Spanakopita Bites

I found some Phyllo tart shells on sale a while back and bought them without knowing just what I was going to make with them.   And then I remembered my friend Debi and the great Stuffed Grape Leaves she showed us how to make.   Well, that day we also made some Baklava and since there was a bunch of Phyllo dough scraps left over, Debi made some Spanakopita tarts.  And they were so good and disappeared so fast.   

So, guess what?   I was totally shameless and stole her idea so I made some for the Boat Club Potluck this month.   I'm not using leftover phyllo dough, but I am using the phyllo or fillo if you insist, pre-made tart shells I bought. 

It just so happened I also had some Feta Cheese in the fridge, as well as some Parmesan Cheese and the tart shells, and onions, and eggs, and I found a package of frozen spinach buried in the bottom of the freezer as well.   I had all the ingredients.    Doncha just love it when it all comes together? 

   Nice little bites of goodness, well, I thought they were.   Although Debi did tell me I didn't put enough onion in them, so next time, I'll up the onion, or better yet remember to put the minced onion and garlic in them in the first place.  I don't know what I was thinking, but I sauteed the green onions, and totally spaced mincing another 1/2 onion and the garlic clove, well it was sitting on the counter all by its lonesome afterwards as well.  sigh.   I was in a hurry to get these made and I forgot stuff.  

So here's the real recipe and do as I tell you, not as I did.  However, the Spanakopita Bites, still tasted good, just not as good as they could have.

Recipe: Spanakopita Bites

 

30 Mini Fillo Shells, brushed with butter and set aside.

1 8 oz package of Frozen Spinach 

4 oz. Feta Cheese, either the block or crumbles

1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

4 green onions

1/2 cup onion 

2 cloves garlic 

2 eggs

2 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

Preheat the oven to 350 deg. 

Thaw the spinach and put into a colander to drain, then squeeze out the liquid.  Do a rough chop if needed, makes it much easier to fill the tart shells if you don't have to deal with a bunch of stems.

Saute' the onions til they are softened about 5 minutes, then add the garlic, stir around for about 30 seconds, take off the heat and set aside.

Place the spinach, cheeses, onions and garlic into a bowl, then pour over the lightly beaten eggs and milk, mix together.  

 
 Spoon some of the filling into the tart shells, and bake for about 20 minutes or so until they are browned and the egg has cooked through.   

Don't forget to sample one as you take them out of the oven, you need to make sure they are edible after all.   

Serve warm or at room temperature.    You can also make these ahead of time, and just warm them in the oven for a few minutes, they are very forgiving that way.  
   

March Boat Club Potluck

Every month it's the same, an astounding variety of dishes and not only variety but deliciousness abounds.    This month there was such a gracious bounty I wasn't able to taste it all.

I do want to say Thank You to Cheryl-Ann, Quinn and Doug for hosting our monthly get-togethers,  we do appreciate them.

We had a crowd this month, and quite frankly some of the dishes were gone by the time I got to them.  But I did get to taste Miss Merle's Coconut Cream Pie.  She's a bit of a legend around here, and brought two pies for dessert.  I felt privileged I was able to snag a piece.  OK, so I went and got dessert before I finished eating my meal, I just didn't want to miss out on the pie.

So for those who keep track of these things, here's the round up of the dishes that were brought and shared this month.

 Deviled Eggs with Penguins guarding the olives, but they didn't do a good job, the olives and the eggs disappeared.   See the fingers reaching for the eggs, sheesh, some people. 

 Above, some Spanakopita Bites, I'll detail the how to's later on.
To the right here, Meatballs in a really yummy onion gravy.   By the time I got there the meatballs were gone, but the gravy, was awesome.  Of course I'm a sucker for onions anyway.

 Boiled taters and beans. 

 Taco Dip, and pardon the picture, but my camera decided to add some lines to this.  This was very good as well, and it disappeared in short order.

 Above, coleslaw, the good vinegary kind.

To the left, a rice dish that was very tasty,  I love rice.

 And to the right, Sausage Rolls, giggle.   Made by an English lady, so you know they were done right.   I indulged, and it made me realize just how much I love those.

 Grilled Sausage cooked with some cabbage, but served separately.   Found out they are stocked in our local grocery store, so guess who's going to buy some soon.

 An interesting salad.  Topped with cheese and mixed nuts.  And I had managed to snag some of this as well.

 Boiled Shrimp, simple and beautiful. 

 A salad made with apples and other good stuff. 

