Jalapeno Popper Panini

A deep fried Jalapeno Popper is almost irresistible to me. Problem is being breaded, deep fried, and filled with cheese I only allow myself to have one or two on very rare occasions. My love for a popper left me looking for a way to get everything I loved about them but in a slightly more figure friendly package. Transforming a pub favorite finger food into a panini was an experiment of mine and I was thrilled with the results. I guarantee you won't miss the classic version of a popper once you try this sandwich with crunchy ciabatta bread, oven roasted jalapenos, and sharp cheddar cheese.

Yields two Paninis

4 Jalapeno Peppers
Kosher Salt and Freshly cracked Black Pepper
5 slices of Cheddar Cheese
1 small loaf of Ciabatta bread (look for a take and bake)


Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Take jalapeno peppers and cut off the tops and slice them in half. Place them on a small baking tray lined with a piece of tin foil. Sprinkle the peppers with a pinch of kosher salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil. Roast in the oven for about 12-15 minutes or until the skins of the peppers are tender.

Remove the peppers from the oven and remove the seeds. The seeds are what gives the peppers there heat so leave some in if you want your panini to be a bit spicier. Use any oil left on the pan to spread on the inside of the ciabatta bread for extra flavor as well.

Take the the ciabatta bread and carefully slice it in half length ways. Lay 5 slices of cheddar cheese down and top with the roasted jalapenos.Top with the remaining cheese and cap the sandwich off with the other half of ciabatta bread.

Drizzle a touch of olive oil on the top and bottom and place the sandwich onto a preheated panini press and grill for about 3-5 minutes or until the outside is crisp and the cheese has melted. Rotate the panini slightly half way through the cooking time to achieve a cross hatched grill mark look. Cut the sandwich on an angel and serve hot. Perfect snack for a movie!!!

PS - busier schedule now than I've had recently so I hope you"ll all bare with me if I'm later than normal with my posts or even miss a few here and there! I'll be writing as much as I can! Thanks all :)

Rosemary Parmesan Puff Pastry bites

Looking for a great finger food to serve at your movie night or your next cocktail party? Puff Pastry sheets with flavorful rosemary and parmesan are quick to assemble, quick to bake, and you and your guests are sure to enjoy them. Chances are you already have most of the ingredients needed for this recipe. Serve with your favorite glass of wine for a great pairing.

1 sheet of Puff Pastry Dough
2 Tablespoons of melted butter
Fresh or dried Rosemary
Grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly cracked Black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Lightly flour a clean and flat work surface. Unfold the puff pastry sheet and brush the top with the melted butter.



Next, crack a bit of freshly ground black pepper over top and then sprinkle some parmesan cheese. Evenly distribute the rosemary over the cheese and the pepper.

Carefully roll the dough into a log shape and slice the dough into slices that are about 1/2 inch thick or so. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent them from stick. Lay the bites out along the pan leaving room in between them because they will spread out. Brush the tops of the cut puff pastry with some of the remaining melted butter and sprinkle with a touch more cheese, rosemary, and a pinch of kosher salt. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the tops and the edges have turned golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Haunted Halloween Hummus

Here is a quick and healthy snack for a Halloween movie night that you can whip up in no time. Hummus is super healthy which means we can have a few extra pieces of chocolate and not feel guilty about it. A touch of siracha chili paste for a bit of heat and loaded with fresh garlic flavor, it's sure to ward off Count Dracula himself.


a 15oz can of chick peas
5 cloves of garlic
1/2 teaspoon of freshly Cracked pepper
1 teaspoon of Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon of Siracha paste (Plus more for the top)
1/2 cup of Tahini
4 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons of water

In a food processor with the blade attached, pulse together the garlic cloves until they are finely minced. Drain the chick peas and rinse under cold water. Add the chick peas to the food processor and and pulse a few times.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor and pulse together until the mixture is pureed. Season the hummus to taste. Scoop the hummus into a serving bowl and allow it to chill for about 30 minutes.

For presentation. Serve on a large platter with a variety of snacks to dip into the hummus such as pita chips, freshly cut vegetables, tortilla chips, or pretzels. To make a festive design on top of the hummus, take the siracha paste and draw two to three circles over top. Next take a tooth pick and starting from the top, drag the tooth pick down through the siracha circles to make a spider-web shaped garnish.

Freshly Popped Pop Corn

The ultimate food for flick. Who doesn't love a bowl of pop corn while watching a movie? There is a reason why every movie theater around the globe has this tasty snack at their concessions stand. There are plenty of brands of packaged popcorn and microwaveable pouches but none of them can come close to the taste of popping it fresh on the stove top. It's quick, it's easy, and  it's delicious.

