Apple Cinnamon Cracker Recipe

Spices such as cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and star anise can take even the most pedestrian of treats and give them a holiday flair. If you're wondering what would please your family while waiting for the main dish to be served at your holiday dinner, my friends at California Lavash and I came up with the perfect crowd pleaser. Thinly cut slices of apples kissed with cinnamon-infused butter layered over crispy lavash crackers make for a healthy and addictive snack. That’s important, considering the number of guilt-inducing desserts I’ve gobbled down over the past couple of weeks.

Seriously, you won’t be able to eat just one. The California Lavash gals and I made over a dozen tasty dishes over the course of two days, but this is by far the most memorable. And you don’t have to shelve the recipe once the holidays are over. If you pack lunch for your kids, put a handful of these in their bag instead of cookies. It will help with New Year’s resolutions!

Radish and Goat Cheese Napoleon Recipe

This radish and goat cheese napoleon recipe was inspired by an elegant beet appetizer I had several years ago at Spago, Wolfgang Puck's restaurant. Colorful layers of sliced, pickled Cherry Belle radishes, candied walnuts, goat cheese spread and rounds of whole grain noor thin bread give the dish its visual appeal. The pungency from the radishes offsets the velvety smoothness from the goat cheese. Sprinkled with candied walnuts, arugula and a few sprouted radish shoots as garnish, a larger portion of this light salad could be served as a one-dish meal. I finished the salad with a flavor-matching vinaigrette, a scrumptious sesame and candied walnut salad dressing.

The bread used in this dish is a new product from my friends over at California Lavash. It’s made with whole grains and is studded with black and white sesame seeds. It’s a great choice if you want to make a healthy dish, but I obviously didn’t do that today! I’ll be posting a couple more recipes using the bread later this week, and if you’d like to try them out, you can enter this week’s giveaway. Good luck!

Mediterranean Pinwheel Sandwich Recipe

These colorful pinwheel sandwiches are loaded with Mediterranean flavors. Fresh and roasted vegetables are brought together with hummus and pleasingly tart capers. The cabbage and carrots were also briefly pickled in lemon juice and a little sugar to add a little brightness without sacrificing their crunch.

I made these pinwheel sandwiches a while back with the gals from California Lavash. I had a blast cooking with them and look forward to doing it again soon. Their pizza lavash is out of this world. These sandwiches are perfect for the summer and would look fabulous at any picnic, party or barbecue. Enjoy the sunshine!

Quick and Easy Vegetarian Lasagna Recipe

Here's a quick, simple and easy recipe for vegetarian lasagna. I substituted lavash pizza bread for the regular lasagna pasta sheets. Lavash bread can be easily cut, so it's fun to make different shaped lasagna, but perhaps most important, it doesn't need to be precooked! The texture is slightly more firm on the top layer, but as ooey-gooey as one would expect on the inside. It's familiar but at the same time refreshing and new.

I made this dish with my friends from California Lavash. They came to my houseand we cooked up a storm, took pictures, and generally had a blast. Love the product, ladies!

Mackerel with Wasabi Daikon Radish Relish

In this dish, I paired shallow pan-fried mackerel steaks with a fresh vegetable relish. The relish is made of baby cucumber, lemon, daikon radish, dill and wasabi-infused oil. The sweet and spicy notes give the dish the ideal balance of flavor as the acidic taste cuts through the richness of the fried fish. I served the pan-fried fish on a bed of lavash bread so it could soak up the delicious goodness from the relish.

The dish takes no time to cook and the relish can be prepared in advance.