Appetizer #18 - Sweet Zucchini Pickles

 The Year of Appetizers

Appetizer #18 - Sweet Zucchini Pickles

    The Olive and The Caper is a cookbook of Greek recipes, published in 2004.  It is a beautiful cookbook and I look forward to trying more of its recipes. The opening section teaches us about the many regions of Greece, and this book contains recipes from all over this beautiful country. I really enjoyed this appetizer and have now made it twice, before even writing about it. A friend of mine who is Greek, said she liked them and that's all I needed to hear. Note that you can also serve this appetizer as a salad or side dish. Also, it would be best to keep it in a glass bowl, not plastic dishes, as the turmeric in the recipe stains plastic. And if you do keep it in a plastic container, it's worth having a stained container, because it's so good. It's not difficult to make, so try this recipe!! Also, I made a smaller batch than what the recipe calls for, so look for my modifications in italics. 

    The quote by Hesiod, circa 700 B.C.E., below is included towards the front of the book. It is a wish that you have plenty of food and do not know hunger. In Roman mythology, Demeter is the goddess of agriculture, fertility, the Earth and its harvest. 

"....That hunger may hate you, and venerable Demeter, richly crowned, may love you and fill your barn with food.."

Ingredients:

4 small to medium zucchini,  with the ends trimmed and sliced into 1/4-inch rounds

1 to 1 1/2 medium onions, quartered and thinly sliced, about 1/8-inch thick

1 tsp kosher or fine sea salt (I used pink Himalayan)

1 1/2 tsp dry mustard

1 1/2 tsp mustard seeds

3/4 tsp ground turmeric

1/4 tsp whole cloves

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup white wine vinegar 

*If you want to make the full recipe as given in the cookbook, use 3 lbs of zucchini, 2 onions and double the rest of the ingredients*

Directions:

Place the sliced zucchini in a large colander and sprinkle the salt over it. Toss the zucchini and salt and set aside for 10 to 15 minutes. Mix the seasonings and add to a large pot with the white wine vinegar. Bring to a rolling boil and remove from heat. Pour the salted zucchini into the large pot, once you've removed the pot from heat. Stir to cover the zucchini mixture with the vinegar mix and let cool. When cool, transfer the mix to a large container, cover and refrigerate overnight. You can keep covered pickles refrigerated, for up to two months (but they did not last that long for me). 

Zucchini Pickles

Appetizer #17 - Toasty Cheese Crackers

 The Year of Appetizers

Appetizer #17 - Toasty Cheese Crackers

    My first comment is that the recipe says you can make about six dozen crackers with this recipe. I did not get near that many. This recipe comes to us from The Quaker Oats Wholegrain Cookbook published in 1978. This little cookbook has a lot of recipes that I want to try. For example they have Several "Add-A-Crunch" mixes that can be used how you like or in recipes they are included in.  Some of them would be awesome over plain, non-fat yogurt.  If you're watching your sugar, you could try making some of these with Stevia or other sugar substitutes.  Several recipes have special notations that show they are simple enough for kids to make (with the appropriate adult supervision of course).  This recipe is one of those. I'll show my modification in italics. 

    I am going to admit that this is definitely not my favorite appetizer that I've made, even with the addition I made of chipotle seasoning. I don't want this to deter you from trying it though! I didn't add a lot of chipotle seasoning, so it ended up not being really noticeable, but try it and add more if you like it. You could also experiment with adding your favorite seasoning or you could try the cookbook suggestions of oregano or basil.  

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (I used Monterrey-Jack)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup softened butter or margarine

3 tbsps water

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 chipotle pepper seasoning (optional) or try your favorite seasoning

1 cup uncooked quick or old fashioned (Quaker Oats or whatever your favorite brand is)

Directions:

Mix together cheeses, butter and water until thoroughly combined. Add flour and salt and mix well. Stir in oats.  I ended up using plastic disposable gloves to make sure I got everything mixed together. Shape dough into a 12-inch log. Wrap securely and refrigerate for four hours. Remove from the refrigerator and cut into 1/8 or 1/4" slices and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Flatten slightly. My slices were pretty stiff and I couldn't flatten, so I just left them as is. Bake in an oven pre-heated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden brown.  Remove from the oven and immediately remove from the baking sheet. Cool on a wire rack. Serve plain or add a dollop of salsa, savory dip or even pizza sauce.

Toasty Cheese Crackers

Peanut Candy (Glazed Peanuts)

 Peanut Candy (Glazed Peanuts)

    The original recipe calls for cashews, which I didn't have, so I used Peanuts.  The recipe is in Folger's Cooking with Coffee recipe booklet, published in 1980.  I really liked how this candy turned out. I didn't drop it in little clusters; I started to, but I don't think I would have gotten them dropped in time, so I just poured in on my greased cookie sheet and spread the mixture out. It didn't take long to cool, but when it was cool, I just broke it up.  It's a soft-ish consistency, like pralines are. Not like hard peanut brittle. It was not difficult to make. The recipes calls for Folger's Coffee, but use what you have. I used Creme Brulee flavored coffee from Coffee & Tea Junkie in Dallas, Texas. The coffee I used was cool, so I heated it in the microwave, before adding to the sugar. Try this with peanuts or cashews.  It's addictive!!

