, going clockwise, Easy Cheddar Beer Spread, Seasoned Toasted Pecans (addicting), Hot Cheese Puffs, and Cheesy Bacon Pecan Spirals.ot Cgeese Puffs

 For those of you who aren't diehard football fans, are only minimally interested in the game, much less the outcome, and will be switching to “Downton Abbey” at 8:00, here's a recipe for authentic English scones. I'll be serving both!

This post is linked to:

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Tasty Tuesdays

Wow Us Wednesday
What’s In The Kitchen 
Work It Wednesday
Miz Helen’s Country Cottage

Clever Chicks Blog Hop

Super Bowl Eats and Treats

Show and Tell Friday 

Foodie Friday

Tupelo Honey Café’s Pimento Cheese

One of the nice things about living in Missouri is that I can claim both the North and the South, at whim.  When I’m making crab cakes, or cooking up a pot of clam chowder, I claim the North; when I’m making gumbo or pimiento cheese, I claim the South.  No one does pimiento cheese better than the South, and I have yet to find a recipe that beats the one from the Tupelo Honey Café in Asheville, North Carolina.  The secret, I have found, to a really good pimiento cheese spread is substituting a flavorful roasted red pepper for those little jars of rather insipid pimientos.  Sure they’re both red peppers, but roasting brings out so much of the delicious red pepper flavor.

Tupelo Honey Café’s Pimento Cheese
(Makes 2 cups)

8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tbsp. stone-ground mustard
1 tsp. mustard powder
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
2 tbsp. minced fresh parsley
½ cup finely diced Melissa’s fire roasted red bell peppers
Tortilla chips for serving
 
Combine the cheese, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, stone-ground mustard, mustard powder, salt, pepper, parsley, and roasted bell peppers in a large bowl. Transfer to a microwavable dish and microwave for about 20 seconds or until warm, or put in a baking dish in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for about 15 minutes or until heated through. Serve with crackers or tortilla chips.

This post is linked to:

On the Menu Monday

Wow Us Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Tutorial Tips & Tidbits

Cherry Tomatoes with Avocado Cream

It's that time of the year when cherry tomatoes are available in abundance.  That tiny little plant that you carefully placed into the warming soil back in late April/early May is now rewarding you with so many tomatoes that it's hard to eat them fast enough.  If you've run out of ideas, here is an easy recipe, perfect for summer, that will make use of them in a very elegant way.

Cherry Tomatoes with Avocado Cream

18 cherry tomatoes
1/2 avocado, pitted, peeled, and cut into quarters
2 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon homemade or purchased basil pesto
1/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1 tsp. lemon juice

 Cut a thin slice from the top and bottom of each tomato. The bottom slice to is keep the tomatoes from rolling, so slice carefully so as not to make a hole in the bottom. With a small, serrated spoon or small melon baller carefully hollow out the tomatoes. Line a plate with paper towels.  After hollowing out each tomato, invert and place on the paper towel-lined plate to drain.  Let set for 30 - 35 minutes.

In the work bowl of a food processor (I used a small one) combine avocado, cream cheese, pesto, Old Bay, and lemon juice; process until smooth. Spoon filling into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip.  Remove tomatoes from paper towel-lined draining plate, invert and place on serving plate. Carefully pipe filling into the tomato cups. Serve immediately or cover loosely and refrigerate up to 4 hours.

This post is linked to:
Foodie Friday
Foodie Friday @ Little Brick Ranch
Food on Friday
Friday Favorites
Friday Fat Camp
Spotlight Saturday
Seasonal Sunday

Hot Cheese Puffs

After yesterday's lengthy bout with phyllo, today I thought I'd try an easy appetizer recipe in preparation for the rather large spread we put out for Super Bowl.  I first tasted these at the November 2006 christening of my cousin's son and liked them a great deal, vowing certainly to make them and put some in the freezer so I'd be prepared for drop-in guests.  Well, much time has passed since then, but I did make them today and they were as good as I'd remembered.

The recipe comes from a favorite cookbook of mine called St. Louis Days, St. Louis Nights.  The recipe indicates that it makes 40, but I found 30 was far more accurate unless you skimp on the topping and then they just wouldn't be as good.

Hot Cheese Puffs

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

3/4 teaspoon minced onion

1/4 cup Hellman's mayonnaise

1 tablespoon dried, chopped chives

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/3- 1/2 small loaf Pepperidge Farm thin sandwich bread

In a bowl, combine all ingredients, except bread.  Mix well.

  Cut bread into 1-1/2-inch round circles.

Spread each round with cheese mixture.  Arrange rounds on cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes or until slightly browned.  Serve hot.

These I put into the freezer until frozen and then popped them off of the plate and put them into a Ziploc bag.  According to the recipe, they can be taken directly from the freezer to the oven and baked for 20 minutes prior to serving.

Do not throw the remnants of your bread away.  Put it into the freezer in a Ziploc bag.  When a recipe calls for bread crumbs, toss this into the food processor and you'll have fresh bread crumbs in a flash and won't have wasted a thing.