Category Archives: Appetizers

Layered Bean Dip

Appetizers, Dressing/ Sauce/ Dip, , ,

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I have been in a Tex-Mex mood ever since my son said I needed some “diverse” recipes. My latest recipe is Layered Bean Dip. I tested this one on some Super Bowl fans to see how well it would go over at a party. Just in case it sat in the dish untouched I made a traditional dip as a backup. Well, the Layered Bean Dip went like hot cakes. By the time the Super Bowl was over there was only one small scoop of Layered Bean Dip left. My hubby ate that with his lunch the next day.

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I have to give credit to one of our good neighbors across the street for giving me the idea of making a Layered Bean Dip. She brought it over to a picnic a while ago and I never forgot how delicious if tasted. I just had to figure out how to create my own version. As with any recipe, all you need to do to make it your own is play with the ingredients. Experiment with the seasonings and see which flavors compliment each other.

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Layered Bean Dip can quickly become one of your signature dishes for parties or any time you want to treat yourself, family or friends.

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Layered Bean Dip

Ingredients:
1 16 oz can refried beans
1 16 oz jar salsa ( Serrano)
1 14 oz can black beans drained
1 small can black olives drained
8 oz sour cream
4 oz cream cheese
1 packet taco seasoning
1 cup shredded taco or Mexican cheese
1 cup shredded lettuce
2 green onions sliced
½ cup fresh salsa
¼ cup pickled jalapeno peppers
½ tsp cumin
1 deep dish pie plate

Combine refried beans, taco seasoning and cumin. Spread refried beans evenly in the bottom of pie dish. Blend together sour cream and cream cheese until smooth. Spread over refried beans. Layer regular salsa, black beans, green onion, pickled jalapeno peppers, fresh salsa, lettuce, and cheese. Sprinkle with black olives. Chill for 1 hour or overnight.

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Cinnamon Chips

Appetizers, Desserts, Uncategorized, , ,

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Cinnamon Chips are a quick and easy snack or dessert you can make at anytime. I recently featured this recipe on the back of my business card for dmariedining.com. So if it can fit on the back of a business card, you know it must be a very simple recipe without a lot of ingredients or fuss.

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Back in the days when I would go to fast food restaurants one of my favorite snacks were the Cinnamon Crispas I would get get from Taco Bell. I don’t think they make them any more but I do remember enjoying them with my tacos. My recipe is not quite like the Taco Bell version but I like them because of the addition of chocolate. I am a true fan of dark chocolate and there are not too many desserts that I don’t like if there is dark chocolate in the mix.

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The next time you don’t what to do with all of your leftover tortillas after making one of my Tex-Mex dishes from dmariedining.com, try making Cinnamon Chips. You will be amazed at how quick and easy it is to great a tasty snack and bring back memories from the old days at Taco Bell.

Cinnamon Chips

Ingredients:
4-6 small tortillas
2 tbsp melted butter
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cayenne (optional)
4 oz baking dark chocolate
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine cinnamon, brown sugar, sugar, nutmeg and cayenne in a small bowl. Set aside.

Place tortillas on a rimmed cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Brush each tortilla with melted butter. Sprinkle sugar mix evenly over each tortillas. Bake for 8 – 10 minutes until tortillas are crisp. Cut into triangles with a pizza cutter.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler. May need to add a tbsp of milk to chocolate to thin it out. Drizzle melted chocolate over tortillas. Store in an airtight container.

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Roasted Garlic

Appetizers, Vegetables, ,

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Roasted garlic may not be something you want to order on a first date but it is something you can serve to a group of friends. When everyone is eating garlic there is no need to worry about sweet breath.

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It may seem funny but I was intimidated by the idea of roasting garlic. I didn’t realize how simple it would be until I watched a cooking show that featured roasting vegetables. The best thing about roasting garlic is that it can be used in any dish requiring garlic and adds a nice smoky flavor. Try using roasted garlic instead of fresh chopped garlic the next time you make chili, soup or stew.

