Ricotta and Endive Appetizer

This Sunday, February 26, the 84th Academy Awards will be broadcast. Paula, from Bellalimento shares her delicious Ricotta and Endive Appetizers, which make a great snack to share during award show viewing! Elegant, delicious, easy and nutritious. What more could you ask for? Read Paula’s full recipe here!

 

Bacon, Gruyere and Endive Quiche (Low Carb and Gluten-Free)

Today, Carolyn from All Day I Dream About Food treats us to this wonderful quiche. An ode to comfort food during the long days of winter, her quick and easy quiche combines bacon, Gruyere cheese, heavy cream and endive, which has been sauteed in the rendered bacon fat.  Check out her full recipe here!

When last we saw Rachael, one of our fearless OnDivas, she was filling us in on all the reasons to include California endive in your diet. On Day 8, Rachael breaks down the difference between red and white (or pale yellow) endive. Can you guess what it is?

On Day 9, Rachael recounts all the different names that endive goes by. What you may not realize is that endive grown in California is purported to be less bitter than its European ancestors. However, it still packs a nutrient-dense punch!

And don’t forget you have a chance to win a shipment of freshly packed California endive just for sharing your favorite dip recipe at the Saucy Dipper. Visit this Dipstock post for more information!

This is a light, refreshing dip to use with California endive “dippers”. Snack guilt-free during the big game!

Cucumber-Yogurt Dip

Makes about 2 cups, serves 8 to 10

1 medium cucumber, preferably seedless, peeled and grated
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 bunch scallions, thinly sliced then chopped

1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, or 2 teaspoons dried dill
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Mix cucumbers with salt and marinate 15 minutes at room temperature, or until liquid comes out of cucumbers. Drain cucumbers, gently pressing out excess liquid. Combine with remaining ingredients and serve with endive spears.

And don’t forget you have a chance to win a shipment of freshly packed California endive just for sharing your favorite dip recipe at the Saucy Dipper. Visit this Dipstock post for more information!

This dip will make a splash with the younger set. Let your kids help you make this, and watch them devour it on California endive spears!

Raspberry-Yogurt Dip

Makes about 2 cups, serves 8 to 10

1 cup walnuts
1 cup frozen raspberries, defrosted and drained
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest (green part only)
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

Place walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and process until finely ground. In a large bowl, fold together the ground walnuts with the remaining ingredients. Serve with endive spears.

And don’t forget you have a chance to win a shipment of freshly packed California endive just for sharing your favorite dip recipe at the Saucy Dipper. Visit this Dipstock post for more information!

Here’s another great recipe that will put California endive to use as the “slimmer dipper.” Try it at your next gathering!

Carrot-Orange Dip

Makes about 2 cups, serves 8 to 10

1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced
3/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, defrosted
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons peeled and chopped fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine the carrots, orange juice concentrate, olive oil, and ginger in a medium
pot and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes, stirring
occasionally, or until the carrots are very soft. Cool to room temperature. Combine
carrot mixture with remaining ingredients and chop finely in a food processor. Season
to taste with salt and pepper and serve with endive spears.

 

According to the third annual Supervalu Snack Down Survey by Harris Interactive, the favorite snacks for football parties are dips and spreads.

But sack the high-calorie chips and crackers! There’s a healthier way to enjoy these crowd-pleasing snacks.

With approximately one-calorie per leaf and an impressive nutritional profile of vitamins A, B, C and K, beta carotene, potassium and fiber, substituting California endive leaves is one great call.

And because the cost per pound of endive is less than most chips and crackers, it’s a less expensive choice as well.

The perfect slimmer dipper, California endive leaves are ideally shaped, crisp enough to glide through a bowlful of dip or safely cradle a yummy bite without the threat of drips or spills.

Try these easy, make-ahead dips to eat deliciously healthy while celebrating the big game in style. And young football fans will love endive’s juicy crunch, especially when scooping up “pretty in pink” raspberry dip.