Vegetable Oil
Whole Popping Corn Kernels
Melted Butter (optional)
Kosher Salt (Optional)

To be honest, I don't have an exact recipe for making pop corn but it always comes out perfectly when I stick with this method. In a medium or large pot (Choose a larger pot when you want to make more pop corn) pour just enough of the vegetable oil to coat the bottom. Next, add just enough of the popping corn to also coat the bottom of the pan so that you have a complete layer of popping corn.

Place the pan on the on the stove over medium to medium high heat. Place a lid on top of the pot but leave the lid off just slightly so that steam can escape. Shake the pot around over top the burner a few times while the oil heats up. After about 5 minutes, you should start to hear (And see if your lid is glass) the kernels beginning to pop.

Once they've started to pop, continuously shake the pot over the heat to keep the popping kernels moving so that they don't burn. Continue this process until the popping slows down and remove from the heat. Add melted butter and kosher salt, as much or as little as desired.

Quick 15 minute Homemade mini Pizza and "Horrible Bosses"

You've had a terrible day at work, we've all had them and we're all bound to have them again. Some are fortunate to enjoy what they do and who they work for but that's a rarity today. Working for a horrible boss is sure to ruin a day that otherwise wouldn't have been so horrible. Trust me, I worked for one and he ruined more days than I care to admit. Sometimes the last thing you want to do when you get home after a terrible day is make yourself dinner so that inspired to come up with a homemade pizza that you can make in under 15 minutes. We'll take a little help by using a store bought pizza crust (Or flat bread like Naan works great) today but when pair it with freshly made sauce that's done in 5 minutes, a delicious blend of Italian cheeses, and finished off with some great toppings - you won't know the difference. Pizza to me is the ultimate cheer up kind of food and a lot of laughter never hurt either. This week I'm pairing my quick pizza recipe with my very favorite comedy, the 2011 film Horrible Bosses. The perfect combo to end a horrible.


Store bought Pizza crusts
2 to 3 Roma tomatoes
a pinch of Red pepper flakes
¼ Teaspoon of dried Italian Spices 
½ Teaspoon of sugar
About ½lb of Cheese - I used a combo of Asiago and Provolone
8 fresh Basil leaves
4 Fresh oregano leaves
Pickled sweet peppers (for topping)
Fresh Arugula (for topping)
Fresh Parmesan Cheese

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees

As thinly as possible, slice the tomatoes and season them with some salt and pepper. Next sprinkle the dried Italian spices over top. In a small saute pan, add a drizzle of olive oil and heat the pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the tomatoes to the pan and cook them for about 3 minutes. Give the fresh oregano leaves a rough chop and add them to the tomatoes as well as the sugar. Add just a small pinch of red pepper flakes and stir together. Cook for another 2 minutes and our pizza sauce for the night is done! Told you this would be easy.

Shred the cheese you selected for your pizza. Mozzarella is probably the most recognized cheese used for pizza making but for this recipe I wanted to use a cheese with just a little bit of sharpness to it. Stop by your cheese counter at the grocery store and just ask them for a small chunk of asiago and a good sharp provolone cheese so you can shred them at home. It's always best to shred your own cheese, I haven't found a good pre-shredded cheese in a bag that I like yet. Remember though, this is your horrible day pizza so use whatever kind of cheese you like!!

Place your pizza crusts on a baking sheet. Evenly distribute our warm and freshly made pizza sauce over the crusts. Next, sprinkle the shredded cheese over top of the sauce. The heat from the sauce will start melting the cheese from underneath. Chiffonade (Click here for how to) your basil leaves and evenly distribute them over top your pizza. Nothing takes the place of fresh basil on pizza if you ask me. Now it's time to add any additional toppings you might want to have. For these pizzas I used a few pickled sweet peppers and I added some arugula to the one pizza as an experiment and I really liked the flavor combo.

Drizzle a bit of olive oil over top and place your pizza's in the oven and bake just until they are warmed through and the rest of the cheese is melted to perfection. As soon as the pizzas come out of the oven, top them off with a fresh shaving of fresh parmesan cheese and dinner is served! Time to kick back and laugh to the hilariously funny and star filled, Horrible Bosses.

Nick (Jason Bateman), Dale (Charlie Day), Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) all  have three of the worsts bosses imaginable. Nick has to deal with the ruthless corporate "A" hole David Harken (Kevin Spacey), Dale is being sexual harassed by his beautiful but completely inappropriate boss Dr. Julia Harris (Jennifer Ainston), and Kurt has to take orders from a complete tool and drug addict Bobby Pellit (Colin Farrell).

