#SundaySupper: Small Bites Recipes for Entertaining

Ah, entertaining.

When I think about entertaining, I imagine high top tables surrounded by chatty friends holding some sort of cocktail.

Truth be told, I don’t know why that’s what pops into my mind. I think the only event I’ve been to like that is the cocktail hour portion of a wedding or my brother’s post rehearsal dinner party.

Realistically, entertaining for me involves some sort of sporting event, Thanksgiving, or a kid’s birthday party.

Elegant entertaining is not exactly in my foreseeable future as elegant and toddler boy don’t quite belong in the same sentence. Unless it’s to say, “Don’t plan an elegant party if the toddler boys are going to be around.” As much as I want to have/host an elegant gold Golden Birthday in August, I don’t think it’ll be happening.

If entertaining is in your schedule this summer be sure to check out the 20+ recipes perfect for your next party from the #SundaySupper crew! Thanks to Christie of A Kitchen Hoors Adventures for hosting this event.

Wild Mushroom and Grape Crostini

Ingredients:

  • 1 baguette, sliced on the bias
  • olive oil, for brushing
  • 1/2 lb mixed wild mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 C red grapes, halved
  • 1 shallot, chopped
  • 2-3 tbsp rosemary olive oil
  • 6-8 oz whole milk ricotta cheese
  • lemon
  • Parmesan cheese, shaved

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Brush baguette slices with olive oil. Season with S+P. Arrange on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake 8 minutes, until golden. Transfer to a cooling rack.
  3. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
  4. Arrange mushroom, grapes, and shallot on a rimmed baking sheet. Toss evenly to coat in the rosemary olive oil. Bake 8-10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
  5. Season ricotta with S+P and a squeeze of fresh lemon.
  6. Spread ricotta onto the baguette slices, top with the cooked mushrooms and a shaving of Parmesan cheese.

*This recipe is modified from Giada at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/mushroom-and-grape-crostini-3636546*

Wild Mushroom and Grape Crostini for #SundaySupper from Sew You Think You Can Cook

Small Starters

Pint-sized Protein

Demi-Desserts

Sunday Supper MovementJoin the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement

#MuffinMonday: Apple Blackberry Muffins

fb5cd-muffin2bmonday2bcrop#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins to brighten their Mondays. There isn’t a theme to #MuffinMonday posts so anything goes, as long as it’s a muffin!

You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

I am sharing with you this month a muffin I made way back in May after one of our weekly trips to the Farmers Market. I had picked up some blackberries from one of my favorite vendors for my husband. I am not the biggest blackberry lover mainly due to their texture. I didn’t think my husband would actually eat the entire carton of berries before they started to spoil so I decided to make muffins with about half of them. While assembling all of the baking supplies and getting my little helper situated, he started eating all of the berries! I knew I couldn’t use the fruit in the muffins, now; anything healthy my picky eater will willingly eat is all his! We had frozen blackberries for smoothie making, so I carried on with my muffin plan.

You’ll notice the recipe doesn’t call for any butter or oil, making them a little bit healthier than most breakfast treats I bake. I mean, there’s still sugar and syrup involved so it balances out, right? The downfall to not having butter or oil in the recipe means they’ll stick to muffin liners, so be sure to spray them as you would a non-lined muffin tin.

Apple Blackberry Muffins (toddler)  Sew You Think You Can Cook

Firecracker really enjoyed these muffins. I’m pretty sure he had 3 in one day.

I froze half of the muffins and had a quick morning snack throughout the month, I simply popped them in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.

This recipe makes 2 dozen muffins.

Apple Blackberry Muffins

Ingredients:

  • 3 C whole wheat flour
  • 3 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp baking soda
  • 1 large apple, peeled and finely diced
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 C brown sugar
  • 1 C milk
  • 1/2 C Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 C cinnamon applesauce
  • 1/4 C maple syrup
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 C blackberries, chopped

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease a muffin tin, even if using liners.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Add the apples and toss to coat until evenly distributed.
  3. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and brown sugar. Mix in the milk, yogurt, applesauce, syrup, and vanilla.
  4. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Gently fold in the blackberries. Fill muffin cups 3/4 of the way.
  5. Bake muffins for 5 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F and bake another 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out cleanly.

*This recipe is adapted from Sally at http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/10/14/sky-high-blackberry-apple-muffins/*

Apple Blackberry Muffins for #MuffinMonday from Sew You Think You Can Cook

And don’t forget to check out these other muffin recipes:

Cappuccino Chip Muffins by Palatable Pastime

Cheesy Chile Corn Muffins (Gluten Free) by Farm Fresh Feasts

Cinnamon Swirled Muffins by Passion Kneaded

Fresh Peach Muffins by Karen’s Kitchen Stories

Lemon Meringue Muffins by Making Miracles

Phase 3 Muffins by A Day in the Life on the Farm

Raspberry Mini Muffins by Food Lust People Love

Brussels Sprout Salad with Caramelized Onions

Over Memorial Weekend we went to D.C. to go visit Tara (of Tara’s Multicultural Table) and her family. There will be more on that trip tomorrow, so stay tuned! On Sunday, we went to a Farmer’s Market. We were so happy to have decided to drive so we could actually buy produce to take home with us the next day!

