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!

Chocolate Filled Pandan Thumbprint Cookies

Thumbprint cookies are my little munchkin's favorite sweet treats. I took the girls to our neighborhood park this afternoon and I brought along a box filled with the fun-looking thumbprint-shaped sablé cookies. The other fun thing about the cookies is that it's easy to mix and match the flavors and add fun colors.

I have flavored these cookies with cardamom, star anise seeds, mango and even durian! Today I made a combination of pandan and dark chocolate with a fancy little touch of vanilla.

Needless to say, everyone was very tired and hungry after jumping up and down on the monkey bars and on the swings. All the cookies were gone, so it's a good thing I took pictures beforehand so that I can share them with you.

Grilled Polenta with a Creamy Lemon Caper Goat Ricotta Cheese Sauce

Polenta is a fine-ground corn that is pretty easy to prepare. It can either be prepared soft and creamy, or dry and firm. Personally, I prefer the consistency of the firm version. The preparation is fairly simple; just constantly whisk the cornmeal in liquid until each grain swells up, refrigerate and cut into slices. Right before you're ready to serve, place the polenta on a grill pan to create some nice grill marks.

To create the perfect summer dish, I've paired grilled medallions of polenta with a creamy lemon caper goat ricotta cheese sauce. It's divine!

Mint and Chocolate Filled Rose Thumbprint Cookies

Thumbprint cookies are similar to sablé cookies. They both have the texture of shortbread. The characteristic thumbprint shape is created by pressing down on the cookie with a spoon half-way through the baking process. A sweet filling is placed in the resulting cavity. The cookie itself has a mild sweetness that goes very well with the sweeter filling. The filling can be jam, preserves, caramel or even chocolate.

I chose a pink mint filling because of my little five-year-old sister-in-law. She came to me with the cutest request. She adores Cookie Monster, and often shares her cookies with the Cookie Monster doll we got her. Today, she came to me, hid her face with the stuffed animal and said in her best Cookie Monster impersonation, "Cookie Monster is hungry, I want pink cookies." My heart melted; I can't say no to my little munchkin.

All the girls gathered in the kitchen and pink cookies it was. I looked in the pantry and found several choices for a pink-colored cookie. Some pink-colored mint chocolate chips from Guittard, raspberry and strawberry extracts or rose paste. The girls voted and we went for a rose-flavored cookie dough with pink mint chocolate filling. Sunny, my 13-year-old eldest sister-in-law wanted to create some fun design in the filling, so we melted some bittersweet chocolate and vanilla chips as well. This has to be some fun designs.

We were all very happy with our unique cookies and needless to say, Cookie Monster also enjoyed our creation.

Veggie "Meat" Balls with Spaghetti

I'm always faced with the same dilemma when it comes to making dinner for Lulu. I try to make a meat-less equivalent for the vegetarians in the house. Today I cooked meatballs for dinner, which Lulu and his sisters obviously don't eat. I decided to try my hand at making veggie meatballs. The veggie balls are nut-free and egg-free, which is perfect for my 9-year-old-sister-in-law who has all those allergies. I didn't know what to expect, but the result was surprisingly pleasant.

You can serve the veggie balls as appetizers as well, falafel-style or in a sandwich à la Saad's. I serve them in a simple tomato sauce with wheat spaghetti.