Category Archives: Snacks

Jalapeño Popper Dip

Posted on by

3

This fantastic dip recipe comes from my friend Susan in Calgary. She brought this dip to my going-away party and I just had to have the recipe. I made it for my family when they were in town around Christmas, and I made it just for Gen and I to munch on yesterday. It is best served warm, with your favourite tortilla chips, though I will admit, I used some of the left over dip (it get pretty solid when cold) to stuff some omelets this morning for Gen’s birthday. I’ve made a couple adjustments to make up for the fact that we use greek yogurt for pretty much everything.

Jalapeño Popper Dip

Ingredients

  • 2 blocks cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise (homemade is always better)
  • 1/2 plain greek yogurt (or sour cream, heck, or just plain yogurt)
  • 1 can chopped green chilies, drained (1/2 cup)
  • 2 diced fresh jalapeños
  • 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400ºF
  2. Stir together cream cheese and mayonnaise in a large bowl until smooth. Stir in green chiles, jalapeños, and 1/4 cup of the parmesan.
  3. Pour mixture into medium casserole dish (or a hot-dip dish, if there is such a thing). Sprinkle the top with the remaining parmesan and the panko bread crumbs.
  4. Heat dip in the oven for 15-20 minutes until it is heated through, the top is golden, and the cheese is bubbling.
  5. Serve with chips and bread.

Portobello Fries with Basil Aioli

Posted on by

14

I found this recipe a couple years ago and have only made it a handful of times since, which is silly because it is delicious and easy. These ‘fries’ are crunchy and juicy (the mushroom is juicy… this is a good thing) and are the perfect vehicle for the surprize star of the show, the basil aioli. Now, I don’t want to toot my own horn, but I make some tasty mayonnaise and it is made even better with the addition of a handful of basil, some garlic, and lemon. Don’t be afraid of making mayonnaise, it’s easy and WAY better than store bought. But, if fooling around with raw eggs isn’t your thing (or if you are vegan), by all means, buy some, just don’t let anything stop you from making these!

Baked Portobello Fries with Basil Aioli

Lightly adapted from this gorgeous blog’s recipe.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of panko bread crumbs (other bread crumbs will do, I just had these on hand)
  • 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese or pecarino
  • 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 tsp of garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp of oregano
  • sea salt and pepper to taste
  • 4 portobellos
  • 3 large eggs, beaten (or to veganize, use dijion mustard and no cheese… or daiya, as suggested to me by my great friend, Lauren!)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray it with cooking spray (I was at a friends, we made do with aluminum foil and olive oil, but I don’t recommend that).
  2. On a plate, mix together the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, crushed red pepper flakes, garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper.
  3. In a small to medium bowl, beat the eggs.
  4. Cut the portobello mushrooms into 1/4″ slices.  One by one, dip the portobello slices in the beaten eggs and transfer to the place with the bread crumb mixture, being sure to coat the mushrooms thoroughly.  Place the bread crumb covered mushrooms on the baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, checking on them after 10 and flipping them to ensure thorough baking.

Basil Aioli

  • 1 room-temperature egg
  • 1 1/2 tsp mustard (your favourite kind)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • your favourite oil (remembering strong-tasting oils like olive oil will make your mayo taste like that flavour)
  • 1 tbsp white vinegar (more to taste, depending on your tang levels)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • ¼ cup packed basil leaves
  • ½ tsp. lemon juice
  • 1 medium garlic clove, pressed
  • Pinch of salt

Directions

  1. Mayo-making time! I will do a picture tutorial for this, just not today. In a tall, clean container (a jar works), put your egg yolk and a half of the egg white (discard the rest of the white). Add your mustard and some salt and pepper. Using a hand blender (easiest way by far, but you can also use a whisk or a food processer or a blender) blend the egg a bit. Slowly drizzle in oil. You will see the mayo coming together (emulsifying). Once you’ve reached a consistency and amount that you like (it will grow forever, more oil = more mayo), add the vinegar and mix it together. You may want to add a little bit more oil at this point to thicken it up a bit more, as the vinegar might loosen the mayo. Taste, adjust as needed.
  2. Now that you have delicious homemade mayo, make it into aioli!
  3. In a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and salt. Stir well. Chop the basil well and add into the aioli, at this point you can hand-blend it quickly to make a nice smooth dip, or stir the basil through for big bites of basil flavour.

Ready to be baked!

Munch time!

I was over at Caelin’s for this recipe… so of course there was Jamesons.

Spicy Pepperoni Cheesesticks

Posted on by

4

By request from my brother-in-law, my sister and I set about making spicy pepperoni cheesesticks to rival the ones he loved as a kid (or teen, or recently, I can’t remember). I knew we had a lot to live up to, so we made sure we were doing this right. I had been eyeing this recipe for a couple days, knowing that these jalapeño sticks would be the perfect prototype for what were trying to create. Reading the recipe I determined that pizza dough was the answer. So we used my regular pizza dough recipe, got some Tex Mex shredded cheese, some very spicy pepperoni sticks, and set about making these delicious treats. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. These came together like gangbusters, they were tasty and satisfied my brother-in-laws cravings. Success!

Spicy Pepperoni Cheesesticks

Ingredients

Pizza Dough
  • 1  package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsps white sugar
  • 1 tbsp oregano
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 2/3 cup shredded cheese (cheddar or Tex Mex)
The Rest
  • 1 package of spicy pepperoni sticks
  • shredded cheddar or Tex Mex cheese (jalapeño, cheddar, mozza, etc.)
  • chili powder for dusting

Directions

  1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
  2. In a large bowl, combine flour, oregano, chili powder, cheese, salt, and white sugar. Stir well.
  3. Add in the olive oil and the yeast mixture; stir well to combine.

    Kel stirs as I pour.

  4. Mix well until a stiff dough has formed. Cover and rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  5. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface. Form dough into a round and roll out in a rectangle (if possible) to about 1/4 inch thickness.
  6. Slice strips of dough 2 1/4 inches wide.
  7. Place a pepperoni stick in the middle of the strips, place some cheese along side the pepperoni, and pull the dough around and pinch to seal all the way along the stick. Fold the ends over (cut off excess dough and reserve for more sticks) and pinch to seal.
  8. Place sealed sticks on a greased baking sheet and sprinkle with more cheese and some chili powder.
  9. Bake for about 20 minutes, the sticks will be golden brown and the cheese will have melted. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before eating.

Heading into the oven.

Tasty.