Blistered Padron Pepper Salmon Cream Cheese

This Blistered Padron Pepper Salmon Cream Cheese is the perfect schmear for your bagels, a little bit spicy, a little bit fishy and a whole lot of creamy!

This recipe was created when I had several blistered Padron peppers leftover after a snacky lunch and some cooked salmon leftover from dinner the night before. 

Making a schmear for bagels probably wouldn’t have occurred to me but I had just come across bagels in my nearby supermarket (in the Channel Islands, no less) that claimed to be the real deal. Boiled then baked for that genuine New York chewiness. You know I had to buy a bag if only to say, nope, these are not good; at least I tried.

I don’t know if it’s that I’d been overseas for too many months or if the bagels were really boiled then baked but they were pretty good! And they were excellent with this schmear. 

I am sharing this recipe today because it would be perfect for an Easter weekend brunch and it is better made ahead so the ingredients have time to meld. 

Blistered Padron Pepper Salmon Cream Cheese

I give the amounts I used below but you can use them as a guideline. Have a few more peppers or a little less salmon? The combo will still be delicious. Likewise, this recipe is easily doubled or trebled. 

Ingredients

2 1/2 oz or 70g blistered Padron peppers (I used about 7)

4 1/2 oz or 126g cream cheese

2 1/2 oz or 70g cooked salmon (Mine was pan-fried)

Fine sea salt to taste

Method

Sear the peppers in a hot nonstick skillet until they are blistered. Toss or stir frequently. (This was all the peppers I blistered as part of our snacky lunch. As above in the ingredient list, I used seven for this recipe.) Set aside to cool. 

Put the cream cheese in a bowl and leave to come to room temperature. 

Remove any bones or skin from the salmon and break it into flakes with your clean hands.

Remove the stems and chop the Padron peppers well. 

Add them to the cream cheese and stir until well combined. 

Fold the salmon into the peppery cream cheese.

Add a sprinkle of salt, if needed.

Serve with fresh bagels. Or with crackers. If you don't eat it with a spoon. 

Enjoy! 

Happy Easter to all who celebrate! It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes for Easter that can be made ahead. Many thanks to our host, Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm. Check out the links below. 

• Apple Crisp Sweet Strata from A Messy Kitchen
• Asian Pear Slaw from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Blistered Padron Pepper Salmon Cream Cheese from Food Lust People Love
• Cauliflower Mac and Cheese from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Lime Pound Cake from Making Miracles
• Pork Tikka Masala from Sneha's Recipe

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Salmon Cream Cheese!

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Bacon and Egg Breakfast Quesadillas

One of my favorite easy meals, these bacon and egg breakfast quesadillas are spicy, rich and cheesy, the perfect combination in my book. Great also for lunch or dinner!

Growing up in Texas, tortillas are a common kitchen staple. I almost always have some in the freezer or refrigerator, ready for quick meals. And, failing that, I have masa harina in the pantry so if I’m really hard up and not time-pressed, I can make some!

There is no quicker snack or meal than simple cheese quesadillas. Two ingredients: cheese and tortillas. Even a child can make them and mine sure did! Add in a protein or some vegetables and now you’ve got something not only tasty but nutritious. 

Bacon and Egg Breakfast Quesadillas

I’m calling these breakfast quesadillas because, you know, bacon and eggs, but truly, they are a favorite for snack, lunch and dinner as well. I like to serve them with sliced avocado or salsa for topping. 

Ingredients for each quesadilla

1 oz or 28g sharp cheddar

1 spring onion

1 bird’s eye chili pepper, optional but highly recommended

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 large egg

2 fresh tortillas (I used mitad y mitad, half flour/ half corn.)

1 oz or 28g bacon crumbles

Optional for serving – sliced avocado

Method

Slice the spring onion finely and mince the chili pepper, if using. 

Grate the cheddar cheese. 

To a small bowl, add the egg, spring onion and chili pepper. Season with a pinch of fine sea salt and a few good grinds of black pepper. 

Whisk with a fork to combine. 

In a small nonstick skillet over a medium heat, toast the tortillas on both sides and set them aside.

Add the bacon crumbles to the pan and cook until they are crispy. 

Pour in the egg mixture and cook just until the bottom is set and the top is still runny.

Place one toasted tortilla on top of the egg and press down very gently. 

Cook for a few more minutes until the egg is set enough so you can turn it over easily without making a mess. 

Sprinkle the cheddar on the egg evenly. 

 Top with the second tortilla. 

Cook until the cheddar starts to melt and stick to the tortilla. Again, if you turn too soon, you’ll lose some cheese and no one wants that. Cheese sticking well? Flip the quesadilla. 

Cook for a couple of more minutes or until the cheese is completely melted and the quesadilla is hot through. 

You can keep the finished quesadillas warm in a low oven, wrapped in foil, until you are ready to serve if you are making multiples or serve immediately if you are not. 

Cut the quesadilla into wedges with a sharp knife or pizza cutter. 

Serve hot! 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are featuring the humble tortilla. Many thanks to our host, Karen from Karen’s Kitchen Stories. Check out the links below. 

• Bacon and Egg Breakfast Quesadillas by Food Lust People Love
• Baked Vegetable Chimichanga by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Easy Enchiladas by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Crock Pot Quesabirria by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Gluten Free Sweet Potato Tortillas by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Bake by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Shrimp Tacos with Coleslaw by Making Miracles
• Vegan Samosadillas by Sneha's Recipe
  
  

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Spicy Samurai Fries

Spicy Samurai Fries are crispy thin cut fries, topped with samurai sauce, spring onions and crunchy fried shallots. They are a hugely popular street food in Belgium. 

