Apple Pie Dip for Parties
This recipe is great for the winter holiday season, especially around Thanksgiving. Enjoy the flavor of this classic holiday dessert (or appetizer!) minus the baking (I’m not much of a baker). It’s really easy to make and it tastes great! Serve with cinnamon pita chips. As with any of my recipes, please double, triple or quadruple the ingredients to make enough for your party.
Thai Chicken and Vegetable Curry
Spice, spice, spice! For me, the more spices added to a dish, the better. I love making asian-inspired curries for that exact reason. This dish has a lot of really great flavor and isn’t terrible high in fat. I recommend using a wok for this dish, but if you don’t have one a large non-stick skillet will do the trick.
Szechuan Beef with Broccoli
A delicious spicy dish with a Szechuan inspired sauce! It’s quite easy to make and packs a powerful punch in the flavor arena.
Ingredients for Asian Cooking
In my cooking experience I find that it is good to do a grocery shop once a year to stock up on items that you use with certain styles of cooking. Lately I’ve been making a lot of asian dishes and have been finding that its really hard to buy the ingredients for just one dish and not spend a ton of money. This list outlines the staples that I believe every chef (who prepares asian dishes on a regular basis) should have.
Balsamic Oven-Baked Fries
Balsamic vinegar is a must have for every kitchen. For me its a staple like salt and pepper. It can be added to so many dishes to add flavor and zest! Think about traditional fish and chips with malt vinegar on the fries…this is a slightly sweeter alternative! I also have a huge addiction to french fries, so this recipe provides an alternative option to deep frying. Thick-cut russet potatoes are easy to come by and don’t cost a lot of money.
Creamy Pumpkin Soup with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
Everyone knows that you can make many sweet dishes with pumpkin puree, but if you haven’t tried it with savory spices in a soup you are missing out! Pepitas (toasted pumpkin seeds) add a flavorful, spicy and crunchy element to the soup as a topping. It’s incredibly easy to make and tastes delicious reheated if you opt to make more than one serving.
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Spread
Pumpkin muffins, pumpkin coffee, pumpkins in everything when the leaves start to change colors! Pumpkin is an excellent ingredient for many dishes (have you tried my Pumpkin Turkey Chili yet?). This spread is sweet, tangy and full of that autumn spice we all crave at one point or another. Plus it adds fiber and vitamins! I use this spread on cinnamon raisin bagels, fruit breads like banana or apple, or even on seasonal crackers. Since cream cheese lasts for a while, this recipe is not for a single serving of the spread (sorry!). Keep it in your fridge through the fall for a nice addition to your favorite autumn dishes.
