Eggplant Frico - low carb snack

 https://www.facebook.com/reel/925699680027454

Ingredients:

• 1 eggplant sliced into ½ inch thick circles
• ½ tbsp of salt (approximately)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 rounded tbsp of grated Parmigiano Reggiano per eggplant slice
• 1 rounded tbsp sauce per slice
• 1 tbsp shredded mozzarella per eggplant slice
• 1 piece of basil per eggplant slice

Roasting the Eggplant:

• Preheat oven to 400°F
• Generously salt the sliced eggplant and let sit for 15-30 minutes
• Using a paper towel, wipe the "sweat" and most of the salt from the eggplant and place on a parchment lined baking sheet
• Brush with olive oil and roast for 30 minutes

Making the Frico:

• Preheat oven to 400°F
• Line a separate baking sheet with a silicon mat or parchment paper
• Create small mounds of grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Spread them out as shown
• Bake for only 2 minutes
• Remove from oven and quickly top with roasted eggplant, sauce, basil and shredded mozzarella
• Return to oven and bake until the cheese is crispy! Let cool before eating

Rice Paper Dumplings

These Rice Paper Dumplings are crispy on the outside, chewy and filled with flavourful goodies on the inside.

Author: Cooking with Ayeh

Prep Time: 15 mins, Cook Time: 5 mins, Total Time: 20 mins

Servings: 12 dumplings 

Ingredients

For 12 dumplings                           Single Serving (2 lg dumplings or 3 rolls)

• 20 rice paper sheets                  4 or 6 sheets
• 6.5 oz firm tofu                           1 oz
• 7 oz mushrooms                          1 oz
• 2 small carrots                             1/3 carrot
• ¼ small green cabbage                1/12 cabbage
• 2 spring onions (aka scallions)    2/3 of a scallion 
• 4 garlic cloves                              1 clove
• 2 tbsp soy sauce                           1/2 tbsp
• 1 tsp sesame oil                            1/4 tsp
• 1 tbsp olive oil                              1/4 tbsp
• Salt and pepper
• Ginger
• Oil for frying

Instructions

Prepare your filling by shredding the cabbage and carrots finely. Finely dice the garlic and mushrooms into small cubes.

Using your fingers, crumble the tofu into small pieces.

In a large pan sauté mushrooms for a few minutes in olive oil. Once browned add the carrots, cabbage,  garlic and tofu. When they’re half cooked and starting to soften, season and grate in some ginger

Add soy sauce along with a dash of sesame oil, stir through and take off the heat. Stir in chopped spring onions and set the mixture aside to cool down.

Make a dipping station with a tray of water, along with a wet chopping board or damp clean tea towel to wrap the rice paper dumplings on.

Dip a rice paper sheet in water for a few seconds and place on the damp surface. Add a spoonful of the filling mixture in the center of the sheet in a rectangular shape.

Starting at the bottom, fold over the rice paper sheet to cover the filling. Then fold the top of the sheet over the filling, then the same with the sides so you will be left with a square/rectangle shape pocket

Dip a second rice paper sheet in the water, place on the damp surface and place the pocket in the middle. Wrap the pocket the same way by folding from the bottom first and so on, to double-wrap the filling

Repeat this process until all the filling has finished

If not air frying, pan fry the dumplings in your preferred oil over a medium-high heat for a few minutes on each side until lightly golden.  If air frying, lightly brush with oil and air fry.

Serve with a dipping sauce.

Bleu Cheese Stuffed Dates with Bacon and Celery Salad

From the Boston Globe Magazine, November 19th, 2006

Ingredients:

• One slice 1/2 in thick slab bacon (or just buy thick sliced bacon)
• 12 pitted dates
• 1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
• two stalks celery, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup celery leaves
• 2 tsp white wine vinegar
• one tablespoon olive oil
• salt to taste

Directions

• Set the oven to 350°.  Have on hand a small skillet with a heat-proof handle and a small baking dish. 
• If using a slab of bacon, slice it into 12 pieces. Transfer to the skillet and cook in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until it is crisp. Drain on paper towels. 
• Stuff each date with one teaspoon of blue cheese. 
• Set the dates in the baking dish and bake for 4 minutes or until they are just warm. 
• In a bowl, toss the celery, spices and leaves, vinegar, and olive oil. Sprinkle with salt. 
• Cut the cooked bacon into pieces small enough to fit into a date.
• Top each date with a piece of bacon and garnish with celery salad.

Sweet Onion Dip ("Crack Dip")

SWEET ONION DIP - AKA "CRACK DIP"

COURSE: DIPS

TOTAL TIME: 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES

 SERVINGS: 6 SERVINGS

https://whiteonricecouple.com/recipes/sweet-onion-dip-recipe/ 

We first shared this recipe in 2008 and it's so popular that we wanted to also share it again in our cookbook, Bountiful. This dip was dubbed "crack dip" by friends who were over for an evening feast due to it's addictive nature. The name stuck and we've been calling that ever since. We've traditionally have served the dip with crackers or charred sliced of bread, however, with several friends needing gluten-free options, we've started serving it with crunchy vegetables such as radishes, jicama, celery, and carrots instead. We actually like the way the veggies help balance the richness of the dip better than that of the crackers or bread. It is also great to serve with heirloom tomatoes in the summertime. We'll also often make big batches, and then just dish out the un-baked dip into baking containers and then bake it whenever we need to serve it over a week or two span.

Mayo Substitution NOTE #1: Greek Yogurt is not a good substitution for mayo. There is a huge fat content difference between yogurt and mayo. Greek yogurt makes the dip dry. This dip is decadent and not meant to be healthy, so only possible substitution for mayo we can think of that might work is sour cream.

Oily Dip? Note #2: Each brand of mayo is different and some may result in an oily dip. We use Best Foods Brand, also similar to Hellmann's Mayo. Also, do not use more than 1 cup of mayo and don't pack it in the cup when measuring. Loosely fill the cup so you don't end up with too much. If you pack the mayo tightly in the measuring cup, it will be too much. Another reason for oily dip is because you're using the powdered parmesan cheese product in the green containers. Treat yourself to good freshly grated parmesean from the parmesan wedge and you will definitely taste a difference.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (8-ounce / 225-g) package cream cheese (at room temperature)
• 1 cup (240ml) mayonnaise (preferably Best Foods brand)
• 1 cup (100g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese (not the powdered cheese stuff in the green containers)
• 1 cup (160g) diced sweet onion (sometimes we like to add extra 1/2 cup for more flavor and texture)
• 2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese, mayonnaise, Parmesan, onion, and black pepper and until everything is thoroughly combined.
3. Pour the mixture into a 6-inch (15-cm) baking dish or any oven-safe dish. Bake for 50 minutes to one hour, till everything is melted together. When the top crust is brown and almost burnt-looking, the dip is ready. The darker brown the crust becomes, the better the flavors are.
4. Serve with your favorite crusty bread, crackers, slices of tomatoes, or crunchy vegetables such as radishes, jicama, carrots, and celery.