Garlic Basil Bites & Strawberry Feta Bruschetta

Posted on May 16, 2012 by I ♥ to eat

I have two fresh summer snack ideas for you today. One recipe is sweet, a great treat or appetizer, while the other is a savory revamped take on your classic garlic bread. They are quick and simple and delicious.

Strawberry Feta Bruschetta

1 Baguette
1 1/2 cups strawberries, rinsed and chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup feta cheese (goats cheese also works well) but let’s be honest with each other, you’re gonna use as much cheese as you want
Dash of salt
A liberal drizzling of balsamic reduction (balsamic vinegar does the trick if you’re not up to making the reduction)

Warm the whole baguette in a 350 degree oven. Meanwhile in a medium-sized bowl mix together all other ingredients. When the bread is warmed through, remove from oven, slice horizontally and spoon the strawberry mix onto each slice. Drizzle with more balsamic, serve and enjoy!

BASIL GARLIC BITES

1 Baguette
5 finely chopped basil leaves
2 finely minced garlic cloves
3 tbsp butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Freshly grated parmesan (optional)

Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. When butter starts to bubble add minced garlic and basil. Sautée until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.

There are a couple of ways to prepare this:
Warm the whole baguette in a 350 preheated oven. Slice and brush with basil butter, serve.
Or, if you have access to a BBQ, slice your bread diagonally and grill before brushing with garlic basil butter.
Or, slice open your baguette lengthwise. Brush either side with the garlic basil butter, top with grated cheese and broil until golden.

Nomnomnom! This goes great with a red sauce and of course, a bottle of wine. Happy Eating!

Cinco de Mmmmmayo Baja Shrimp Tacos

Posted on May 5, 2012 by I ♥ to eat

Happy Cinco de Mayo everybody! For those of you wondering what Cinco de Mayo is all about, google it! Or Wikipedia it! For us it meant splurging on delicious Americanized Mexican food, and gosh darn it the meal was amazing.

If I can depart any wisdom on my readers it is trust staff recommendations. The first time I entered Chronic Tacos, wide-eyed and hungry, one of the colorfully tattooed cooks took me under his wing and guided me through the ordering process. Battered fish/shrimp Baja style is the way to go, and he was 100 percent right.

I ordered three tacos, the battered shrimp (pictured above), grilled fish, and the carnitas (shredded pork). They recommend getting it “baja style” which includes fresh squeezed lime, cilantro, and Baja sauce. DO IT.

The heaping tacos are made to order with fresh ingredients and varying degrees of hot sauces. My only complaint is that guacamole was an extra $1.00. Other than that, the prices are reasonable for the amount of food you receive.

I was told my battered shrimp was going to take a while, as they were making it fresh. At 9:00pm this was welcomed, proving again the freshness of their products. The shrimp was well worth the wait. There were about four large shrimp, enough for each bite to be delicious. Crunchy on the outside, tender inside, I recommend trying this. It was also loaded with fresh tomato salsa, cabbage or lettuce, and cheese. The grilled fish wasn’t as outstanding, and didn’t have as defined a flavour. The only thing that stood out for me was the taste of the tomatoes, so I don’t think I would get it again.

Baja Style Battered Shrimp Taco

By far the shrimp was my fave, with the carnitas coming in second. This taco came with guacamole, probably why I liked it haha, but compared to the bursts of flavour in the shrimp the carnitas was only so-so. They don’t skimp on portions though, this taco came filled with meat and had a hardy spoonful of guacamole.

Carnitas

If you’re hungry and craving good fast food (yes, I believe there is such a thing), go for Chronic Tacos. Today they are featuring Cinco De Mayo drink and food specials at all their locations, and festivities at their Gastown location! Might just have to make a repeat appearance….

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Posted on April 9, 2012 by I ♥ to eat

Most people eat cauliflower in veggie platters, or smothered in cheese and baked in the oven au gratin, or roasted, or steamed with carrots. Ugh, (about the carrots, not the cheese). I aim to inspire you to think outside of the crisper, and try using cauliflower as the star ingredient in your meal, and not just as a supporting character.

It all starts with cauliflower rice. It really doesn’t get any simpler than this, and it is the foundation for so many cauliflowericious dishes (say that 3 times fast).

Grate one head of cauliflower: you should get about 2 1/2 to 3 cups. Put this into the microwave and nuke for 6-8 minutes. Microwaving cauliflower is a delicate art, be careful not to burn it! Even though grating uncooked cauliflower is messy, I prefer this method because the result is a texture very similar to rice.

If you steam cauliflower florets before grating it, the “rice” will be mushier as the florets will have absorbed a lot of water. When I’m feeling lazy I just steam and chop, but for this recipe I recommend grating.

Cauliflower pizza is a healthy gluten free alternative and great recipe to try out. I know the steps look daunting, but it really is very simple, don’t wuss out on trying something new! Be forewarned, this isn’t the type of pizza you can pick up with your hands, it’s unique and deserves to be savored with a fork and knife.

Cauliflower Pizza

You Will Need:

1 head of cauliflower, riced
1 small potato, grated
1/4 cup grated onion
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 egg

Optional: Fresh herbs like parsley, rosemary, cilantro or even Italian seasoning can be added if you wish.

Toppings:

This is not your average pizza crust, so step up your pizza game and add some gourmet toppings! I used prosciutto, goat cheese, arugula and whole olives.

This Is What You Do:

Preheat your oven to 350.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk one egg. Grate your small potato and onion and wrap them in paper towel or a clean kitchen cloth and squeeze out as much moisture as you can.

Combine cooked riced cauliflower, potato,onion, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese and fresh herbs with whisked egg.

On a large baking sheet, or pizza pan, spread out your cauliflower dough. I made two small pizzas about half an inch thick. I found making smaller pizzas works best for this type of dough.

Brush with olive oil or a bit of egg yolk to ensure a crispy crust, and then bake for 15 -20 minutes, or until firm and golden. Don’t add your toppings yet! The dough needs to firm up before you pile it high with tasty treats.

Dress That Pizza Up

Once the dough has firmed up, remove from oven and add your sauce, cheese, ham, pepperoni, mushrooms – whatever you like. I added homemade red sauce to one, and lightly brushed the other with olive oil . Next came the crumbled goat’s cheese and sliced prosciutto. I put it back in the oven until the cheese was melted and bubbly. Meanwhile I tossed my arugula in olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. When the pizzas were ready, I added the arugula and finished it off with some olives. VOILA!