Cherry Mojito

Cherries are great in desserts but they can be a sweet ingredient in cocktails as well. Here is a Cherry Mojito recipe that is ideal for entertaining and may become your new favorite drink. It’s also easy to prepare!

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups fresh lime juice (about 9 limes)
3 pounds dark cherries, such as Bing or Burlat, pitted
2 1/4 cups best-quality black cherry or plain vodka
1 (750 ml) bottle sparkling water


Bring sugar and 1 1/4 cups water to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat; let cool completely. (Makes about 2 cups syrup.) Syrup can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 1 month.

Put lime juice into a medium nonreactive bowl. Halve 2/3 of the cherries; add all cherries to lime juice. Stir in syrup. Refrigerate at least 1 hour (up to overnight).

Stir cherry mixture and vodka in a large serving bowl. Fill 12 glasses with ice. Spoon 1/2 cup cherry-vodka mixture into each glass. Top with sparkling water; serve immediately.


Serves 12

Note: Omit the vodka to make a delicious cherry soda.


From The Martha Stewart Show, all rights reserved

The Mushrooms without a Picture

After watching a TV show on french fries, my older daughter begged for homemade fries. It didn’t take much for her to talk me into it. When I asked what else she would like to eat, Virginia answered “I can have only French fries, thank you!”.  If I was 8 years old, I am sure I would have asked for a “french fries” meal, but that would not be a nutritional lunch. I wanted to come up with an exciting meal for the entire family but my mind was going blank. I couldn’t think of anything creative beyond “french fries & steak”.

You are probably asking yourself  why I am talking so much about potatoes if this should be a post about a mushroom dish. Well, this is when the mushrooms came into the picture. After searching for side dishes ideas, it suddenly came to me. I could bake the baby Portabella mushrooms I had in the fridge. They would go great with steak, french fries and a nice salad. And I was corrected. These mushrooms paired so well with the rest of our meal that we ate them all before I could take a picture. I am sorry but I don’t have a single photo to show you.

Baked Mushroom Bites:

Ingredients:

8z of fresh mushrooms (white or baby portabella)

½ cup of Italian breading

1 ¼ tablespoons of parmesan cheese, finely grated

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 teaspoon of paprika

2 egg whites

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 380F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, place parmesan cheese, breading, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix to combine. Clean mushrooms with a damp kitchen cloth without removing the steams. Leave them aside.

In a different bowl, lightly whisk egg whites. Dip each clean mushroom into the egg whites and then into breadcrumb mixture. Place mushrooms on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes or until crust is crisp and golden.

Cayenne Pepper dipping sauce:

Ingredients:

1 cup of mayonnaise

1 small garlic clove, minced

¼ teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper

¼ teaspoon of onion powder

1 tablespoon of fresh parsley, chopped

½ tablespoon of lemon juice (optional)

In a small bowl, stir all the ingredients together until well combined. Cover and keep it refrigerated overnight for flavor infusion. Serve it chilled.

This is a quick and tasty recipe is great for parties and for everyday meals!

It is Olive time!

I have always been a big fan of olives! When I was small girl my dad use to take me to the city's only Deli & Imports store to taste and buy olives and I was excited to go every single time! Sometimes I was so anxious to try all the different kinds of olives that I would put 2 or 3 in my mouth at the same time – it caused me swallow a couple of pits but it was worthy!

I like olives so much that I am always trying to incorporate them in my dishes. Today, I want to share with you two recipes that can be great life-savers when you are planning a party:

Tapenade

Ingredients

2 cups of Kalamata olives, pitted and drained

1/3 cup of green olives, pitted and drained

1 clove of garlic, coarsely chopped

½ cup of sweet roasted peppers

1 tablespoon of capers, rinsed and drained

1 teaspoon of dried oregano

2 large leaves of fresh Basil, roughly chopped

¼ cup of olive oil

Ground black pepper to taste

Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse for 20 seconds or until you obtain the desired consistency. Put the tapenade in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours for flavor infusion.

Use it in dips, savory tarts and appetizers or as a spread for sandwiches and bruschettas.

Light Olive Dip

 Ingredients:

15oz (1 container) of ricotta cheese

Tapenade

In a bowl combine the ricotta cheese and homemade tapenade. Stir with a rubber spatula until combined. Preserve it covered in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. Serve it with crackers or small toasts.

If you don’t have time to make your homemade tapenade, you can use an entire jar of store-bought tapenade to make this quick and tasty dip.

Bon Appetite!