A Friday treat is hear for all! Well not all but everyone who loves potatoes, cheese and bacon. Heck even if you don’t love bacon, I am pretty sure you will still love these little bits of comfort.  Some days when you get home from work or are sitting on the couch taking a breather, comfort food is all you need.  Whether it is your favorite fried chicken, biscuits and gravy, some chocolate cake or baked potato skins and bacon – food can definitely change your mood.

Despite these skins taking a little bit of effort – the end results are well worth the effort.

Ingredients

• 6 Large baking potatoes
• 1/4 Tsp.salt
• 1/4 Tsp. pepper
• 1 Cup Cheddar cheese, Swiss or Asiago cheese
• 6 slices slices bacon, cooked
• 3 Green onions, chopped

Method

1. Scrub potatoes; prick several times with fork. Bake in 450°F (230°C) oven until tender, about 1 hour. Let stand until cool enough to handle. (Make-ahead: Let cool completely; refrigerate in airtight container for up to 2 days.)
2. Cut lengthwise in half; scoop out flesh, leaving 1/2-inch (1 cm) thick walls (reserve flesh for another use, such as soup or mashed potatoes).
3. Arrange, cut side up, on baking sheet; sprinkle with salt and pepper, then cheese.
4. Bake in 450°F (230°C) oven until cheese is melted, about 10 minutes.
5. Top with bacon and green onions and serve immediately.
6. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: For an extra kick, you can add some crushed red pepper flakes or chili powder to give it a little heat or you can have sour cream on the side spiked with hot sauce.

I don’t mean to cut this short but let me tell you these potato skins are pretty darn yummy and I would like for you to try them… ok?    Let me know what you think of them after you make them.

Movember Update – Week 2

The Mo is growing… slowly but surely.

I have to go get down to the conference for the final day.  I hope you have a great Friday and a fun weekend.  I will catch up with you on Monday!

Take care

zesty

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Hi All, Gena here from Choosing Raw with you today while zest and family are enjoying the sunshine and excitement of Disney World. Zest asked me to share with you my homemade potato chips that I somewhat stumbled upon in one of my ravenous states a few weeks back. The story goes a little something like this….

What do you do with a potato when you are starving and about to go into food withdrawals?

We could slice the ‘taters so thinly that they’d crisp up quickly. Which is exactly what we did. Using M’s mandoline, I cut two large potatoes into thin slices (I’d say 1/8-1/4 inch is fine). I tossed them in a “glug” of olive oil—maybe 2 tbsp or so—and sea salt and black pepper. I then laid them out on two baking trays and sprinkled them with just over a tablespoon of dried rosemary and another dash of pepper. After about 25 minutes at 400 degrees, they were crispy, crunchy, salty, and superb.

Advantages of these chips, over other chips:

1) Baked, not fried. These golden-brown treats are some raw foodists’ idea of a nightmare. But I think that balanced diets of raw and cooked foods can allow for some burnt edges here and there. And if you’re hooked on conventional chips, these guys are less caloric and lower in fat.

2) Gluten free-friendly. If you’re avoiding gluten, but missing your favorite crackers, these are good enough to distract you. Possibly forever. Or until you make them again.

3) Whole food snack option. Enough with your fancy organic crackers and crisps from Whole Foods or your local health food store. Those are yummy, but they’re also making you go broke. OK, maybe not, but these are the real whole foods: nothing but potatoes and spices. I’d recommend them any day as an alternative to conventional crunchy snacks, which have probably been through at least one level of processing!

If you need precision with the recipe, here goes:

Yukon Gold Potato Chips with Rosemary and Sea Salt (vegan, gluten and soy free)

Yields about 30-36 chips

Ingredients

• 2 large Yukon gold potatoes, sliced thinly (1/8-1/4 inch, depending on whether you’re using a knife or mandolin)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
• Black pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 tbsp dried rosemary

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
2. Toss the potatoes with 2 tbsp olive oil, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl.
3. Lay them in a single layer on a baking sheet, and sprinkle the rosemary on top (as well as extra pepper if you like).
4. Bake for 20-25 min, or until very golden and crispy (this will vary with your oven).
5. ENJOY!

These are a great snack, but they’re also very handy as dippers:

This one worked nicely with up in smoke hummus!

Thanks so much and if you like this recipe or want to read more about me or my blog feel free to stop over at Choosing Raw.

