Fire Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Tart

2 large red bell peppers

1/2 vidalia onion

140gr package of soft goat cheese

2 cloves of garlic

2 tbsp of well aged balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 pre-rolled sheets of puff pastry

Method:

cut the peppers in half and remove the seeds.  there are two ways to roast the peppers, if you have a gas oven, as I do, I simply place the peppers on the open flame of the burner until the skin becomes somewhat blackened and peppers begin to soften.  turn over and roast for a few more minutes on the inside.  if you dont have a gas oven,  place on a baking sheet in the oven, brush with a bit of olive oil and bake at 400 for about 30 minutes until somewhat soft.

slice onion  and dice the garlic,  sautee in a bit of olive oil and butter until they begin to carmelize and the edges are golden.  slice the peppers into large strips and add to the onion and garlic, add the balsamic vinegar and sautee for a couple more minutes.

on a baking sheet lay out the puff pastry.  I found that one sheet wasnt enough so I added half of another to the end to make it longer.  be sure to pinch the two sheets together so that they dont come apart.  crumble the log of goat cheese evenly down the centre of the pastry.  place the onion and peppers over top of this leaving a 2 inch border.  now, roughly fold the edges of the pastry over the mixture leaving the middle exposed.  brush with melted butter and bake at 374 for abouat 25 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.  allow to rest for about 10 minutes before serving.

I like to serve this with wilted savoy cabbage sautee with pine nuts and pancetta..........enjoy!

Warm, Crab and Artichoke Dip.........party tip #2

For a quick and easy crab and artichoke dip simply mix together 2 tins of chunked crab meat with one 450gr container of artichoke and asiago dip.  Place in an small baking dish, top with fresh grated romano cheese and bake for about 15 minutes at 375 degrees or until the top is melted and lightly browned.  Serve with crackers and or breads.............

Sesame Crusted Salmon with a Ginger Aioli

Sesame Crusted Salmon with a Ginger Aioli

4 Salmon Fillets

1/2 cup of black and white toasted sesame seeds

3 large tbsp of mayonaisse

1 tsp of fresh grated ginger

salt and pepper

olive oil for coking

Cover one side of the salmon fillets with the sesame seeds.  Heat about 2 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan and once hot place the fillets seed side down in the pan.  Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes each side until cooked right though.

For the Aioli, simply mix together the mayonaisse, ginger and salt and pepper.  I like to make it about a 1/2 before hand to allow the ginger to infuse its flavour into the mayonaisse.

This is a quick, easy, nutritious and delicious meal..........enjoy!

Party Tip.......

If you plan on serving a shrimp platter at your next party, why not serve them with something a bit different that plain cocktail sauce..........mix together one jar of cocktail sauce, two large tbsp of mayonaisse and one tbsp of sundried tomato pesto.  Its very tasty and your guests will love it!

Recipe of the Week..........

Winter is nearly here so its time for hearty, comfort foods!  This is one of our favourite winter meals:

Hearty Crockpot Beef Stew:

• 1kg, Sirloin tip roast, cut into pieces
• large bag of baby carrots
• 4 potatoes, chunked
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 tin plumb tomatoes
• a handful of chopped fresh cilantro
• a healthy tsp of cumin
• a large pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper

Method:

sautee the beef chunks in hot oil to sear the outside.   Bung the meat and the rest of the ingredients into the crockpot, turn it on and go about your day.  This should cook for hours so that the meat is fall-apart tender and the carrots and potatoes are thoroughly cooked.

near the end of the cooking process add a tbsp of flour disolved in a 1/4 cup of water, to the hot stew to thicken the sauce.  cover and cook for a further 1/2 hour.

We like to serve this over basmati rice as it has a bit of an Indian flair to it with cilantro and cumin.

I hope you enjoy  this recipe and will check in with us next week for other cooking ideas.

ciao for now,

Trish

www.sisteractcatering.ca

trish@sisteractcatering.ca

if  you have any question or comments, please direct them to the email address above......thanks