Snacks, Sides & Appetizers

by Josh Kaplan

Cheddar Chive Biscuits

Cheddar Chive Biscuits Yield: 12 biscuits Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour ½ cup heavy cream 1 egg 1 stick salted butter, grated and frozen (details below) 2 tsp baking powder ½ tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt 1 tsp onion powder ½ tsp black pepper 1 cup sharp cheddar, grated ½ cup chives, chopped 2 tbsp cream, for brushing the biscuits Flaky salt, for sprinkling on top If You Care Parchment Baking Paper Preparation: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F or 204 degrees C Grate a cold stick of butter onto a plate, using a box grater, on the large setting. Place butter in the freezer for 15-20 minutes. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, onion powder, black pepper, cheddar, and chives. Add butter to dry ingredients and use your hands or a pie cutter to fully integrate. You should have pea-sized clumps of butter and the flour should look yellow in color. In a small bowl, whisk together egg and cream. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. You should have a slightly sticky, but workable dough. Once combined, turn the dough out onto a floured counter. Shape the dough into a ball, then flatten into a rectangle that is ~1-inch thick. Cut the dough into 12 squares. The corners may have slightly rounded edges- that’s okay Line a baking sheet with If You Care Parchment Baking Paper. Place biscuits onto the baking sheet and into the freezer to cool for 15-30 minutes. Just before baking, brush the top of the biscuits with cream and sprinkle with flaky salt. Bake for ~20-24 minutes, until golden brown and risen. Enjoy! BUY NOW

by Josh Kaplan

Cheese Pie Khachapuri

If you like cheese and you like bread (who doesn’t?!) then you will love our version of Khachapuri, which is a Georgian cheese pie. The recipe calls for either mozzarella or authentic sulguni cheese, either of which are fantastically melty. Plus, ricotta, for creaminess. Dill, for that zip, zip, zip! Roll out two sheets of puff pastry really thin, stuff with cheesy/egg mixture and bake for 30 minutes. Slice into squares and try not to eat 3 pieces in one sitting. That’s always the problem with pie, isn’t it? Ingredients: 2 sheets puff pastry, thawed 10 oz. mozzarella or sulguni cheese, shredded 6 oz. full-fat ricotta cheese ½ bunch of dill, stems removed, chopped 4 eggs 1 tbsp salt 1 tbsp pepper If You Care Parchment Baking Paper Preparation: 1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F or 204 degrees C 2. Line a baking half-sheet size with If You Care Parchment Baking Paper. 3. Roll out each sheet of puff pastry to completely fill the pan, then layer one on the bottom, and set one asideon another piece of parchment so it doesn’t stick. 4. Place the puff pastry back in the fridge while you prepare the filling. 5. In a large bowl, combine mozzarella or sulguni, ricotta, dill, 3 eggs, salt and pepper. 6. Remove the puff pastry from the fridge and spread filling on the bottom sheet. 7. Cover with the second sheet of puff-pastry and crimp edges to completely seal. 8. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining egg to use as an egg wash. 9. Brush the top of the puff pastry with egg wash. 10. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the puff pastry is golden. If any spots begin to brown too fast, cover the puff pastry loosely with a piece of aluminum foil to finish baking. 11. When the pastry is cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes before slicing into 9-12 even squares. BUY NOW