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty

Welcome to 2011.  I hope you had a wonderful new year celebration with your family and friends.  As I sit here in the dining room preparing this post and I look back on the holidays…. I feel like I have gained 10 lbs – oh wait maybe I actually did.  The amount of food and drink consumed this year was appalling – but nonetheless a fact.

I need to apologize before we go any further as NYE festivities got a little sloppy ( and I don’t mean Sloppy Joe’ s) for zest and I didn’t take any pictures.  The food from what I can remember was amazing as per usual and there are a couple of dishes that stand out.  Thanks to the amazing zesty in law for putting on an amazing party and taking some pictures.

The menu was quite elaborate and included shrimp, trout, quail, mushrooms, brie bake, homemade tomato paste with goat and mozzarella cheese as a spread, of course homemade pizza, fresh ravioli, sticky date pudding

Stuffed Mushrooms

These mushrooms were stuffed with capers, anchovies, cumin, mushroom stems, bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese…. Totally Delicious!!!

Prosciutto Wrapped Quail

I somewhat remember eating this and I did enjoy it…. the salty crunch on the Prosciutto was a nice balance with the Quail.

So a new year is upon us, and normally we go ahead and make some resolutions and promises to ourselves.  I have been keeping mine fairly quiet but I do want to try a few things that I have not yet completed.  I would like to try some vegan recipes, use agave nectar, eat more oatmeal and do some more exercise.  Yes a year full of excitement is in store for zest.  Tell me what are going to do this year.

I have some more fun recipes to share with you over the next couple of weeks that I have experimented with over the holidays.  Stay tuned and have a great start to the new year.

Take care

zesty.

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Hollar!  One heck of a weekend over here… it flew by but lots of fun was had for sure.  Cookie baking activity on Saturday, pumpkin decorating on Sunday for the kiddos, an new side dish recipe that I am sure we will talk about in the days to come and the weather has been super warm.  I love warm weather…. Did you know that?

Wanna know something else I love?  Chips.  Chips of any kind, any type, any shape with dip or without – it doesn’t matter.  I am a CHIP Lover/Addict.  Today i want to share with you a fun little recipe that was well received at a recent House gathering.  These are simple pita chips with a couple of twists.  Super easy to make and very fun to eat… CCCCRUNCH!

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. Olive oil
• 3/4 Tsp. Ground cumin
• 1/4 Tsp. Ground red pepper
• 5 Large whole wheat or white pitas with pockets
• 1/2 Cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In cup, with fork, mix oil, cumin, and ground red pepper.
2. With knife or kitchen shears, cut each pita in half. Brush 1 side of pita halves with oil mixture. Cut each half into 8 wedges.
3. Arrange wedges, oiled-side up, in non greased sheet pans.
4. Sprinkle with Parmesan, and salt if you like.
5. Place pans on oven racks and bake crisps 12 to 15 minutes or until golden, rotating pans from upper to lower racks halfway through baking for even browning.
6. Cool chips in pans on wire racks.
7. Dip with your favorite Hummus or Bean Dip
8. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: If there are any leftovers, store chips in tightly covered container or large self-sealing plastic bag up to 1 week.  They will stay crunchy – I tested out 2 batches!

The cumin flavored combined with the slight heat of the red pepper was a fantastic combination.  I feel the simple oil mixture elevated a somewhat boring piece of Pita Bread into an exciting bite for the guests.

Kick start your week with a super day today.  Let’s see if we can do something fun.  As you know I am not a huge user of twitter but when I squeeze in a minute or two I try to hop on and give something a tweet.  With that said, whoever has twitter and reads this post – give it a re-tweet and than let me know.   I will start the tweeting off in a minute.  Do you think I could make it to 100 tweets?  I am not sure a post of mine ever made it to 100.

Have a super Monday and do note that I will be going back to my normal schedule of posting Monday, Wednesday and Fridays not that Help the Students event is complete.  I will talk to you on Wednesday.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty

Help The Student Event: Day 19

We made it! Survived the weekend!  Is that ever difficult.  I always find they zoom by so fast.  I played 18 holes of golf with the brother in laws and zesty nephew yesterday…. Is it embarrassing to say that of the 206 bones in my body, 196 of them are sore this morning?  I know I know… I am somewhat out of shape ( depending on what shape you are referring too)

However today, To wrap up the final week of “Help The Student Event” I bring to you a very simple yet very tasty quick dish you can make with your friends over or even when you are craving cheese.  5 Ingredients and 45 minutes is all you need.