Romesco Dip

Makes about 2 cups, serves 8 to10

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon roughly chopped garlic
1 cup garlic croutons
1 (16-ounce) jar roasted red peppers, drained
1 cup roasted almonds or hazelnuts, peeled or whole
2 teaspoons Spanish pimentón (sweet smoked paprika), or paprika
1 teaspoon hot red pepper sauce (optional)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Salt to taste

Combine 2 tablespoons of the olive oil with the garlic in a small pan and cook
together until the garlic is fragrant but not browned, about 1 minute. Cool, then
combine the garlic mixture with the remaining ingredients and chop finely in a food
processor. (If using salted nuts, rinse lightly and drain, and do not add more salt.)
Season to taste with salt and serve with endive spears.

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For more endive information and recipes, visit the Discover Endive website!

California endive is grown exclusively by California Vegetable Specialties, the only endive grower in the U.S., in Rio Vista, Calif.

We have a lot to fill you in on here at Discover Endive. First, let’s catch up with Rachael at La Fuji Mama and her 12 Days of Endive series.

When we last saw Rachael, she was extolling the anti-cancer benefits of endive. Next, Rachael shared 12 fantastic ways to “Add Some Diva to Your Salad.” Yes, please! And on Day 8…find out about the mysterious evolution of red endive. Thanks, Rachael, for all you do to educate us on all things endive!

But wait! There’s more? Yes, more…

You can win your very own shipment of freshly packed California Endive. How? Well, check out this juicy (or should I say “Saucy”) tidbit:

Sara over at the Saucy Dipper has come up with not one, not two, but THREE dip recipes perfect for pairing with the endive. The dip recipes come just in time for Saucy Dipper’s special event called Dipstock. Discover Endive is happy to participate in Dipstock, a festival of dips, as Sara likes to call it. The first 20 Dipstock participants will receive a dip tray from Discover Endive and one lucky winner will receive a free shipment of endive. Anyone can participate. All you have to do is make a dip and share the recipe. Visit the Saucy Dipper to find out more about Dipstock and to get the recipes for a Light Ranch Dip, Spicy Pineapple Dip, and a Greek-Food Lovers Dip, all of which taste delicious when served with endive.

No matter what day of the week it is, endive makes it easy to get a healthy meal on the table. How? Check out Rachael’s latest “12 Days of Endive” post for the latest endive fact that will make you smile…

Endive: perhaps the easiest vegetable going?

Wondering what to do with California endive? Did you know it is versatile enough to be cooked or eaten raw? Rachael of La Fuji Mama shares a wonderful list of ideas for dips, spreads and other fun fillings to go in raw endive leaves (spears) in her recent post Endive: Do the Dip!

Another bonus is that endive does not need to be washed. During the growing process, it never touches dirt, nor is it handled directly. That’s a great time-saver when you just can’t wait to bite into some endive!

For more fun endive facts, check out Rachael’s on-going series, 12 Days of Endive. You could even win a shipment of endive yourself. But hurry!

12 Days of Endive with Rachael from La Fuji Mama

On Day 3 of the 12 Days of Endive, Rachael schools us in the history of endive. This little vegetable has quite a storied past!

Want to win some freshly packed California endive?

Check out Rachael’s post, then come back here and leave a comment telling one new thing you learned about endive. If you do, you’ll be entered to win a shipment of California endive. Entry period will close on Monday January 23, midnight EST. Winner chosen at random from all valid entries. Void where prohibited. Shipping only to continental US, excluding Alaska.

What are you waiting for? Now’s your chance to win the Queen of Vegetables!

This sweepstakes is closed. Thank you for your comments! Congratulations to Shreela for winning a shipment of freshly packed California endive!

Want a little help pronouncing “endive” correctly? Rachael, from La Fuji Mama has you covered. Check out Day 2 of the 12 Days of Endive, and while you’re there, be sure to listen in to her brand new podcast series “Miso Hungry!” Congrats, Rachael!

