Featured Recipes

Bruschetta

Servings:6

INGREDIENTS
1 baguette, Italian bread (halved), or Ciabatta
16 ounces of olive tapenade or taramasalata

NOTES:
Traditional Italian bruschetta is nothing more than garlic-rubbed, olive-oil drizzled and seasoned bread that is grilled. Today, the term is associated with bread toasts topped with tomatoes, camponata, eggplant, etc. In our rendition, intended to mimic the experience of dining on pigs-in-a-blanket, we'll focus on the right balance of fat, salt, and texture. Our bread is not rubbed with garlic but the olive oil will give your "bruschetta" the necessary fat. The crunch we find in pigs-in-a-blanket-done-right is the pastry - the toasted bread here will do just fine. For the savory and salty elements, both the olive tapendade and taramasalata stand up to the rich saltiness of the old weiner.

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice baguette thinly. Place slices on a cookie sheet. Slices should not overlap. Drizzle a thin stream of olive oil on the baguette slices. Toast in the oven for 4-5 minutes until slightly crispy. Wait 5-10 minutes for the bread to cool before topping. With a teaspoon, scoop out a dollop of black olive tapenade or taramasalata and put on the baguette slices. Place on party platter and garnish with parsley chiffonade or place a large sprig of parsley on your platter decoratively. Best served right away, but can also be prepared up to 4 hours ahead. Cool, then cover loosely with foil and leave at room temperature.

Olive Tapendade

INGREDIENTS
8-12 oz jar of pitted, cured black olives
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
1/2 red bell pepper, fine dice
4 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 lemon, juiced (optional)
Olive oil (optional)

METHOD
Drain olive juice and reserve 1/3 cup of olive "juice" in bowl. Put all ingredients in food processor and pulse until desired consistency (finely chopped but not pureed). If you need more moisture, slowly add 1 teaspoon of olive oil.

Taramasalata

INGREDIENTS
8 oz salmon roe (salmon-pink, not too dark)
1 peeled, boiled red potato
dash white pepper
1/2 lemon, juiced (optional)
Olive oil (optional)

METHOD
Put all ingredients in food processor and pulse until smooth (pureed). If you need more moisture, drizzle in up to 1/2 tsp of olive oil.

Pigs-in-a-Blanket with Mustard

Certainly a higher fat and calorie alternative to the bruschetta noted above. But maybe the memories that this food original conjure can help calories?

INGREDIENTS
1 17.5 ounce package Pepperidge Farm puff pastry
1/4 cup Mustard
One pound package of cocktail wieners

METHOD
Defrost pastry and separate the large sheets. Line a baking sheet with foil or liner. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut pastry into 2 inch X 1 inch rectangles. Spread thin layer of mustard (dijon) on pastry. Lay one weiner on pastry, widthwise. Roll pastry around the weiner on a diagonal, be sure pastry overlaps a wee bit. Place pastry wrapped wieners 1 inch apart on baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until just golden brown.