After Harken gives himself the promotion that he's hinted that Nick would receive, Julia threatens to tell Dale's fiance that they've had sex, even though they haven't, unless he does have sex with her, and Kurt just can't take another day working for Bobby - the three decide they can't work for their bosses any longer. Quitting is not an option for any of them and after a few beers they decide they only have two choices. Work for their horrible bosses and be miserable all their lives, or murder the their three bosses. They devise a plan that would allow each of  them to get rid of their bosses with no trace of it leading back to them.So begins the hilarious turn of events for the three friends that at first seems foolproof. Like most ideas, not everything goes as planned and the three friends soon find themselves way over their heads.

The chemistry shared by leading actors Bateman, Day, and Sudeikis, wonderful supporting performances by Ainston, Spacey, and Farrell, and a hilariously funny script all come together to make this movie my all time favorite comedy. A black comedy for sure and one for a mature audience, I have never laughed more at a movie than I did when I saw this film in theaters. It still remains my "go to" movie when I need a good laugh at the end of a really horrible day. Here is the trailer for Horrible Bosses.

Capresse Salad

Heat wave in the North East this week and this blogger is not enjoying it!! I like my Spring and Summer months but when the temperature is heating the mid 90s before June and the humidity is high, the last thing I want to do is be over a hot stove top or a grill. Here is my favorite dinner to make when it's too hot to cook but I still want to get the best flavors of the season. A Capresses Salad is simple, delicious, and healthy and requires no cooking! Just lay some fresh mozzarella, freshly sliced tomatoes, and fresh basil with a little drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and you're set! Slice up some good crusty Italian bread and pour a nice glass of wine to go with it and this is the perfect dinner to beat the heat with. Of course it goes great with any movie too!!

1 fresh Mozzarella ball
2 fresh and ripe tomatoes
15-20 fresh basil leaves
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Salt and pepper
Italian Bread (Optional)

Easy, easy, easy recipe!!! It's hardly a recipe at all!! Slice the tomato as thin or as thick as you'd like. I like to season my tomatoes with salt and pepper. Slice of your fresh mozzarella ball into slice, be sure it's fresh and not the low moisture mozzarella that comes in a block. Tear a few basil leaves up and line the three on a platter neatly. Dress the trio with some extra virgin olive oil and a bit of balsamic vinegar.

Fresh Guacamole

I love freshly made Guacamole! Whenever I make a big batch it never seems to last very long. It's so delicious, easy, and healthy!! I like to add a little red onion and red bell pepper to my Guacamole for some color and flavor. Grab a bag of good tortilla chips and this is a great snack for any movie night, taco night, picnic, or any other reason you can find to make it!!

4 Avocados
½ of small red onion (finely diced) 
½  of a small red bell pepper (finely diced)
1 clove of garlic (grated or minced) 
½ sour cream
Pinch of Cayenne pepper (optional)
The juice and zest of one Lime (or lemon)
Kosher Salt and Blacker Pepper
 

To prep the avocado, take a knife and pierce the skin of the avocado and cut down until you can feel the pit inside. Carefully cut around the avocado, keeping your knife down to the pit. Once you've made your cut, twist the avocado and pull apart. Now to remove the pit from one half of the avocado. With a little bit of force, hit the pit with the blade of your knife. Hold the avocado and pull back on the knife and the pit should easily pop out. Carefully remove the pit from the knife and scoop the flesh of the avocado out into a mixing bowl.

Immediately after the place the avocados in the bowl, add the fresh lime or lemon juice to them and mix together to make sure all the avocados have a coating of the citrus juice. This will prevent them from browning. Now add your diced onion, bell pepper, sour cream, zest, garlic, and your seasonings. Mix everything together very well until the avocados are smooth and all the ingredients are incorporated. Serve with tortilla chips (I love the blue corn tortilla chips) and enjoy!!

Onion Rings

One of my favorite fried foods is a golden brown, crispy, and delicious onion ring. Great next to a juicy grilled burger or even on their own, they're a special treat I like to make for myself and my family/friends once in a while when we want something fried and salty. Most onion rings are either beer battered or have a floury and crisp coating on the outside. To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the beer battered onion rings. It always seems like the entire onion comes out of the fried batter when you take the first bite. That's not an issue with these onion rings! Coated with flour and panko bread crumbs - every bite will be crispy and delicious!

2 very large onions (Spanish or Vidalia)
2 cups of butter milk
1 ½ cups of flour
½ cup of Panko bread crumbs
Kosher Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable or Peanut Oil for frying



Peel and slice the onions into large slices about a ½ inch thick or so. Separate the onion slices into individual rings. In a large mixing bowl, add the buttermilk and stir in 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and a ½ teaspoon of black pepper. Add the onions to the buttermilk mixture and let them soak for 30 minutes.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour and bread crumbs with 1 teaspoon of salt and black pepper. Mix together and set aside.

