Cooking Method: Baking

Crispy Baked Parmesan Eggplant

I love eggplant, especially eggplant parmesan. This Crispy Baked Parmesan Eggplant is a healthier version, minus the marinara sauce. If it says "crispy", I'm all for it!

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Hot Dogs in Puff Pastry

My brother David sent me a box from Omaha Steaks for my birthday last month and there were these jumbo hot dogs. Then I saw that Ina Garten made hot dogs wrapped in puff pastry, which really should be called Hot-dogs à la Pâte Feuilletée. I had no buns, but I did have and ALWAYS have frozen puff pastry. So of course, I made this for dinner because - Je t'adore hot dogs!

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Socca

This recipe for Socca is from Drinking French, by David Lebovitz. I decided to make it because I have leftover chickpea flour from my Onion Bhaji recipe. Socca, farinata, torta di ceci, or cecina is a type of thin, unleavened pancake or crêpe made from chickpea flour. It originated in Genoa and later became a typical food of the Ligurian Sea coast, from Nice to Elba island. The great thing is that it's gluten-free. It has a very interesting texture and is really good served with an ice-cold rosé from Province.

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Onion Bhaji

This Onion Bhaji recipe comes from a wonderful chef and talented photographer from London. Her name is Dimple and she has a vegetarian FaceBook page that I have contributed to for years called Sharing Food With Shivaay Delights. It's a fantastic source for interesting vegetarian recipes.

Indian food is one of my desert island foods. I suppose I would have to add Italian too! Anyway, I have always loved onion bhaji. I saw Dimple make these online using a muffin tin, which appealed to me. I couldn't find my regular muffin tins, so I used a mini tin. I really don't like deep frying things. These came out very flavorful, though not quite as crispy as usual, it's lower in fat and just as good. The recipe calls for gram or chickpea flour. I am very lucky to live super close to a large Indian market, though Bob's Red Mill had this flour as well.

The next time I am in London, I would love to meet Dimple in person!

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Fire Crackers

I came across this crazy recipe for Fire Crackers in Southern Living magazine. They are also known as Alabama or Cowboy Crackers. The recipe seemed so strange to me, that I decided to make them. Truth be told, I only used 1 sleeve of crackers. I thought it might be a bit much for my husband and me to eat an entire box of oil-saturated saltines! I like anything hot and spicy! You have to leave them overnight in a Ziploc bag before you bake them. And it turns out they are really good, especially with an ice-cold beer!

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Beef Pot Pies

This Beef Pot Pie recipe is adapted from the Pioneer Woman. It's hearty and comforting and just what we needed. If you don't have puff pastry, you could cover it in mashed potatoes or even tater tots!

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Turmeric Honey Salmon with Coconut Crisp

I think I have about 28 salmon recipes on my blog. I am always trying to come up with new and different ways to make it. I saw this recipe from the December issue of Bon Appétit and was intrigued. However, I changed the recipe completely. I guess you could say the recipe was inspired by Bon Appétit! The coconut crisp brings texture and heat to the salmon.

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Ham Croquettes (or any other leftover meat and mashed potatoes)

I don't really like leftovers. It's because I do not want to eat the same thing again, so I love to reimagine leftovers in a different way. These Ham Croquettes (or any other leftover meat and mashed potatoes) is a perfect example. By the way, I just ate these and they are to die for! These crispy Ham Croquettes are little logs of seasoned minced ham and mashed potatoes. They would also be good as an appetizer with a cold glass of rosé wine. What's not to love!?

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Butternut Squash Bacon Spinach Quiche

I made this Butternut Squash Bacon Spinach Quiche, which is crustless (your welcome, my gluten-free friends!). The base is actually wilted spinach. I also took the liberty of adding a small sliced sautéed zucchini because I had it. You can basically use whatever you have on hand. Also, add your own seasonings to taste. 

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Citrus Pound Cake

I found this recipe from Melissa Clark in The New York Times. It's a great recipe because you have the option of using olive oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil, melted butter, whatever you’ve got, and plain yogurt or buttermilk or sour cream, or whole milk and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. I have tons of citrus growing in my backyard, so I decided to make it. I always make 3 little loaves instead of one big one and freeze one for later. 

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