This all comes back to the fact that I am a huge bread baby and I am always attracted to pastry.

For ease of time I opted to go for the puff pastry. This bake might be the easiest show stopper appetizer I’ve ever made. The look of this dish as it came out of the oven was pure bliss. I could almost taste the warm jam melted with warm soft cheese.

Ingredients

• 1 Pkg. Puff Pastry
• 1 Brie Wheel (1lb)
• 1 Egg
• Sprinkle Sugar and Cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp. Fruit Spread ( blackberry )

Method

1. Preheat Oven to 325°.
2. Thaw the pastry and put a couple of spoonfuls of the fruit spread in the middle.
3. Cut one side of the rind off the brie and put it face up in the fruit spread.
4. Wrap the fruit and brie with the pastry.
5. Cover with egg wash (egg and a bit of water) and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
6. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 325°. You’ll be able to tell when it’s done!



7. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: For the filling, avoid the pastry from getting too wet from the spread by choosing what I call a tight spread (not too runny).

Have a super Monday!  Stay tuned for something simple yet practical for tomorrow’s recipe/tip.  Does anybody have anything they would like to see for the next three days, if so let me know and I will try my best.

Take care

zesty

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Hey there and happy Monday!  I feel I have a little bit of hop in my hands on the keyboard tonight.  I am writing this post and watching the Grammy’s at the same time in preparation for tomorrow.  My calendar tomorrow is jam packed with work stuff as well as a meeting with the folks at OpenSky regarding product sourcing.

As an aside, you will never guess what I had for breakfast Saturday morning!  Another classic rendition of Super Star Toast.  You can never get tired of this.

On Saturday evening I was wandering around the kitchen and pantry trying to figure out what I can make for supper.  I was in a weird mood and totally unsure what to prepare.  We had just finished shoveling for about an hour and we were starving.  I remembered that I had bought some fingerling potatoes a week ago and had yet to crack them open.

Just then the light bulb went off…. some roasted potatoes topped with red pepper flakes, chives and some Parmesan cheese.  What a choice!

Ingredients

• 8 Fingerling Potatoes ( cut in 4)
• 1 Tsp. Sea Salt
• 1/4 Tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
• Dash of Garlic powder
• 1 Tsp. Black Pepper
• 2 Tbsp. Parmesan Cheese
• 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 2 Tsp. Chives ( dried or fresh)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 400 Degrees



2. Slice potatoes and rinse ( hand dry)



3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and grab a large bowl.
4. Toss the potatoes in a large bowl and coat with all the ingredients ( preserving half the cheese and chives for the end )



5. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown
6. Top with leftover cheese and chives
7. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Ensuring the potatoes are dry before starting will ensure they get nice and crispy.  I also like to give them a quick turn in the oven about half way through so they get brown on all sides.

These potatoes were amazing!  The red pepper heat warmed us up from being outside and the Parmesan cheese added a great flavor.  I have also been on a huge sea salt kick as of late. Do you use sea salt when you cook?

I am going to watch a little bit more of the Grammy’s, do a sudoku puzzle and call it a night.  Have a great Monday.

Take care

zesty

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Happy Monday to you!

Let’s call the past weekend a somewhat productive weekend around the house.  I was able to get the garage set up and cleaned.  It is looking better all the time and I even got to use the pressure washer on the floor which I love to do.  We finally inked the deal and got a second car.  That was exciting.  We bought a used Mazda Protege 5 and so far are loving it.  We were also successful in sourcing a Nintendo Wii and the Wii Fit plus.  My sides and arms are killing me as we speak from boxing just a little too much and perhaps a little to intensely.  But oh my it is FUN.

Let’s start this week off with a simple shrimp recipe that you can do all year round and really impress your taste buds.  Shrimp is really easy to cook, takes hardly anytime and are good for you.  I chose to flavor them today with really two simple flavors; coconut and lime.

Do note that I did eat a lot more shrimp than in the picture.  I was having problems getting a decent picture so I zoomed in on one lonely shrimp so you could see the grilling detail.  With the coconut milk they will get nice and charred if you are not careful.

The flavors compliment each other with the sweet of the coconut and the sharp burst flavor of the lime.  I paired these shrimp with just a simple green salad and fresh tomatoes.