Here’s a fantastic series all about endive from Rachael from La Fuji Mama: 12 Days of Endive. For twelve days, Rachael will be sharing interesting endive facts and recipes. Be sure to check back for her latest posts and updates!

First in the series, Rachael offers a delicious, family-friendly recipe with California endive as the base. The title says it all with this luscious dish: Sautéed Endive with Toasted Israeli Couscous and Poached Eggs. Click the photo to read more!

Sautéed Endive with Toasted Israeli Couscous and Poached Eggs

By now you know that our OnDivas have been busy creating delicious endive recipes to spread the word about this delicious vegetable. However, not only can our endive afficianados create wonderful dishes with the “Queen of Vegetables,” they are talented in every area of the kitchen.

Without further ado, let’s take a quick peek into what the OnDivas are up to this week, in recipe round-up format.

Carolyn offers heartfelt Homemade Nutella Truffles (Low Carb and Gluten-Free) and a Thank You

Winnie slows down to enjoy braised sausage and tomatoes with chard and poached eggs

Paula teaches us How to Make Italian Hot Chocolate

Dara spices up Edamame (Soy Bean) Dip with Smoked Paprika & Garlic Recipe

Rachael creates magic with Snowman Peppermint White Hot Chocolate

Stop by and give them a read!

 

Rice Noodle Salad with Endive, Shrimp & Soy-Ginger Dressing

To ring in the New Year, Dara from Cookin’ Canuck proves that delicious and healthy go hand in hand with her Rice Noodle Salad with Endive, Shrimp & Soy-Ginger Dressing. Check out her website for the full recipe, as well as some endive nutrition facts that will have you asking for seconds!

Thanks, Dara!

Endive, Kale, and Smoked Salmon Salad with Avocado and Pink Grapefruit

Today, Winnie from Healthy Green Kitchen has created a delicious Endive, Kale, and Smoked Salmon Salad with Avocado and Pink Grapefruit. As she describes, “It’s nutrient dense and delicious- perfect as a healthy New Year’s Eve party first course, or as a tasty low-carb winter meal to counteract holiday overindulgence.” As you plan your New Year’s Eve festivities (and your return to healthy eating in 2012), make this salad a part of your menu! For the full recipe, visit Healthy Green Kitchen

Endive with homemade boursin and smoked salmon

The holidays are filled with wonderful opportunities to share home cooked meals, entertain friends and neighbors, and celebrate all that is delicious during the season. Today, one of our OnDivas, Carolyn, from All Day I Dream About Food, shares a family recipe for homemade boursin. The recipe is her husband’s, and Carolyn promises it is “out of this world!” She puts a healthy dollop on raw endive leaves, and tops that with smoked salmon. Try Carolyn’s version, or use the delicious spread as a base and come up with your own mouth-watering combinations. Ideas include:

• chopped walnuts
• dried cranberries
• thinly sliced cucumber
• buttery croutons (for extra crunch!)
• fresh herbs (basil, dill, Italian parsley)
• smoked almonds
• crumbled bacon
• a drizzle of honey

Mix and match a few to see what you like best! And be sure to visit Carolyn’s blog for the full recipe and story behind this family favorite!

Endive with homemade boursin and smoked salmon

For the past week, we have been introducing you to our new panel of OnDivas. The OnDivas are each fabulous home cooks, creative recipe developers, talented food photographers and entertaining culinary writers all rolled into one. They are helping Discover Endive spread the word about California endive: the health benefits of eating endive, its value at the grocery store, and its versatility in your weekly menu. What’s more, this week the OnDivas offer you more wonderful holiday recipes and entertaining suggestions that will reduce your stress in the weeks to come!

Dara of Cookin' Canuck

Today, Dara from Cookin’ Canuck shares one of her “go-to” recipes for holiday entertaining, as well as revealing some of her favorite memories and foods from this joyful season.

