Category: Appetizer

Posted on by Hailey Matesic Posted in Appetizer, Holiday, Main, Recipes
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Steak Quesadillas Recipe for Cinco de Mayo

This year, we’re not doing the whole taco bar thing. In fact, there are. no. tacos. on this year’s cinco de mayo menu! But, there are steak quesadillas! I’ll be honest with you – when I was thinking about the menu and I put steak quesadillas on, I thought, “Hailey, nobody needs a recipe for steak quesadillas! It’s steak and cheese and tortillas!” But, I actually really loved how the steak came out and 100% need to share this recipe!

Now, the good news is: steak quesadillas are so super easy to make. The even better news: They’re delicious. It’s really a win-win, isn’t it?

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Posted on by Hailey Matesic Posted in Appetizer, Holiday, Recipes
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Chips & Salsa Grazing Board for Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo is definitely one of my favorite days of the year, because it’s one of the few I can force my husband to have tacos. For some unknown reason, he’s not a huge Mexican food fan even as I try my hardest to make him a convert. This year’s Cinco de Mayo menu is kicking of with a chips, salsa, and a few other things, grazing board. You guys know how much I love a good grazing board!

Thankfully chips and salsa are a fan fav in our house and I don’t have to try so hard to rally support for those on cinco de mayo or any other day of the year.

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Posted on by Hailey Matesic Posted in Appetizer, Recipes
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3 Ingredient Crackers

Oh yes, you read that right! 3. Ingredient. Crackers. When we’re entertaining, I try not to make everything from scratch and focus on just a few touches where I can invest my time and get the most proverbial bang for my buck. I love adding these quick crackers to the mix, plus, they can be made ahead!

These are so light, too, they’re great for a grazing board to balance meat and cheese and pair so perfectly with a hummus.

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Posted on by Hailey Matesic Posted in Appetizer, Brunch, Recipes, Salad, Side Dish
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Burrata & Sugar Snap Pea Salad

Anytime I share a salad “recipe” I really question whether or not this can even be called a “recipe.” I mean, yes, there’s a list of ingredients and a “method,” and therefore it is, but really this is just some straight up #saladporn right now. I love burrata, and in fact I’ve tried on several occasions to make it and failed miserably. But guys. Let’s just put this shit on everything. On salads, sandwiches, on it’s own, on pasta, on pizza. It’s just so freaking good.

I think I love the creaminess of the burrata – doesn’t it just feel so decadent? Not to mention, it’s an excellent vehicle for salt, pepper and balsamic glaze. And for the people in your life that might not be huge fans of salad (looking at you, hubby), it seems that popping a nice ball of burrata on top will convert them – at least for that meal.

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Posted on by Hailey Matesic Posted in Appetizer, Recipes, Side Dish
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Braised Artichokes with Mint Pesto Recipe

It’s artichoke season and. I’m. here. for. it. I love artichokes. And if you can find them for a good price (you know, not $3 a pop), they’re 100% worth the effort it takes to clean them. Last year, I shared a great stuffed artichoke recipe and details on how to clean an artichoke, which you can find right here. To make a braised artichoke, you’ll clean them in a bit of a different way, so keep reading on!

After prepping the artichokes, you whip up a mint pesto with mint, basil, artichokes, olive oil and salt. Then you nestle the artichokes into a simple tomato sauce with white wine to braise for about an hour. Once the artichokes are fork tender they’re ready to be enjoyed – with extra pesto, obvi.

Just look at these beauties! Braised artichokes are definitely my new favorite way to enjoy the veg. You remove all of the rough leaves that don’t have much meat, and really get to enjoy the heart, stem and more meaty leaves. I love the earthiness of an artichoke, and really do love the experience of eating an artichoke. That bit of extra work just slows you down and gives you time to enjoy.

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Posted on by Hailey Matesic Posted in Appetizer, Recipes
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Green Goddess Hummus Recipe

You know how much we love grazing boards around here (even these mini ones we had for the Oscars), and they’ve 100% been my go-to when entertaining as of late. My previous go-to, though, was a crudites platter with hummus. I mean, few things in life are as easy as chopping up some veg and whipping up a quickie hummus.

