1905 Salad - Shower Recipe 5

The Columbia Restaurant is an institution in Tampa; it's legendary. There are several locations, but the original is in historic Ybor City. Their 1905 salad is incredibly popular and several other area restaurants have their knock-off versions. I have made this salad for several parties and it is always a hit. The dressing is a great recipe in itself. I urge you to make extra to keep on hand, but I'll warn you - it is garlicy. But I think that is what makes it so yummy.

Here is the link to the recipe: http://www.columbiarestaurant.com/recipe.asp?FeaturedItemID=2.

Enjoy!

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Hummus - Shower Recipe 4

I love hummus. There are a lot of good store bought kinds out there, but nothing beats freshly made hummus. It also couldn't be easier; you just dump everything into a food processor.

Ingredients:
1 (15 ounce) can of chickpeas, drained, reserving the liquid
2 cloves garlic
Freshly squeezed lemon juice from 2 lemons
1/3 cup tahini (sesame paste, you can find in most grocery stores)
Several dashes of hot sauce, I like cholula, but whatever is your favorite (Use as many dashes per your spice level. I use about 10)
2 Tbsp of the reserved liquid or you can use water
salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil, just enough to swirl around the food processor at the end
Pita bread to serve with

Place all the ingredients, except for the olive oil, into a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process until the mixture is coarsely pureed. Taste for seasoning. You may need a little more liquid. I like to add a swirl of olive oil at the end and then process for one more second.

I like to take my pita bread and cut into wedges. Place on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with Kosher salt. Warm in a preheated 350 degree oven for a couple minutes. Serve the hummus chilled or at room temperature.

Now that you have this recipe, you can add all sorts of ingredients: roasted red peppers, olives, feta cheese, sundried tomatoes, oregano, dill, etc., etc.

Also, you can make this with white beans. I actually added a little leftover white beans in mine this time. I need to use them up and this was perfect.

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Pomegranate Sangria - Shower Recipe 3

This pomegranate sangria was a recommendation by my boss. It is a Bobby Flay recipe that I modified a little bit. This recipe uses two bottles of red wine, so make sure you have a big enough pitcher, or split between two. I actually bought this plastic pitcher with a sealed lid for easy transport. It was also ideal for making in advance.

Ingredients:
2 bottles of fruity red wine, a Spanish rioja or a French red should be good
2 cups pomegranate juice
1/2 cup simple syrup, cooled (Place 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar into a saucepan. Heat over low-medium heat until all the sugar dissolves. Stirring occasionally.)
3/4 cup triple sec
3/4 cup brandy
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and sliced
1 orange, sliced
1 lemon, sliced

Place the fruit on the bottom of the pitcher. Pour in the rest of the ingredients, stir well. Cover, place in the refrigerator for atleast 4 hours, or up to 48 hours. Serve over ice.

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Broccoli Slaw and Raman Noodle Salad - Shower Recipe 2

This recipe has been kind of passed along over the years. I think originally it was my sister's mother-in-law's recipe. She made it for my sister's bridal shower like 10 years ago. I've made it for other friends' showers and so on. It is really easy.

Ingredients:
2 Raman noodle packages (Any flavor you like. I usually use chicken.)
1 package of broccoli slaw ( You can find this in the produce section, usually by the packaged broccoli florets. What it is, is broccoli that has been shredded into a slaw like cabbage.)
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup cashews
1 can of mandarin oranges, optional (I don't use, but if you like mandarin oranges, knock yourself out.)
4 green onions, chopped, optional
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
both seasoning packets from the Raman
1 cup oil (vegetable or olive)

Break up the Raman noodles and place in a large mixing bowl. You DO NOT cook the noodles. The dressing will soften them. Add the broccoli slaw, sunflower seeds, cashews, oranges and onions to the bowl, mix.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together the sugar, vinegar and seasoning from the packets. Add the oil and whisk well.

This can be put together the night before. However, do not dress until morning of your party. I like to dress it a few hours before so the noodles have a chance to soften.

*Note: You probably only need to use 3/4 of the dressing. Add a little at a time and judge for yourself. But, I never use all of it. It gets too soggy.

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Baked Brie - Shower Recipe 1

My absolute favorite cheese is Brie. I could eat it all the time, but that would be bad. Even though my friend Brook doesn't like cheese (I know blasphemy, right?!) I really feel that no shower is complete without brie. And it was a big hit.

Ingredients:
1 round wheel of brie
2 spoonfuls of apricot preserves (You can use any kind of jam you like. I just think apricot is a great match with the brie.)
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 sheet of puff pastry (Can find in the freezer section of the grocery store. Usually comes two per package. Take one out and let thaw for 30 minutes on a baking sheet.)
1 egg, beaten
Granny Smith apple slices
wheat crackers (I like Ritz Simply Socials)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the wheel of brie in half, remove the top. Spread an even layer of apricot preserves on top of the brie. Then sprinkle the almond slices on top of the preserves. Place the top of the brie back on. Unfold the puff pastry onto a baking sheet. Place the brie in the middle and fold up the edges of the pastry. Brush with the egg to secure the edges. Flip the brie over so the seam side is down. Brush the top with the egg. Bake in the oven for roughly 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Allow it to set for a few minutes. Cut into the brie and serve on crackers or apples.

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Shower Time!

Today was my friend Brook's bridal shower. I helped out by making four dishes that everyone really seemed to enjoy. I had several people ask for my recipes, so I told them I would post them here. I will post one at a time, so keep checking back! Below is a rundown of what I made.

Columbia Restaurant's 1905 Salad
Hummus and pita bread
Broccoli Slaw and Raman Noodle Salad
Baked Brie
Pomegranate Sangria

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Greek Burgers

Sorry I have been M.I.A. recently. I've been really busy and not cooking anything of note recently. But the other night I made these delicious Greek-style burgers. In lieu of regular hamburger buns, I used whole-wheat pita bread. I topped them with my cucumber yogurt sauce.

For the Burgers:
1 lb. ground sirloin
2 ounces crumbled feta cheese
Greek seasoning for taste (I use a special seasoning from Land & Sea Market, if you can't find any, use a mix of dried oregano, garlic salt and pepper)

For the Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce:
6 ounces nonfat Greek yogurt
2 garlic cloves
3 inch piece of a seedless cucumber, peeled (these are the types of cucumbers that are found wrapped in plastic, a.k.a. English or Hothouse)
A little sprinkle of Greek seasoning or salt and pepper

Toppings:
Lettuce
Tomato
Red onion
banana peppers

Mix the burger ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Make 8 equal size patties. You want smaller patties so they'll fit nicely in the pita pockets. Place the patties in a preheated skillet over medium-high heat. Cook for 3 minutes per side, longer if you like your burgers well done.

Meanwhile, scoop the Greek yogurt into a bowl. With the small side of a grater, grate the garlic into the bowl. If you have a microplane that is even better. With the larger side of the grater, grate the cucumber, but not directly into the bowl. The cucumber has a lot of water so I like to squeeze the excess water out before adding it to the bowl. Mix well, season.

Now, heat the pita bread for a few minutes in a toaster oven or regular oven at 300 degrees. Remove the pitas from the oven and slice in half. Carefully open up the pita bread. Place the burgers inside the bread, you may need to cut them in half. Fill with your preferred toppings and the yogurt sauce. Pita is fragile, so don't over stuff or they might crack or fall apart.

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