Category Archives: Appetizer

Top 11 of 2011

January 3, 2012 – 2:44 pm

When Satisfy My Sweet Tooth came into existence this past summer, I had no idea where this adventure would take me. What I started as something to share recipes with friends and family and hone my photography skills has slowly developed into a full-time obsession that I just can’t get enough of! Experimenting, writing, taking photos and sharing all of it with you has been such a pleasure and I thank you sincerely for following along with my on my culinary adventures!

I thought I would sum up my first 6 months of blogging with some highlight of my favorite recipes and yours.

1. Possibly my most popular recipe are these Coffee-Spiked Chocolate Caramel Bars. Rich and buttery graham cracker crust topped with homemade caramel, chocolate ganache and sea salt. Need I say more?

On another note, did you know that “espresso” is one of the most commonly mispronounced words? I read a list of words in the newspaper this week. People usually stick a “c” in there to make it “ek-spress-oh”. Just thought you would want to know.

2. I was surprised how gaga you all went for these sweet and salty beauties. I mean don’t get me wrong, I drool over these Peanut Butter, Pretzel and Chocolate Chip Cookies, but I am so happy at how many of you lovelies have let me know that you have made and enjoyed these as well.

3. Next are these Coconut, M&M Cookie Bars. These bars combine two of my favorite ingredients: chocolate and coconut. The flavor of these cookies is almost like the Samoas Girl Scout cookies and they are just so chewy and addicting.

4. One of my favorite savory recipes that I have shared with you is this pasta with Red and Green Pesto. I can’t believe I have only made it once and I also just realized that this would be a very festive Christmas recipe! I really should start making a list for next year’s holiday season already…..

5. And of course, my all-time favorite pasta, Grandma Suzy’s Fettucini Freddi. This sauce is so clean and simple, yet every time I eat it, I cannot stop oohing and aahing over it. And especially now that I received the pasta maker attachment for my mixer, I cannot wait to make homemade noodles with this silky, delectable sauce!

6. I was so thrilled when I stumbled upon this Crock Pot Apple Butter this fall! Talk about an easy food gift to share with others. This will be a staple that I make every fall when friends and family give me apples from their fall harvests.

7. Nothing really satisfied my craving for crunch like these Heath and Macadamia Nut Blondies. Chocolate, toffee and nuts are such a rich combination and all of the textures together makes these bars particularly drool-worthy.

8. I took my first cooking class in 2011 with Emily. The recipe that I have made the most often from that evening of learning is these Fresh Spring Rolls. I love how diverse they are because of all of the possible fillings and the sauce is so perfect that I do not even want to order them out at restaurants anymore! And they are a perfect healthy recipe to start off 2012 right.

9. I never realized how starting my own blog would lead to an obsession with other blogs! There is just so much inspiration to be found by browsing through other people’s creative ideas. No ingredient was more prominent in the blog world during the fall than pumpkin. I have a few pumpkin classics that I make each year and possibly my favorite is this Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake. It is so moist and incredible.

10. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars. These bars are a perfect example of how i see a recipe and then brainstorm about how I can change it to fit my preferences. These are chewy, nutty, filling and healthy. A breakfast treat or snack that you can really feel good about.

11. And finally, one of my favorite combinations, chocolate and peanut butter combined in these soft and chewy Chocolate Cookies with Peanut Butter Cups and Sea Salt. Cookies are my absolute favorite dessert! I’ll take a perfect cookie over a rich chocolate tart or cake any day. They are also very dangerous though because I can never eat just one! This is a cookie that you could easily put your own spin on with several different ingredients. Let your creativity shine!

I am not big on resolutions, but a new year does make me think about what improvements I would like to make in my life. As always, I know that I want and need to exercise more. I actually feel excited about it after lounging non-stop and eating way too many holiday delights.

I have an email folder, Pinterest board and cookbooks full of recipes that I cannot wait to try this year. I hope that you will continue to join me on my adventures in the kitchen. I do so appreciate your readership and support. I always love hearing from you and please let me know if there is anything special you would like me to share with you in 2012. Happy New Year sweet teeth!

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Tags Apples, caramel, Chocolate, Cookies, Frosting, Fruit, Garlic, Italian, Nuts, peanut butter, Shrimp | Comments (13)

Fine Cooking Giveaway!

