Egg Salad with Zing

As we approach the summer months, tentative thoughts of picnics, BBQs and the like twinkle in our minds. Conjured up images of burgers and buns alongside heaps of summer salads; macaroni, potato and the ubiquitous egg salad. Sure this Memorial Day celebration and seasonal BBQ’s may look different this year, but one thing is certain, we still need to eat. And we definitely need to celebrate and rejoice in life, in being healthy, and any and all good fortunes.

No matter how you decide to celebrate this upcoming Memorial Day, adding a little twist to an old salad standby might be a welcomed change. Although mayo based salads are often the usual accompaniment to BBQs, they rarely grace my table. I seldom, or should say, almost never eat them. Egg salad, most of all. Two main reasons, really. For a long time, I’ve had a food sensitivity to eggs, so I guess that’s a pretty good, and I would venture to say, big rationale. Then, of course, there is the mayo portion, which naturally is made with eggs. The other salads can easily be reinvented/reworked using a blend sour cream and yogurt. But when it comes to egg salad, there’s no getting around the egg portion, and the globs of mayo. Given that eggs make a double appearance in this traditional dish, I’ve steered clear for quite some time. But recently, I starting introducing these shelled wonders back into my diet, and things seem to be ok. With the weather finally showing signs of Spring, Summer and warmth, I figured now was the right time to give a twist to a traditional lunch salad.

I like texture, and I like zing… And I especially like them in my food. When thinking about the typical egg salad neither of those come to mind. In true ‘what do I have’ fashion, I pulled out of the fridge the following line up to answer the call to texture and zing.

Eggs | Mayo | Mustard | Pickles | Capers | Olives | Celery | Lemon

The line up; pickles, capers, mayo, eggs, celery, olives, mustard and lemon.

Ingredients

Yields 1.5 c | approx. 3-4 servings

3 hard boiled eggs
¼ t lemon zest
2 T lemon juice*
¼ cup fine dice celery
1 t capers, chopped
2.5 T chopped dill pickles
2.5 T chopped green olive (I used Spanish Manzanilla olives)
¼ c mayo
1 t mustard (For even more zing, use grain mustard)
(I would have added about 2 T diced red onion if I had it.)
Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. To get a perfect hard boiled egg, place the eggs in a pot and fill with cold water just enough to cover. Bring to a boil, then immediately remove from the heat. Cover and let stand for 14 minutes. Then submerge in ice bath to both stop the cooking and to make it easier to peel.

2. Prep all your ingredients in the famous mise en place way, getting everything ready.

I love using these perfectly sized handmade ceramic bowls by Miller Pottery.

As you can see, some bowls are deeper, while others smaller. Choose bowls of varying small sizes to suit your ingredients.

3. Combine the mayo, mustard and lemon juice/zest together and blend. Add pepper to taste.

As I mentioned, I like a less thick mayo style, so I used 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, making a thinner, lighter dressing. Adjust to your taste.

Photo credit: JuanCarlos Casas/lookasithappens

Look at how gorgeous those yellow yolks look. Perfectly done.

Smash to your hearts content. i like mine on the chunkier side. Photo credit: JuanCarlos Casas/lookasithappens

4. Once the egg are done, smash with a fork to the texture you desire and add all the remaining ingredients saving the mayo mixture for last.

In go all the tangy items, olives, capers, pickles. NOTE: all these have a decent amount of saltiness to them, which is why no additional salt was needed. Photo credit: JuanCarlos Casas/lookasithappens

Crunchy celery in. Photo credit: JuanCarlos Casas/lookasithappens

Creamy, zesty dressing drizzled. Photo credit: JuanCarlos Casas/lookasithappens

*The two tablespoons of lemon juice makes a loose mixture.  I don’t like mine too dry nor too much mayo.  If you like yours less wet and with a thicker mayo texture then cut down the lemon juice.

Serve this with your favorite crackers. You know by know that my gluten free go to is Mary’s Gone Crackers. Naturally, a bun, or whole wheat toast would be great options. However, neither of which can be found in my house.

For more crunch, devour this with Mary’s Gone Crackers. Or serve it up on celery stalks.

For an even healthier choice that will still give you a crisp crunch, fill lettuce leaves with the egg salad. Less carbs more freshness.

Egg Salad with Zing.

A nice lighter lunch served alongside some ice cold, crispy grapes. Fruit is a great accompaniment to a creamy or mayo based salad. I’m a fan. Check out some other salads using grapes. Chicken Salad with Fruit & Nuts or Graped Up Bibb Salad.

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3 Dips a Dipping...

Life with an obsessive buyer.

