Seared Dates with Bacon

These are such an incredible little appetizer or Tapas, and super easy. BUT, they are not the most attractive little things. You will have to convince people to try them.
They will ask you “What’s in them?” You will say “Dates.” They will say “No, thanks I don’t like dates.” Remind them they are covered in bacon and everything turns out well covered in bacon. They will fall for this. If they don’t, stop wasting your breath. They are weird, picky eaters and don’t invite them over to your place again (unless they always bring outstanding wine or spirits).

Buy pre-cooked bacon, heat it for 5-7 seconds on high in the microwave to make it pliable. Cut each slice in half and wrap around a date and secure with a toothpick. In a hot skillet sear each date until the baon is crispy. Serve hot!

I recently had this kind of appetizer out at a resturant but they stuffed the dates with chorizo sausage, wow it was a very good idea!

Pumpkin Sage Pasta

I made up this recipe because I had to get rid of a big can of pumpkin. It turned out great, it's very rich and cheesey tasting but not really bad for you at all. I was inspired by some squash ravioli that I made that did not turn out as well. The squash ravioli looked kind of like square fried eggs with bulging bright orange centers.

3 cloves garlic (minced)
1 shallot (minced)
2 tablespoons fresh sage or 1 teaspoon rubbed sage(add it a little at a time depending on your taste)
1/3-1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
15 ounce can prepared pumpkin
2 teaspoons brown sugar (white is fine too)
sprinkle of nutmeg (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup pasta water (more is needed)
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock (more if needed)
8 ounces cooked pasta (I like penne rigate for this)
toasted pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds or pinenuts for garnish

In a large fry pan, over medium heat, saute the garlic and shallots until golden with 2 tablespoons of olive oil (not extra virgin). Add the pumpkin, cheese and all of the spices, cook for about minute to carmelize a little. Add the stock and left over pasta water. Combine and heat through, then add the hot pasta (drain but don't rinse). Serve with a sprinkling of nuts or seeds a little more salt and pepper and cheese if you like.

Arugula Brushcetta on Grilled Kalamata Bread

You'll need a loaf of Olive Bread or any rustic kind (sour dough is always good). If it's stale and left over even better, why waste fresh bread. Slice the bread thin on an angle. Grill it on a grill pan, or toast it in the oven or toaster. Cut a garlic clove in half and rub the bread. Drizzle them with olive oil and sprinkle a little sea salt too. This is great alone BUT here's where the magic happens. Toss a few cups of arugula (or spinach will do in a pinch) with some olive oil (1 tbl.) fresh lemon juice (letbl. you 1 tbl.you will need to taste this an adjust for how lemony YOU like things) and some salt and pepper, add a sprinkle of garlic powder if you like. Lay 5-6 leaves of the wilted salad greens on each piece of bread. This is a great accompaniment to the Pumpkin Sage pasta, the lemony bite of the arugula and the rich bread and olives balance the warm, cheesy flavor of the pasta.

For a job I served the green "salady" part of this in a big bowl and arranged the toasts around it. Sometimes giving people some work to do assembling their food is worth it. I like to serve a lot of “make your own Blank,” breakfast burritos, taco bowls, sandwiches, because people are picky and will ask you to make them a special version.
Let's visit a typical exchange between myself and some people I work with (cook for):
“Erin what is in these sandwiches”
“Fresh slices of marinated skirt steak, baby spinach, shredded cabbage with a Vietnamese dressing on toasted baguettes”
“Oh, could I just have plain skirt steak with no marinade, and no cabbage and no spinach and no dressing and no bread?”

If you put out things a little un-assembled then you can avoid having to make special things for people and they can enjoy your snacks their way. It makes happiness happen.

Chopped Lentil Soup

When I am hung over or sleep deprived I make this soup. You don’t have to do anything, it’s all chopped in a food processor. You could make it very chunky and chop it all yourself but come on, go to a thrift store or garage sale and get an old food processor, non-cooks register for them all the time and then never use them and sell them at church bazaars. It's a great investment.

2 tablespoons olive oil (not extra virgin)
1 large onion
2-3 cloves garlic
3 stalks celery
2 carrots (or handful of baby carrots)
1 bag pre-washed baby spinach
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. black pepper
In a food processor chop all ingredients in batches until pebble sized or smaller. Or chop all ingredients by hand. In large stockpot heat oil over medium heat. Saute ingredients until semi-soft. Add:
1 can petite-diced tomatoes with juice (15 ounce size)
1-2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 bay leaves
½-1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 tablespoon dried parsley (or 1 tablespoon fresh)
1 large can low sodium chicken broth or vegetable (48 ounces)
1 cup dried lentils (rinsed and sorted through)
Turn up heat and bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat to med/low to simmer until lentils are tender. For meat-eaters add:
½ lb. diced ham, turkey ham or turkey kielbasa (use up to a pound if you like)
Serve with a sprinkling of soy sauce. Makes 8-10 servings

Sweet Potato Thai Soup

Many of my soup creations are honest attempts to clean out my refrigerator. This is the point of soup (other than I just love soup, it’s so good, even pea soup and peas in general disgust me). I came up with this Thai inspired soup because I wanted to make Chicken Coconut Curry (I’ll add that recipe soon). BUT I was afraid the folks I was cooking it for would not go for it (especially because I was serving it at 11am). I have a weird job. My Craft Service is different because I mainly (only) work for MK films and they work EVERDAY on a “sound stage.” On location Craft Service I would not cook as much I would assemble snacks for them mostly. At MK, I cook breakfast, a hot mid morning snack, often a baked good in the afternoon and an evening snack. I when I say snack I mean meal cut up in smaller portions, it’s a meal for 35 let’s not kid ourselves. So, I love Chicken Coconut Curry but I didn’t think they would so I made it into a soup. To my surprise and the crew’s credit they scraped the giant pot clean.

(Originally I invented this to serve 35 people at MKfilms, so you will want to try it and keep tasting it, until I can make it a few more times and perfect the smaller servings)

1 large yellow or white onion-thinly sliced in half moons
2 cloves garlic-minced
1-2 large sweet potatoes-peeled and small diced
1 can petite-diced tomatoes with juice
1 can straw mushrooms-drained and rinsed
1 can bamboo shoots-drained and rinsed (chop smaller if you like)
1 can baby corn-drained and rinsed (chop smaller if you like)
2-3 cans low sodium chicken broth or veggie broth
1-2 cans lite coconut milk
1 teaspoon red curry paste
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 chopped green onions
1 cup bean sprouts (washed)
¼ cup chopped cilantro

Cook sliced onion and garlic in a little olive or vegetable oil. If you have peanut or sesame add a few drops of that too. Sauté until soft, add brown sugar and cook another minute. Add soy sauce, potatoes, tomatoes, mushrooms, bamboo shoots and corn; turn up heat to medium high. Add chicken broth, bring to a boil then reduce to a bubbling simmer, cover and cook until potatoes are tender. In another pot bring coconut milk and curry paste to a simmer for a few minutes (make sure curry paste is completely dissolved you don’t want any chunks, you can whisk it or use or fork). Taste test the curry/coconut milk because curry paste can be very spicy, add more if you like. Add warm coconut milk mixture to the vegetables and broth. Just before serving add chopped green onions, bean sprouts and cilantro.Serve as a soup or over hot Brown or Jasmine rice. You can also add left over cooked chicken just at the end for a heartier meat dish.