It’s hard to believe the year is almost over! New Year’s Eve is upon us – and so are the parties and plans. We used to go to low key parties, but I’ve never been able to stay awake until midnight!! Now we watch the specials on TV and watch the ball drop in New York. Happy New Year and turn off the light.

But we do like to have something festive and special together. One of our favorite things is to toast with sparkling (non-alcoholic) cider and eat from a spread of appetizers. I make three and my husband makes three. It’s fun, delicious and perfect for us old geezers.

We love bacon wrapped anything – and I love oysters. So looking for something simple, I came up with this. And it really worked!

Making the Oysters 

These are so easy to make. I used medium oysters, but they were pretty big. I would suggest using small. And there are variations in this recipe. You can add herbs under the bacon, jalapeño slices, or even wrap a small lemon wedge inside. Use this recipe as a springboard to create your delicious flavors!

Precook the bacon first. Create circles and lay them on the tray of the airfryer. Cook at 350 degrees for 5 minutes.

While it’s cooking, toss the raw oysters with the spice and lemon juice.

When the bacon ^[1] is done (it will still be soft and only slightly rendered), remove it from the fryer and let it cool enough to handle. When you can touch it, wrap each oyster as tight as you can with the bacon and lay it on the airfryer tray.

Continue with all the oysters.

Cook at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. If the bacon is not crispy, go another 3 to 4 minutes.

Move to a serving plate.

Serving the dish 

Serve them on small plates with a wedge of lemon. You can also offer a dish of seafood cocktail to tip them in.

Another delicious way to eat them is to place a piece of the oyster and bacon on top of a cracker with brie cheese.

And enjoy!

© Copyright 2023 The Lazy Gastronome

Leave me a comment – I’d love to hear your thoughts!

I’m always looking for new things to eat and cook. I tried these at a restaurant and decided to give them a go. I little research, a little playing, and I came up with some Saigon crepes that were pretty close to what I ate -We’ll be having them again!

What is a Saigon Crepe?

Saigon crepes are a Vietnamese ^[6] street food. The crispy crepes are typically filled with pork, shrimp, bean sprouts and green onions – and sometimes mushrooms. Each crepe is wrapped in a lettuce leaf.

They are served with a sweet, savory and salty nuoc cham – a Vietnamese dipping sauce. Not only are they delicious, they are easy to make!

Make the nuoc cham first – 

Mix the sugar with the warm water in a small bowl. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk until blended.

Many of the ingredients are available in the Asian section of the market (or on Amazon!)

Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to use it, at least a couple of hours. It will help all the flavors meld together.

Be sure to bring it to room temperature before you use it.

You can also buy the sauce premade  –

Making and serving the crepes – 

Mix all the crepe batter ingredients together in a medium bowl. Allow it to rest at least one hour before you use it.

Ready to eat? Get all the ingredients together and prepped.

Start by cooking the onions and mushrooms in 2 Tablespoons of oil. Gently cook until they are starting to soften.

Add the shrimp and pork and cook until the shrimp is just starting to turn pink, about 3 minutes.

Remove it all from the heat and set aside.

Heat a skillet and add 1 Tablespoon of oil.

Pour 1/4 of the crepe batter (about 1/3 cup) to the pan and swirl it to spread it out to a thin pancake. Let it cook for about 1 minutes on medium-high heat.

Add 1/4 of the vegetable and meat mixture, 1/4 of the bean sprouts and 1/4 of the green onions. Cover and cook for another minutes. The shrimp should be pink, but the sprouts should still have some crunch.

Gently fold the crepe in half and set on a heated plate. Continue until all four crepes are made. If you are making a lot, put them on a rack in the oven on warm. The rack will keep them crispy.

Lay each crepe on a fresh lettuce leaf. Wrap the leaf around the crepe

and serve with dipping sauce. I cut each crepe in half, so one whole crepe is a serving.

NOTE: the first one almost always does not come out! I just set it aside and we ate it – but it wasn’t as pretty as the others! There is enough batter to make four good crepes and one not so good (first) one.

© Copyright 2023 The Lazy Gastronome

Leave me a comment – I’d love to hear your thoughts!

I don’t know about you, but when it’s hot, I don’t like to cook – or eat hot foods! We like to do sandwiches, salad bar, or just a tray of snacks. This Greek yogurt cheese is so easy to make and really has a burst of flavor! Great on crackers, toast, even a dollop on scrambled eggs!

What is Greek Yogurt Cream Cheese?

Yogurt is made by a process of fermenting milk with various bacteria, while cheese is made by curdling the milk. Cheese is higher in fat and cholesterol and doesn’t have some of nutritional benefits yogurt offers.

All yogurt is the same, except the Greek yogurt has strained some of the whey out, resulting in a thicker product.

Making Yogurt Cream Cheese – 

You can use either regular plain yogurt or Greek yogurt. The only thing to remember is full fat. The extra fat helps keep it creamy and, studies have shown, actually helps in weight loss!