Well, I guess that’s the view from hubby, JuanCarlos’, seats. I buy things; be it material scraps, vintage dishes, glassware, and even food ingredients with big ideas. Sometimes with no specific ideas at all, I just love how they look and I’ll figure it out later. Maybe that is what I should have called this blog. Buy it Now - Figure it Out Later.

In the looking good category, I’m often tempted by the olive bar at specialty stores. Or the condiment and cheese aisles. Who wouldn’t? They are stocked with alluring foods. So, it’s no wonder that when you open my fridge you will encounter jars and containers of what JC likes to call stragglers. Annoying stragglers, to be exact. We differ greatly in our view points. I love having these food items around because they come in handy in a pinch. On the flip side, my husband finds these types of jars, containers and “dangling participles’ quite annoying. The main reason: he doesn’t have much use for these ingredients, hence the questioning as to why we need so many of them. Which often leads to him needing to shift, maneuver around and rejigger them in the fridge. Of course, I see the absolute need for these, but I’m willing to consider his point of view; me as condiment hoarder for the ‘just in case’ moment.

In an effort to keep the peace around the holidays (at least that is what I’m telling him), I decided to make him happy and clean the fridge from condiment craze. Yet, we all know the real reason. I’m a serial something from nothing, experimentalist. I can’t help myself from looking at ingredients and seeing what they could be. And what perfect timing, as we look down the barrel of the final few holiday parties and gatherings left in the year, a trio of dips comes in handy. Dips are not just useful for dipping, but great to spread on sandwiches, or on the base of pizza or stuffed breads, dollop on a salad or tacos, or dang near anything else you can think of.

Here are 3 dips for dipping. Or spreading or whatever you want to name them, for use in whatever way you choose.

Avocado & Sour Cream Dip

Ingredients
1/2 c avocado, cubed
1/2 c sour cream
1/4 c scallions + 1 T for topping
1 garlic clove, rough chop
1 T parsley
1 t lemon juice
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper

Instructions
In a mini blender, buzz up the parsley, scallions and garlic first. Then add the avocado and sour cream. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper. Buzz again and taste for seasoning. Easy, breezy.

Chop up the scallions and garlic first. It helps to blend them up better.

Chunks of avocado give it a creaminess.

Fresh parsley and lemon give this dip a zip.

Avocado & Sour Cream dip. Creamy and tangy.

Roasted Pepper & Goat Cheese Dip

Ingredients
1/2 c marinated roasted red peppers
2/3 c goat cheese
1/4 c walnuts, roasted

Instructions
Roast the walnuts for 8-10 minutes in the oven or in a saucepan on the stove. Then using a mini blender, buzz up them up into small pieces. Remove from blender, then add the peppers and goat cheese and blend until you have a chunky consistency. Add the walnuts back in, and blend only until full combined, or you can simply stir them in. Taste for seasoning. Since I bought the marinated roasted peppers there was no need to add any additional seasonings.

Goat cheese makes it creamy and tangy. Peppers makes it sweet.

Walnuts give a crunch. A wonderful combination.

Gorgeous bright color, full of tang, sweet and crunch.

Olive & Feta Cheese Dip

Ingredients
1/2 c oil cured black olives
1/2 c green olives
1/2 c feta cheese
1/4 c scallions, rough chop
1 garlic clove, rough chop
1/2 c parsley leaves
1/4 c olive oil
1 t lemon juice

The set up for something special.

Instructions
In a mini blender, buzz up the parsley, garlic and scallions. Add the black and green olives and buzz until it creates a paste. Add olive oil and lemon juice and blend until combined. Then add the feta cheese. Since the olives and feta have enough flavor and salt content, this dip should not require any additional seasoning. But always taste to see if you need more lemon juice or oil.

Toss the scallions, garlic and parsley in.

Buzz it up until coarsely chopped.

Add the olives. Then the oil, lemon juice and feta.

Olive tapenade with feta is a hearty dip, perfect with boiled potatoes for dipping.

Bright, crunchy and super green string beans are a fresh and delightful addition to this platter.

New and fingerling potatoes are the perfect size and consistency for dipping. They also make for a hearty bite.

Did you see how easy it was to whip up not one but three dips? These were just one of those days when pulling ingredients out and seeing what works together creates ramekins full of goodness.

In my defense of stocking our fridge with these awesome ingredients, we had one of those ‘just in case’ moments when we needed to bring appetizers to a party. Perfect timing, I’d say, as I just finished making these dips and they were picture ready for the party. Pure evidence that having dangling participles in your fridge isn’t a luxury or a nuance but an absolute necessity. I feel redeemed and justified in my condiment collecting craze.

A colorful medley.

