Whole ingredients of Garam Masala - Image via Wikipedia

Read this article recently from the CBS News website and had to share it. Just sounded so yummy. I have the girls coming over next week and this will be one of the recipes I make… try it out and tell me what you think!

On The Early Show Friday, cookbook author and cooking teacher Tori Ritchie showed how to easily put together dishes that will delight your guests.

Indian Spiced Nuts
This snack satisfies Ritchie’s salt requirement. It’s easy to make an ordinary can of mixed nuts into something special. With this recipe, you simply toss the nuts with a little butter and some spices, then roast them in the oven for about 20 minutes. The nuts can be served warm or at room temperature. Although Ritchie uses Indian flavors, you can substitute other flavors if you wish. For example, using rosemary, lemon and garlic would make yummy Italian-flavored nuts.

The garam masala Ritchie suggests is a spice mixture similar to curry powder. The spice and other flavoring ingredients are added to the nuts.

Mixed nuts offer the most choices for your guests, but if a single nut — cashews, peanuts or almonds — is your favorite, roast it alone with the same spice mixture. In every case, be sure the nuts are fresh. Vacuum-packed tins labeled with expiration dates are usually good guarantees of freshness, as are nuts sold in bulk at a market with a high turnover. The nuts are roasted at a relatively low temperature to avoid burning and to give them time to absorb the fragrant spices.

2 cups lightly salted mixed nuts
1 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
1 Tbs. finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 tsp. garam masala
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Preheat an oven to 300°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper.

In a bowl, toss together the nuts, butter, ginger, garam masala, cumin and cayenne until the nuts are evenly coated with the spice mixture. Spread the nuts out in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.

Roast the nuts, stirring 1 or 2 times, until golden and fragrant, 20 to 22 minutes. Immediately transfer the nuts to a bowl and serve warm or at room temperature.

You can also roast the nuts up to 24 hours in advance and store them, tightly covered, at room temperature. To serve them warm, spread them on a baking sheet and reheat in a 350°F oven for about 5 minutes. Serves 8.

Variations:
Chili-Spiced Nuts: Omit the ginger. Add 1 Tbs. chili powder and increase the cumin to 1 tsp.

Italian-Spiced Nuts: Substitute hazelnuts for the mixed nuts, if desired. Omit the ginger, garam masala and cumin. Add 1 Tbs. chopped fresh rosemary, 1 tsp. grated lemon zest and 1/2 tsp. finely chopped garlic.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma, Essentials of Roasting, by Rick Rodgers, Melanie Barnard & Bob & Colleen Simmons (Oxmoor House, 2004).

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• Garam Masala (notecook.com)

- 76 percentage of women who like to grill
- 150 millions of hot dogs Americans eat over Memorial Day weekend
- 100 calories in a turkey dog
- 148 calories in a regular dog
- 49 percentage of grillers who think it’s acceptable to bring their own sauce to a barbecue
- 121 calories you save by grilling  a chicken breast instead of frying it

Now that you know all about the facts of grilling, here’s a really easy appetizer to grill while you are sipping cocktails on the patio.

Mushroom Bacon Bites

What you need:
- 24 medium fresh mushrooms
- 12 bacon strips, halved
- 1 cup of you favorite barbecue sauce

What to Do
1. Wrap each mushroom with a piece of bacon; secure with a toothpick.
2. Thread onto metal or soaked bamboo skewers; brush with barbecue sauce.
3. Grill, uncovered, over indirect medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes or until the bacon is crisp and the mushrooms are tender, turning and basting occasionally with remaining barbecue sauce.

This easy appetizer recipe makes 2 dozen. For more wonderful grilled appetizer recipes, visit our Simple Appetizer Recipes page.

Summertime to me means, backyard BBQs, pool parties, and GREAT food! Get stocked up on some great summertime appetizers that are fun to make and fun to serve. Your guests, friends, and family will love you for it and think you are “Da bomb”!

Here are some ideas to get started. Enjoy the warm weather and the freedom that summer brings and where sunscreen!

Veggie Tarts – These mini muffin-size appetizer tarts are the perfect party food. Refrigerated Crescent roll dough makes it easy to create a finger food that even kids will like.

Spicy Roasted Chickpeas – Perfect for a BBQ party! Adding a dash of cayenne gets the mouth watering for these crispy, crunchy chickpeas.

