Cooking Method: Blend

Sweet Potato Peanut Butter Dip by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

One must give credit where credit is due. This recipe is based on an idea from the FOOD52 website. It was posted as a spread for a fluffernutter sandwich! I was intrigued, not by the marshmallow fluff, but by the idea of combining peanut butter with sweet potato puree. It sounded delicious. And it is! I have made a dip and am going to serve it with fresh & dried fruits and simple cookies. A colleague suggested adding carrot and celery sticks…that works too!

Pumpkin Pecan Spice Bread by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

This is a ‘quick’ bread; so named because it’s chemically leavened with baking soda and/or baking powder instead of yeast or a sourdough starter. ‘Quick’ breads include biscuits, muffins and loaf breads like banana, zucchini and this pumpkin bread. It comes together very quickly; the dry ingredients are combined with the wet ingredients. Add toasted nuts if you like (I used pecans, but walnuts would work as well.) Bake the batter in a prepared (buttered & floured) loaf pan and drizzle with a confectioner’s glaze when the loaf has cooled a bit.

Watermelon ‘Pizza-Pie’ by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

No crust.  No dough.  No cooking.  And no baking is required.  Festive and Impressive.  Quick and easy. It’s all you need as part of a summer dessert tableau. I took a slice from a whole, small watermelon and cut it into 6 wedges, but you could easily buy pre-cut wedges of watermelon and put 6 or 8 wedges together to form a circle.  The toppings will cover any variations in the shape/size of the ‘pie’.   And feel free to vary and/or augment the toppings—add shaved chocolate, different fruits (like sliced peaches), toasted coconut, crushed meringue cookies or toasted marshmallows (yummy).

Smoked Trout Dip with Pickles & Radishes by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

Smoked Trout gets very little attention, unlike its attention-grabbing smoked salmon cousin. In an effort to ‘even-the-playing-fields’, I offer a quick cream cheese-based dip/spread ready in about 30 minutes, leaving you plenty of time to gather some crackers, radishes, cornichons, olives or other piquant and crunchy bites to complete your serving platter.

GAZPACHO The Classic Chilled Tomato & Vegetable Soup from Spain By Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

This is the answer to the ‘Dog Days of Summer’ dinner-dilemma. This soup can be made in 45 minutes or less and you may reap some leftovers for lunch. Add grilled shrimp or scallops for an easy protein upgrade.

The ingredients are raw, so be sure your vegetables are in primo condition.
Choose an olive oil that has a smooth, mild finish; a harsh or bitter olive oil will provide a jarring note in your finished soup.
All the vegetables are cut into pieces and blended together until smooth. Soaked bread is traditionally added; it provides a bit of body and creaminess. (and it’s fine to omit for a gluten-free version.)
Sherry vinegar is traditional; as it’s a vinegar from Spain. And it’s fine to substitute red wine vinegar.
Finally, a small amount of each vegetable is held back from blending and is finely-diced and added back to the finished soup. The diced vegetables provide a pleasing texture-crunch at the end.