Fresh and inviting. So, go ahead and invite someone over. Pop some bubbly and dip away.

Dip, spread or dunk your way to a New and Prosperous Year.

Avocado & Sour Cream Dip Recipe

Roasted Pepper & Goat Cheese Dip Recipe

Olive & Feta Cheese Dip Recipe

Post Note: While I was in North Carolina visiting my nieces, my youngest niece made all 3 of these dips for us to snack on. Then we brought the leftovers to my oldest nieces newly purchased townhouse, which we helped her moved into. These dips were the perfect snack as we unpacked, unwrapped and set up her new abode. Everyone loved them. I guess these 3 dips a dipping are even more handy that I originally thought.!

Amuse Bouche...That's not English, Right?

Oh the French, they do give us some wonderful food and great phrases.  And the one that starts it all off is the Amuse-bouche.  The literal translation is mouth amuser.  In a restaurant, this is the appetizer before the appetizer. Not ordered from the menu by a customer, but given as a complimentary single bite from the chef to start your meal.  It is meant to amuse the mouth. Get it ready for the meal. Whet the appetite and get the patron excited for what is to come. 

Only the French would think of amusing your mouth. I dare say that the Italians aren't into amusing so much, but straight up satisfying from the onset.  I do love the idea of tickling the tongue with a little nosh to get you primed.  A little food foreplay, wouldn't you say?

This practice doesn't need to be limited to restaurants. As JuanCarlos and I prepare for a trip to France, I reasoned that this was a perfect time to honor their tradition and share some ideas on the subject. So go ahead,  treat your guests to an Amuse Bouche.  You like them, don't you?  So amuse their bouche.

Remember this is meant to be just one little bite not a full blown appetizer. However,  any of these can be an appetizer. (Just love when things can do double duty).  An amuse bouche can range from the elaborate to a very simple offering. 

Here are six offerings, each providing the all important combination of salty, sweet, tang, texture to get the mouth party off to the races.

Goat Cheese & Nut Topped Grapes

These are an easy, pop in your mouth kind of bite.  Refreshing and textural, and create the "more please" effect. 

• Use the stemmed end as the base, as this will help the grape stand up.

• Slice a tiny bit off the top of the grape to have a level landing spot for a dollop of goat cheese.

• Using a small spoon gather 1/2 tsp of room temp goat cheese and place it atop the grape. (I use my clean fingers to create a little dollop)

• Dip it in the crushed/ground nuts (such as pistachios or a mix of pecans, walnuts or whatever nut you like). These can be made ahead of time, but save the nut dipping til just before serving. You don't want the nuts to get soggy in the refrigerate. NOBODY likes soggy nuts.

Prep yourself with everything at the ready. Look how simple this is. 3 ingredients. 3 steps: Slice, dollop and dip

You can store in the fridge like this with plastic wrap

Dip right before serving.

Salmon Topped Cucumber or Apple

Alright, this may be two bites, but satisfying ones, for sure. These deliver a creamy texture paired with a cool crisp  and salty bite.

Salmon / cream cheese roll up a top a cucumber slice.

• Cut a 1/2" slice of cucumber.

• Pipe a dollop of soften cream cheese on top.

• Place a small piece of smoked salmon laid down in a crossed fashion.

• Pipe another dollop of cream cheese in the center and top with capers and dill.
  (You can also use the Salmon Roll method. On a large piece of plastic wrap lay the salmon down, making sure to overlay slightly. Spread softened cream cheese on top. Sprinkle with capers, then roll up like a sushi roll, Refrigerate. Once chilled, cut into 1/2” rounds placing atop each cucumber slice. Adorn with dill, as seen above.)

Refreshing on a slice of apple. This is from my Lox on What? idea.

Pea Soup Shooter

A chilled, tall drink of spring. (I have not tried these recipes but wanted to provide a few links for your reference.)
Pea Soup Shooter
Pea Shooter
Pea Soup

These were part of the offering at a catering event I did with Regina Mallon Enterprises, food by Special Attentions.

Dates Packed & Wrapped

Boy, does this one get every part of your mouth ready.  It's got salty, sweet, crunch and tang.

Another 3 step method, Slice, stuff and roll.

• Slice open a Meedjol date just enough to remove pit and replace with something better.

• Stuff it with gorgonzola cheese and a marcona salted almond.

• Wrap the date with Serrano or Prosciutto ham.

Simple set up of jamón Serrano, gorgonzola, marconas & dates.

Just a little slice, yank out the pit and replace with yumminess.

Cranked up Caprese Skewers

This is an amped up Caprese salad on a stick.

