Cowboy caviar (or Texas caviar) is a simple, healthy, colorful, and delicious appetizer, salad, side-dish, or dip. Using canned beans and corn is a quicker alternative to cooking dry beans. Spend less time in the kitchen but don’t forget to prepare in advance to allow the different flavors to blend together before serving.
Cowboy caviar
The jalapeño can be replaced by a few pinches of chili powder.
Ingredients
- 1 can (425 g) Black beans, Red beans, or Black Eye peas, or Tri-Bean blend drained and rinsed
- 1 can (425 g) whole kernel sweet corn drained and rinsed
- 1/2 red onion peeled and minced
- 1 bell pepper (red, yellow or orange) cored and cubes
- 1 jalapeño cored and minced
- 3 tomatoes cubed
- 1/4 bunch Fresh cilantro chopped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar or lime juice
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a salad bowl, mix, cover, and let chill for about one hour in the fridge.
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This post was posted in Salads
Quiche With Mushrooms
French open-faced pie from puff pastry with buttery mushroom filling. To save time, I use canned sliced mushrooms. But you can use fresh ones as well.
Quiche With Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 1 sheet all butter puff pastry
- 15 g butter (or olive oil)
- 1 onion
- 250 g canned sliced mushrooms (drained)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 3 eggs
- 150 ml heavy cream( 35%)
- 5-6 thin slices hard cheese
- fresh parsley
- pinch nutmeg (optional)
Instructions
- Peel and cut the onion. In a medium skillet, heat oil or butter until hot, add onion and sauté for about 3 minutes. Add sliced mushrooms and sauté for another 7-8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lay the puff pastry on a parchment paper and transfer it onto a baking sheet. Prick all over with a fork.
- Evenly spoon the mushrooms mix on top.
- In a bowl, whisk together eggs and cream. Season with salt and pepper. Pour over the mushrooms.
- Place the cheese slices all over the pie. Sprinkle with nutmeg.
- Bake on the bottom rack for about 35 minutes, until golden.
- Garnish with herbs before serving.
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This post was posted in Main Dish, Puff Pastry
Smoked Salmon Puffs
These are irresistible little Smoked Salmon puffs, filled with a delicate cream made of smoked salmon. Excellent as an appetizer with a glass of Champagne!
Check out my other recipes with puff pastry.
Smoked Salmon Puffs
Ingredients
Dough
- 200 ml water or milk
- 100 g unsalted butter
- 3 pinches of salt
- 120 g all purpose flour
- 3-4 eggs
- 1 egg yolk (optional)
Salmon filling
- 250 g smoked salmon cut into pieces
- small onion minced
- 1 clove of garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp sour cream
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 100 ml heavy cream( 35%) very cold
- Some fresh dill, or chive, minced
- Few pinches of paprika for decoration
Instructions
Dough
- Preheat oven to 390 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a pot, add water, butter and salt. Bring to a boil and remove from the heat.
- Add flour and mix well, until the dough comes away from the walls and forms into a ball.
- Add the eggs one by one. Stir well. The dough should become smooth and shiny.
- Place saucepan back on the heat and keep mixing for about 30-50 seconds, to dry out the moisture. Remove from the heat.
- Transfer the dough to a piping bag.
- Pipe puffs (no bigger than a walnut). Space the puffs on the baking sheet, because the dough will rise.
- Lightly brush the top of puffs with egg yolk.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the puffs are puffed and golden brown in color. Do not open the oven while baking. Remove from the oven, let them cool down completely and carefully transfer to a flat surface.
Smoked salmon filling
- In a food processor, combine the smoked salmon with the onion, garlic, sour cream and olive oil. Process until smooth.
- Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Mix once more.
- Whip heavy cream, until soft peaks form.
- Gently fold in salmon mix into the whipped cream. Add the minced fresh dill.
- Cut puffs in half. Transfer the filling to a pastry bag and fill the puffs. Replace the top.
- Dust puffs with paprika. Serve right away or keep in the refrigerator.
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This post was posted in Appetizers
Spinach Salad with Strawberries
This spinach salad with strawberries is seasoned with a delicious homemade sauce, made with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and a little jam. A perfect summer salad!
Spinach Salad with Strawberries
Ingredients
Salad
- 200 g baby spinach
- 1/2 red onion thinly sliced
- 100 g strawberries
Dressing
- 3-4 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp jam (strawberry, raspberry, apricot)
- 1-2 pinches paprika (optional)
- Some sliced almonds or walnuts (optional)
Instructions
- In the bowl, combine the spinach, red onion and strawberries.
- In the jar, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, jam and paprika, to make a smooth sauce.
- Drizzle the salad with dressing and serve immediately.
- If you want, you can add some almonds or other roasted nuts.
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This post was posted in Salads
Ham And Cheese Quiche
The Quiche is a French open faced pie. Amazing dish which can be served with tossed salad, roasted potatoes, bouillon ( broth ) or just by itself.
Ham and cheese quiche
Ingredients
- 1 sheet all butter puff pastry
- 3 eggs
- 150 ml cream
- 150 g ham
- 70 g shredded cheese
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- On parchment paper, roll puff pastry out to larger than the size of your baking dish circle. Transfer to a pie plate. Using a fork, prick the surface of the dough to keep it from puffing up.
- Pop in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the crust starts to turn light gold. Remove the pastry from the oven, pressing the center down with a fork, if it puffed up a bit.
- Cut ham into small cubes and spread on top of the dough.
- Sprinkle with shredded cheese.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, salt and pepper. Pour evenly over the cheese layer.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a tooth pick comes clean.
