Tag Archives: party favor

Chicken Satays with Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce

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These chicken satays come loaded with mind blowing flavours! The yogurt marinade creates an extremely juicy & tender chicken satay and the peanut sauce will leave an unforgettable after-taste in your mouth.

They are by far the most requested dish at my catering events. Try them for yourselves and you’ll see why!

I love making these because it gives me an excuse to indulge in some peanut butter. Confession: I may have a slight peanut butter obsession.

The trick to the perfect chicken satay lies in the preparation of the chicken. To ensure even cooking- “butterfly” your chicken breast by running the blade of the knife width-wise down the breast. Do not cut all the way through!

Keep the edge intact & open the breast along the fold.

Cut the chicken breast into equal sized pieces. Repeat this method for each chicken breast. This recipe calls for 1 1/2 pounds of chicken breasts ( 3-4 breasts)- which yields around 15-20 chicken skewers.

Once prepared, transfer the chicken strips to the fridge & start on the yogurt marinade.

Yogurt Marinade for Chicken Satay’s

1 cup of Plain Yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
1  teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tsp cumin
1/4 cup of chopped cilantro
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips (method shown above)
15-20 wooden skewers, soaked in water 30 minutes

In a large mixing bowl combine: 1 cup of plain yogurt with 1 1/2 tsp of grated ginger, 1 tsp minced garlic, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tbsp of curry powder & 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro.

Add the chicken pieces to the marinade and give it a gentle toss until each chicken piece is coated. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours.

If you let the chicken satay’s absorb the flavours of the marinade overnight- they will be much more tender.

When ready, skewer each chicken strip in a “thread” like method. Please make sure you have pre-soaked your wooden skewers first!

Broil the chicken satays for approximately 8-9 minutes and turn to broil another 4-5 minutes on the other side. Serve with Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce (click for the recipe!).

Bon Appétit!
xo r

Avocado Deviled Eggs

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These sexy devils put a wicked spin on the traditional Deviled Egg.  I can say with confidence that these eggs will be the life of the party! Take my word and make doubles!

It’s such a clever idea, I know! Sadly, I didn’t come up with it myself..credit must be given to the one and only Martha Stewart.

However, I jazzed up Martha’s original recipe by adding a few touches of my own =). One of them being the addition of Garlic Powder from Leisure Lane Farms-which one of my Twitter followers had kindly mailed me. Sprinkling garlic powder on the tops of these deviled eggs made them that much better! Thank you Gary!

Ingredients

6 hard boiled eggs
1 medium avocado, diced small
3 tablespoons mayonnaise (sourcream or greek Yogurt for healthier alternative)
3 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp green onions, finely chopped
1 teaspoon of lime zest
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (to sprinkle on top of eggs)
Salt to taste

Directions

1. Peel eggs and cut in half, either lengthwise or crosswise. Carefully scoop out yolks, and arrange whites on a platter or tray.

2. In the bowl of a food processor, process egg yolks, avocado, lemon juice, lemon zest & mayonnaise until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Add in the green onions.

3. Fill egg whites with yolk mixture and place on a serving plate. Sprinkle with a touch of cayenne pepper, garlic powder & fresh green onions.

 

Bon Apetit!
r xo

 

 

Marinated Bocconcini Skewers

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One of my favorite party appetizers just got a whole lot better! Once you make these marinated Bocconcini skewers you will never settle for the original ones.

Allowing the mozzarella to absorb the flavors of the marinate overnight- gives this classic dish an unforgettable flavor.

 

Ingredients (Makes 20 Skewers)
1 red pepper; roasted, quartered & seeded
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cracked black pepper
20 bocconcini (cocktail size balls)
1/4 cup finely chopped basil
1/4 cup finely chopped mint
20 cherry tomatoes
20 large basil leaves
Balsamic Vinegar (for drizzle)

 20 wooden skewers

Cut the red pepper into quarters and then roast them side up under a hot broiler until charred and wrinkled- about 7-10 minutes. Once cooled, remove the skins and dice finely.

Next-combine diced peppers, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, oil, salt, pepper, chopped basil & chopped mint in a large bowl.  Add the bocconcini  and toss to coat each piece well.

Cover and marinate at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. You can also marinate the Bocconcini for up to 3 days in advance! The longer you the let the cheese absorb the flavors of the marinade- the better they will be!

When ready to use, wrap one basil leaf around a bocconcini ball and thread onto the wooden skewer with a cheery tomato. Drizzle with a touch of balsamic vinegar.

How simple was that? No more excuses for bringing store bought appetizers to the party!

Love always,
-R x

Homemade Samosas

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These Samosas are killer! They are time consuming to make- but are honestly worth every minute of labor you put into them! You can make your own samosa dough but I prefer buying store bough phyllo paper as they are perfect & crispy  when you deep fry them.

Samosas

2 cups of potatoes-peeled and cubed
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
1/4 cup frozen green peas, thawed
1 half of a medium onion, finely diced
2 green chilies (adjust to desired heat)
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon garlic & ginger paste
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder (adjust to desired heat)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
24 (14×9-inch) sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed

 

1. To prepare samosas, cook potato, carrot, and green peas in boiling water 5 minutes or until slightly tender; drain.

2. Add a couple teaspoons of oil to a pan set over medium heat. Add mustard, fennel and cumin seeds and cook until they begin to pop. Add garlic & ginger paste and cook 30 seconds. Add onion and cook until soft, about 3 minutes.

3. Next add in potatoes,carrots, green peas, chilis, turmeric, chili powder, salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes, until potatoes are coated with spices. Add lemon juice and cook until liquid has dissolved . Mix in chopped cilantro at the very end.

4. Lightly mash everything up. Set aside to cool. Once cooled, add in your rinsed can of chickpeas.

5.Use a sharp non-serrated knife to slice the phyllo vertically in half and then into quarters.  You should have 6 long strips in front of you.  Place a moderate mound of stuffing (about 1.5 – 2 tbsp) at the bottom of each one.  Take the bottom right corner and fold it up and to the right so that you have a little triangle tip with a flat left side.  Fold this straight up again so that your triangle is sitting with a flat bottom edge.  Continue your folding in this way, always turning across the seam of the phyllo until you reach the end of the strip and you have a small triangular parcel.  Moisten the lip of the last flap with a bit of oil and press it down to seal.Repeat procedure with remaining phyllo, cooking spray, and filling to form about 20-24 samosas.

6. To cook the samosas, preheat your oven to 400ºF with your racks roughly in the center.  Lay the samosas in a single layer on baking sheets covered in parchment paper, being careful to make sure that they don’t touch.  Bake the samosas for 20-25 minutes, or until they’re golden brown all over and flaky looking around the seams.

p.s You can also deep fry  =)

Enjoy!
xo romina

Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce

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There’s no more excuses for buying store bought peanut sauce! This recipe is not only quick but also extremely budget friendly.

 

Peanut Sauce:
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce ( use low sodium!)
2 teaspoon of red chilli paste ( I used sambal, you can also use sriracha )
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
2 limes, juiced
Lime Rind from the two limes
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1/2 cup hot water
1/4 cup chopped peanuts for garnish

 

Combine all the above ingredients (except for the the hot water & the peanuts) together in a blender

While your mixture is blending-add hot water (gradually) from the top of the blender. You probably won’t need the whole 1/2 cup- you are just incoorperating the water until the desired consistency is reached. This sauce is suppose to have a medium thin consistency.

Once made, sprinkle your chopped  1/4 cup of peanuts right into the sauce.

I served this peanut sauce on top of chicken satays at a catering event and they were the perfect appy!

Enjoy!
xo romina