Ratcheted up a notch by grilling them until they are just warmed then dipped in grated cheese. Oh the melt, the sweet, the salt.

Another simple set up with just a few ingredients.

Once grilled, roll them in grated cheese. Want some heat, sprinkle red pepper flakes, too.

• Skewer a grape tomato, a bocconcino, piece of basil and another grape tomato. (You can certainly serve them as is. But I highly recommend you go the next steps. Also, you can prepare these ahead of time and refrigerate until grilling.)

• Coat with oil, salt and pepper and lightly grill, then roll in Parmesano Reggiano, and serve immediately.

Chorizo-Manchego-Olive Skewer

A one bite tapa mix that makes a hearty first nibble. 

Warm, cold. Savory, salty, creamy. Need I say more?

• Cut Manchego cheese into cubes.

• Slice and sauté the chorizo.

• Skewer the trio ending with an olive.

Honestly, I feel like I could create one every week.  The options and ideas are 'to infinity and beyond'.  Just think of little bites that would get your guests ready for more.  Oh la la to the French for their playful amusement.  What a fun game of enticement. 

Brunch Made Simple

Brunch is supposed to be a relaxed, chill vibe. A time to hang with friends and family. The whole idea is rooted in the premise of sleeping in, then eating lazily in the late morning.  That is true if you are going out to eat, or to someone else's home.  But if you are hosting, it's a bit harder to sleep in. Plus it can feel a bit overwhelming, knowing there are mountains of ideas on what to serve.  I am guilty of wanting to offer up more options than are possible to consume.  (Or to make, for that matter.) The essence of brunch is that beautiful crossover of food from breakfast items to lunch or even a few heartier items. There in lies the rub.  All those choices create a mind numbing battle of what to serve when the possibilities seem endless.

That was my dilemma a while back when we hosted a brunch for our dear friends Carl and Malcolm. I had all sorts of ideas, but I was determined to keep it as simple as possible.  In the end, I felt like I accomplished that, so much so that I recreated the same menu for a Sunday brunch with our other dear friends, Nicki and Jeff. 

A little forewarning, in order to keep this post manageable, each recipe below is a hot link, bolded and highlighted in blue. Just click to be whisked away to see how to make it.

Let us begin:

There were two slight changes to the menu for Nicki and Jeff versus the original. I didn't serve the polenta cake, but did add an amuse-bouche of Ibérico ham, Marcona Almonds, olives.  It was a nice way to greet our friends and settle in a bit as we caught up on our life tales and the many moons that had passed.

Now, you've heard me say many a time that it is essential to serve warm items, room temp and chilled items. This holds especially true for brunch.  Certainly, if I were serving brunch in the winter I might lean on a few more warm plates, but this combo seems just right for the rest of the seasons. Plus, as we head into summer we are in prime time for more entertaining in general, especially outdoors.  Brunch is ideal for backyard entertaining.

After the nibbles that amused our mouths and whetted our appetites, we started off with a chilled dish, then moved on to all the other plates. Let the party begin with a refreshing and clean burst of citrus.

Citrus Salad Martini

A 'brighten your day' start to Sunday, or any day for that matter.

Next up was a continuation of fruit, transitioning to savory with this lightly tossed salad.

GRAPED UP BOSTON SALAD

Boston lettuce with grapes, fennel, celery, scallion. It's bright and light.

Something warm with...

TOMATO & GOAT CHEESE PIE

Warm and savory. The sweetness of the tomatoes balances the tang of the goat cheese.

Something room temp and hearty...

Salmon Salad Platter, Deconstructed

Polenta Cake

Polenta cake cut into slices.

Ingredients

2 c polenta (cook according to package)
1.5 T butter
1/4 c chives, chopped
1/3 c goat cheese
salt, pepper

Instructions

Once the polenta is cooked, remove from the burner and stir in the butter, goat cheese and chives, salt and pepper until combined.  Lightly oil a cast iron pan and pour in the polenta. Bake at 350 degrees until a crust forms. Turn onto a board or plate and cut into wedges.  Best served warm but room temp is good too.

What I love best about this meal is that so much can be done in advance. The big plus is that any of these can be served at room temp, therefore, less stress about timing and getting the plates to the table.  

Then for dessert, I kept with the same theme of simple.  Prepped ahead of time and waiting on the kitchen table, I brought out a small platter of fresh cheeses (Manchego & Ibores),  grapes, strawberries and Sweet Olive Oil Crackers. Certainly, you can go sweet at this stage of the meal, but this felt right, and I believe our guests thought so too.

So, although YOU might not be sleeping in as late as everyone else, but taking the homemade brunch route doesn't have to stress you out.  Create the perfect crossover meal.  