Ingredients: 

2 cups sugar

1 cup hot, strong Folger's Coffee (or your favorite brand)

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

2 cups (10 oz) peanuts or cashews (toasted)

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Toast peanuts or cashews in your oven at 350 degrees for several minutes until warm and toasty (don't leave them in too long and burn them). In a 2-quart saucepan, mix together sugar, coffee and cream of tartar. Cook on medium heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to boiling and boil until syrup reaches hard-crack stage (290 degrees). Remove from heat, stir in cashews and vanilla. Drop onto a greased cookie sheet by spoonfuls or pour out all of the mixture and smooth onto the cookie sheet (This is what I did). Use a spatula to loosen cooled candy from the cookie sheet and break into pieces as large or small as you like. This recipes makes about 1 pound of candy. Enjoy!

Peanut Candy

 

Appetizer #16 - Sweet Caramelized Onion Dip

 The Year of Appetizers

Appetizer #16 - Sweet Caramelized Onion Dip

Published in 2009, the Hungry Girl 200 under 200  - 200 recipes under 200 calories, has lots of tasty healthier than normal recipes. While this is the first recipe I've made from this cookbook, I liked it so much, that I definitely want to try more. Full disclosure, I did not make a lower calorie version of this recipe. I used regular sour cream, mayonnaise and cream cheese, so that's what I'll show in the recipe. YOU can obviously use fat-free cream cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream for the lower calorie version. This dip took a while to make, but it is really good and is so worth it. Make it the day before you want to serve, as it the flavors get all happy together after a few hours. Serve with veggies, chips or crackers.  I had my first serving on cucumber slices. This is one of my favorites in the Year of Appetizers. If you like onions, make this. It's delicious. 

Ingredients:

2 large sweet onions, chopped

6 tbsps cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tbsp softened butter, light butter or buttery spread

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

Melt butter on medium-high heat, add chopped onions and seasonings. Saute for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. The pile of chopped onions will cook down. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 25 to 30 minutes. Stir occasionally, until the onion is browned and caramelized. While you're cooking the onion, whisk together the cream cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream until smooth.  Place the bowl in the refrigerator. When the onions are caramelized, add the Dijon mustard and balsamic vinegar. Cook for five more minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and cool. When onion mixture is cool, remove the cream cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream mixture from the refrigerator and the onions to the bowl. Stir until thoroughly combined. You can serve now or return to the refrigerator for the flavors to get happy. Serve with crackers, thick potato chips or veggies. 

Sweet Caramelized Onion Dip

Grandma's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

 Grandma's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

    Oatmeal raisin cookies are not my favorite type of cookie, but I absolutely adore this recipe. The recipe card in my late mother's recipe box is so stained and the ink the recipe was written with is so lightened, that I had to take a photo with my phone, so I could blow it up to be able to read it. I copied it onto a new card for future use. Grandma had added a note that she always used "...one cup of any cheap oleo." Oleo is another name for margarine. I make the recipe as below with butter and shortening. Using my cookie scoop, I got six dozen cookies (I LOVE my cookie scoop). Try these!!!!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup lard (shortening)

1 cup white sugar

1 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

2 cups flour

2 cups oatmeal

1 cup raisins, cooked

1 tsp baking soda (you'll put this on top of the cooked raisins)

2 eggs

Directions:

Cook raisins in one cup of water, drain, add to a small bowl and sprinkle baking soda on top. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream butter, shortening and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, incorporating completely. Add eggs, then the rest of the ingredients.  Drop by spoonfuls or use a cookie scoop onto cookie sheets and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until slightly browned. Remove from the oven. Cool on a cooling rack and enjoy!

Grandma's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Garlic-Parmesan Bread

 Garlic-Parmesan Bread

   I made up a simple garlic-parmesan bread for my ladies group. It turned out better than any garlic bread I've made before. There haven't been many times I've made fresh garlic bread, but it's still true. I'd say it was actually the best results I've had. I used a stick and a half of unsalted butter, but you could use one stick and/or salted butter. Use more or less of the seasonings if you wish. I used fresh grated Parmesan, but you could use regular powder Parmesan in a can also. 

Ingredients:

1 loaf french bread/baguette or bolillo (This would work with regular sandwich bread also, because bread is bread)

1 1/2 stick unsalted butter or salted if you prefer, softened

1 clove garlic minced

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tbsp dried parsley flakes

Parmesan cheese to taste (use as much as you want)

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place softened butter in a bowl. Add minced garlic and seasonings to butter. Stir until butter and seasonings are well combined. If using a loaf or Bolillo, slice bread in half lengthwise.  If using sliced sandwich bread, lay out slices on a cookie/baking sheet. Spread seasoned butter on bread. Place bread in the oven and bake until the bread is toasty and the cheese (if using), is melted. If using loaf or Bolillo bread, gently place directly on the oven rack. If using sliced sandwich bread, you can still place directly on the oven rack, but you may want to leave it on the cookie/baking sheet. Remove from oven and serve with soup, chili, stew, pasta or whatever dish you like. 

Garlic-Parmesan Bread

Appetizer #15 - Hot Wing Dip

 The Year of Appetizers

Appetizer #15 - Hot Wing Dip

    I have a Braum's Recipes for the Holidays recipe pamphlet.  There are a few recipes I'd liked and this is the first one I've made.  I did not use the brands they suggest (It's brands they sell in the Braum's markets inside their shops).  They suggest Braum's cream cheese and Frank's Red Hot sauce.  I served this dip with crackers, but it would be good with anything you want to dunk. This was good and had a kick from the hot sauce. Try using 8 oz of ranch dressing for a thicker spread instead of a dip. Try celery, potato chips, tortilla chips or crackers. 

Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

12 oz hot sauce (I used a store brand hot sauce; you can use your favorite)

20 oz canned chicken, drained  

16 oz ranch dressing 

Directions:

Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix until completely combined. Pour into a 9 x 13 baking dish. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.  Serve with 'dunker' of your choice. 

Hot Wing Dip 
on Crackers