Only 14 days now...

Today was a special day...my Mama and I cooked together! I had a small catering job and she just wanted spanakopita (I actually really wanted it too). I made spanakopita triangles and she/we made full size squares.
I was having a not-so-great morning and was definitely cheered after some time in the kitchen with her and a full belly of warm spanakopita!
I love my mama, I love cooking and I LOVE this spanakopita recipe!
If you've never worked with phyllo before don't be put off! The number one trick is too keep whatever phyllo you aren't working with covered in a damp dish/paper towel.
I hope this recipe inspires you to get in the kitchen!

Spanakopita (Greek spinach and feta pie)

Filling:
3 cups feta cheese, crumbled into small pieces (seems like a lot, but it's totally worth it!)
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
4 eggs, beaten
1 bunch green onions, sliced thin
1/3 cup fresh dill, minced
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3 (10 oz) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

Phyllo Layers
3/4 cup olive oil or melted butter

1. For the filling: Mix all of the filling ingredients together until uniform.
2. Preheat the oven to 400F. Brush a 9x13 baking dish with oil. Lay one phyllo sheet in the bottom of the dish. Brush with oil/butter. Repeat with 7 more phyllo layers, brushing each with oil. Spread half the spinach mixture evenly in the dish. Top with 4 more phyllo/oil layers.
3. Spread the remaining filling into the dish. Top with 7 more phyllo/oil layers.
4. Working from the center outward, use the palms of your hands and press out any air bubbles. Using a sharp knife, lightly score the pie into serving squares (I usually cut it into 8), but do not cut through more than 3 layers.
5. Bake until phyllo is golden and crisp, about 30 to 35 minutes. Cool for at least 10 minutes. And enjoy!

A recipe!

This is a recipe for one of the appetizers I made for Zach's birthday party...I don't have a picture of it as I was too busy cooking and eating them! Just trust me and make them!

Mushrooms Stuffed with Brie

Serves 8

1 pound white button mushrooms, stems removed

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

4 green onions, sliced

1 wedge of brie

Preheat the oven to 350F

Heat up a pan with a few tablespoons of oil. Add the mushroom caps and toss to coat in the oil. Sprinkle with salt and let them cook for a minute. Remove the caps from the pan and place them upside down in a baking dish.

Into the same pan, add the garlic, parsley, and green onions. Saute 1 minute.

Cut the brie into small pieces and place 1 piece in each mushrooms cap. Sprinkle the caps with the parsley/garlic mixture.

Bake the mushroom caps for 15 minutes. Let cool a few minutes before placing on a serving platter.

Try it, you won't be disappointed!

You asked

I got a request for some appetizer recipes last week and so I thought I'd make one and post it today. I was deciding between one of two recipes to do...both were spreads and both had goats cheese. How did I pick? Well, it all began last night when we went to Baraka Pita Bakery on Main street for supper. If you have never been to this place you must go. Here are the details. They have homemade lebanese food that is SO good. I ordered the Chicken Shawarma (a pita filled with chicken, garlic sauce, vegetables, and pickled turnips. Zach and Mom shared a few different things including a spinach pita pie (garlic-y, lemony spinach on a pita), which I had a bite of. It was so yummy that after eating my whole shawarma I went and ordered a spinach pita pie! This appetizer is similar to that pita pie in that it has spinach, lemon and garlic and I ate it on pita chips. It is a recipe I found while perusing my mom's old recipe book. And it satisfied my lemony spinach craving just as much as that pita pie last night!

Give this recipe a try and let me know how it goes!

The flavors in this spread are very Spring-y...but sometimes you've just got to follow what your mouth is craving, and for me this week it is anything acidic (you don't even

want to know how many pickled carrots I've eaten this week!)

Spinach and Lemon Spread with Pita Chips

8 oz goat cheese, room temperature

6 tbsp crumbled feta

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 tsp lemon zest

2 tsp fresh mint, chopped

Salt and Pepper

1 10-oz pkg frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed to drain off that liquid

In a food processor puree the two cheese, garlic clove, lemon zest and mint. Add the spinach along with a few pinches of salt and grinds of pepper. Puree to combined. TASTE and make sure it's yummy, if you need add more salt, pepper or lemon.

You can serve this on any kind of bread, I used pitas that I bought at Baraka (yes, go!). I brushed the lightly with olive oil, sprinkled them with some salt, cut them into triangles and baked them for about 5 minutes in a 350F oven so that they were "chippy".

Enjoy!

Summer Salad Rolls

When I was in Vancouver in February I ate so many of these, they were the perfect quick lunch and they kinda made me forget it was still winter and back in Charlottetown it was freezing cold! I made them for the first time this summer and I was so pleased with them, perfect snack, side dish, or lunch!

Makes 8 rolls

1 1/2 oz cellophane noodles (also called 'bean thread' noodles)

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1/2 cucumber, peeled and cut into very thin strips

1 carrot, peeled and cut into very thin strips

1/2 red bell pepper, cut into very thin strips

1 green onion, chopped

1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon fish sauce

Juice of half a lime

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, chopped

16 fresh mint leaves

8 rice paper wrappers, can be found at Superstore in the Ethnic Cuisine section

Cook noodles according to package directions. If your noodles don't have directions or they are in another language, a good method is to bring a pot of water to a boil, turn of the heat, and add the noodles, let them sit for about 10 minutes and then drain. Toss drained noodles with sesame oil.

Combine all the vegetables, green onion and cilantro in a large bowl. Whisk together rice vinegar, sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, and some salt and pepper. Pour over vegetables and toss to coat. Taste it, if it doesn't taste good now it's not going taste good when you're done. Add salt if it's needed or any of the other marinade ingredients.

Fill a round cake pan or pie plate halfway with hot water. For each wrapper, immerse it in the hot water until it softens, about 30 seconds. Lay it on your work surface and fill it with 1-2 tablespoons of noodles. Then add 1/8 of the veggie mixture. Add 2-3 mint leaves. Roll it up like a burrito! Might take a couple of trys to get a 'nice' roll, keep at it, experiment with putting veggies on first, or placing ingredients in different areas or the rice paper (middle, front). Eat immediately or store in the fridge, covered, for at most 2 days.

Very important notes:

1. Originally this recipe came with a dipping sauce, the first time I made it I was taking them 'togo' and didn't want to have to deal with spilling sauce, so I just doubled the vegetable marinade so they veggies were extra juicy and even poured a bit on the noodles. They were juicy and flavourful enough to not need a sauce.

2. If you want a sauce you can use and Asian dipping sauce, either store bought or homemade. A peanut sauce, sweet chili sauce, etc.

3. I have made both vegetarian and non salad rolls, just omit the fish oil and add in soy sauce.

4. I used small-ish rice paper rounds that were perfect for appetizers. Experiment with what works best for you.

4. Lastly, to make this more filling I added strips of tofu that I tossed with the vegetable marinade and seasoned. You could also use cooked chicken or shrimp.

Pan Fried Devilled Eggs

You now know about my love for devilled eggs and how I'm trying to bring them back! Who says they're just for church picnics and small town baby showers! They are so simple to make, yummy, and well, isn't that all that matters?

You can stick anything in devilled egg filling! Let's brainstorm...

- pickles

- lobster meat

- fresh herbs

- curry

- bacon bits

- avocado

- chipotle peppers

Oh man, so fun!

Tonight I took devilled eggs a step further and pan fried them so they were crispy and warm...ahhh, so good!!

Here is a basic recipe I start with and then embellish.

Serves 4

8 large eggs, hard boiled and peeled (best way to boil these is my Granny's method, bring the eggs and water to a boil, shut off heat, and cover and let sit 12 minutes, works every time!)

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons parsley, minced

2 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon mayo

salt and pepper

Cut eggs in half and remove yolks to a bowl. Add the remaining ingredients to yolks and crush with a fork to a smooth paste. Taste it!! Does it taste good? If not add some salt or pepper. Taste, taste, taste!

Pack the filling back into the eggs. If you want to eat them old school then mound the filling in and EAT. If you want to try something new, pack the filling in but only so it's even with the surface of the egg. Heat a pan up with a splash of oil and place the filled eggs stuffed side down. Let them fry for about 3 to 5 minutes until they are golden brown. Remove and devour!