Ziti, Eggplant, Sun-dried Tomatoes & More - Pasta Sunday

Sure, I recognize that Cinco de Mayo is coming up, and maybe you were expecting a taco or fajita recipe.  I'm figuring... No, I'd bet the farm that there are a gazillion other sites that will provide you with oodles of Mexican celebratory dishes.  I like Mexican food but I'm Italian (well, as we all know now with 1/4 Polish, shhh). Plus, you're gonna need a dish for  Sunday.

What can I tell you?  I'm a creature of habit and I love me some pasta on a Sunday. Well, any day really, but Sundays are a must. And it's usually the kind of pasta dish where I'm just throwing together things that I unearth from the back of the fridge or from a pantry rummage.  As my grandmother, who didn't quite understand my need for experimentation, used to call it, Mescolanza. Roughly translated; 'mixed up mess' which doesn't sound very appealing, right?  Consequently, the need for another title was apparent.  Thus the renaming of these types of creations to Something from Nothing Specials was born. Although not super sexy, it does sounds more creative and less like a mistake.  I have to admit, with some pride, that I can't recall a time when I experimented with pasta and it didn't taste good.  Could bias play a role by sheer virtue that I crave pasta like a smoker craves nicotine? Sure, but I have confirmation from others that they like my creations, too.   

So this past Sunday began a bit slow and lazy. When I woke up I had in the back of my mind that it was a pasta day. Although Spring had been trying to eek its pretty little neck out, this particular day was quite chilly, and even a bit nasty. Pasta always warms my soul and my belly. Heck, who am I kidding?  It's Sunday. I don't need any other excuse to make pasta.  So, after doing some Spring cleaning, my reward was to whip me up some comfort and serve it up like a trophy for my work. (I think I might have a serious pasta problem.)

Sure, I had fresh tomatoes.  I even had mushrooms. But that big, hunking jar of sun-dried tomatoes was staring me down as I opened the refrigerator door.  Those jewel colored, intensely flavored bites reminded me of how often I cooked with them in Miami. I was immediately transported back with memory waves of the other ingredients that were my favs: artichoke hearts, capers and olives.  Always trying to keep some solid staples on hand, of course I had capers and olives at the ready.  But with artichokes in attendance, it seemed imperative that I resurrect an old dish.  Also making an appearance, but as a new addition were some baby Italian eggplant. Throw in a few aromatics and we have a pasta dish, y'all.  

The main line up.

Ingredients

1 lb pasta (I used gluten free Tinkyada ziti but use whatever you like)
3 small Italian eggplant, cut in 1/2" strips (approx. 4 c)
1 c artichoke hearts, quarters
1/4 c sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, sliced (approx. 1.5c)
2 T Kalamata Olives
3 large garlic cloves, sliced
1.5 T capers
3 T olive oil
1/2 -1 t salt
1/2 t red pepper flakes
2 c basil, chiffonade
Goat or Feta cheese, or Pesto, optional

Instructions

Put a pot of salted water to boil for the pasta. Sauté the onions in oil, adding 1/2 t salt and red pepper over low heat.  Let soften while you slice the eggplant and garlic. 

Add the eggplant and slightly raise the flame to medium low.  You want to brown the eggplant a bit.  While the eggplant is cooking, prep all the remaining ingredients, and add the pasta to the boiling pot. Once the eggplant has browned, add a tad more oil in the middle of the pan to cook the garlic. Then add the capers, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and artichoke hearts.  Lower the heat and let warm through. At this point, give it a taste for seasoning.  Capers, olives and sun-dried tomatoes can be salty which is why I only started with 1/2 t salt to start, and then added another 1/2 t before adding the pasta. 

It's important to not overcook the garlic, so only add that once the onions and eggplant are browned.

The aromatic line up: Sun-dried tomatoes, capers, Kalamata olives, artichoke hearts.(Notice I only had a few olives, so that's the amount I used.)

Add them all to the pan so they cozy up together.

By this time the pasta should be ready.  Reserve some of the pasta water, then drain the rest.  Add the pasta to sauce pot, stir together.  Add the pasta water as needed to loosen up. Turn off the heat and add the basil.  Serve immediately. 

Add the pasta to the mix and stir together. Now is the time to add the pasta water to your liking.

Add the basil at the end to keep it from cooking all the way through.

Grate some cheese over top.  This dish would also be delicious with chunks of feta or goat cheese stirred in. I didn't have either but can completely imagine and taste it in my mind.  

Since I had so much basil, I made walnut pesto which I used to warm up the leftover pasta.  Let me tell you that was a winning combination.

Happy Sunday or any day.

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