Ingredients

• 20 shrimp peeled and deveined
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh garlic
• 1 Lime
• Salt
• Pepper
• Coconut Milk

Method

1. Place shrimp in a large seal-able baggie. Add the garlic, coconut milk, lime juice, salt and pepper to the bag.
2. Toss to coat shrimp evenly with marinade ingredients. Place bag in refrigerator to marinate for 1 hour.
3. Preheat grill to high heat 475°F – 500°F (245°C-260°C). Oil grill to prevent sticking.
4. Place shrimp directly on the grill and cook for 1 minute per side or until nicely charred and opaque.
5. Remove shrimp from the grill. Serve hot with a drizzle of fresh lime.
6. Serve over salad
7. ENJOY!
   

Zesty Tip: Be careful not to over cook the shrimp.  I have said this numerous times before but it really is the key to success.  Also for an extra kick you could use a little bit of jalapeno pepper to enhance the flavor and make it a bit spicy.

Zest’s To Do List

Today is a bit of a crazy day but I had a pretty good enough of sleep and are ready to go.  On top of normal everyday events that happen at the office I have a ton of blog stuff to get caught up on.

1. Meet with Open Sky about sourcing
2. Work on finishing up the makeover for Mardi at Eat Live  Travel Write.
3. Multiple Logo designs on the go for numerous foodies including FoodForLa, ANutritionisteats.com and BrainGutsHands just to name a few.
4. Complete the free Makeover for Adi at Oatonomy who was the lucky Giveaway winner.
5. Work on the face lift and relaunch of Caitlin’s Operation Beautiful

A Shot of the New Second Hand Car

So there you have it… pretty much a day in the life of zesty couple with a lot of eating, a lot of water and a whole lot of smiles.  I hope you have a great day and I will talk to you later.  The announcement I spoke about is official and I will be talking about it on Thursday.

Take care

zesty

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Happy Monday to you!  I first want to thank everyone for their kind words regarding Friday’s House update.  I greatly appreciate it.  How was your weekend?  Mine was a bit nutso as we have been trying to find a second vehicle and a Nintendo Wii.  We checked all over PEI for  Wii and came up empty so we took a trip to New Brunswick yesterday for a Wii and still came up dry.  We looked at a few vehicles as well but just couldn’t find the right one.

So here is a little challenge.  Can anyone find a Wii in their area and if so I will buy it and ship it to myself!  Sound like fun?  Looks like I may have to buy one online at this point or wait a little longer.

Ok I really have to share with you an amazing recipe today.  Do you ever feel like you want to impress your house guests or company with an over the top appetizer? If so, this is the one for you.  It is quite simple but the results are amazing.  I honestly just didn’t make the title up with having proof to back it up.  You have to try these cheese puffs.

Ingredients

• 6 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter ( softened )
• 1/2 Cup Milk
• 1/2 Cup Water
• 1/2 Tsp. Coarse Salt
• 1 Cup Flour
• 4 Large Eggs
• 3/4 Cup Grated gruyere cheese
• 1/4 Cup grated Asiago cheese

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400 Degrees F.
2. In a saucepan combine butter, water milk and salt.
3. Bring to a boil and then add flour; Remove from heat and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon.
4. Dough will dry out and pull from sides of sauce pan.
5. Put back on medium heat and beat a further 50 seconds to dry the dough even more
6. Transfer dough out of hot pan to a bowl and add eggs one at a time; beating vigorously with each egg.
7. After last egg add the Gruyere cheese and beat well.
8. Grease or line cookie sheets with parchment paper .
9. Drop dough from a teaspoon allowing room to expand.
10. Sprinkle tops with Asiago cheese and bake for 15 minutes at 400.
11. Then lower the temperature to 350 and bake another 15-20 minutes to dry the interior.
12. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for a few minutes
13. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Make sure to beat the mixture well after each egg addition and the thing to look out for here is to ensure the center of the puff is nice and dry and flaky.  Lowering the heat after the first 15 minutes is key to allow the inside to continue cooking but not brown the outside too much.

Zesty Around the Blogsphere

Before I go – you should check out a fun pancake recipe I feature on Picky Palate yesterday.  I think you might like it especially all the oatmeal lovers.  It is called Whole Grain Oatmeal Apple Pancakes.  Let me know what you think.