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Once I stopped being a scary cat about roasting I really liked serving roasted garlic as an appetizer. Served with olive oil and slices of crusty bread it is a wonderful treat. Besides being good to eat garlic is good for your health. I researched the benefits of garlic and found that it helps boost the immune system so it is great in the winter months when colds and flu are rampant. Garlic also is a great source of vitamin B6 which researchers say has cancer fighting abilities.

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Garlic may not improve your love life or be the most romantic food on the planet but it is healthy!

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 D. Marie Poetry

We are……
Friends
physically distant
communicating
in spirit
in being

Friends
colorful as each rainbow
changing with each season
still, we blend
creating new beauty

Friends
eternal as the moon
intense as the sun
you give love
and I love you

D. Marie

Roasted Garlic

Ingredients:
1 large whole garlic bulb
½ tbsp salt
½ tbsp black pepper
¼ cup olive oil
cooking spray
small strip of foil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spray foil with cooking spray. Remove outer skin from individual garlic cloves and place in center of foil wrap. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and olive oil. Fold foil over and create a little pouch. Place on a cookie sheet and bake until garlic is soft. Approximately 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

To use as an appetizer, place a bulb of garlic into an a small dish and pour olive oil over garlic. Gently smash garlic into olive oil. Add red pepper flakes to spice things up or a little chopped basil.  Serve with sliced french bread or any crusty bread you like.

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Spicy Tuna Salad

Appetizers, Seafood/ Fish, Soups/ Salads / Stews,

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Tuna is one of those foods you either love or hate. I actually love tuna but often forget about it when it comes to making a meal. Of course tuna is also one of those foods that requires lots of tender loving care to jazz it up and make it delicious.

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I thought I would jazz up my tuna by making it spicy. A little cayenne for heat and a few sliced almonds helped to give the tuna salad a nice texture and an extra kick of flavor. Sometimes folks like to just have the basics when they fix tuna salad – eggs, mayo, salt and pepper. I like to mix it up with the crunch of celery, the sweetness of relish, the nuttiness of sliced almonds along with the usual eggs, mayo, salt and pepper.

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One of the best things about tuna salad is that it can be turned into a few different recipes. You can eat it as a sandwich, use it to top a nice green salad, put it on crackers, add it to pasta or create an appetizer. No matter how you decide to eat tuna salad think about spicing it up and give your taste buds a reason to tingle.

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Spicy Tuna Salad

Ingredients:
2 small cans of albacore tuna well drained
2 boiled eggs chopped
1 stalk celery diced
1 small can green chiles well drained
2 tbsp roasted red peppers chopped
1 tbsp Italian parsley chopped
1tsp dill
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cilantro
1 tbsp spicy brown mustard
2 tbsp mayonnaise
5 dashes hot sauce
½ toasted sliced almonds
Juice from 1 small lemon

…..
Mix all ingredients In a large bowl. Chill for 30 minutes. Enjoy as a sandwich, on crackers, on a green salad or a tasty appetizer.

Smoked Salmon Bites

Appetizers, Seafood/ Fish,

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On quiet Sunday mornings my hubby and I like to sit out on the porch and have a nice breakfast of bagels, smoked salmon and cream cheese. Smoked salmon bites are a version of those Sunday breakfasts put into one little bite.

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Whenever we entertain family and friends it takes me a while to plan out the menu. I try hard not to serve the same ol’ thing to repeat guests and often rack my brain to come up with at least one new entree and appetizer for each party. There are always crowd favorites but sooner or later folks want something besides dip, chips and a veggie tray.

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Smoked salmon bites pack a lot of flavor into one tiny bite. The first time I tried them out on guests I was pleasantly surprised that the smoked salmon bites went like hot cakes. I actually ran out of them in a short period of time and had to resort to putting together a small veggie tray.