Dale City Farmer's Market

We took home two cartons of big, beautiful Brussels sprouts, a bunch of red beets, cinnamon peanut butter from Sprelly, sweet potato pasta from Gypsy Hill, and some local honey.

I’ve used the peanut butter in a popcorn recipe that you’ll see in July. I’ve used one beet to make some sweet potato beet baby food and another for a beet potato salad, I’m not sure yet when I’ll share that latter recipe with you. The honey is about to be opened (I just emptied what we had already) and I’m still deciding what to do to highlight the fresh pasta. The Brussels sprouts are showcased in today’s recipe.

I had planned on making this Brussels sprout salad a few days after we got back from our trip but a night of feeling ill postponed the dinner plans for when our family was here for the little man’s baptism. With 5 extra people who also enjoy Brussels sprouts I had to expand my supply with a bag from the grocery store. Separating the leaves of the sprouts to create the “lettuce” for the salad is tedious work, the large Brussels sprouts from the Farmer’s Market were very much appreciated! As was the help I recruited from the moms.

This salad does take some time to make, but it can easily be done in stages. And it is absolutely worth it! We’ve never had Brussels sprouts raw before and tossed in a salad with warm caramelized onions and tart dried cherries is a fresh way to enjoy this vegetable in the spring and summer.

This salad makes 8 servings. I paired it with grilled pork chops and mashed potatoes.

Brussels Sprouts Salad with Caramelized Onions

Ingredients:

  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 2/3 C plus 4 tbsp olive oil, divided use
  • 4 Vidalia onions, sliced
  • 4 tsp brown sugar, divided use
  • 2 lb Brussels sprouts, leaves removed
  • 2 tbsp dried cherries (or more, to taste)
  • 1/2 C apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tsp agave
  • 4 tsp Dijon mustard

Steps:

  1. In a large skillet over medium heat melt butter and 4 tbsp olive oil. Add sliced onions and caramelize for 1 hr. In last few minutes stir in 2 tsp brown sugar and a little bit of salt. (You could also do this in the slow cooker.) Set aside.
  2. Make dressing: Whisk together vinegar, 2 tsp brown sugar, agave, mustard, and 2/3 C olive oil. Season to taste with S+P.
  3. Place Brussels sprout leaves in a microwave safe bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave about 1 minute. Note: This will not cook the sprouts but will warm them slightly. 
  4. Toss warmed Brussels sprouts with dried cherries, caramelized onions, and dressing.

*This recipe is modified from Susan at http://thewimpyvegetarian.com/2014/11/warm-brussels-sprouts-salad-with-caramelized-onions/*

Brussels Sprout Salad | Sew You Think You Can Cook

Hummus Tostadas

A couple of weekends ago we went to the Destin Harbor Farmer’s Market. It was a small market with some beautiful selections. I love going to farmer’s markets because my “artistic” camera self comes out. The vibrancy of fresh produce makes me happy and I love taking close ups of the fruits on display.

Destin Harbor Farmer's Market

It was sweat-dripping hot that morning, and one of the venders definitely profited from the weather. Her Swell Pops hit the spot. Stuart got the Vanilla Bean and I enjoyed a Strawberry Balsamic.

Swell Pops

Across the way was The Greek Gourmet selling homemade hummus. Hummus is one of my go-to afternoon snacks, but I’ve never tried making my own. (Yes, I am aware it’s simple to do and it’s on my culinary bucket list.) There were great flavor options and we walked away with two containers! Original, which features a nice kick of garlic, and Spicy Black Bean.

What does all of this have to do with Mexican Monday? I’ll give you a hint. Read the last three words of the above paragraph.

We used this Spicy Black Bean Hummus in place of refried beans in making tostadas. And it worked beautifully. This hummus gets its kick from jalapenos. Because I knew the hummus was spicy I opted for a mellow protein to top our tostadas. I pulled out the crockpot, seasoned chicken with S+P, and dumped in some Rotel and cream cheese. We shredded it and enjoyed our Mexican Monday on Tostada Tuesday (I forget what was happening on Monday that required a postponement of our Mexican dinner.)

I appologize that we don’t have photos of this meal (sometimes hunger wins out), but next time you’re thinking of tostadas, get creative with your toppings! You could even turn them completely Greek and use original hummus with more classic Greek toppings – like olives, feta, and grilled squash.