Greek Salad on a Skewer

Greek salad on a skewer is an appetizer that would serve any holiday party.

Greek Salad on a Skewer

block of feta cheese, cut into cubes

persian cucumbers, sliced

baby tomatoes, sliced in half

Kalamata olives, pitted

skewers

salad dressing:

1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons olive oil

pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper

pinch of dried oregano

Whisk all together and drizzle over skewers, allow to sit a few minutes before plating for service.

Take a slice of the cucumber as the base and top with a block of the cheese, tomato half and finish with the olive and put a skewer through all.

Drizzle the dressing over top and then place on a serving plate.

Grilled Camembert-Apple Sandwich

Mulling through the fridge, this struck me as the perfect grilled cheese sandwich for lunch.
The always delightful Miss Ava, who is about 19 months old, loves cheese and apples. She would ask for "cheeth" with her nose crinkled and apples, her favorite meal.

Grilled Camembert-Apple Sandwich

For 1 sandwich you will need:
2 slices of your favorite bread
1 Tablespoon butter
1/4 of small wheel of Camembert, rinds removed
1/2 apple, thinly sliced

Butter one side of each slice of bread.
Slice Camembert and put on unbuttered side of bread.
Top cheese with sliced apple and put together with butter side of bread out. Press together lightly.
Grill over medium-low heat in a non stick pan, until cheese has melted.

Roast Rack of Lamb

Rack of lamb is the perfect date night dinner. One rack will do two people.
I marinated this rack about an hour before cooking.

Roast Rack of Lamb

1 rack of lamb, frenched

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 sprigs of rosemary
sprinkle of Alfie's seasoning
2 teaspoons of fresh rosemary, chopped

In a glass pan or gallon size freezer bag, combine the vinegar, mustard, olive oil, garlic, and rosemary sprigs. Add the lamb and mix well, let sit to marinade.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Take lamb out and place on a roasting pan, discarding marinade.
Sprinkle with Alfie's seasoning.
Cook about 20-25 minutes. Take out of oven and let rest about 10 minutes before carving. Sprinkle lamb with remaining fresh rosemary.

Prosciutto Pear Wraps

This appetizer takes advantage of the Bartlett pears that are in season. The little Arugula salad, gives a peppery bite, with the sweet pears, all wrapped up in salty prosciutto.

Prosciutto Pear Wraps

2-3 cups of arugula
1 lemon, juiced
2 pears, cored and sliced into quarters
a few grinds of fresh ground pepper
8 slices of prosciutto

In a small bowl, combine arugula and 1/2 of lemon juice, toss with a few grinds of pepper.

In another bowl combine sliced pears with the other half of lemon juice.

Lay a slice of prosciutto out flat, and at one end, top with slice of pear and about 1/4 cup arugula.
Wrap prosciutto around and continue rolling, set aside.

These are best served right away, but will hold in the fridge covered in plastic, until needed.

Apple Horseradish Sauce

I recently made some fresh applesauce, Bake loves applesauce with pork. So after cooking a pork tenderloin I put this little sauce together to serve with it. If there are any leftovers, this would also be great in a sandwich.

Apple Horseradish Sauce

3/4 cup applesauce
1 1/2 Tablespoon prepared horseradish
1 Tablespoon sour cream

Whisk all ingredients together and refrigerate until needed.

Greek Frittata

A frittata is one of the most versatile dishes, and can be made using the flavors from any ethnic cuisine.
It can also be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner and also as an appetizer.

Kodi recently served a hearty frittata, using Mexican elements topped with fresh homemade salsa, along side a platter of beautiful, seasonal fruits. It was a perfect fall lunch for conversing and watching a football game.

There is also a salmon frittata in an earlier blog post.
Today, I used little 5-6 inch cast iron pans to make individual frittatas. These can be served hot or cold, and for dining or picnic.

Greek Frittata

Two individual frittatas:
Preheat oven to 350F.

4 teaspoon olive oil, divided
2 small Yukon gold potatoes, par boiled and drained, sliced
2 Tablespoons diced onion
1/2 teaspoon Alfie's seasoning
4 eggs
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup milk
fresh ground pepper
1 Tablespoon Kalamata olives sliced, divided
1/2 cup grape or baby Heirloom tomatoes, slice in half and divided
1/3 cup baby spinach, packed, divided
1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled, divided

Over medium low heat, put 2 teaspoons of olive oil in each small cast iron pan. Add 1 Tablespoon of onions into each pan and cook until softened. Layer the potatoes over top of the onions and sprinkle with seasoning.
In a small bowl, beat the eggs, oregano, milk and pepper together. Pour over the potatoes and top with spinach, tomatoes and finish with feta cheese.
Place in the oven and cook 20-25 minutes until eggs are cooked throughout.

Champagne Cosmo Cocktail

After a girls lunch overlooking the bay and a trip to the spa for pampering pedi's, how do you finish off the birthday celebration? Champagne!

Champagne Cosmo Cocktail

This champagne cocktail is going to be my festive winter cocktail this season. I used raspberries but cranberries could also be used. Also, sparkling apple juice could be used in place of champagne.

For the 2 servings:
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 lime, juiced
2 ounce cranberry juice, chilled
a few drops of Grand Marnier
champagne, chilled

With a little of the lime juice, wet the rim of the glass and then dip into the sugar.
Divide the lime juice between the two glasses.
Add 1 ounce of cranberry juice to each glass.
Add a few drops of Grand Marnier to each glass and then fill to the top with champagne.
Serve right away, a Happy Birthday toast to you Lynn.