Cooking Fun!

Sometimes, I get bored with our regular dinner routine. We do soups and salads with fruit, or a main dish + side dish sort of thing. Last night I decided to throw together my own version of the appetizer dinner, laying out everything in a buffet-style-serve-yourself manner. It was a hit, I am not sure if it was the break from the regular hum drum or if it was the food. Perhaps, it was a little bit of both.

First, I fried up some pita chips. Pita chips bought in the store can be expensive. There’s no need for the expense! You can make your own. I just bought a few packages of pita and brought them home, cut into triangles and fried them until golden brown in my deep fryer in 365 degree oil. Then remove and drain on a cotton towel or paper towels. The frying can also be done in a heavy pot (make sure not to fill your pot too high with oil). Also, if you are anti-fry, that’s ok. You can toss them with olive oil and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until they reach the desired doneness. Check on them, though! We don’t want to burn them. You can season these with salt, lemon pepper, or any herby type seasoning mix. With the pita chips we decided to go for hummus and my artichoke-spinach dip.

To this we added some Mango Summer Rolls (Vegan With a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz) and the accompanying sauce. My kids helped me get the ingredients ready and assemble these. This is a great way for kids to help out in the kitchen. We also had some Greek olives and a simple cucumber salad. To wash all this down, we decided to make some lemonade.

So, if you are getting “bored” with your regular routine, shake it up a little. You don’t have to do appetizers. You can go on a picnic, or have a Bond party with martini’s, food and Bond movies. Whatever it is, just have fun.