 Another plate of Deviled Eggs, which was a good thing, they are always a popular dish.

 Meatballs in Mushroom gravy.    I don't know if I should admit it, but I spooned some onto a slice of the herbed bread and had that.  I do love gravy on bread.  A little indulgence on my part. 

 Above some cheese and tomato topped Foccacia.

To the right, really awesome guacamole, with pico de gallo on top.  YUM

 The herbed bread I had with some mushroom gravy on top.

 Spinach Salad, with bacon and hard cooked eggs.   I really have to remember how much I like this kind of salad, so I can make it for myself sometime.

And last but certainly not least, Ham.  I have to learn how to make ham like this.  Tender, juicy, flavourful.











And for the desserts:

A nice mousse and cake layer.

 Miss Merle's Coconut Cream Pie.   She brought two, which was a very good thing. 

 Eclairs.  Nuff said. 

 Chocolate Cake

And last a Cherry Jello dessert.













You can understand why I didn't get to taste everything, there was just too much food.   I did overhear one lady asking who I was, cause I was taking pictures of the food, and it was explained that I had a food blog.   And you know when you're surrounded by awesome cooks and people who make wonderful food and best of all, share it at our monthly potlucks, it's nice to document it a little.   And besides which, this way I get recipes and how-to's and manage to add to my repertoire as well.

And that's it for March, whew.   Now to see if I can figure out what to make for our Tapas Night, which is coming up.   Putting the thinking cap on...

SRC- Pizza Dip

It's that time of the month again, time for the Secret Recipe Club reveal.  Yup.

A bunch of daring bloggers get assigned a blog and have to make and blog a recipe from their assigned blog.  You just never know who's going to get your blog or which one you will be assigned.    My assignment this month was Satisfy My Sweet Tooth, which I have to say was a challenge of sorts.   I'm not so much into sweet stuff, just the occasional foray into that realm.  However, if you do make sweet stuff, you need to check out her recipe collection.  Wow is all I can say, this lady makes some killer sweet things.   Most of the sweet things I make are Danish and not that sweet, just rich and good.  

 I do love to make appetizers though, and I host a Tapas Night once a month so am always on the lookout for something interesting to make.  And then I saw it, Pizza Dip, and I knew I had found the one.      I served this with some Naan for dipping purposes.   So here it is, my take on it, cause gee, I will make some changes, mainly cause I can and oh, I couldn't get some of the ingredients.    My changes are in blue. 

Ingredients (1 8-inch serving dish)  I used a divided dish, and made two dips.   One side was vegetarian and the other side had sliced pepperoni on it.

1 8oz. package low fat cream cheese ( I used the store brand) 
1 6oz. container 0 % fat Greek Yoghurt (I used light sour cream)
1/2 tsp garlic powder (I sautee'd a couple of minced garlic cloves)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese  
1 cup prepared pizza sauce  (I used a Three Cheese Sauce Pasta Sauce) 
1 cup reduced-fat mozzarella cheese, shredded (I actually used a mixture of Mozzarella Cheese and a prepackaged Pizza Cheese, which incorporated Romano, Provolone, Mozzarella and Parmesan
1/2 cup chopped vegetables and/or cooked meats  (I used a combo of Mushrooms, Green Pepper and Black Olives and some sliced Pepperoni)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream, Parmesan cheese,garlic and Italian seasoning using an electric mixer.
Divide mixture evenly between each side of divided dish.

Top the cream cheese mixture with pizza sauce and spread evenly to cover.
Sprinkle Cheese evenly over both sides.   

Sprinkle vegetables on one side and meats and veggies on other side.   I used Mushrooms, black olives, and Green Peppers for the veggies, and some sliced pepperoni for the meat side.   I added an additional 1/2 cup of so of cheese over the veggies and meat. 

Bake 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Serve with bread or chips.   I used some lovely Naan Bread and it was a hit.  
Dip can be made one day ahead and stored (before baking) wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator.  









I actually caught people spooning this onto their plates and eating it with a fork.   It was that good.   I will make this one again, and again, and again.   

Baklava

  I'm not real fond of sweet desserts but I am helpless, when it comes to Baklava.  I simply cannot resist it.    If I see it on the menu somewhere, I'll order it, or torture myself with   " I shoulda/coulda had that" if I don't get it.   I love nuts, human and otherwise.