December 3, 2011 – 5:45 am

Now that it’s December, each day I can just hardly contain my enthusiasm for all of the things I want to bake and do before Christmas arrives! So many treats to bake, presents to buy, decorating to do and GIVEAWAYS to host!!!

I have told you before that I am an absolute cookbook and cooking magazine junkie. I subscribe to an embarrassing number of magazines and there are things I like and dislike about each of them. One magazine in which I cannot find anything to dislike however is Fine Cooking. Each issue is filled with fabulous photos, inspiring recipes and there are no ads! So cover to cover, each page is filled with mouthwatering recipe ideas, new kitchen products and extremely helpful tips.

I flipped open the Holiday Baking book and was immediately impressed with explanations about which ingredients and methods serve which purpose in baking. For example:

Did you know that the reason we cut butter into more delicate pastries is to coat the flour with fat so that less gluten is formed and thus the dough is not tough?
Or did you know that the reason we butter and flour pans when baking to prevent sticking is so that the proteins in the batter will not touch the side of the pan and therefore we will not end up with muffins half stuck to our pans?
Or did you know the ideal temperature for creaming butter is 68°?

I know, how have we lived our whole baking lives without fully understanding these concepts?! These tidbits of useful information are, as I mentioned, one of the may reasons that I love Fine Cooking products.

I browsed through the Cookies book which is filled with Fine Cooking’s 200 favorite recipes and these little beauties are just one of the many temptations I encountered.

recipe to come….

So sweet teeth, in the spirit of Christmas, I am pleased to offer one lucky reader copies of all three books! You not only get the Cookie book and the Holiday Baking Book, you also get the Appetizer book! Will that make your holidays a little more merry and bright? I hope so!

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Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Dip

October 27, 2011 – 8:00 am

It’s true what they say about the fact that the simplest things in life can make us the happiest. I like to challenge myself with complex dishes from time to time in the kitchen, but there are also times when I am going to a party or invited to dinner and I just want something quick, simple and delicious to bring. A friend of mine made this dip at a party and it was just so flavorful and yummy, I couldn’t stop snacking on it. I was pleasantly surprised when she shared the recipe for this Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Dip that it only involved a few ingredients and could be made in a matter of minutes. This dip is great served with sliced veggies, pita chips or tortilla strips. It would also be a great sandwich spread!

Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Dip

by Mercedes Porter

Keywords: appetizer vegetarian vegetables cheese

Ingredients

4 red bell peppers
1/4 cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves
2 (8 oz.) blocks of feta cheese ( or 2 cups crumbled feta cheese)

Instructions

Roast red peppers either over a gas top stove flame, under a broiler or in a dry grill pan until charred on all sides. Immediately remove peppers from heat and wrap in wet paper towel for 5 minutes to steam (this makes it easier to peel the skin off).

Peel, seed and chop peppers. Place peppers and all other ingredients into a food processor and puree.

Chill and serve with vegetables, chips, pita, etc.

Can be made a day or two in advance and refrigerated.

(Recipe adapted from epicurious.com)

char red peppers

chop peppers, add all ingredients to food processor and purée

What is your favorite quick and easy dip?

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Tags cheese, Garlic, Red pepper | Comments (5)

Shrimp Spring Rolls and Pad Thai

September 20, 2011 – 8:00 am

I love spring rolls but for some reason I had always feared the sticky rice paper and been too scared to make them myself. All that has changed thankfully. A good friend and I recently attended a cooking class and spring rolls were on the list of dishes to make. I have always recognized that the ingredients are simple, but I have had negative experiences with rice noodles in the past and I thought that getting that rice paper wet would leave me with a sloppy clump of frustration. Much to my surprise, rice paper is relatively easy to work with and even if minor tears do occur, it all gets rolled up anyway!

So to make fresh spring rolls, you can basically just choose the vegetables (sprouts, lettuce, peppers, carrots, etc.), protein (tofu, shrimp, chicken, pork, etc.) herbs (basil, mint, cilantro) that you like and you could even stuff in some rice or rice noodles in if you would like. The ingredients you choose need to be sliced very thin.