I hope you have an amazing Monday and I hope you have some luck finding a Nintendo Wii.  I better get going here and get ready for work.  The sunrise was amazing this morning from the dining room table and I think it gave me a little extra boost of energy.

Take care

zesty

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I cannot believe that it is Tuesday already.  Back to the grind as Christmas is now over.  Oh well – we must move on.  Yesterday was a huge shopping day for the house, we picked up some new bedding, some regular supplies, a new microwave and well some clothes…. but that is normal.

Remember a few weeks back when I posted about a huge food night at the zesty in laws?  Well I never posted one of the menu items as of yet because I couldn’t find any good pictures.  Well the good news is I found them and I think you may like it.

Ingredients

• 1 lb Salmon fillets, no bones
• 2 egg whites
• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 Tsp. Salt
• 1-1/2 Tbsp. fresh ground pepper
• 2-3 Cups heavy cream, 36-38%, well chilled
• 8 Scallops, firm “feet” removed and reserved.
• 3-4 Peices dill with fronds removed, stems reserved.

Sauce

• 2 Tbsp. minced onion
• Reserved scallop feet
• Dill stems
• 1 Cup white wine
• 1 Cup water
• 1/2 Cup heavy cream

Method

1. Using a food processor, puree the egg whites and the salmon until smooth, use as is or pass through fine sieve to smooth even further. Then chill for at least 2 hours.







2. Whip butter salt and all the pepper until smooth, then add the fish puree and blend until well mixed.
3. Slowly add the cream, in a steady stream to allow full incorporation.
4. Layer 1/2 of the mix in a 4×11 inch loaf pan tamp to settle any air bubbles. Next place scallops and dill in the center of the mixture and cover with the remaining mix and tamp the mixture once again.
5. Cover with buttered parchment and back in a water bath for 90 minutes in an oven preheated to 275 F. Water bath should be about 3/4 up the sides of the loaf pan.
6. Cool for 2-3 hours or overnight. Remove from mold and serve with sauce.
7. Saute onions until soft and not browned and add scallops and dill stems. Cook for 30 sec over low heat and add water and wine and reduce until little 1/4 cup remaining and add cream.



8. Bring to a boil to thicken and then strain.
9. Serve slice mousseline  with sauce over, or under the slice.



10. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: The same mix of fish can be poached in water for a quenelle and sauced then serve warm.

Well I better get going and get ready for work.  I will talk to you tomorrow for sure.  Any big plans for the new year?

Take care

zesty

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Can you believe it? Christmas eve is here and I still have a few last minute gifts to pick up!  I am so excited about Christmas this year.  I think it is mostly the anticipation for the food and the gifts but then again, who doesn’t get excited about holiday treats?

Today, I thought I would share with you another nice quick appetizer that is easy to pull off last minute – Smoke Salmon Tortilla Wraps.  This literally takes 8 minutes to make (I timed myself).

Ingredients

• 3/4 Cup Smooth Ricotta Cheese
• 2 Oz Light Cream Cheese
• 2 Tbsp. Sour Cream
• 2 Tsp. Fresh Lemon Juice
• 2 Tbsp. Fresh Dill
• 2 Tbsp. Chives
• 2 Oz. Smoked Salmon
• 4 Romain Lettuce Leafs
• 4 Large Flour Tortillas

Method

1. In a bowl, mix ricotta cheese, cream cheese, and sour cream until smooth.
2. Add lemon juice, dill, and chives and mix thoroughly.
3. Lay Tortillas flat and spread a thin layer of cheese mixture (leaving a 1/2 inch around the edge).
4. Chop smoked salmon and sprinkle over tortilla.
5. Chop up 1 lettuce leaf per Tortilla and spread on top.
6. Roll tightly inside saran wrap and chill over night (or for 3 hours).
7. Once chilled, slice diagonally and serve on a platter.
8. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: When working with lettuce in any recipe that is going to sit any length of time, ensure the lettuce is dried very well before adding into your recipe.  If not, it will make (in this case) the tortilla soft and soggy and not deliver the expected result.

For all the non smoked salmon lovers out there, this dish would work very well as a vegetarian with maybe some match stick carrots, some finely chopped cabbage or you could even substitute chicken in there as well.

For another creative use of tortillas, check out my simple quesadillas post.

Let me hear all about your Christmas eve traditions. Drop back tomorrow for a very special Christmas day breakfast.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty