Last summer I stopped by a friend’s house to pick some fresh basil (she had tons!), and she served afternoon tea and cucumber sandwiches. The sandwiches weren’t much more than a slice of cucumber on bread, but they were so refreshing and tasty. I had never had a cucumber sandwich before then.
In the fall when red bell peppers are plentiful and cheap, I buy a lot of them. Most get roasted and peeled, then wrapped individually for the freezer. All winter I used them on pizza, in sandwiches and pasta dishes, and in salads. The other night in trying to come up with starter for a small dinner party, I found the last two frozen bell peppers buried in the freezer. That lead to the creation of this roasted bell pepper and onion appetizer. It was a big hit and I will be making it again!
These sweet and spicy pepitas (pumpkin seeds) are so good and quite addicting! A batch can disappear as quickly as it can be made and that’s fast! These make a great snack, but can also be used in a variety of dishes from salads to soups. Suggestions on different ways to use them are provided in the Kitchen Notes.
Remember my Roasted Garlic Infused Olive Oil from a few weeks ago? Well, this is one of those tasty little appetizers that I throw together using the roasted garlic. Putting a dip together can’t get much quicker than this. Four ingredients and a box of crackers or chips is all you need.
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Garlic soup is a very tasty way to take advantage of the health benefits of garlic. It’s SO much better than taking a garlic pill! To make it even healthier, add some sauteed mushrooms to the finish soup. See the Mushroom Garlic Soup Recipe.
On one of our trips to New Orleans, Bobby and I ate at Bayona, owned by Chef Susan Spicer. I had a rabbit dish that was absolutely delicious as were all of the other meals that were eaten at our table that night. So you can imagine how excited I got when one of my cooking shows did a short segment on Bayona’s Garlic Soup. I immediately looked it up on the internet and bookmarked it to make one day. Well, that day has come.
But – as some of you may already know – I’m not very good at following a recipe, so the soup I ended up with probably tastes different from Bayona’s Garlic Soup. How different? I have no idea and may never know because this soup was so good that I don’t think I could make it any other way.
This is a tasty little appetizer and a perfect way to use those beautiful colored bell peppers that are hitting the markets this time of year. Any combination of colors will work. I prefer using the sweet bells – yellow, orange and red – but I’ve also used just green and red bell peppers for a more festive appearance. It was not as sweet as using all sweet peppers, but it was just as good. If by some miracle you have leftovers, this appetizer makes a great relish for sandwiches or as a replacement for the Jamaican Jerk seasoning in a tortilla egg sandwich if you feel like sweet rather than spicy.
Back in the 80’s there was a wonderful little Mediterranean restaurant in our neighborhood that served a feta cheese dip we absolutely loved. When the restaurant shut down, I was determined to recreate the dip so we could have it any time we wanted it. It took a few tries but I was finally successful. This dip with feta and cucumber makes a great appetizer, a party dip, or an afternoon snack.
Recipes with a southwestern, southern flare from a well-seasoned cook. Read my About page to learn more.
