Bushwick Cooks: Associated Appetizers
Bushwick Caprese salad
The other day Jessica asked me a very serious question: what do you do when friends are coming over and you want to serve them a little snack, but only have time to run to the Associated around the corner for supplies? She likes to buy frozen shrimp, defrost it and serve it up with cocktail sauce. My favorite thing to make is the always satisfying Caprese salad. This week, I’m offering that up as my best solution, along with a quick home-made onion dip for veggies, and a very simple avocado toast. I’d love to hear what you serve when entertaining in a pinch.
Caprese Salad
2 ripe tomatoes
Mexican string cheese
Basil
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
Toast
Slice the tomatoes and string cheese so they’re equal size and thickness. Arrange on a plate alternating tomato, cheese and big pieces of basil. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with toast on the side.
Onion Dip
1 medium onion (finely diced)
1 clove garlic (finely diced)
1 container sour cream (low-fat, full-fat, whatever you like)
1/2 cup Crema Mexicana or mayonnaise
1 pinch marjoram
Salt & pepper
Assorted veggies
Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil until caramelized (this will take about 10 minutes), and set aside to cool. Combine sour cream and Crema Mexicana or mayo, mix in onions, garlic, marjoram, salt and pepper. Refrigerate the dip for as long as you can before guests come over (it’s supposed to rest for about two hours, but if you don’t have that much time, it’s still delicious). Serve with your favorite veggies.
Avocado Toast
1 avocado
Lemon
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
Toast
Drizzle toast with olive oil, place slices of avocado on each piece of toast, squeeze lemon juice over top, and season with salt & pepper.
August 22nd, 2008 at 11:05 am
Thank you so much P! Avocado toast is such a good idea. Next time you come over, that is what you are getting.
August 23rd, 2008 at 2:36 pm
since we’re on the topic of avocado, i like to do an array of 3 or 4 guacamoles. very simple and cheap (you can cross-use ingredients). buy 4 ripe avocados, 1 small red onion, 2 limes, 1 mango, 1 jalapeno, and 1 bunch of cilantro.
mash up all 4 avocados, squeeze 1 lime, add red onion, salt and pepper. this is our base. we will divide it into four small cups, to which we will add each respective theme ingredient.
guac #1 = classic. no additions.
guac #2 = mango. add diced cubes of mango to the guac base, mix, and its ready to go. sweet and tart.
guac #3 = cilantro & lime. chop all the cilantro and squeeze the extra lime. this will give it a very lime-y and cilantro-y taste. obvs.
guac #4 = jalapeno. you can add a full jalapeno, with or without the seeds. i also like to sometimes add red paprika or cayenne, whatever you have on hand.
you can do so many other kinds. add pineapple or blood red orange for two other fruit variations. or chipotle peppers. or mint leaves.
serve with chips or thinly sliced cucumbers.
August 23rd, 2008 at 11:41 pm
ravi, i love that idea - a guac flight!
August 25th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
So i made the avocado toast for Paige. It was genius, delicious, cost 2.50, took 1 minute.