Let me tell you about rice paper in case it causes you anxiety like it did for me. The rice paper may be kept in the produce section of your grocery stores by wonton wrappers and other specialty ingredients. Each sheet is very thin and somewhat brittle. To soften the rice paper, all you need to do is put some hot (not warm) water in a large shallow bowl and place one sheet of rice paper at a time into the bowl until it is soft and pliable (just a few seconds).

Once the paper is pliable lay it out on your work surface (I used a plastic cutting board). Now let’s think of the rice paper as a clock face. Line up your thinly sliced vegetables and protein at 6:00. Then sprinkle your herbs around the rest of the clock.

Now for the folds. First, fold 3:00 and 9:00 sides of the rice paper in toward each other.

Next, begin folding at 6:00 and roll up to meet 12:00.

That’s it! Wasn’t that easy sweet teeth?? Now for a super simple and delish dipping sauce, mix soy sauce, sweet chili sauce and sriracha (or garlic chili paste).

Ok, so now you have a fabulous appetizer. May I suggest this Shrimp Pad Thai for your entrée? (recipe from Bake Your Day) It is the best Pad Thai I have made at home. (In the photo below, I did not have rice noodles on hand, so I used whole wheat spaghetti which works great too. And I prefer to double the sauce in the recipe).

Get the Pad Thai recipe here

Fresh Spring Rolls

by Mercedes Porter

Keywords: appetizer low-carb vegetables seafood Thai

Ingredients

For the rolls

1 package rice paper
raw sliced vegetables of your choice (slice them thin!)
cooked protein of your choice (sliced thin; shrimp butterflied and sliced in half lengthwise)
fresh herbs of your choiced, minced
hot water

For the dipping sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
1 tsp sriracha (more or less depending how spicy you would like it)

Instructions

For the rolls

*NOTE* I hesitate to tell you an amount for the vegetables, protein and herbs because it depends how many rolls you want to make, but you will probably use less that a 1/4 cup of ingredients total for each roll. I would recommend slicing more than you think you will need, putting the rolls together as you wish and then using the extras in another dish if you end up with them. This is about having freedom and creativity and who can complain about pre-sliced veggies and protein? It will make your next meal easier, I hope!

Fill large shallow bowl halfway with hot water. Place rice paper (one at a time) into the water until soft and pliable.

Place the softened rice paper onto a work surface (plastic cutting board). Remember, think of the paper as a clock face and then line up your thinly sliced vegetables and protein at 6:00. Then sprinkle your herbs around the rest of the clock.

Fold 3:00 and 9:00 sides of the rice paper in toward each other. Then, begin folding at 6:00 and roll up to meet 12:00. (You can store the spring rolls for 4 hours in the refrigerator if you simply rub them lightly with oil and cover with a wet paper towel.

For the sauce

Mix all ingredients and serve with spring rolls.

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Tags Asian, Herbs, Sauce, Shrimp | Comments (7)

Fig butter, Goat cheese and Caramelized onion crostini

September 13, 2011 – 8:00 am

I was at Trader Joe’s a couple of weeks ago and came across Fig Butter. The ingredients were minimal and it really was mainly just mashed figs. I could not wait to find a use for this new item. When it comes to raw onions, you either love them or hate them and may even find them offensive. I am not a lover (of raw onions that is ). But I do love the natural sweetness that comes from cooking onions and letting them sweat until they become caramelized and taste as sweet as candy. I bet you are shocked, right? Me? Like something sweet? Anyway, sweet figs with sugary caramelized onions is a natural combination in my book. Add some creamy goat cheese and you’ve got an appetizer that not only looks gorgeous and tastes wonderful, but it’s a cinch to put together. What could be better than that?

Fig butter, goat cheese and caramelized onion crostini

by Mercedes Porter

Keywords: appetizer bread vegetarian

Ingredients

4 medium yellow onions, sliced
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/3 cup Fig butter
1/3 cup goat cheese, softened
Baguette, sliced

Instructions

In a large nonstick pan, melt butter over medium heat.

Add onions and brown sugar, cover and cook for 15 minutes without stirring.

Remove cover and stir onions. Allow the onions to cook and caramelize (with pan uncovered) for another 30 minutes or until onions are golden brown and softened.

Toast sliced baguette on both sides. Spread thin layer of fig butter followed by goat cheese onto toast. Top with caramelized onions.