Once you're ready to fry the onion rings, fill your deep fryer to the recommended fill line. If you're using a pot to fry, add enough oil so that the oil line is about 2 to 3 inches above the bottom of the pan. Heat the oil to about 350-375 degrees over a medium high heat. Take a cookie sheet or a large platter and line with a few paper towels. We'll use this to let the onion rings drain off any excess oil once they're fried.

In small batches, take the onion rings out of the buttermilk (allow some of the milk to drip off) and dredge the onions in the flour and bread crumb mixture. Coat the onions well. Test the oil by carefully dropping one onion ring into the oil. You should see bubbles immediately around the onion ring and it should float towards the top of the oil. Fry the onion rings in small batches, if we add too many at once the temperature of our oil will lower and we won't get an even fry. Patience when cooking goes a long way my friends!

Fry the onions for about 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the onion rings once about half way through their fry time. Once they're golden brown and crisp, use a pair of metal tongs or a wire spider to carefully remove them from the hot oil. Place the onion rings on the paper towels to drain and continue to fry the rest. Season with salt while the onion rings are still hot. You can keep the onion rings warm in a 200 degree oven until you've fried them all.

Vegetable tray and fresh Dill and herb dip

Who doesn't love a nice tray of fresh cut vegetables and a dish of creamy herb dip to go with them? It's perfect for entertaining guests and it's a great snack for watching movies or sporting events. It's no cooking and no fuss and something anyone can put together no matter what their kitchen experience level may be. You can customize your vegetable try with any of your favorite vegetables and I encourage you to be creative with the dip recipe as well. Add some fresh herbs that you might like and see what you come up with! A grocery store would way overcharge you for a vegetable platter like this and you can make this right in your own kitchen with little effort and half of the cost! Vegetable platters are perfect for any event throughout the year. Here is what I use to serve anywhere between 6 to 10 people.

2 Broccoli crowns cut and washed
1 Red bell pepper sliced and washed
1 Orange Bell pepper sliced and washed
4 - 5 Carrots peeled and cut
4-5 stalks of celery sliced and washed
1 English cucumber sliced
For the dip
1 cup of sour cream
1 cup of Mayo
½ teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of onion powder
2 tablespoons of freshly chopped dill
3 scallions finely chopped
½ teaspoon of salt

½ teaspoon of black pepper

For the dip - mix all the spices and 2 of the finely chopped scallions together with the sour cream and mayo and make sure everything is combined very well. Cover and chill the dip in the fridge for at least an hour or two before serving. Garnish the dip with the reserved scallions and a sprig of fresh dill.

To assemble your veggie platter, arrange your vegetables in an orderly fashion along the platter. I like to bunch them together as best as I can. Another tip I like to give is spread the colors out on the tray. Don't bunch all the green veggies right together - place some red or orange next to them so the platter is more eye appealing.

Buffalo Wing Dip

Most of us are going to find ourselves either attending or hosting a holiday party of some sort during the next few weeks. If you're looking for a flawless crowd pleasing appetizer look no further than Buffalo Wing Dip. Who doesn't love a spicy buffalo wing? I even know a few vegetarians who have admitted to sneaking a hot wing when nobody was watching them. We all know how messy eating a hot wing can be and that's never fun to deal with at a social gathering. With just five ingredients I'm willing to bet you almost always have on hand, this recipe is quick and simple to make.

1 pound of Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breast
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
1 block of cream cheese
1 cup of Ranch or blue cheese salad dressing
¾ of a cup of Hot wing sauce
Fresh chopped Scallions (Optional)
Crispy bread, Celery, Crackers, and or Tortilla chips for scooping

Preheat oven to 375.

First step is to season your chicken breasts with a little salt and pepper. Now to cook your chicken breasts and you can really do this anyway you like. If they weather is nice, I like to grill my chicken but baking in the oven or sauteing in a skillet with a little olive oil are other recommend ways. Once you've cooked your chicken and it's cool enough to handle, shred the chicken and set aside. 

In a medium sized sauce pan, add the hot sauce, the ranch or blue cheese dressing, the block of cream cheese and stir together over medium heat until the cream cheese has melted. Next add 1 cup of the shredded cheddar cheese, the chicken, and the chopped scallions. Transfer the dip into an over proof dish and top with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the dip is bubbling and the cheese has melted. Serve with crispy bread, celery, pretzels, crackers, tortilla chips, or just about anything else you can think of - seriously this stuff would taste good on a brick!

FYI - This dip is a great dish to make for watching the big games on Sunday!