Fig and Blue Cheese Pizza

This is pretty rich and decadent. Like wearing a fur bikini on a yacht in St Tropez, while drinking champagne and having peeled grapes fed to you. BUT a lot cheaper and tastier!

Fresh figs are best but dried will definitely be a great substitute. I like to serve these more as an appetizer than a main. Cut into squares and devour!

10 Fresh figs, cut and quartered
4-6 tablespoons honey
1/3 cup of blue cheese or gorgonzola
1/2 cup pecans

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
Ground pepper to taste
OPTIONAL: Balsamic Reduction

Pizza dough (your favorite recipe or purchased -- but make sure it is the dough. Not that premade shell stuff!)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Servings: 15 as an an appetizer

Roll out pizza dough into a 9 x 14 inch rectangle (approximately).
Spread honey evenly on pizza dough. Arrange figs in 4 even lines on rolled out pizza dough. Top with blue cheese, pecans, rosemary and pepper. Cook for 20 minute or until crust is set.
Remove, let cool, and drizzle with balsamic reduction, if using. Cut into 2x2 inch squares.

Before Oven

After Oven

Halibut Ceviche Tacos

I love making ceviche. So simple and flavorful. You could easily serve this with tortilla chips instead as an hors d'ouvres.

12 oz halibut filet, skinned, chopped into 1/4 inch cubes
Juice and zest from 1 orange
Juice from 2 limes
Juice from 1 lemon
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 minced jalapeño
4 tablespoons of coconut milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon fish sauce or soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

1 ripe avocado cut into thin slices
4 taco shells

1 mango (optional)
Shredded iceberg lettuce (optional)

Servings: 4 as an appetizer

Combine halibut, juices, zest, jalapeño in a re-sealable container and let sit 18-24 hours in the fridge. The acids from the citrus will "cook" the halibut. Remove, drain juice and place in medium size bowl.
Add the coconut milk, cilantro, sugar, fish sauce and salt and pepper. Add the mango if using.
Place a small handful of shredded lettuce inside the bottom of the taco shell. Fill with halibut mixture and top with a slice of the avocado.

Mushroom Cambozola Toasts

This is an easy appetizer to put together if you need something last minute. I like to have a baguette in the freezer at all times. You could use dry mushrooms for this and while fresh herbs are best, dry will do. Tarragon would be nice too, as mushrooms and tarragon are a great coupling. Don't have cambozola? Try a gorgonzola, blue, camembert---there are no rules!

French baguette, thinly sliced into 16 pieces and toasted.
10 button mushrooms sliced (or other varietal)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 teaspoon fresh chives
Salt and pepper
16 slices of Cambozola (approx. one small wheel)

Serves 8 as an appetizer

In a medium on medium frying pan heat butter until melted. Add garlic and sauté 2-3 minutes until soft. Add mushrooms and thyme, and cook until mushrooms are soft. Add salt and pepper and chives. Take a slice of bread and top with 2-3 mushroom slices. Place a piece of cambozola on top and put in a 375 degree oven for 2-3 minutes, just until cheese has melted.

Tarragon Potatoes and Lox

Tarragon and salmon trumps dill and salmon as far as flavour combinations go. Or I think so anyway. You could easily make this a large potato salad or individual like I have done in the photo. I used lox but bbq salmon or poached would work well too. There are no rules.

Tarragon Aioli (see recipe)
8 slices of lox
12 baby nugget potatoes, steamed and sliced in half, cooled
4 teaspoons finley diced shallots
Chives for garnish

Servings: 4

Toss cooled cooked potatoes in a bowl with 1/2 to a 3/4 cup of the aioli or until the potatoes are well coated.
Using a mold or freehand assemble on 4 plates a layer of potatoes. Top with a slice of lox. Another layer of potatoes, another layer of lox and garnish with shallots and chives.

Tuna with Pesto and Roasted Tomatoes

This is a great starter in place of a salad. I love Tuna and I love olives and am always trying to find new ways of combining the two. This is a great make-ahead appie as all you need to do is assemble.

8 pieces of good quality sashimi grade tuna
4 tablespoons homemade Pesto Vinaigrette (don't bother with any store bought as the flavour will be compromised BIG TIME, see my recipe)
4 teaspoons red pepper tapenade
12 cerignola or your favourite green olive
8 roasted tomatoes

Servings: 4 as an appetizer

On a plate place one tablespoon pesto in the middle and lay down 2 pieces of tuna. Top with one teaspoon red pepper tapenade.
Arrange 2 olives and 4 tomatoes around plate and serve.