by Josh Kaplan

Polenta & Mushroom Bites

Makes about ~60 small bites 6 cups water 1.5 cups of instant polenta Salt 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 4 tbsp butter 2 tbsp Marsala wine or sherry 12 oz. shiitake mushrooms, sliced into small cubes, stems removed 5-6 sprigs of fresh thyme Preparation: Bring 6 cups of water to a rolling boil. Season heavily with salt. Add olive oil to the boiling, salted water. Add polenta to water, whisking furiously until it thickens, 2-3 minutes. Once the polenta has thickened up a bit (it should be a loose porridge consistency) pour it out on a baking sheet lined with If You Care Parchment paper. It should be approximately 1-inch thick. Smooth the top of the polenta so it’s even all the way around the baking sheet. Cool on the counter or in the fridge for an hour, or until it sets. While the polenta cools, prepare your mushrooms. In a large sauté pan, melt butter. Add mushrooms and cook on a medium high heat, stirring often, for 15 minutes. When the mushrooms have browned nicely, deglaze the pan with Marsala or sherry. Season generously with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Add the thyme leaves to the mushrooms, discarding the stems. Stir one final time and remove from the heat. Use a small circular cap, cookie cutter, ravioli cutter or glass to cut out your polenta bites. We used a flute glass turned upside down! You could also cut the polenta into squares using a knife if you preferred that shape. Top each polenta bite with a teaspoon of the mushroom mixture. Enjoy! *If your polenta is cold after chilling, you may want to gently warm it in the oven or bring it to room temperature before topping with mushrooms an BUY NOW

by Josh Kaplan

Roasted Broccoli with Ricotta

Ingredients: 2lbs broccoli florets ½ cup golden raisins 1/3 cup olive oil 1 tbsp middle eastern spice (we used Shwarma) Salt & pepper 1/3 lb ricotta salata, crumbled Preparation: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place broccoli and golden raisins in a large bowl. Add olive oil, spices, salt and pepper, then mix together well. Add to a sheet pan lined with If You Care Parchment Paper, then roast for 25-30 minutes, until edges are crisp. Allow to cool slightly, then add ricotta. This can be served either warm or cold, so it makes for great leftovers! BUY NOW

by Josh Kaplan

Roasted Eggplant with Yogurt & Pomegranate

Ingredients: 1 lb. baby eggplant ½ cup full-fat plain yogurt 1/3 cup pomegranate seeds 1 tsp salt 1 tsp black pepper ½ tsp sumac ½ tsp Aleppo pepper Olive oil If You Care Parchment Baking Paper Preparation: Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F or 232 degrees C Line a baking sheet with If You Care Parchment Baking Paper. Slice eggplant in half, then place into a large bowl. Drizzle eggplant generously with olive oil (~1/4 cup) and add salt and pepper. Pour eggplant out onto baking sheet, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. You want space between each piece of eggplant so that it roasts. Otherwise, it will steam and be soggy. Roast eggplant for 15 minutes, then flip. Cook for another 10-15 minutes until tender and golden brown. Spread yogurt onto the bottom of your serving platter. Place eggplant on top. Top with pomegranate seeds, sumac and Aleppo pepper. Enjoy! BUY NOW

by Josh Kaplan

Tofu Roasted Croutons

Anyone can make regular croutons, but we decided to add in some protein! These Roasted Tofu Croutons will forever change the way you top your salads. With minimal ingredients and lots of room for creativity, you can season these tofu cubes however you’d like. We decided to take a traditional approach with all of our favorite spices—your turn! Ingredients: 1 block of extra-firm tofu, drained 2 tbsp nutritional yeast 2 tbsp corn starch 1 tsp salt 1 tsp pepper 1 tsp roasted garlic 1 tsp dried oregano Preparation: 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees 2. Cut your tofu in half horizontally (so you have two thin pieces) 3. Place tofu on a clean kitchen towel. Fold towel over the tofu so that it is covered 4. Place a heavy object (such as a soup pot filled with water) over the tofu 5. Allow tofu to sit undisturbed for 30 minutes 6. Remove tofu and cut into small cubes 7. In a medium mixing bowl, add nutritional yeast, corn starch, salt, pepper, roasted garlic and dried oregano. Mix together to combine 8. Add tofu to the bowl and toss well to coat with spice mixture 9. Line a baking sheet with If You Care Parchment Paper and spread tofu out, leaving room between cubes 10. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until the tofu is golden brown and crunchy 11. Remove from the oven and let the tofu cool off for at least 15 minutes before using croutons so they can dry a bit 12. Serve on top of your favorite salad! BUY NOW

Snacks, Sides & Appetizers

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