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Course: Main Dish
This post was posted in Main Dish, Puff Pastry
Juicy French Style Pork Tenderloin
I lived in France more than 10 years. My husband is French but neither he or his parents have heard of this dish. The French don’t even suspect that this dish is called French style meat, but Russians eat this meat and know that it truly is “French style meat”.
Juicy French Style Pork Tenderloin
The main ingredients in this dish are meat, mayonnaise, cheese and onion, lots of onion.
Ingredients
- 6 pork tenderloin chops
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1-2 onion
- 200 g cheese shredded
- 5-6 Tbsp mayonnaise
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 380 degrees F. Line medium baking dish with aluminum foil.
- Place each piece of meat between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound with the flat side of meat tenderizer until about 1/4 inch thick. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
- Lay the meat out on the baking dish. Peel and cut the onion (half-moon). Arrange the onion on top of the pork. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Spread mayonnaise all over the meat.
- Bake for about 40 minutes until golden brown.
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This post was posted in Main Dish
Salmon in Puff Pastry
Who says you need to make a special dough for amazing appetizers? Thank goodness for puff pastry! It is so easy to use and you can buy it in the freezer section at any grocery store. I want to introduce you to this delicious puff pastry packets that are filled with salmon, sour cream and herbs. And can be served with any green salad of your choice. It’s great for brunch, lunch, or light dinner. This will definitely be on my holiday table this year.
Salmon in Puff Pastry
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion
- 2 tbsp sour cream
- 200 g fresh salmon skinless, boneless
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Some fresh dill finely chopped
- 1 sheet all butter puff pastry
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add finely chopped onion cook and stir until tender.
- Cut salmon into small cubes. Season with salt and pepper, add sour cream, cooked onion and fresh dill. Gently mix.
- Preheat oven to 380 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Gently roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/2 cm. Using 8 cm round cookie cutter carefully cut out circles.
- Place pastry rounds on a flat surface, divide salmon mixture between them and spread one tea spoon over pastry, leaving a 1/2 cm border all around.
- Brush pastry borders with water. Top with pastry rounds and press edges together firmly to seal.
- Place the pastry packets on baking sheet and brush with egg yolk.
- Make a small hole in the middle of the top of each lid. Use a paring knife to score the top of the pastry as desired. Be careful not puncture through.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden.
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This post was posted in Appetizers, Puff Pastry
Chunky Guacamole
The secret to perfect guacamole is ripe avocados. If you prefer a smoother guacamole, use a blender. Personally, I prefer avocados crushed with a fork with finely cut tomatoes, onions, and cilantro.
Chunky Guacamole
Guacamole can be served not only with tortilla chips, but also with fresh sliced vegetables, such as radishes, cucumber, or celery.
Ingredients
- 3 ripe avocados
- 1/2 lemon (or lime)
- 2 small tomatoes
- 1/2 oignon
- 2 cloves clove garlic
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1-2 pinches cayenne pepper (or chili powder)
- Fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Slice the avocados in half along its length and dispose of the seed and skin. Crush the flesh of the avocado using a fork. Drizzle with the lemon juice.
- Chop the onions, tomatoes, and cilantro. Crush the garlic.
- Mix all the vegetables and avocados together. Salt, pepper, and add the cayenne pepper.
- Put the guacamole in a bowl and serve along with tortilla chips or sliced vegetables.
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This post was posted in Appetizers
Okroshka (Cold Slavic Soup)
Okroshka is a soup, mostly served in summer and always served cold. The ingredients are diced and then mixed with kvass. The ratio of chopped vegetables to kvass is similar to that of cereal to milk. There are tons of different okroshka recipes, but every okroshka must contain green onion, radishes, cucumber, potatoes, boiled eggs and dill.
Okroshka (Cold Slavic Soup)
The word “okroshka” come from Russian word “kroshka” (crumbs) and means “made of crumbs”. All ingredients must be finely diced.
Ingredients
- 4 hard boiled eggs diced
- 2 boiled potatoes peeled and cut into small cubes
- 1 medium english cucumber peeled and cut into small cubes
- 8 slices (300g) bologna finely diced
- 6-7 radishes thinly diced
- 1/2 bunch dill finely diced
- 1/2 bunch green onion finely diced
- 2 l kvass
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- sour cream for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Chop all ingredients.
- Now is the time to turn the salad into a soup. Pour the kvass over the chopped vegetables and mix gently. Add salt and pepper according to taste.
- Let the veggies soak all the flavors for about 2-3 hours in the refrigerator before serving. Serve cold with sour cream. Okroshka will taste even better the following day.
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This post was posted in Soups
Kale Salad with Avocado and Mango
I am so excited that warmer weather is finally here. Now is the best time for healthy greens and fresh juicy mango. There is just not one single thing I don’t like about this salad. Trust me this is a salad you want to try.
Kale Salad with Avocado and Mango
Ingredients
- 2 cups kale finely chopped
- 1 ripe avocado
- 1 large mango
- 1/2 red onion
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 5 tsp mandarin juice freshly squeezed
- 1 tsp honey
- 8 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Wash all the ingredients.
- In a large bowl, add the kale, 2 tsp of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Massage until the kale starts soften(it will darken in color). Set it aside.
- Meanwhile peel and dice mango into 1/2″ cubes.
- Cut onion into half-moon slices.
- Slice the avocado while it’s in its shell and gently scoop the slices with a spoon.
- Finely chop the cilantro.
- Squeeze juicy mandarin into a small bowl. Add honey, Dijon mustard, olive oil, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Whisk together.
- Mix everything together, top with grated parmesan cheese and drizzle with dressing.
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This post was posted in Salads