When we hosted a few friends the other day, I wanted to have something everyone could nosh on while I made shakshuka. Plus, Saturday truly felt like a spring day and made me ready to really dig in on some fresh, crunchy veggies!

I was thinking about mixing up some Green Goddess dressing with a bit of ranch or sour cream or yogurt, but was really in the mood for hummus – then I thought, why not just try out some green goddess hummus! So, so happy I did! It had so much flavor, brightness from the lemon juice, and some nice heat from fresh jalapenos. Tonight, I’m making my hummus chicken with this stuff – it’s SO good!

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Posted on by Hailey Matesic Posted in Appetizer, Breakfast, Brunch, Recipes
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Homemade Bagel Chips & Everything Bagel Dip Recipe

What’s brunch without carbs, eh? For my latest Ladies Who Brunch, I made the Australian Folded Eggs and Smoked Salmon Nicoise, but I wanted one more dish to tie it all together. Serving actual bagels felt like it would be too heavy, but I wanted something carb-y. Enter bagel chips & dip: because seriously, who doesn’t love bagels and who doesn’t love dip?

I do have to admit, I’ve never been a fan of store bough bagel chips, so when I was testing these out I wasn’t 100% sure I would like them. I’ve always found store bough to be too crunchy. I wanted these to be like a bagel you accidentally toasted a bit too much, but you could still enjoy.

I tried making these a few different ways, and they all came out pretty much the same, so in the recipe I’ve given you all three options: brush with olive oil, melted butter or spray with cooking spray; then you sprinkle salt on them and bake them up until they’re nice and toasted!

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Posted on by Hailey Matesic Posted in Appetizer, Brunch, Lunch, Recipes, Salad
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Smoked Salmon Niçoise Salad Recipe

Apparently I’m very much into salads the past few weeks! The idea for this one came out of thinking about a fun menu for a girls’ brunch and something that you could put on a huge platter for everyone to take for themselves. I do love a niçoise salad and thought that with a few tweaks, we could make it a solid brunch salad recipe.

A niçoise salad, originally from Nice, France, often includes tomatoes, eggs, olives, string beans, potatoes and tuna. Since the tomatoes aren’t great this time of year, I used fresh persian cucumbers that have a to-die-for crunch. They feel so fresh! Then, I made breakfast potatoes instead of just boiled potatoes, to really bring that brunch vibe to the plate.

I didn’t like the idea of tuna at a brunch, so smoked salmon is the obvious choice here! I topped the salmon with a bit of the Trader Joe’s Everything Bagel Seasoning – it totally works for this. Very brunchy vibe.

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Posted on by Hailey Matesic Posted in Appetizer, Recipes, Salad
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Roasted Beet Salad with Pistachios & Goat Cheese

When I was a kid, I had such a thing for pickled beets. Sweet. Sour. Totally my jam. I still love some pickled beets, but I also really, really love roasted beets! They’re so good – a little meaty, a little earthy, just a hint of sweet and 100% satisfying.

As the weather has started to break, I’ve been very into salads. This one is just so simple, and you can roast beets to enjoy for the whole week. AND it’s elegant enough for entertaining – win win in my book.

I also think it’s very possible that I love beets because they make such a wonderful vehicle for salt. And y’all should know how much I love salt by now – I mean, I bring it back from every vacation we take! I love beets with a sel gris. It gives a little extra briney flavor that I just can’t get enough of. Plus, like the pistachios, it gives you a crunch to the buttery soft beets.

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Posted on by Hailey Matesic Posted in Appetizer, Recipes
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Creamy Roasted Garlic Hummus Recipe

I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve made hummus and it just hasn’t worked. I mean, it worked because blending chickpeas, tahini, garlic, salt and olive oil together forms a dip. But it didn’t work, ya know? My hummus just was never as smooth as I wanted it to be and didn’t have as much flavor as I wanted it to have.

But I think I’ve figured out a few tricks to get us that much closer to really flavorful and creamy hummus! For sure, roasted garlic is a must. Roasting the garlic imparts so much flavor to the hummus, but also grating 1 small raw garlic clove (or more depending on your preference) is key. But in my world, you can’t have too much garlic!

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