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Posted on by Hailey Matesic Posted in Appetizer, Recipes
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Upgrading Pigs in a Blanket with Kielbasa

Being Polish, one flavor that always strikes me as the holidays is kielbasa. My grandmother always serves up kielbasa around holidays, but the from-the-butcher kind that tastes so amazing relative to the mass produced kind. So for this pigs in a blanket appetizer recipe, I encourage you to find a butcher that sells Polish kielbasa, and if you’re in the NJ-CT-NY area, get Rapacki!

We recently hosted a cocktail party before leaving for our New Years trip to Paris (!!!), and these were such a hit! You know I’m all about any opportunity to graze and these are delightful. The puff pastry adds a sweet crunch to the salty, savory kielbasa. Plus, they bake quickly (once your pastry is defrosted) and reheat well!

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Posted on by Hailey Matesic Posted in Recipes
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Naan Egg Toasts for Brunch

I’ve never been a huge fan of eating breakfast at any time actually appropriate to be called “breakfast,” but oh how I love breakfast food. During the week, I usually skip right through the meal and end up having my lunch at 11:30 because I just can’t wait any more. I know, I know, I have to start eating a breakfast regularly.

Enter: weekend. I love breakfast on the weekend. And I love a breakfast that feels special. These egg toasts are a no-recipe needed dish that can be served as breakfast for one or brunch for one hundred.

The mini Naan I used for this are sturdy enough to hold the melted cheese, beneath the egg, and the drippy golden goodness when you break open the yolk. It’s a perfect light main dish, that accompanied by bacon or sausage or even potatoes would be a delightful brunch with your friends. Or yours truly. I make a great brunch guest and will always bring you champagne.

 

I love topping my eggs with scallions, I feel like it elevates the dish and really gets some great flavors going for you!

 

 

 

Naan Egg Toasts

Time: 10 minutes | Yield: 1 Naan Toast

Ingredients

Mini Naan (I use Stonefire)

1-2oz of your favorite cheese, or as much as you’d like of your favorite cheese

1 egg

Scallions, sliced, optional

Salt & Pepper to taste

 

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 325
  2. Top your naan with your sliced cheese, thin enough that it will melt quickly. When the oven is ready, pop that naan in the oven to get toasted and the cheese to melt.
  3. Heat skillet and add butter or cooking spray
  4. Fry egg to desired done-ness. My trick to a great over easy egg is using a clear glass lid so I can keep an eye on how done it is, waiting until that clear film around the yolk turns white.
  5. Remove the naan from the oven and gently slide the egg onto your naan toast
  6. Top with salt, pepper and scallions, if using!

Serve up with bacon, sausage, homefries – whatever your favorite brunch side is!

Posted on by Hailey Matesic Posted in Recipes
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Perfect Asparagus Tart Recipe

Warm, cheesy, tangy, flaky…downright dreamy. This asparagus tart recipe is perfect for your spring and Easter gatherings and is irresistible served warm and super tasty at room temperature.

I promise the only regret you’ll have with this recipe is wanting to eat it all! It’s so simple it’s almost a sin to even call this a recipe. You can change up any aspect of the recipe, change the cheeses, use a different veg – it’s all up to you!

The balsamic glaze I added at the end really helped to finish the dish, just add right before serving if you decide to serve this tart at room temperature!

Serve up this Asparagus Tart with an arugula salad, Lamb Lollipops and Lemon Loaf for dessert! Get your Easter table ready here!

Easy Asparagus Tart Recipe

Yield: 6-8 servings | Time: ~35 minutes

Ingredients:

Pastry dough, thawed.

1/4 c grated Gruyere cheese

1/4 c whole milk ricotta cheese

1/2 tbsp lemon zest (optional!)

salt, pepper to taste (salt might depend on the cheese you choose)

optional: balsamic glaze to finish

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°

Roll thawed pastry dough onto parchment lined baking sheet

Score pastry dough in a rectangle to make the area that will be the “crust,” about 1/2 inch from the edges. Poke the base with a fork generously to prevent the puff pastry from, well, puffing up too much. Bake dough for 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, trim and blanch your asparagus. Drain well.

While pastry and asparagus are cooling, combine cheeses, lemon zest if using, salt and pepper. Mix well. Gently spread cheese mixture evenly on tart, leaving crust without cheese.

Top with blanched asparagus. Bake for 12 minutes or until crust is golden-brown and cheese is melty delicious.

Let cool for a few minutes and cut into slices. You’ll need a very sharp knife or a very sharp serated knife to cut the pastry without the crust falling apart.

 

Note: Frozen pastry dough typically comes with two sheets of dough. This recipe can easily be doubled to utilize both sheets of puff pastry. make sure to separate them from each other if you are going to thaw both sheets of pastry dough.

 

Posted on by Hailey Matesic Posted in Recipes
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3 Steps to Perfect Candied Lemons

Happy first day of spring! I’m ready for all the cute bunnies, asparagus, artichoke hearts and LEMONS. Lemon everything. It’s like the pumpkin spice of March, April and May.

For Easter, I’m planning to make my lemon loaf, which I thought would be fun to dress up with a few slices of candied lemons. They’re so quick to make – just a few minutes of prep and into the oven for about 45 minutes.

I mean, hey, spring! Amirite?!

All you need is a mandolin to get your thin, even slices of lemon and about 3-4 tablespoons of sugar.

Quick & Easy Oven Candied Lemons

Yield: About 24 slices, depending on size of lemons and thickness of slices.

Time: ~50 minutes

Ingredients:

2-3 lemons, sliced with a mandolin

3-4 tbsp of sugar

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 250°.

Line pan with parchment paper.

Thinly slice lemons and arrange on pan.

Generously top each slice with sugar, which will absorb into the lemons.

Bake for about 45 minutes until the lemons are covered with a sugary glaze.
Let cool and enjoy – easy peasy lemon squeezy! xo