Stack ‘Em High

The good news about today is that we are only one day from the weekend starting right?

One of my very favorite things to make is a good stacked dish. I’ve used this tool before when I was showing you how to plate a stacked salad. This is the first time that I used both metal rings on top of each other to make an even taller stack. It’s so easy to do, and quite impressive if you’re serving it for dinner.

These Tuna Stacks are simple but pack a punch of delicious and are perfect for your sushi fix. Start with your first metal ring and press your rice in (I used sticky but regular white would be fine too). Then, do the same with avocado, cucumber, and then crab.

When you’re adding the ingrediencies, once you get to a point where your first metal ring is running out of room that’s when you add the second one. Mine was about when I added the crab.

If you don’t have metal rings, you can make this on a tad smaller scale with a one cup measuring cup. I’ve done that before too. After you are happy with your stack very carefully add the tuna (I seared on each side for about a minute or so).

For the finishing touch add a mix of lite mayo and Sriracha, and drizzle on top.

I mean, it’s Thursday after all, I don’t see anything wrong with starting the weekend a little early.

What do you say?

Play With Fire

This wasn’t the post that I intended for this week but there was no way I could ignore all the messages I got on Instagram after I posted our V-Day food on my stories. 

Before I get in to this easy and unique recipe I have to first share the story behind it. You may or may not know that we are very big fans of The Florida Keys and have been there many times. One of the first times that MK and I went there, my Aunt (long time resident and food aficionado) introduced us to an amazing Tapas restaurant in Key West called Santiago’s. We quickly fell in love and ordered all the food. 

One of the things we ordered was “Saganaki”. Flaming cheese? Bring it on. We were quite amazed and probably a little drunk when our waiter proceeded to pour alcohol on our dish and light it on fire, adding the perfect singe to the cheese. We asked about this dish and he simply said that it was goat cheese and what he poured on it was Brandy. When in Key West we never miss a stop to this favorite joint of ours.

Fast forward a few years and if you’ve been to a party of ours we usually whip out this easy and fun appetizer. This past Valentines Day we were talking about how we hadn’t made the dish in a while so we did. You guys needed to know what it was and how to make it. So here it is!  

What you need: 

Brandy (don’t get super cheap Brandy it won’t work as well about a $15 bottle will do) 

Goat cheese

Spices

What you do:

Press the goat cheese into an oven safe dish and spice it up. I use a ton of spices so have some fun with different flavors.  Then, bake in the oven on 350 for 20 minutes or until bubbly.

Remove from the oven and quickly pour the Brandy all over the dish. 

Light it on fire and enjoy the fun and sizzle. The fire will go out on its own and the booze ads the perfect flavor!.

Serve with crackers, bread, or pita

I’m so glad you guys were into this easy and fun appetizer! And if you ever end up in Key West, do yourself a favor, head in to Santiago’s, order all the food, and drink too much wine. 

Happy Wednesday Everyone! 

Let’s Get Cheesy

Hello Friends!

If you know me then you know I love to entertain. Hosting parties is like my thing. I also love to pick on appetizers and sip my vino instead of sit down dinners (I mean of course there is a time and place for that). On today’s Perfectly Plated I’m talking about the anatomy of the PERFECT cheese plate. Recently, I had someone tell me I should do a post on doing a cheese platter like you would order in a restaurant. Well here you go! MK and I always stay in for Valentines Day, and usually do wine and cheese. There also might be steaks involved. But always wine and cheese.

When I started hosting many years ago,  I did soooo much research on how to make the perfect cheeseboard. One full proof thing I learned was “something old, something new, something goat, and something blue”.  That will always stay in my head when creating this appetizer. A board like this might be intimidating but I can assure you it isn’t hard.

How to Charcuterie:

Here is a list of what I used:

Meats: Pepperoni

Salami

Prosciutto wrapped around mozzarella

Sliced ham

Sweet Sopressata

Cheeses: Asiago (old)

Fresh Mozzarella  (new)

Brie

Goat

Gorgonzola (blue)

I added: Grapes

Gorgonzola stuffed olives

Walnuts

Honey

Raspberry Rhubarb

Fresh Rosemary

An assortment of bread and crackers. Make sure to mix up the texture and flavors.

I recently came to own cheese knives. Why they weren't already a part of my life before is beyond me. But, I thought it would go perfectly with this cheeseboard talk to break down what you use them for.

Spatula: This one is for cheeses like Brie or Camembert

Cheese Fork: Move cheese easily with this to plates

Heart Shaped: Best for hard cheeses like Asiago

Soft Cheese Knife: For Gorgonzola or Mozzarella

No matter what your V-Day plans are, I hope they include some delicious cheese and wine of course.