Smoked Salmon Spread in Sourdough Bowl – These easy party appetizers are quick to make and low-fat, too. The cream cheese and salmon mixture is presented in a bread bowl for an extra festive look

Roast Beef Crostini with Horseradish Cream - Spicy horseradish gives these warm appetizers a hearty kick. The combination of warm French bread toast and cool roast beef creates a party food that complements any gathering.

Mushroom Caponata on Bagel Crisps – This caponata appetizer recipe blends eggplant, tomatoes, mushrooms and onions for to create vegetarian party food that everyone will enjoy.

For more great ideas for party planning and delicious easy appetizers, visit our Simple Appetizer Recipes page.

Memorial Day

Here’s a little help in that area… I’m listing 5 of my favorite Chicken Wings Recipes for you to try out. Chicken Wings – when done right, are a wonderful simple appetizer that everyone loves. Watch. You’ll see. They will disappear before your eyes!

#1. THE Original Buffalo Chicken Wings – Take a peak at the first recipe that started the popularity of chicken wings. Simple and easy appetizer to make.

#2. Apricot Onion Chicken Wings - I like this one because it blends the sweet with the tart and the combination will make this a real party pleaser.

#3. Coffee Chicken Wings – Ooo la la! This recipe is exotic, but oh-so-delicous!  You’ll love the smokiness the coffee flavor adds to the wings.

#4. Dragon Breath Chicken Wings – These wings you grill and they will spice up any party you might throw. The nice thing about this recipe is that they are as delicious served cold as they are straight from your grill.

#5. Diablo Canyon Chicken Wings – This is a wonderful simple appetizer recipe for the spicy-shy adult and kid. The flavor is a nice mixture of sweet and salty.

Enjoy your holiday and remember to be SAFE!

Mother’s Day also signifies that warm weather is here or about to be here… so it got me to thinking about what are some great appetizer recipes for warm weather? Parties will be outside for the next few months, what kinds of easy  appetizers work well when the weather turns hot? And with Memorial Day heading our way, I decided it’s time to start making my favorite salsas again.

There are so many different kinds of Salsa and you’ll find a few of those recipes here on this blog. But, this recipe for Fresh Corn Salsa is a wonderful combination of color, sweetness and texture. Everybody seems to love it – I never have any left over! Serve this beautiful Fresh Corn Salsa with some warm homemade tortilla chips and WOW! You’ll have a hit on your hands.

What you’ll need:

• 2 cups diced ripe tomatoes
• 2 cups fresh corn kernels
• 12 oz-can black beans, rinsed well, drained
• 4 green onions, sliced thin
• 1 or 2 green jalapeño, seeded, diced fine
• 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 fresh lime, juiced
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

What to do:
Toss all ingredients in a large glass or stainless steel bowl to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Toss well before you serve it.

This easy appetizer recipe can be made up to 8 hours ahead of time.

I got this recipe from About.com and have loved it ever since. You will too.

*photo by Flickr user Luke Wisley

The 5th of May is not Mexican Independence Day, but it should be! And Cinco de Mayo is not an American holiday, but it should be. Mexico declared its independence from mother Spain on midnight, the 15th of September, 1810. And it took 11 years before the first Spanish soldiers were told and forced to leave Mexico.

So, why Cinco de Mayo? And why should Americans savor this day as well? Because 4,000 Mexican soldiers smashed the French and traitor Mexican army of 8,000 at Puebla, Mexico, 100 miles east of Mexico City on the morning of May 5, 1862. To continue reading about Cinco de Mayo history, click here. Otherwise, take a look at the list below of great appetizers for this well loved holiday.

7-Layer Guacamole Dip
Baked Tortilla Chips
Black Bean Cheese Dip
Chiles con Caso Dip
Chipotle Salsa
Cilantro Lime Shrimp
Corn Tortilla Chips

Flour Tortilla Chips
Frijoles Refrito Dip
Hot Asiago Dip
Mexican Guacamole
Ranchero Bean Dip
Shrimp and Avocado Cocktail
Summertime Sangria
Tex Mex Soup with Black Beans
White Cheese Dip (Queso Blanco)

Mother’s Day Appetizers

Your Mom loves you know matter what, but she’ll be so pleased that you took the time to prepare some fun foods for her. So show her some appetizer love with a wide variety of little foods to choose from.

And if you are a wine drinker, all these appetizers go well with a glass of the red or white. And, why not think of a wine gift to give your Mom?