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The next time you have a few friends over try making these tasty little bites and see how your guests react. Better yet, give yourself a nice little treat on a quiet weekend while you work on the Sunday morning crossword puzzle.

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Smoked Salmon Bites

Ingredients:

1 8 oz pkg smoked salmon chopped

1 pkg mini fillo pastry shells (thawed)

4 oz softened cream cheese

2 tbsp sour cream

2 tbsp capers

5 cherry tomatoes chopped

½ tsp finely chopped red onion

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp dill

1 tsp spicy brown mustard

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp salt

3 dashes hot sauce

Add all ingredients except pastry cups to a large bowl except fillo shells. Gently combine the ingredients but do not over mix. Fill each pastry cup with some of the salmon mixture. Top with a small sliver of red onion or parsley.

Endive Stuffed with Shrimp Salad

Appetizers, Seafood/ Fish, Soups/ Salads / Stews, ,

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Have you ever experienced riding along and all of a sudden you get a great idea and have to scramble around for a piece of paper so you can write it down? That is what happened when I thought of making a shrimp salad then stuffing it into endive. Because life is so busy right now I have to write down my ideas or they fly out the window and may or may not come back home.

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My hubby and I were driving back from a basketball tournament and I was trying to create new recipes for dmariedining.com when I started thinking about seafood and a different way to present a nice light seafood salad. I don’t know why the thought of endive popped into my head since I had never worked with it before. I just wanted something that would be easy to make, pleasing to the eye and wonderful to eat.

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The combination of the shrimp salad and endive created a cool refreshing appetizer that makes you want more. The first time my daughter taste tested this for me it left her speechless for a few seconds. When she finally did say something she told me it was a hit!

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For a light crisp appetizer consider making endive stuffed with shrimp salad. This will be a hit at any party and is pretty simple to make. So try this recipe the next time you have a few friends over and you want to show off your new culinary skills.

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Endive Stuffed with Shrimp Salad

Ingredients:

1 lb shrimp

2 boiled eggs chopped

1 stalk celery diced

1 tbsp red onion diced small

1 tbsp parsley chopped

1 tbsp spicy brown mustard

1 tbsp old bay seasoning

1 tsp dill

2 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

pinch sugar

Juice from 1 small lemon

Add salt to 1 quart of water and bring to a boil Add shrimp and cook until shrimp are pink and cooked through. Let cool then peel and dice shrimp. Pour lemon juice and set aside. Combine shrimp with lemon juice and remaining ingredients to a large bowl. Chill for 30 minutes.

Separate endive leaves and stuff with shrimp salad.  Garnish with dill and lemon zest.

Yogurt Dressing and Dip

Appetizers, Dressing/ Sauce/ Dip, ,

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I pulled together this yogurt dressing and dip as a topping for my Deli London Broil 2 for 1 recipe. I needed something creamy and zingy as the last layer of flavor added to the London broil. I decided to make a yogurt dressing rather than use mayonnaise or plain ol’ sour cream. But once I made the dressing my hubby decided to use it as a dip for chips while he waited for dinner.

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So now, I have a yogurt dressing recipe that can also be used as a dip. I love it when a recipe can be transformed and used in multiple ways. What better way to pair up a 2 for 1 recipe (Deli London Broil) than with another 2 for 1 recipe (yogurt dressing & dip). Fantastic!

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Yogurt Dressing & Dip

Ingredients:

1 cup Greek yogurt

½ cup sour cream

½ tsp salt

½ tsp seasoned salt

½ tsp cracked black pepper

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp cilantro

½ tsp basil

½ tsp dried dill

½ tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp brown mustard

1 tsp green onion sliced (dark part)

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tbsp Gazebo Room Greek marinade and salad dressing

2 tbsp crumbled blue cheese

1 tbsp horseradish

Dash of hot sauce

In a medium bowl mix all ingredients until well blended. Chill for 30 minutes.