And where I am going with this?  Well, a few months back, when Debi Jordan was kind enough to come out and show us how to make Stuffed Grape Leaves, Robin also brought the makings for Baklava.    I've been really remiss in not posting about that, but I didn't have a recipe, just lots of pictures of how to make it.   And if I had realized just how easy it is to make Baklava, well, let me just say, I would have been making it for years now.  And eating it as well.   Which may not be all that great cause I really have trouble not eating it when it is in the house.   

Here are the basic ingredients:

Fillo Dough, sugar, butter, walnuts, lemons, honey.   Simple huh?  You put all those things together and you get WOW.    
You actually start by melting some butter.  Set that aside for a minute and get the fillo dough out.  Unroll it, then, using a sharp knife cut it in half.   We actually put it on a large baking sheet. 

Brush the bottom of the pan with some of the melted butter to start with. 

Also, it helps to cover the fillo dough  with a damp towel once you've unrolled it.  This stuff dries out and gets brittle fast.  Take out a sheet of fillo dough, place it into the pan you're using and brush it with some melted butter, repeat until you've built up a layer of 8 sheets.   Once it's melted, layer the fillo dough in an oven safe pan, and brush the layers with melted butter.   Robin was working on three pans here.  But she was up to it. She knew what she was doing.    It was a regular assembly line.
If you notice, the fillo dough extends up the sides of the pan, you need at least a 2 inch deep pan for this.  

 After you get the first layer of fillo sheets down, and buttered, dump about a cup to a cup and a half of chopped walnuts down on top of the phyllo

Spread it out evenly, then continue with the next few sheets of fillo dough.   you do want about 8 or so sheets of dough down.    Then spread out some more walnuts, layer with more fillo sheets.  And of course each sheet gets brushed with some of that melted butter.   And no, you can't hear your arteries clogging up, you really don't use as much butter as you think on the sheets of fillo.

Just had to say it.



Continue on with the next layers of fillo dough, about another 8 or 9 sheets.
You then cut it all the way through to the bottom, (trust me on this, you don't cut it after you've baked it).

   If you happen to have a little butter left, just pour it on over the top.

You want to make the honey/sugar syrup to pour over the top while this is baking.  So go ahead and place the pan in a 325 degree oven for about 45 minutes or until the top is nice and brown.

In a small pot place 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of water, a cinnamon stick if you choose, and about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice together and bring to a boil.  Let it cook down for about 10 minutes or so, until it is nice and syrupy.  Add the honey and stir to combine.    

After you remove the Baklava from the oven, pour the honey/sugar syrup over the top, and let it rest.    You really can't eat this right away, it needs to sit and age for a couple of days -  really it does.   I know from experience.   But after a few days, YUM is all I can say.   I had to hide this from myself, and only allow a piece every few days.   And I made that pan last, sigh.   

Sorry had to keep taking pictures, but doesn't this look YUMMY?  sigh, now I'm in the mood to make some more Baklava.

Hey Robin, you wanna come over my house and bake again?




Here's the recipe:

• 1 lb Walnuts - Finely Chopped
• 1/2 C. Sugar
• 2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1.5 C. Butter (3 sticks), Melted
• 1 Package Frozen Phyllo Dough (16 oz) Thawed

• 1 C. Sugar
• 1 C. Water
• 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1 C. Honey (Net weight 12 oz.)
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla

Mix the walnuts, 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon together, set aside.   Melt the butter, and place in on a warming pan to keep liquid or use a small crock pot.  Works, really.
Take out the thawed phyllo dough   (notice I'm using both spellings here, just saying) and place on a large cookie sheet, cover with a damp towel.   Preheat the oven to about 325 degrees, or maybe just a tad cooler. 
Take out the pan size you're going to be using.   We used three pans here, but a nice big 9x13 pan would work.  Brush the bottom of the pan with some of the melted butter, and then place one sheet of fillo dough inside, brush it with some of the melted butter, and continue with another sheet of fillo dough until you have 8 sheets layered.   (Here is where you make a choice as to how many layers you want.  You can do up to four layers of nuts and dough.  I'm going to give directions for three layers. )  Spread out 1/3 of the walnut mixture evenly over the pan.  Spread another sheet of fillo dough over top, brush with butter and repeat 7 more times.  You can stagger the sheets of dough here so that they do cover the top evenly, and extend up the sides just a tad.  That helps to keep the filling inside.
Repeat with the last layer of walnuts and dough.  Take a sharp knife and cut this into squares or diamonds at this point.  Cut all the way to the bottom.   You can't cut it after it has baked, the phyllo dough shatters.   And if you have any butter left, just go ahead and pour it over the top evenly.   Place in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes to an hour and bake. 
While it is baking, make the sugar syrup.  Place a cup of water, 1 cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice  into a pan and bring to a boil, let it cook for about 10 minutes or so until syrupy.   Then add the honey and vanilla and stir to combine.  
Pull the pan of baklava out of the oven and pour the sugar/honey syrup over top.   Set aside while it cools, then cover lightly and put in a safe place for at least 1 day if not 2 or 3 for it to set up before you eat it.  If you can wait that long. 

