Mediterranean Chorizo Pasta

Mediterranean food usually reminds me of a warm summer evening but it's great during the winter season as well. All the ingredients for this pasta dish are available year 'round. I used whole wheat elbow pasta, chanterelles (girolles in French), crimini mushrooms, marinated artichokes, black olives, vine mini sweet peppers (orange, yellow and red), capers, plum tomatoes, soy chorizo (or the non-veggie version, depending on your preference) and caramelized onions.

I wanted to make comfort food for my husband that is flavorful while still being healthy for him to eat when he comes back from the gym. Comfort food doesn't always have to be cheese pasta. Of course, if you're not watching your weight, a little cheese sauce would go great!

Vietnamese Deep Fried Banana Fritters with Ginger Coconut Mascarpone Sauce

Banana fritters, or chuối chiên in Vietnamese, can be found on street corners throughout Saigon. Aunt Elise, who is visiting us from Vietnam, has been teaching me many Vietnamese recipes, and today she showed me how to make these tasty treats. It's been a lot of fun learning about my culture and of course, the food, from someone who spent her whole life in Saigon.

The batter that the bananas are coated in is very similar to tempura batter. To make it a touch sweeter, we added some banana and banana extract. The fritters are usually eaten as is, but I wanted to make them a little fancier. I prepared a decadent mascarpone dip flavored with ginger, Vietnamese mint and coconut. The dip, though non-traditional, provides a nice contrast to the texture of the fritters. It's a taste of Vietnam that you won't be able to resist.

Lemon and Chocolate Filled Cardamom Thumbprints

With Halloween right around the corner, I thought I'd prepare some ghoulishly delicious thumbprint cookies. I know, I'm a dork...

I flavored the cookie dough with cardamom. Cardamom is a very versatile spice that goes well with just about everything. For the filling, I used lemon apeels and swirled in a little dark chocolate for contrast. If you're artististically inclined, you could try to draw little bats or scary faces.  No matter what you do, I guarantee it'll be terrifying how fast these cookies disappear!

Poached Figs in Puff Pastry

Our garden is very abundant with figs this season. I gathered a full basket of large brown Turkey figs; they're re fairly wide and about 3 inches long. I love their flavor; they have a copper-colored skin, pinkish pulp and very few seeds. They are simply delicious and perfect for baking.

I poached them first in heavy syrup and wrapped them in puff pastry. It's a pretty easy dessert to make but sure to wow your guests.

Savory Goat Ricotta Cheese Puffs

There are guests coming tomorrow, and as usual I had no clue about what to make. I scoured my pantry and found a bag of macadamia nuts, just waiting to be used. I made walnut pesto yesterday, and I didn't feel like making another pasta and pesto dish. As they say, variety is the spice of life. 

I think appetizers are perfect for dinner parties; they allow people to nibble without interrupting the flow of conversation. I often make some sort of mini puff pastry, and I thought a macadamia pesto would be the perfect filling. However, a traditional pesto would be too thin on its own, so I added some homemade crème fraîche and some goat ricotta cheese. As you may have noticed, I'm a huge fan of goat ricotta cheese, and I get it whenever it's available at the local creamery.

Today, I made the pesto and the dough, tested out and baked a couple of puffs in the oven for tasting. The smell was intoxicating, and it was really difficult to snap a couple of photos before everyone descended upon them. 

You can freeze both the pesto and the dough. If you often have last minute guests as we do, it's easy to pop them out of the freezer and bake them. Your guests will love them, and you'll be a rockstar without much effort!