the French bread slices on cookie sheets. Brush with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Place the bread in a 350-degree oven and toast for 5 minutes. Change the oven temperature to broil.
Place the olives, garlic, pine nuts and oregano in a food processor. Whirl until the mixture is fairly smooth. Add the remaining olive oil and process to blend.
Spread the olive mixture onto the bread slices. Slice the cheese into thin slices and place one slice on every piece of the bread.
Place the toasts in the broiler and heat until the cheese starts to melt. Serve immediately.
Mushroom and Goat Cheese Strudel
These great little nibbles are wonderful to serve at a cocktail party or before dinner. The recipe can easily be doubled or tripled if you have a lot of guests.
Makes twelve appetizer sized servings
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons butter
1 large shallot, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb mushrooms, diced
1/4 cup white wine
3 oz log mild goat cheese
2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves
12 filo dough sheets ( about 8 oz.)
Salt and pepper to taste
Procedure:
Heat half of the butter in a large skillet. Add the shallots and garlic and sauté until they are translucent.
Add the mushrooms and continue to sauté until the liquor released by the mushrooms has cooked away.
Add in 1/4 cup of the white wine, and continue to cook until the mixture is fairly dry. Remove mushroom mixture from the skillet and cool completely. This can be done quickly by spreading the mixture on a sheet pan and placing it in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.
Add the goat cheese and the herbs to the mushroom filling once it is thoroughly chilled.
Prepare the strudel: Melt the remaining butter. Stack three sheets of filo dough on your work surface. Brush the filo with the butter. Top with three more sheets or dough. Mound half the mushroom filling along the long edge of the dough. Roll up the strudel tightly. Repeat this procedure with the remaining phyllo and filling.
Mark the tops of each strudel with 11 lines to indicate cutting lines for portions. You will have 12 portions per strudel.
Bake the strudel in a 375-degree oven until golden brown. This should take about 10-15 minutes. Let the strudels sit for 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving as appetizers.
Note: You can use a variety of mushrooms in the strudel. Choose white, portabella, crimini, or shitake. Cut off the woody stems if using shitake mushrooms.
Let’s Do Breakfast! Or Brunch!
It is true that breakfast is the most important meal and that it gets your day off to a good start. Breakfast foods can get you moving and provide energy to get you through the morning. However, if you are like a lot of people nowadays, you simply don’t have time for much of a breakfast. I know on most days I usually have yogurt and whole-grain cereal or maybe toast with a piece of cheese on it. Both are actually good choices because they combine whole grains with some protein and fat.
On the weekends or holidays, though, I like to make something that is delicious and takes a bit more time. Many of the recipes in this section are the result of the weekly breakfast classes that I taught every Friday morning. The classes were just an hour long and started at 7 o’clock. I would prepare dishes from two to three of these recipes. A lot of people would take the class on their way to work. They said it was a great way to start the day and usually would make one of the selections at home over the weekend. I would pair quite a few of these recipes with some of the fruit dishes in the Fruity Favorites section. You may want to combine one of those recipes with one in this section to make a great breakfast or brunch.
Avocado Baked Eggs
Avocado baked eggs with buttered toast and Brandied Spiced Coffee
I love baked eggs and they are a preparation that you don’t see too often. You can do the eggs in individual ramekins like in the picture above or if you have larger gratin dishes, you could put two eggs in with the appropriate amount of the other filling ingredients. This easy egg dish can be baking while other items are being prepared.
Makes four servings
Ingredients:
4 ripe plum tomatoes, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
1 avocado, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 cup sour cream
8 large eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
4 teaspoons chopped basil
Procedure:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Lightly grease eight individual round ramekins that measure approx. 4-inches in diameter and are about 2 inches deep. Place the tomato in the bottom of the ramekins and sprinkle with the salt, pepper and Parmesan.
Scatter the avocado pieces evenly over the cheese, and dot with the sour cream.
Break 1 egg into each of the ramekins. Divide the heavy cream between the eight ramekins, sprinkle the eggs with salt and pepper and dot with the butter. Top with the basil.
Place the ramekins in a shallow roasting pan and pour boiling water into the pan to reach three fourths of the way up the sides of the ramekins. Bake until the egg whites are just set, about 12 to 14 minutes.
Put two ramekins on each plate and serve with buttered toast.
Note: The shorter cooking time for the eggs will result in the whites just being set and the yolks still slightly runny. If you like the egg yolks harder cooked, bake them for the full 14 minutes.
Seafood Huevos Rancheros
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