Samurai sauce is a spicy, creamy mixture of mayonnaise and sambal oelek and, often, ketchup. Known for its spiciness and rich flavor, it is a staple in Belgian friteries aka fry shops.

According to Google, “Samurai sauce is called that because its intense spiciness is meant to "sting" like a samurai's sword. Popularized in Belgium in the early 2000s, the name reflects a "warrior-like" heat rather than a Japanese origin.”

Do you have to use Kewpie mayonnaise? I don’t know, but a lot of the recipes I found online and by consulting the Reddit brain trust did mention it by name. Since sambal oelek isn’t Japanese, perhaps Kewpie is a cultural nod after the fact, to samurai warriors being Japanese. 

If you want the authentic Kewpie, buy the one in the bottle in the plastic bag. It’s actually labeled Made in Japan. The one without the bag is a different and, in my opinion, an inferior recipe, made elsewhere. 

Spicy Samurai Fries

You can adjust the spiciness of the samurai sauce by adding more mayo and/or using less sambal. Some recipes also called for ketchup so if you reduce the sambal and want more color, that’s a legitimate addition. I also added ground cayenne because despite chili peppers being the first two ingredients, my sambal wasn’t very spicy. 

Ingredients

½ cup or 110g Kewpie mayonnaise

2 tablespoons sambal oelek

¼ teaspoon cayenne - optional

2 spring onions, green part only

2 tablespoons fried shallots – mine were store-bought

1 lb or 450g frozen shoestring fries

Method

In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise and the sambal together until well combined.

 

Add in the cayenne if using and stir well. 

Cover with cling film and refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Slice the green part of the spring onions thinly, on the diagonal. 

Cook your fries according to package instructions. 

Once the fries are nice and crispy, tip them onto a plate with paper towel to blot any oil that might have cooked off of them. 

Put them on a serving dish and drizzle some of the samurai sauce over the fries. I prefer not to put too much so that the fries stay as crispy as possible. 

Sprinkle on the spring onion slices and the crispy fried shallots.

Serve immediately with the rest of the samurai sauce alongside for dipping. 

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes for or with fries or their British counterpart, chips. Many thanks to our host, Mayuri of Mayuri’s Jikoni. Check out the links below.

• Cheesy Bacon Ranch Loaded French Fries from Making Miracles
• Corned Beef Poutine from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Keto Rutabaga French Fries from Sneha's Recipe
• Leftover French Fry Hash from A Messy Kitchen
• Masala Chip Butty from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Lomo Saltado from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Spicy Samurai Fries from Food Lust People Love

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Maple Thyme Hasselback Yams

Slightly sweet yet delightfully savory, these tender maple thyme hasselback yams are a wonderful (and pretty!) side dish for your holiday table.

Everybody makes a big deal of Girl Scout cookie season, and rightfully so, of course. They are delicious and iconic, especially the Thin Mints. But I daresay fewer people are aware of a Scouting America (formerly Boy Scouts) fundraiser that takes place in many councils across the United States. 

I discovered the program a couple of years ago at a neighborhood holiday event where among the vendor booths there was a troop of scouts selling their branded Scout’s Own maple syrup. Apparently, if they live close to maple syrup country, scouts can attend “Sap Camp” to learn about and help with the production of the syrup.

Since I cannot say no to a young person selling something delicious, you know I had to buy a bottle. Scout’s Own maple syrup is lovely, dark, rich and just the perfect amount of sweet. I used it to make these maple thyme hasselback yams. 

Maple Thyme Hasselback Yams

Growing up in the southern United States, we called these orange flesh tubers yams or occasionally, sweet potatoes. You can substitute your favorite sweet potato here. 

Ingredients

3 yams

2 tablespoons olive oil

Fine sea salt

¼ cup or 56g butter

¼ cup or 60ml maple syrup

2 sprigs fresh thyme plus extra for garnish

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Scrub the yams and trim the hard ends and discard. Place a yam in a deep serving spoon and use a sharp knife to cut thin slices in it, just down to the spoon edges. Repeat with the other two yams.

Place the yams in a tight-fitting baking pan and drizzle them with the olive oil, opening the slices to get a little oil inside the yams. Sprinkle with fine sea salt, trying to get some inside the yams as well. 

Bake the yams for 30 minutes in your preheated oven. 

Melt the butter and mix it with the maple syrup, ¼ teaspoon salt and the leaves from the fresh thyme sprigs. 

Spoon the maple butter thyme mixture over the yams, making sure to get it in between the slices, inside the yams. 

Bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the yams are tender and cooked through. Turn off the oven when you take the yams out.

Drain the syrupy butter into a small pot and put the yams back into the turned off oven to stay warm. 

Bring the syrup to a boil over a medium high heat. 

Cook for about five minutes until reduced and thickened. 

Leave to cool for just a couple of minutes then spoon over the yams and garnish with tender sprigs of thyme. Serve immediately. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes with maple syrup ahead of Maple Syrup Saturday on March 21st. Many thanks to our host, Camilla from Culinary Cam. Check out the links below!

• French Toast by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Karawya with a Maple Syrup Drizzle by Culinary Cam
• Keto Baked Chicken Legs in Buffalo Sauce by Sneha's Recipe
• Maple Bacon Candied Walnuts by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Maple Bourbon Smash by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Maple Dijon Bacon Green Beans by Making Miracles
• Maple Mousse by A Messy Kitchen
• Maple Pecan Glaze for Scones by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Maple Thyme Hasselback Yams by Food Lust People Love

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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