What are some of your family’s traditional recipes or foods that you include in your holiday cooking from year to year? What are the “new” holiday culinary traditions you’ve created, and how did they come about? Some of our holiday recipe traditions come straight from our childhood, such as my husband’s great-grandmother’s butter cookies in the shapes of wreaths and trees.  Being from Canada, my family holds tight to many English traditions, such as serving plum pudding (on fire, of course) and butter tarts.  Our new traditions include serving decadent maple-glazed cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning.  We always serve turkey for Christmas dinner, but we make it on Christmas Eve and slather it with hot gravy on Christmas.  This takes some of the chaos out of Christmas day.  The holidays just aren’t the holidays without _________________________? …without watching my mum, my mother-in-law and our two boys dress up as reindeer, serenading us with jingle bells and Christmas carols.  It just never gets old. What is your favorite holiday movie, television special, character or song? Without a doubt, my favorite holiday character is the Grinch.  My dad started reading the story to us every Christmas Eve when I was very young and my husband and I now carry on the tradition with our boys.  We look at every picture in detail, marveling at all of the cool Seuss-ian toys. What is one go-to recipe for the holidays that you can share with the Discover Endive audience? My dad’s bread stuffing is a “must” at Christmas table.  Filled with fresh herbs and tender bread, the stuffing easily fills half of my plate each year…and then I go back for seconds.  He started making the stuffing when I was a teenager.  My mum was sick with bronchitis one year and my dad took it upon himself to come up with a stuffing recipe.  Surrounded by every cookbook we owned, he pieced together what has now become a family favorite. What is one tip, suggestion or piece of advice for the Discover Endive audience to cut back on stress during holiday entertaining and/or cooking? Delegate, delegate and then delegate some more.  Everyone wants to help, so let them!  The last thing guests want to do is sit idly by as they watch a harried host run around the kitchen.

Thanks, Dara!

Be sure to visit Dara’s food blog, Cookin’ Canuck for more great recipes and ideas.

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Stay tuned for more from the OnDivas, including California Endive Stuffed with Homemade Boursin later this week. And if you have a question for our OnDivas, post it to the Discover Endive facebook page or shout it out on Twitter!

For the next week, we will be introducing you to our new panel of OnDivas. The OnDivas are each fabulous home cooks, creative recipe developers, talented food photographers and entertaining culinary writers all rolled into one. They are helping Discover Endive spread the word about California endive: the health benefits of eating endive, its value at the grocery store, and its versatility in your weekly menu. What’s more, this week the OnDivas offer you more wonderful holiday recipes and entertaining suggestions that will reduce your stress in the weeks to come!

Rachael of La Fuji Mama

Today, Rachael from La Fuji Mama shares one of her “go-to” recipes for holiday entertaining, as well as revealing some of her favorite memories and foods from this joyful season.

What are the “new” holiday culinary traditions you’ve created, and how did they come about?

One of our newer traditions (at least for me) is that I make fruit cake every year for Christmas.  My husband’s grandmother used to make it every year.  When she passed away a couple of years ago, I realized that there would be no fruit cake that Christmas, made especially sad by the fact that it is something my husband’s grandpa looks forward to all year.  So I decided to make it something I would do each year.  Now I look forward to the moment when I can give grandpa his own little loaf each December.

What is your favorite holiday movie, television special, character or song?

O Holy Night—the music never fails to send tingles up and down my spine.

What are you most looking forward to this holiday season?

Getting to spend time with family.  It’s been a busy year, so having the opportunity to slow down a bit and gather round the dinner table with family sounds better than any gift that could be wrapped and put under then tree!

What is one go-to recipe for the holidays that you can share with the Discover Endive audience?

I LOVE chocolate covered pretzels, but always shy away from making them myself because I find the process monotonous.  This month I came up with a super simple way to get all of the same flavors of my beloved chocolate dipped pretzels in a homemade treat, without the monotony—my recipe for white chocolate peppermint pretzel bark: http://www.savvysassymoms.com/white-chocolate-peppermint-pretzel-bark/

What is one tip, suggestion or piece of advice for the Discover Endive audience to cut back on stress during holiday entertaining and/or cooking? 

