appetizer

appetizer, grains, Middle Eastern, salad, vegetarian-friendly

Couscous Salad

This is a great dish to bring bright colors and fresh (non-mayonnaisey) flavors to a potluck. I used “maftoul” (giant couscous), but you could any grain that suits your fancy and stays toothsome when cooked: barley, wheat berries, bulghur, brown rice, wild rice, etc… 1.5 c. maftoul couscous3 c. chicken broth1 red bell pepper, diced1 […]

appetizer, baked entrees, baked goods, beef, Latin

Beef Empanadas

These are truly a labor of love, but the payoff is delicious (also, they freeze well). You could make these with any meat (ie shredded chicken) or even just potatoes or cheese. This uses hot water pastry crust, which rolls out like a dream and holds up well to chunky fillings. The dough I used […]

American, appetizer, Asian, ham, rice

Spam Sushi (Musubi)

I take great delight in convincing people they like foods they thought they hated. Spam is one of them. I re-examined this ingredient after a trip to the Spam Museum in Albert Lea, which led me to stumble across this recipe. It is also known as spam musubi, and it is native to Hawaii, where […]