The Hip Hostess

Menus, tips and ideas for hosting with style!

Hamburger Cupcakes September 10, 2011

Filed under: Backyard BBQ,Beach party,Dessert,Fourth of July,Kids Parties,Memorial Day,Recipes,Sports Theme — hiphostess @ 8:00 pm
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BBQ theme cupcakes

There’s still ample time and good weather for grilling, and I have a fun BBQ theme dessert idea, courtesy of one of my hip baker friends – hamburger cupcakes!

Hamburger Cupcakes
1 batch vanilla cupcakes (made from mix or homemade)
1 batch chocolate cupcakes (made from mix or homemade)
1 container vanilla icing or homemade butter cream frosting
1 package shredded sweetened coconut
Red, yellow and green food coloring
Toothpicks
Sugar in the Raw (optional)

1. To make buns: Prepare a batch of vanilla cupcakes but be sure not to use paper liners (grease the baking tin instead). Use a mix or make them from scratch using your favorite chocolate cake recipe.  Sprinkle tops with Sugar in the Raw before baking to create the look of sesame seeds on the tops of the buns (optional).
2. To make burgers: Prepare a batch of chocolate cupcakes but be sure not to use paper liners (grease the baking tin instead). Use a mix or make them from scratch using your favorite chocolate cake recipe.
3. To make ketchup: Mix red food coloring with ½ container of vanilla icing.
4. To make mustard: Mix yellow food coloring with ½ container of vanilla icing.
5. To make lettuce: Place shredded coconut in a ziplock bag and squeeze several drops of green food coloring into the bag; seal the bag and mix until coconut is coated with coloring.
6. To assemble, cut the “buns” (vanilla cupcakes) in half vertically and cut the “burgers” (chocolate cupcakes into thirds. Use a piping bag to put the “ketchup” on the bottom bun, then place the burger on top of the ketchup and then use a different piping bag to put the mustard on top of the burger. Sprinkle the lettuce on top of the “mustard.” Finish by placing the top of the bun on top and then secure with a toothpick to hold it all together.
Note: You’ll have extra “burger” parts – they’re great for the pastry chef to enjoy!

 

Grilled Corn, Tomato & Basil Salad September 5, 2011

Filed under: Argentinean Grill,Backyard BBQ,Dairy-free,Fourth of July,Garden Party,Gluten-Free,healthy recipes,Local Menu,Picnic,Recipes,Salads,Sides,Vegetarian — hiphostess @ 10:00 am
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This recipe came about when I was cooking for a crowd but only had 4 ears of corn from my crop-share. Cutting corn off the cobb is a great way to make a little corn go a long way and mixing it with other complimentary ingredients, such as basil and tomato, adds a burst of summer flavor.

Grilling the corn makes the natural sugars caramelize and creates a nice charred flavor. This salad is a great use for late-summer corn, which generally has larger kernels that aren’t as tender and sweet as early-season corn.

Use the best ingredients you can find – super ripe tomatoes and fresh basil make this corn salad amazing.

 

Grilled Corn, Tomato & Basil Salad
4 ears of sweet corn
2 beefsteak tomatoes, cut into ½” pieces
½ C. fresh basil, chopped
salt & fresh-ground pepper to taste

1. Preheat grill. Shuck corn by removing husks and silk. (To remove pieces of clingy silk use a moist paper towel and wipe in a downward motion, from stalk to tip of cobb). Grill corn until slightly charred. Set aside to cool slightly. When cool enough to handle, stand corn vertically in center of large bowl and using a sharp knife, cut corn from stalk, allowing cut corn to fall into bowl. Squeeze any “milk” from empty husk into bowl and continue with remaining pieces of corn.

2. Add tomato and basil to corn and toss. Add salt and pepper to taste. Can be made up to 2 hours in advance and served at room temperature.

Serves: 6-8 as a side

 

Stuffed Peppers with Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Sausage August 30, 2011

Filed under: Dairy-free,Gluten-Free,healthy recipes,Main Course,Recipes — hiphostess @ 8:00 am
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Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Sausage Stuffed Peppers

My crop-share has been doling out green bell peppers in massive quantities.  While I love the sweet-earthy flavor of red, orange and yellow bell peppers, I find green peppers to be slightly bitter when raw and prefer them cooked.  After making several rounds of fajitas I decided to stuff the remaining bounty with a flavorful sun-dried tomato chicken sausage mixture.  I added some leftover cooked rice to the mix and it made for a deliciously healthy and satisfying meal.  Choose peppers that sit evenly if you plan to stuff them, and if your peppers are lopsided and/or wobbly, slice a very thin piece off the bottom to give them a flat base.