Don’t forget to stop and live in the moment.  I find that it’s all too easy to get caught up in the stress of the holiday season and I have to stop and remind myself why I’m doing everything.  Stop and enjoy the looks of wonder on your children’s faces as they experience the magic of the season.  Don’t worry so much about perfection—I promise, no one else will notice.  You have the rest of your life to work on perfection, but you only have these moments once!

Thanks, Rachael!

Be sure to visit Rachael’s food blog, La Fuji Mama for more great recipes and ideas. Stay tuned for another interview, recipe and tip with another fabulous OnDiva, coming tomorrow!

For the next week, we will be introducing you to our new panel of OnDivas. The OnDivas are each fabulous home cooks, creative recipe developers, talented food photographers and entertaining culinary writers all rolled into one. They are helping Discover Endive spread the word about California endive: the health benefits of eating endive, its value at the grocery store, and its versatility in your weekly menu. What’s more, this week the OnDivas offer you more wonderful holiday recipes and entertaining suggestions that will reduce your stress in the weeks to come!

Winnie Abramson of Healthy Green Kitchen

Today, Winnie from Healthy Green Kitchen shares one of her “go-to” recipes for holiday entertaining, as well as revealing some of her favorite memories and foods from this joyful season.

What foods or recipes do you find that you save for the holidays, only making them at this time of year? 

I definitely do more cookie baking and more candy making this time of year. I limit sugar in my diet most of the time, but I make exceptions to this rule in December!

What are you most looking forward to this holiday season? 

We live in NY and my husband works much of the time in Arizona so he’s generally only home on the weekends. My kids and I are looking forward to him being home for a longer stretch over the holidays. What is one tip, suggestion or piece of advice for the Discover Endive audience to cut back on stress during holiday entertaining and/or cooking? If you are having a party, do as much of the recipe preparation as you can ahead of time, and don’t choose recipes that require a lot of last-minute tending. For me, there is really nothing less fun than “babysitting” a fussy dish in the kitchen while everyone else is having a blast in the next room. It’s better to make things that are low maintenance, and that are fine served at room temperature. If your recipes require a lot of vegetable chopping or other similar prep work, try to get this done in advance (a day or two before your party). What is one go-to recipe for the holidays that you can share with the Discover Endive audience? We are Jewish, so I am going to have to say latkes. Here’s how I make mine.

Latkes

Ingredients:

* 4 medium-large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced longways (so they fit into the food processor)
* 1 medium onion, peeled and sliced to fit into the food processor
* 2 tablespoons finely minced parsley
* 2 tablespoons finely minced green onion
* 2 eggs, preferably organic and free-range, whisked with a fork
* 2 tablespoons organic all purpose flour or leftover mashed potatoes
* Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
* Grapeseed oil for frying

Directions:

1. Using a hand grater or a food processor, grate the potatoes and the onion. Place in a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and press out the water. 2. Mix the potato and onion in a bowl with the parsley, green onion, eggs, and the flour. Mix well. Season with 2 pinches each of salt and pepper. 3. Heat a cast iron skillet or a griddle and coat with a thin layer of the oil (about 1/2 inch). Place spoonfuls of the potato mixture into the oil, flattening each one with a spatula. 4. Fry several minutes, until golden brown, and then flip over and continue frying until both sides are well browned. Drain on paper towels. Add additional oil to the pan as needed to fry the rest of the latkes. 5. Serve immediately with applesauce and crème fraîche or sour cream (or the topping(s) of your choice). Thanks, Winnie!

Be sure to visit Winnie’s food blog, Healthy Green Kitchen for more great recipes and ideas. Stay tuned for another interview, recipe and tip with another fabulous OnDiva, coming tomorrow!