Posts in appetizer
fig & arugula bruschetta

today is a very special day. yes, fig and arugula bruschetta is pretty freaking fantastic, but that is not the only reason that today is special. september nineteenth so happens to be my lovely husband's birthday. and today, we celebrated the way any good, hard working man and his wife should. by lounging about, relaxing and watching day long football coverage as we prepare for our head to head fantasy football battle this week. 

it is our seventh year of celebrating birthdays together and it is hard for me to believe how much has changed. when we met, he had a crazy roommate who inexplicably made wes's french press vanish and i lived with my parents. he worked a regular old nine to five job at a construction company that sold concrete and i was a customer service coordinator for a surf company. 

the first night we met, i gave him a long lecture about how he should be doing something that he loved, not just a job. i didn't then realize i was also talking to myself. and more than that, i had no idea that what we loved would end up being making food together. and yesterday, to ring in another year of wesley, we enjoyed this sweet and tangy bruschetta dish in our tiny garden with a crisp glass of wine and our cat by our side. this dish is a true celebration. 

fig + arugula bruschetta
serves: 2 as a snack or 4 as an appetizer
prep time: 5 minutes
active time: 10 minutes
total time: 15 minutes
ingredients: 5 black figs, cut into eighths. 1 small shallot, thinly sliced. .25 cup arugula, roughly chopped. 1 garlic clove, minced. 1 tbs olive oil. juice of 1 lemon. 1 tsp kosher salt. 12 .5 inch thick cut baguette slices. 1 tsp balsamic glaze. 

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start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees f. if you are using a toaster oven instead, just set it to lightly toast. 

combine the juice of the lemon, the shallots and half the salt in a small bowl. 

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in a medium bowl, combine the figs, remaining salt, garlic and the arugula and set aside. 

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then, toast your bread in the oven for 5-7 minutes till lightly toasted. 

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after your bread has toasted, add the shallots and any remaining lemon juice to the fig mixture.

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add in the olive oil and lightly toss. 

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top each piece of bread with a healthy scoop of fig mixture. 

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place the bruschetta on a serving platter and drizzle with balsamic glaze. 

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serve and enjoy. 

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xo, a

fig + arugula bruschetta
serves: 2 as a snack or 4 as an appetizer
prep time: 5 minutes
active time: 10 minutes
total time: 15 minutes
ingredients: 5 black figs, cut into eighths. 1 small shallot, thinly sliced. .25 cup arugula, roughly chopped. 1 garlic clove, minced. 1 tbs olive oil. juice of 1 lemon. 1 tsp kosher salt. 12 .5 inch thick cut baguette slices. 1 tsp balsamic glaze.
start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees f. if you are using a toaster oven instead, just set it to lightly toast. combine the juice of the lemon, the shallots and half the salt in a small bowl. in a medium bowl, combine the figs, remaining salt, garlic and the arugula and set aside. then, toast your bread in the oven for 5-7 minutes till lightly toasted. after your bread has toasted, add the shallots and any remaining lemon juice to the fig mixture. add in the olive oil and lightly toss. top each piece of bread with a healthy scoop of fig mixture. place the bruschetta on a serving platter and drizzle with balsamic glaze. serve and enjoy. 

nobu style shishito peppers
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wes has been working at the VERY high end nobu restaurant that recently opened by our house for about five months now. and while their food is absolutely delicious, it is WAY too pricey for either of us to be eating there on the reg. so we have taken to recreating their signature dishes at home. 

since the restaurant is the new hotspot in town, many people have been asking me before they go if i think it is "worth" the somewhat hefty price tag. and the answer is YES. and here is one of my main reasons why. they do even the SIMPLEST things BETTER than anyone else. the dishes i've had there have been heads above other versions of the same japanese dishes i've had at many other places. and my favorite of all? the currently menu trendy shishito peppers. i feel like everywhere i eat these days has shishitos on the menu and the nobu version just crushes all the others. 

so these nobu style shishito peppers have become a reoccurring dish in our house. now nothing is quite as good as the real thing (because food always taste better when someone else made it for you) but they are pretty damn close. 

nobu style shishito peppers
serves: 4
prep time: 2 minutes
active time: 8 minutes
total time: 10 minutes
ingredients: 8 oz shishito peppers, washed and dried. 2 tbs sweet miso paste (recommend white miso). 1 tsp lemon juice + lemon wedges for serving. couple pinches kosher salt. 1 tsp sesame seeds. grill trey or large heavy pan. 

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start by blistering your shishito peppers. with either a grill trey over the open flame on your stove, or in a hot, large pan, cook the shishitos over high heat till the outsides blister. flipping once or twice. about 5-7 minutes. remove the shishitos from the heat when they have blistered. 

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while they are cooking, in a small bowl, whisk together the miso paste with the lemon juice. use a little more juice from a wedge if need be to make the miso paste more like a sauce. 

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when the shishitos are blistered, toss them in a bowl with the lemon juice and miso. 

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season with the kosher salt. top with sesame seeds and lemon garnish and serve. 

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xo, a 

nobu style shishito peppers
serves: 4
prep time: 2 minutes
active time: 8 minutes
total time: 10 minutes
ingredients: 8 oz shishito peppers, washed and dried. 2 tbs sweet miso paste (recommend white miso). 1 tsp lemon juice + lemon wedges for serving. couple pinches kosher salt. 1 tsp sesame seeds. grill trey or large heavy pan.
start by blistering your shishito peppers. with either a grill trey over the open flame on your stove, or in a hot, large pan, cook the shishitos over high heat till the outsides blister. flipping once or twice. about 5-7 minutes. remove the shishitos from the heat when they have blistered. while they are cooking, in a small bowl, whisk together the miso paste with the lemon juice. use a little more juice from a wedge if need be to make the miso paste more like a sauce. when the shishitos are blistered, toss them in a bowl with the lemon juice and miso. season with the kosher salt. top with sesame seeds and lemon garnish and serve.