Some stuffed pepper recipes call for steaming or blanching the peppers before stuffing and baking.  I prefer a firm, slightly crisp pepper shell in this dish so I skip the pre-cooking.

Stuffed Peppers with Sun-dried Tomato Chicken Sausage

4 green bell peppers

1 lb. sun-dried tomato chicken sausage, removed from casing

½ C. onion, chopped

15oz can tomato sauce (I used no salt added)

½ C. green bell pepper, chopped (used leftover pepper from sliced-off tops)

2 Tbs. fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped + additional for garnish

1 ½ tsp. kosher salt

2 tsp. garlic powder

¼ tsp. dried oregano

¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

Fresh-ground black pepper to taste

1 C. cooked rice (any kind will work; I used brown rice)

1 egg, beaten

4 oz crumbled goat cheese (optional)

1.            Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Slice tops off peppers (about ½” from top), carefully remove core and seeds and rise with cold water to remove any remaining seeds.  Set peppers aside and make the filling by browning the chicken sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onions and cook until soft and slightly brown.  Add chopped green pepper, tomato sauce, salt, garlic powder, oregano, red pepper flakes and black pepper.  Cook until peppers are slightly soft and adjust seasoning if necessary.

2.            Remove chicken mixture from heat and place in a bowl to cool for several minutes.  Add rice and beaten egg and mix well.  Place hallowed peppers upright in a pie dish and, using a tablespoon, carefully fill peppers with chicken sausage mixture.

Bake peppers, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until peppers are bright green and slightly soft.  Top with goat cheese, if using, and return to oven for a few minutes to melt cheese.  Garnish with chopped parsley and serve immediately.

Serves 4 (serving = 1 pepper)

 

Zucchini Pancakes with Yogurt Dill Sauce August 13, 2011

Filed under: Appetizers,Gluten-Free,healthy recipes,Vegetarian — hiphostess @ 8:00 am
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Here’s another great zucchini recipe for those with a bumper crop.  These savory pancakes are light, yet filling enough for dinner when paired with salad or corn on the cobb.  I used yellow summer squash for the batch pictured, but generally makes these with zucchini.  A combination of both zucchini and summer squash is a nice alternative too.  Using garbanzo bean flour makes these pancakes gluten-free and adds some protein, as does the tangy yogurt sauce.  The pancakes can be prepared in advance and kept warm in the oven; the yogurt sauce can also be made in advance and kept separate from the pancakes until ready to serve.

Zucchini Pancakes with Yogurt Dill Sauce

For pancakes:

2 small or 1 medium to large zucchini (or yellow squash), grated

¼ medium onion, grated

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 clove garlic, minced

6 Tbs. garbanzo bean flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 Tbs. fresh dill, chopped

½ tsp. salt

Fresh-ground pepper

2 Tbs. olive oil, divided

For yogurt sauce:

6oz plain Greek yogurt (fat free or 0% works well)

½ Tbs. fresh dill, chopped

Salt and fresh-ground pepper to taste

Additional sprigs of dill, as garnish (optional)

1.            Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with tinfoil and set aside.  Combine grated zucchini, onion, eggs, garlic, garbanzo bean flour, baking powder, salt and pepper in medium bowl and mix well.  [If your batter is very loose, you may need to add an additional 1-2 Tbs. garbanzo bean flour; the consistency should be similar to a thick pancake batter.]

2.            Heat 1 Tbs. olive oil in 12” nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Scoop ¼ cup of batter into pan a spread lightly with the back of measuring cup to flatten.  Repeat and cook 4 pancakes in the pan at a time.  Flip when bubbles begin to form around the edges and cook until moderately firm and golden brown on both sides.  Remove from pan, place on prepared baking sheet and keep warm in pre-heated oven while making the next batch.  Add remaining Tbs. olive oil to pan and make 4 more pancakes (recipe makes 8 pancakes total).

3.            Place additional cooked pancakes on baking sheet and keep warm in oven until ready to serve (up to 30 minutes).  Make yogurt sauce by combining yogurt, chopped dill, salt and pepper.  Serve warm pancakes with a dallop of yogurt sauce and a spring of dill, if using.

 

Key Lime Pie with Macadamia-Graham Cracker Crust July 25, 2011

Filed under: Beach party,Dessert,Garden Party — hiphostess @ 8:00 pm
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Key lime pie is a warm-weather favorite because of it’s refreshingly tart flavor.  A silky smooth filling and a nutty, crisp crust provide wonderful contrasts in texture.  I like to use fat-free sweetened condensed milk in place of the whole fat version.  I don’t think you’ll miss the extra fat and it keeps this pie nice and light.

