Fig-alicious!

When you see grocery stores stocking up on figs, you know the holidays are upon us. Now, how many of you actually buy figs on the holidays, or ever? I don't. I'm not really a big fig eater, however I did change my mind when I came across these two recipes I'm about to give you. These appetizers are delicious(!!) and very simple to make. I promise you your guests will eat every last one of them up! :)

Bacon-Wrapped Figs Stuffed w/ Goat Cheese and Pecans

Ingredients:

• 6 dried or fresh figs, whole
• 1 tub of crumbled goat cheese
• 6 pecan halves, toasted
• 3 slices of bacon, cut in half

Instructions:

1. Preheat the broiler. With a knife, make a slit in each fig and stuff them with goat cheese.

2. Press the pecan into the cheese. Then wrap half a slice of bacon around each stuffed fig.

3. Place the figs on a baking sheet and broil them for 5 minutes or until the bacon is evenly brown and crisp. Serve! (but be careful, they're hot!)

Prosciutto-Wrapped Figs

Ingredients:

• 4 large whole figs, halved
• 1 tub of goat cheese (if you're making both recipes, one tub will be more than enough for both)
• 1 package of prosciutto
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Fill each halved fig with goat cheese.

3. Take a prosciutto slice and tear it in half . Wrap 1 half around each cheese-stuffed fig and set on the parchment paper, evenly spaced. (Use a toothpick to hold it in place, if needed.)

4. Combine the pumpkin pie spice and honey in a small bowl and drizzle the honey evenly over each fig.

5. Place on the top rack of the oven and roast for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove and serve immediately!

Thanksgiving Recipe Series

Hello peoples!! Are you as excited as I am that the most delicious holiday of the year is right around the corner??!! I thought that it would be a good idea to do a Thanksgiving Recipe Series for the next couple of weeks leading up to the BIG day. I know lots of people are scrambling trying to find those crowd-pleaser recipes guaranteed to impress the fam, so I'm gonna try to help you out.

Since 2004 when I moved to DC and my friends and I were forced to make our own Thanksgiving together, I've been trying out all sorts of different recipes, some that I've liked, others that I (and my dinner guests) could've done without. So follow me these next couple of weeks as I share my favorite Thanksgiving recipes, including my mom's bacon-wrapped oven-roasted turkey recipe. Yes, I said BACON-wrapped!

For today, we're going to start off with probably the easiest soup you've ever made. It's Sweet Potato and Red Pepper Soup. You can serve it as an appetizer or as part of the main course. You can even substitute the sweet potatoes for butternut squash, which I've done on numerous occasions. Best thing about this soup... ZERO fat! Kinda helps make up for the other, not so health-conscious recipes. :)

Sweet Potato and Red Pepper Soup

Ingredients:

• 4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 red peppers, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 quart vegetable stock (I used Kitchen Basics Vegetable Stock b/c it's lower in sodium than many other stocks)
• 1 1/4 cups dry white wine
• 1 cup sherry wine (if you don't have sherry, just add 1 more cup of veggie stock instead)
• hot sauce, to taste
• salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions:

1. Put the sweet potatoes, red peppers, carrots, onions, garlic, veggie stock, and wine in a saucepan. Bring to a boil.

2. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the veggies get soft.

3. Transfer the soup to a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Season with salt, pepper, and a generous dash of hot sauce (if you like a little kick). Serve warm.

More to come!!! Stay tuned...

Tostones (Twice-Fried Plantain Fritters)

Here's a Cuban favorite of mine that's great to serve as an appetizer or with a meal. It's not a low-fat recipe (as implied by the "twice-fried"!) but it's definitely delicious and the Mojo Criollo dipping sauce that goes with it is the perfect compliment to these crunchy treats!

Tostones

Ingredients:

• 3-4 green plantains (yellow plantains are sweet and we don't want that for this recipe)
  
• canola oil (or vegetable oil)
• salt
• Tostonera (plantain press)

Instructions:

1. Take one plantain and with a sharp knife, cut the ends off. Then make a shallow slit lengthwise from the top of the plantain peel to the bottom, being careful not to cut into the plantain itself. Then take your fingers and separate the peel from the plantain. Remove the peel and discard. Do this for each plantain.

2. Cut the plantains into small slices, about 2 to 3 fingers thick.

3. In a large frying pan, pour enough canola oil to almost cover the slices of plantain (about 2 or 3 cups depending on the size of your pan). Heat the oil on Medium heat. Once the oil is heated, gently place the plantain slices in the pan and allow them to cook on each side until each side is golden (maybe a little brown, very little though!). *Cooking over Medium heat is very important because if you put the heat too high, the outside will cook too quickly while the inside won't cook through enough.

4. For this next step, you'll want to create a little assembly line to make the process more fluid. Grab a bowl filled with water and pour salt in it liberally. Make sure the salt is mixed into the water well. Place a thick layer of paper towels on your prep counter. Next to it place the Tostonera, next to that place the bowl of salt water, and next to that place another paper towel. Got that? ;) *If you don't have a Tostonera, you can use the flat bottom of a bowl.

5. One by one, remove the plantain slices from the oil and quickly place it on the thick layer of paper towels to absorb the excess oil. Then place the slice in the Tostonera and flatten. Dip the flattened plantain (tostones) in the salt water and then set it aside on the last paper towel. Do this for each slice.

6. Turn the heat up on the oil to Medium/High. Place the tostones back in the oil and fry until crispy and lightly browned.

7. Put a paper towel on the serving dish. Remove the tostones from the oil, place on the serving dish, and sprinkle salt on top. Serve with Mojo dipping sauce.

Mojo Criollo (Creole Garlic Sauce)

Ingredients:

• 6-8 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 small yellow onion, very thinly sliced (almost translucent)
• 1/2 cup GOYA sour orange juice OR 1/4 cup sweet orange juice
• juice of 1/2 a lime and 1/2 a lemon
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Use a mortar & pestle or a food processor to crush the garlic with the salt to make a thick paste.

2. In a bowl, combine the garlic paste, onion, and citric juices and let it sit at room temperature for about 20-30 minutes.

3. Right before serving, heat the olive oil over Medium/High heat in a saucepan until it's really hot. Add the garlic mixture (careful it might splatter), stir, and serve immediately. (Any extra sauce can be refrigerated and used later.)

ENJOY!!!!