Recipe: Crab & Avocado Salad

You don't have to use the mold to make these but I love the aesthetics of it.
This is more of a little hors d'oeuvres but if you wanted it as a first course meal I would double it. It is lovely with nice salty (and good quality) tortilla chips. I think if you wanted to make these bite size appies you could easily serve them on top of a chip. Another option would be served on a bed of butter lettuce. Play around...I do!

1 ripe avocado
1 lemon, zested and juiced
4 tablespoons of light mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 green onion, green part only
2 tablespoons finely minced shallot
salt and pepper to taste
Mold (optional)
1 cup fresh dungeness crab

Servings: 4 as a first course, 6 as an hors d'oeuvres

In a small bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon zest, mayonnaise and mustard. Season with salt and pepper. Add minced shallot and crab and mix well.
In a separate bowl dice avocado and add to a bowl with remaining lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
To assemble take the mold and place in the middle of a plate. Scoop approximately 2 tablespoons of crab mixture and press to bottom of mold. Top with 1 to 2 tablespoons of avocado and a couple of green onions.

Recipe: Coconut Tuna Lettuce Cups

These really can be lettuce cups or tartar or without any foliage. Whatever you want...

1 cup of coconut milk
2 kaffir lime leaves
1 lime zested and juice
1/4 teaspoon fish sauce
5 drops of chili oil
salt to taste

1 pound fresh ahi tuna steak cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1/2 a ripe mango cut into 1/4 inch cubes (1/2 cup)
1 avocado diced
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
2 green onions chopped (green part only)
4 iceberg lettuce cups (leaves)

Servings: 4 as a first course or appetizer

Combine coconut milk through fish sauce in a medium saucepan and bring to a slow boil. Once half has evaporated, remove from heat and cool.

Once sauce has cooled add chili oil. Cut tuna and avocado and place in a medium bowl and pour sauce overtop and toss. Add cilantro and green onions. Place on lettuce cup and top with mango.

Recipe: Asian Asparagus

This is week 3 of my asparagus consumption and I still am not sick of it. They are so cheap and so good right now. And I have yet to run out of ideas on how to eat them...
My latest concoction is this easy, easy recipe. And it is a FLAVOUR BURST!

My friend Sam showed her appreciation for it below...

2 pounds asparagus
Juice from one lime
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
3-4 drops of Sriracha chili sauce (this stuff is HOT!)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Black sesame seeds (optional)

Servings: 6 as a side dish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

In a medium bowl whisk together sesame oil, soy sauce, chili and cilantro. .
Snap off ends of asparagus where they naturally break. Toss with olive oil and lime juice. Place in oven for approximately 10 minutes or until tender with a slight resistance/crunch.
Remove from oven and cut into 2 inch slices and toss with marinade. Serve immediately with or without black sesame seeds on top.

Recipe: Tuna & Avocado Cones

This may be the cutest appetizer I have ever made. Wonton wrappers wrapped around these fantastic little aluminum cones I bought at the Gourmet Warehouse.
http://www.gourmetwarehouse.ca/
Filled with ahi tuna, cilantro-ponzu mayonnaise and then topped with a little scoop of avocado and black sesame seeds. It is the perfect kick off to summer hors d'oeuvres. If you don't have the aluminum cones a mini muffin container will work or even just baking the wonton wrappers flat on a cookie sheet. But of course the adorable and niche factor goes down dramatically. Taste does not.

1 ahi tuna steak (approximately 1/2 a pound or 1/2 cups diced)
1 avocado
1 green onion diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons ponzu sauce (or soy sauce)
1/8 teaspoon chili oil
1 shallot
3 tablespoons sesame oil DIVIDED
1/2 teaspoon lime rind
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
20 round wonton wrappers

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Reserve 2 tablespoons of the sesame oil in a bowl. Take wonton wrappers and brush each side with a small amount of the sesame oil and wrap around the cone or muffin tin. Bake for approximately 15 minutes rotating midway until a light golden brown.



Remove from oven and let cool.

In a food processor blend together cilantro through mayonnaise using one of the tablespoons of sesame oil.

Dice the tuna into small cubes about 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch. Add to mayonnaise and coat thoroughly.

With a small melon ball scooper take avocado and scoop out small round balls.

To assemble take a cone and fill with avocado mixture and top with a avocado ball. Sprinkle a pinch of the sesame seeds on top.