I usually have all of the ingredients for this pie on hand – a can of sweetened condensed milk, bottled key lime juice and egg yolks for the filling.  It’s really that simple.  Use a store-bought graham cracker crust if you aren’t up for making one yourself, though a food processor makes quick work of it and the flavor/ texture is worth the added effort.  I’ve used almonds and pecans in this crust before – whatever I have on hand.  I especially like the macadamia nut crust with the key lime filling because they both remind me of the tropics.

Although key lime pie only takes about 30 minutes to make, it will need at least 8 hours in the refrigerator to firm up.  Serve slices topped with a dallop of whipped cream and a sprinkling of fresh berries (blueberries, strawberries or raspberries all work well).  Key lime pie will keep for several days in the refrigerator, but it never lasts that long in our house.

Key Lime Pie with Macadamia-Graham Cracker Crust

9 sheets graham crackers

2/3 C. macadamia nuts, toasted

¼ C. sugar

4 Tbs. butter, melted

1 (14oz) can fat free sweetened condensed milk

3 egg yolks

1/2 C. key lime juice

1 thin round slice of lime (optional)

1.            Preheat oven to 350 degrees.   In the bowl of a food processor, finely grind the graham crackers until they resemble crumbs.  Place crumbs in a medium bowl and set aside.  Without rinsing the food processor, pulse the macadamia nuts until broken into small pieces.  Add a little of the graham cracker crumbs to the nuts and pulse until finely ground (adding the cracker crumbs prevents it from turning into nut butter).  Add ground nuts to crumbs, along with sugar.  Mix until well combined.  Drizzle with melted butter and use a fork to moisten the mixture.  Press mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 10” pie plate.  Bake the pie shell in a preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until slightly golden brown.  Leave the oven on and cool the shell on a wire rack.

2.              Whisk the condensed milk, yolks and lime juice together in a large bowl until well combined.  Pour into cooled pie shell and bake in pre-heated oven for 15 minutes.  Once cooled, refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.  Garnish with a slice of lime in the center of the pie, if you’d like.

 

Tomato-Melon Gazpacho July 18, 2011

Filed under: Appetizers,Dairy-free,Garden Party,Gluten-Free,healthy recipes,Tapas,Vegetarian — hiphostess @ 7:00 pm
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This beautiful chilled summer soup is a twist on traditional tomato gazpacho – one of my favorite warm-weather appetizers.  The combination of sweet cantaloupe, acidic tomatoes and fresh basil make this gazpacho spectacular.  The ingredients are quite simple, so the flavor of the soup really depends on the quality of the ingredients you use.  I only make this gazpacho when tomatoes and melon are in season: Ripe tomatoes that taste earthy and acidic, and sweet melon that’s beginning to melt in the center are the two ingredients that make this soup.

Don’t let peeling the tomatoes deter you from making gazpacho.  It’s really very simple if you follow this method:  Cut a small x in the bottom (non-stem end) of the tomatoes and drop them into boiling water for about 10 seconds; immediately plunge into ice water to stop the cooking.  When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, you’ll be able to easily remove the peel.  While peeling the tomatoes isn’t absolutely necessary, it makes the soup more refined and is really worth the extra step.

Serve this soup as a summer appetizer for a dinner party, or serve it in martini or tall shot glasses at a tapas-style party.  Remember to chill the bowls or glasses (keep them in the fridge or freezer for a few hours) before serving.  If you want to make this more of a meal, add some grilled prawns (large shrimp) and sourdough rolls.

This recipe is inspired by Jean-George & Mark Bittman’s recipe in Simple to Spectacular.

Tomato-Melon Gazpacho

1 medium cantaloupe (2 ½ – 3 lbs), seeded and cut into chunks (discard the rind)

5 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

4 medium tomatoes (about 1 ½ lbs), cored, peeled, seeded and cut into 1” pieces

1 ½ C. cold water (or 1 C. water and ½ C. ice cubes)*

12 basil leaves, divided

salt and fresh-ground black pepper

Juice of 1 lemon

1.            Heat 1 Tbs. olive oil in medium skillet over high heat.  Add melon to pan and cook until juicy (about 1-2 minutes).  Remove melon from the pan and place in blender.  Wipe pan clean and heat 1 Tbs. olive oil again over high heat.  Add tomatoes to pan and cook until juicy (again, about 1-2 minutes).  Remove from heat and add tomatoes to blender.

2.            Add water (and/or ice cubes), 10 basil leaves and remaining 3 Tbs. olive oil to tomato-melon mixture.  Puree until mostly smooth, leaving some chunkiness.  Add lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.  Serve cold, topped with chopped basil.