Kale Chips

So much food, so little time, lol. Just kidding, I think.

I've been wanting to try these for awhile now. Kale Chips that is, and when I found myself with a gracious abundance the other day I decided I had to make some.  Not only had I bought a little bunch of Kale last week, a friend brought me another bunch the other day and I decided it was time. I wanted to make some Grønlangkål, with the smaller bunch, for some reason I've been craving dark leafy veggies, but with the other bunch, KALE CHIPS. So of course I did what any self respecting person would do, I researched all the recipes I could find online. Well, a lot of them at any rate. 

Do you have any idea how many people are making these and blogging about them? I mean really? A lot.

 So then I went and looked at the variations, cause the basics are simple, Kale, EVOO, Salt and heat. So I found one blog and dang if I can find it again, but they added some soy sauce and sesame seeds to the kale, another one hinted at using Za'atar for seasoning and others used all kinds of exotic stuff to flavor. Me, I wanted to make the basic one first, but then I thought gee, why not do part of it with soy and sesame, but I'm going to go one further, a few drops of sesame oil in the soy sauce.

And then of course there is the Za'atar which my friend Debi Jordan (singer extraordinaire) introduced me to. I have some in my spice drawer. So I now had three flavours.

Basic instructions:
Get a nice looking bunch of Kale, then wash the heck out of them.  All those little crevices, and curly bits, they can hide dirt.

Next up, cut out the stems, you don't need them, and they'll do some good out in the compost pile if you got one.  I don't yet, but I was thinking of it, so does that count?   And blot them dry or use that salad spinner you have tucked away in the corner of the cupboard, that you can never get to.  Oh wait, that's me, sorry, I just blotted with some paper towels.  Couldn't reach the salad spinner, but if I could have that would have been the way to go.


Sorry, got side tracked there.

Next up, tear the kale into smaller chunks, toss them with about a tablespoon of olive oil and spread them out on a baking sheet, in a single layer.  Sprinkle with a little sea salt.
Place into a 300 degree oven for about 15 minutes, then check on them.  If still limp, then bake for another 5 minutes and check again.   And don't forget to taste test at this point either.  I did and they were good.  But they did need to be crisper so I kept at it.   Those suckers do shrink up though, wow. 

(Next time I make these, I'm just going to spray the kale with some olive oil cooking spray, then sprinkle with some sea salt and Za'atar. )

I did one sheet with just olive oil and salt, and then sprinkled a little Za'atar on top, and those were good.

The soy sauce and sesame ones, not so good, but that may be my fault.   I ran out of counter space and time, and turned off the oven and left them in there after letting the oven cool down for a few minutes.   The Kale Chips got very crisp, and maybe just a little too crisp?   At any rate, I ate a few of them anyway.  They are a vegetable after all.   And you do need your veggies.

And they are all good. Giggle, and almost guilt free, well, that tablespoon of olive oil is good for you anyway, and a little salt doesn't hurt either. But just a little. You don't want to over do a good thing.

Got the chips done, and snacked on them for a bit, but I still have quite a few left, so I'm going to use them for seasoning.   I have some chicken stock in the fridge, and will crumble up a handful of these chips on top and have me some Kale soup.




That is if I have any left by lunchtime... 

UPDATE:
*** Gotta tell you, I made some more Kale Chips on Friday and brought them with me to a gathering.   And they were inhaled, well, consumed.    I did them just a tad differently this time though.   I washed the Kale, tore it up into nice pieces, then I sprinkled it with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and a couple of grinds of sea salt.  Tossed it together just a tad, then baked them at 325 deg. for ten minutes, tossed them again, and baked an additional 8 minutes, and turned off the oven.    Checked the chips for crispness, and then turned off the oven and let them sit for another few minutes.  By the time I took them out, they were lovely and crisp.  But you do need to keep an eye on them, they can burn.