Brie Appetizers - A wonderful selection of delicious appetizers using Brie cheese as it’s main ingredient. The delicious, creamy, texture of Brie marries beautifully with all kinds of flavors.

Caramelized Onion Tarts – Sweet and savory, these easy to make tarts dress up any occasion.

Caviar Parfait – A beautiful appetizer that will impress guests, please the palate, and best of all, is simple to make.

Cheddar Cheese Mushrooms – A huge crowd pleaser that keeps the foodie snitcher at bay, and at the same time gets your guests hungry for the main course. Everyone loves these!

Cilantro Lime Shrimp Kabobs – Get the BBQ ready and throw on the shrimp kabobs. This is a fantastic appetizer for everything from backyard parties to fancy-schmancy cocktail parties.

Cocktail Sandwiches - These little bites are super easy to make – a hold over from the 50s – using common ingredients.

Check out the Easy Appetizer Recipes website for a complete list of Mother’s Day Appetizers. You’ll be glad you did!

Wines of Burgundy

Saving on Food Costs

With the economy the way it’s been lately, prices everywhere are going up. And that includes food costs. As much as I love to make easy appetizers and share them with my friends, it really kills me how much it costs to buy a few ingredients at the grocery store!

So, I’ve been doing a little research and found this cool book that I thought all you Foodies out there would enjoy. You can download it here and learn all the tips and tricks for saving on dining out, buy groceries and generally, finding ways to help dig yourself out of debt. Fabulous stuff here.

It’s called Dining on a Dime and I’ve already, in just the first few chapters, found some very valuable and useful information to help me cut costs. Give it whirl!

Plus, if you like this one, there are more ebooks to learn additional ways to save money. Save money and eat more appetizers – that’s my new motto!

What you’ll need:

• 2 ripe avocados (peeled and pitted)
• 1 small white onion (minced)
• 1 medium tomato (minced)
• 1 TBSP lime or lemon juice
• 2 chipotle chiles (in adobo sauce and minced)
• Salt to taste

Combine all the above ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Cover and serve chilled. It’s best to serve within 3 hours of making this dip. Try these delicious corn tortilla chips to serve with the dip. Heat scale for chipotle guacamole is MEDIUM.

Delightfully serves: 4 as an appetizer and 2 as a meal!

For more wonderful dip recipes, check out this chip dip recipes page.

We have a really fun group of parents for our little league team (The Bees). They all love to cheer for our kids, socialize with one another, eat, drink and generally be merry.

Last night’s game was no exception. The weather was clear and warm and thankfully not windy for a change, the kids were excited because they were on a roll (however, we all KNOW that it doesn’t matter who wins  – Right???? ), and there was going to be cake and pizza awaiting them after the game. How much better could it get?

Well, it did. Being the “Team Mom” I organized a potluck picknic for after the game. Timmy’s Mom brought cake to celebrate his 11th birthday, and because we have some Italian descendents in our group, the theme for the potluck naturally became Italian in nature.

I said I was going to bring my famous Sangria until my husband pointed out to me that Sangria isn’t exactly an Italian drink. Duh! Sounds Italian, I said! So I changed to 3 bottles of Italian red wine. Hubby made an awesome pot of spaghetti with Ragu as the sauce. This isn’t just an ordinary ragu. It’s specially prepared from learning how to make it from our dear Italian friends who live just outside of Milano. Secret ingredients and everything. It was a hit and we had only a little bit left over to bring back home with us.

But not only did we have wine and spaghetti, but we had a plethora of beautiful side dishes – foccaccia, bruschetta, zucchini fratta, antipasti, Ceasar salad and tiny skewers of what was basically Insalata Caprese. Oh… it was the kind of food that makes you want to keep eating even when you can’t stuff another bite down.

Pizza was ordered for the kids and then a rowsing happy birthday sung to Young Timmy with Patti’s unbelievable marble cake (I want the recipe, Patti!)  to follow. It was a foodie’s heavenly feast, no doubt. And did I take any pictures of this wonderful spread? Sadly, no! Too busy stuffing my face.

There’s just something about the combination of great kids, great parents, great baseball, great coaching, and great food that makes you know why life is worth living…

Oh, and we won! (but that doesn’t really matter, RIGHT?)

Happy baseball season everybody! Go BEEs!!!!

~BusyMOM

P.S. Thank you, Parents, for making this baseball season so much fun. And thanks, Tracie and Carrington, for the great pics!

For more great recipes – check out our Holiday Appetizers page.