*I like to sauté the melon and tomatoes in advance and refrigerate them in the blender before pureeing the entire mixture so they have time to chill (you want to serve the soup nice and cold).  If you don’t have time to chill the ingredients after cooking, use ½ C. ice cubes in place of the water to keep the mixture cool.

 

Basil & Garlic Rubbed Grilled Chicken June 30, 2011

Filed under: Backyard BBQ,Dairy-free,Fourth of July,Gluten-Free,healthy recipes,Main Course,Mediterrannean,Memorial Day,Picnic — hiphostess @ 8:00 am
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I thought I’d post one of my favorite grilled chicken recipes for all those grilling over the holiday weekend.  Basil & garlic rubbed grilled chicken doesn’t sound particularly exciting, but this herb smothered chicken is really delicious.  This recipe is ideal for a last-minute dinner because the chicken absorbs the intense flavor of the basil without any significant marinating time.  I like to slice the chicken and serve it over salad with a simple balsamic vinaigrette.

To save time, ask the butcher at your grocery store to pound the chicken into cutlets for you, which cuts down on the cooking time.

Basil & Garlic Rubbed Grilled Chicken

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. kosher salt

½ C. fresh basil, chopped

½ tsp. fresh-ground black pepper

½ Tbs. olive oil (plus additional for grilling)

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, pounded to ½” thickness

1.            Place garlic in mortar and mash with salt to form a paste.  Add basil and black pepper and continue mashing until well combined.  Add in just enough olive oil (about ½ Tbs.) to form a paste.  Combine basil paste with chicken in a ziplock bag and turn the bag several times to coat the chicken with the basil.  Set aside for 5 minutes while you prepare the grill (or grill pan).

2.            Heat the grill or grill pan over medium-high heat.  Rub grill or pan with olive oil.  Grill chicken, turning once, until cooked through (about 3-5 minutes per side).

 

Chimmichuri Steak Sauce June 23, 2011

Filed under: Argentinean Grill,Dairy-free,Gluten-Free,Sauces,Tapas — hiphostess @ 8:00 am
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Chimichurri, a lively steak sauce made from parsley, olive oil and garlic, is Argentina’s greatest gift to the culinary world.  This sauce makes even mediocre cuts of meat taste divine.  I like to serve it over skirt steak, which is great for entertaining because it can be cooked in a matter of minutes on the grill or in the oven.

Although chimichurri is traditionally served with red meat, it’s also a delicious marinade for shrimp and chicken.  I use the leftover sauce for jazzing up roasted potatoes and grilled vegetables.  You can also serve it as a dipping sauce for warm pita or crusty bread.

 

Chimichurri

1 C. flat-leaf Italian parsley (packed)

¼ C. fresh cilantro (packed)

½ C. extra-virgin olive oil

¼ C. red wine vinegar

2 medium garlic cloves, peeled

¾ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

½ tsp. ground cumin

½ tsp. salt

Combine ingredients in food processor and puree.  Sauce can be prepared up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated (bring to room temperature before serving).

 

Smoky Roasted Red Pepper & White Bean Dip June 18, 2011

Filed under: Appetizers,Argentinean Grill,Backyard BBQ,Dairy-free,Gluten-Free,healthy recipes,party food,Recipes,Tapas,Vegetarian — hiphostess @ 8:00 am
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This dip is a smoky, creamy and filling – a delicious alternative to hummus!  You’d never guess that it’s super healthy too.  I usually have all the ingredients for this dip on hand, which makes it great for last minute entertaining.  It’s a real crowd-pleaser too.  Serve it with toasted pita, breadsticks or tortilla chips.

I like to serve this dip as part of an Argentinean Grill or Tapas theme menu.  It would also be a great appetizer for a backyard BBQ.

The dip can be made up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated in an air-tight container (bring the dip to room temp before serving and wait to garnish with the cilantro until then).

This recipe is a variation on Bobby Flay’s awesome dip from Mesa Grill.

Smoky Roasted Red Pepper & White Bean Dip

2 (9oz) cans white beans, rinsed and drained

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 large roasted red bell peppers, peeled & seeded, or 1 (8oz) jar roasted red peppers

3 Tbs. red wine vinegar

½ – 1 Tbs. canned chipotles in adobo (use mixture of peppers and adobo sauce)

1 Tbs. honey or agave nectar

salt & fresh ground black pepper, to taste

¼ C. cilantro, chopped (for garnish)

Combine all ingredients (other than cilantro) in a food processor and process until smooth.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Garnish with chopped cilantro before serving.

 

 
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