Backwards N High Heels

Balancing work and play while wearing many hats (I mean heels).

Easy Peasy Caprese

The weekend is approaching folks! You know what that means… get yo’ food on. Well it does for me anyway. Ahh, I missed my calling… a restaurant critic would have suited me just fine.

If you are like me and the rest of the East Coast, you know it is hot as all get-up. I am opting for a popsicle or two for dinner. Bring on the banana flavored! And, the naturally cold-blooded body of mine is all like, “why are you not shivering and what is this thing you call sweat?”

Therefore, while Baby Lo and I stick to each other the last thing I want to do in the evening is turn on the oven or stand behind a stove. I mean, please! So, I convinced Nathan that one of our favorite appetizers would totally be an acceptable side dish to our BLT’s. Because again, I am not making myself more miserable in this heat and he knows I would be completely okay with a Popsicle for dinner, so he goes along.

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Prosciutto, Mozzarella & Basil Bites

This may be one of the world’s easiest appetizer recipes. An oldie, but a goodie in our home. Pre-baby dinner-in resulted in a highly orchestrated meal. We did it right let me tell you. Multiple appetizers, wine in glasses, music on and general bliss as we talked about our day, joked and cooked dinner together. It was truly an evening affair. Post-baby, goes a little like this: Feed baby dinner, which now-a-days ever since baby has learned the fabulous art of raspberries consists of blowing pretty much half of the food that enters her mouth back out on me; immediately dunk baby in bath to further the destruction of the baby food which is wedged up her nose holes and in her ears; dry and dress baby for bed, which turns into a wrestling match now that baby is rolling and hates clothing after a bath; feed baby bottle and rock baby to bed… who is hungry?

Pretty much any simple recipe I had pre-baby has made the cut… no, survived the new madness. Kind of like us!

Why I like this recipe? You get the salty from the prosciutto, the creaminess from the Mozzarella, the kick from the basil and the sweet from the balsamic and now a blogger who sounds like Giada De Laurentiis.

Prosciutto-Mozzarella-Basil-Bites_BackwardsNHighHeels
Prosciutto, Mozzarella & Basil Bites
Serves 2 – 4

  • 1 – Package of Sliced Prosciutto
  • 1 – Ball of Mozzarella
  • Fresh Basil Leaves
  • Balsamic Vinegar to taste

Slice the prosciutto slices into long strips and set aside. You will use the strips to wrap the ingredients and hold everything together. Slice the Mozzarella Ball into bite-sized strips. Assemble by gathering a Mozzarella slice and a piece of basil. Wrap the ingredients with the strip of prosciutto. Drizzle your favorite balsamic vinegar across the bites and voilà, there you have it! Enjoy!

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Holy Guacamole… Nailed It!

You know what I love?  A great Guacamole.

It wasn’t always such a sweet relationship between us two.  In fact, the beginning was a rocky road for us.  I was that girl who would go to a Mexican Restaurant and place my order (usually a Chimichanga) and say, “Oh, and hold the Guacamole.”  I totally, noticed the waiter’s eye roll too.

Mostly, I didn’t give it a chance, but I also think I just had some bad versions.  It wasn’t until my Sister-In-Law, Amie and her husband, Corey made a batch a few years back, that my thoughts went from, “No, thanks. I will pass.” To, “Holy, Guacamole, where have you been my whole life?”

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Start by rounding up your ingredients, ya know… wrangle them in.

Guacamole Ingredients

Guacamole Ingredients

As, you can tell.  It is a pretty shady I mean sparse bunch. Start with the Avocados… the scarey Avocados.  I say that because I think it is an intimidating fruit. Yes, it is a fruit people.  I think they are avoided because many don’t know how to cut, chop or handle them. Kind of like Avocado’s scarey right-hand man… the Mango!

Before you begin make sure the Avocado is ripe.  I cannot stress this enough.  It must be ripe. To tell if it is ripe, look for the “Ripe” sticker on the Avocado placed by a diligent Produce employee.  Just kidding!  Give the Avocado a gentle squeeze.  The skin should give a bit. If it doesn’t then it is not quite there. Leave it on the counter a few days to soften up. Here are some more tips.

While it can be intimidating, cutting, chopping and dicing an Avocado is pretty easy.  First, start by cutting it in half.  You won’t be able to go through because of the pit, but continue to cut around. Then twist slightly to separate the halves.

Avocado Halves

Avocado Halves

Take your knife and strike the pit so that the blade sticks. Hold the Avocado and twist the knife to loosen and remove the pit. For Guacamole, I use my knife to make length wise and width wise slices (Are they words? Not sure, but you get what I am saying).

Avocados Sliced

Avocados Sliced

Then using a spoon, scoop out the Avocado into a bowl.  Don’t forget to scoop out any pulp that remains on the skin.

Avocado Slices

Avocado Slices

Using the backside of your spoon, smash up the avocado.  I like mine chunky.  Add in your chopped tomato, diced red onion, the juice of half of a lime and add Garlic Salt, Pepper and Sea Salt (this makes it! Love the course salt) to taste.  Give it a stir and serve.  It is that easy!


HOLY GUACAMOLE:

Serves 4-6

  • 2 Avocados
  • 1 Heirloom Tomato – Chopped
  • 1/2 Red Onion – Diced
  • 1/2 the Juice of Lime
  • Garlic Salt, Pepper & Sea Salt – To Taste

Diced Avocados and smash in a bowl.  Add chopped tomato, diced red onion, the juice of 1/2 of a lime and give it a good stir. Season with garlic salt, pepper and sea salt to taste.

Gucamole