Line a wire mesh strainer with a coffee filter. Mix the yogurt with the salt and nutritional yeast,

then put it in the coffee filter. The nutritional yeast gives it a bit of a nutty flavor and calms the tanginess that yogurt naturally has.

Cover it and let it sit at room temperature until it’s thick and creamy.

Greek yogurt will not take as long as regular since it’s already been strained some. You’ll need to change the coffee filter a couple of times. It should just roll off the old one onto a new one. If not, scrape it gently.

Thickening could take anywhere from 8 to 24 hours. Keep checking it.

When it has reached the consistency of whipped cream cheese ^[11], put it in a clean bowl.

In a cup, mix the honey and lemon juice until the honey dissolves.

Stir the basil and honey mixture into the cream cheese,

mixing evenly.

Put it in a covered container and refrigerate for at least three hours. It will be soft and spreadable. It should keep up to a week in there!

Fancy up a cracker with some cream cheese and edible flowers. I used borage (really easy to grow!). The flowers have just a touch of cucumber flavor.

© Copyright 2023 The Lazy Gastronome

Leave me a comment – I’d love to hear your thoughts!

I love to play in the kitchen. I’ve seen frico (fried cheese crisps) made on cooking shows, but I’ve never made them – until now! These tasty little treats are so easy to make. I’ll be making them again for sure.

What is Frico?

You’ve seen those packages of parm crisps, right? Those delicious little bites are simply of crispy fried cheese.

Originally made with Montasio cheese (an Italian hard cow’s milk cheese), these little bites originated in Italy in the 1200s. The monks made them to use the rinds of the cheese.

This hard to find cheese is very similar to parmesan or romano. And they can be made from just about any hard or semi-hard aged cheese.

How to make Frico?

I tried this with cubed cheese and grated. Little cubes make great little rounds ^[16], but take longer to crisp up. For this recipe, I used grated cheese.

Start with a HOT non-stick skillet that had no oil in it. If the pan is not non-stick, the cheese may not lift off.  Lay the cheese in strips (or you can do one big sheet and cut it, but you have to be fast. I am not).

When they become brown,

carefully lift them out of the pan and roll them around a bamboo skewer. They will be hot, so be careful.

Gently remove the curl from the stick and set aside to cool. Continue with all the strips of cheese, doing them in batches.

Once they are cooled, store them in an air-tight container at room temperature. They will last just a couple of days.

What can I use Frico on?

The hardest part of making frico, is keeping the family away until you are ready to use them! Half of mine disappeared when I turned my back on my husband!! So there is one way to use them – as a delicious, crispy snack!

They are perfect on a salad or on top of chili. Cheddar straws are perfect decor on the top of homemade mac and cheese. Try them on an omelet or even baked potato.

What creative ways will you use them? Let us know!

© Copyright 2023 The Lazy Gastronome

 

Leave me a comment – I’d love to hear your thoughts!

What exactly is ceviche?

Ceviche (also cebiche or seviche) is fish “cooked” in citrus (typically lemon or lime), then mixed with vegetables and aromatics and eaten like a salsa ^[21]. I always thought it was a Mexican dish. We used to get it (along with clam cocktails) every time we visit Baja. But I have learned that ceviche was originally from Peru.

Most of the Latin American coast has some form of ceviche. The word itself comes from the Latin word for pickle and each version pickles the fish in the citrus then adds their own elements to create a delicious appetizer.

Classic Peruvian ceviche uses shark or sea bass, but any fish can be used. The cubed fish is marinated in lime juice for just a few minutes and then mixed purple onion, aji chili, coriander and ginger. Typically served with corn on the cob and plantain chips and enjoyed at the beginning of the meal.

Mexican ceviche can be made with fish, shrimp, or even octopus. It’s marinated for several hours and can include red onion, tomato, cucumber, cilantro and jalapeños and is typically served with tortilla chips or warm tortillas.

Here is my version of ceviche that we had for my grandson’s birthday. He loves ceviche and he gave his approval of this recipe.

Here’s How to Do it:

Start by marinating the fish. Mix the lemon and lime juices with the cubed fish in a glass dish or other non-reactive container. You can also pickle the onion with it if you prefer let bite from the onion itself.

Let it sit in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. Too long can make it soft so keep an eye on it. It should bounce back when you press on it.

Discard the marinade and set the fish aside.

In a large bowl mix all the remaining ingredients,

then stir in the fish.

Garnish with some thinly sliced green olives and serve with small tostada shell or tortilla chips. It will keep in the refrigerator for only a day or two – so eat up!!

Easy AND delicious!

© Copyright 2022 The Lazy Gastronome

Here are some things that are perfect to use for this recipe!

Disclosure: The items below are affiliate links through Amazon.com. If you purchase any of these products through the links, I receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thanks for your support!

#lazygastronome
#fish
#ceviche