appetizer

Pear & Gorgonzola {Flatbread}

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Flatbread makes everyone happy.

This recipe straddles the delicate balance that all hostesses search for: Something the ladies will love (and be impressed by) but that the husbands will still chow down on with abandon.

Enter Pear & Gorgonzola Flatbread. Perfect for parties (now one of my most “requested” appetizers!), or for a meal with salad, or just when you’re craving one of the most perfect sweet/salty marriages ever.

The stinky cheese makes foodies swoon, but it looks enough like pizza that dudes will grab a slice, too.

Talk about a win, win.

Pear & Gorgonzola Flatbread

Inspired by the California Pizza Kitchen

Makes 2 Flatbreads, Serves 8 as an appetizer

Ingredients:

  • 1 Medium onion (I used a Vidalia – on the sweeter side of spectrum)
  • 2 Pears (Try a mix of varieties for color)
  • About 1/2 Cup Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
  • 1 Package of Whole Wheat Naan (Usually contains two flatbreads – Or, use pita or make your own from scratch!)
  • 2 T Earth Balance or Olive Oil
  • 1 T Garlic Gold or Olive Oil
  • 2 T Fig Vinegar (The fruit flavor works well with this recipe, but balsamic is a great substitute)

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 400.
  • Chop onion into thin half-moons, and roughly slice pears (about 1/2 in. thick, varying sized pieces).
  • Add onion to medium/medium high heat along with Earth Balance. Add vinegar, stir occasionally, and cook until browned and almost caramelized – 10-15 minutes. Add sliced pears, stir. Allow to cook down and soften, about 5 minutes (you may need to add a little more EB).
  • Remove Naan from package, and lay on a baking sheet. Lightly brush with Garlic Gold.
  • Spread pear and onion mixture over flatbreads, then sprinkle (liberally) with the Gorgonzola cheese.
  • Place flatbreads in oven, and bake for 7-10 minutes, or until the breads are crispy and the cheese begins to melt.
  • Remove from oven, slice, and serve warm! Arugula, tossed with a little balsamic, makes a great garnish… and a great Cabernet :)
Enjoy!

Asian Lettuce Wraps {for a Crowd}

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Every once in a while, you stumble upon a truly great recipe. It’s simple. It’s healthy. It’s tastes great. Even boys like it…

In my experience, these rare and wonderful dishes usually come from a single source: A mom.

This surprising dish is no exception. Thanks to my good friend Steph’s lovely and talented mama, the Husband and I were introduced to her lettuce wraps at a Birthday party. It was Cole’s 25th Birthday, to be exact, and there was football, beer and lots and lots of boys there. And, they loved each and every healthful green-wrapped bit of the stuff.

Impossible, you say? Just try it.

Asian Lettuce Wraps
Serves 4 as written. Quadruple for a crowd!
Ingredients:
  • 1/2 lb. ground turkey
  • 1/2 lb. hot Italian turkey brats
  • 1 lg. yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
  • 1/4 C Hoisin sauce
  • 2 tsp. ginger
  • 1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp. Asian chile pepper sauce, opt.
  • 1 – 8 oz. water chestnuts, drained and chopped
  • 1 green onion bunch, chopped
  • 2 tsp. Asian dark sesame oil
  • Head of  bib, romaine or iceberg lettuce
Directions
  • Rinse whole lettuce leaves & pat dry, set aside.
  •  In a med skillet over high heat, brown both kinds of turkey together, stirring often, drain.  Break turkey up into small pieces when cool to touch, set aside.
  •  Cook onion (til opaque) in skillet used to brown turkey, stirring frequently.  Add garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, vinegar & chile pepper to onions & stir.
  • Add turkey mixture to skillet, coating turkey with onion mixture.  Stir in chopped water chestnuts, green onions & sesame oil. Continue cooking until onions just begin to wilt, about 2 min.
  • If you plan to eat immediately, arrange lettuce leaves around serving platter & pile meat in the center. For a crowd, simply transfer the mixture into a crock pot and set on low until you’re ready to serve!
  • It’s magic. Tasty, “a-mom-must-have-made-this!”, magic.

You might not wean party-goers and guests off of artificial cheese dip and buffalo chicken flavored pretzels all in one foul swoop… but this is a start.

I made this dish as an appetizer for our recent family Christmas party, and it got rave reviews. I made the filling a few days ahead, and popped it in the freezer. The morning of the party I put it in a crock pot, and it stayed warm and had an amazing flavor (it had time to “marinate”). No fuss, no worry that my dish would get cold, and it looks totally impressive…

AND, I made that delightful looking little treat above to accompany them. Lettuce wraps and dark chocolate drizzled, candy cane sprinkled, homemade rice crispy treats on a stick = a match made in party heaven.

Thank God for Pinterest.

Enjoy!